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As expats flock to Dubai, living costs are surging. Salaries not so much.

Dubai skyline
Dubai has one of the world's biggest expat populations.

Umar Shariff Photography/Getty Images

  • A new survey suggests that Dubai's population growth is having a negative impact on expat salaries.
  • As more expats compete for jobs, salaries are set to remain flat in 2025, Cooper Fitch found.
  • But the recruitment agency said housing costs are up, which could shrink expats' disposable incomes.

As expats continue to relocate to Dubai, the cost of living is rising but salaries are expected to stagnate, according to a new survey by Dubai-based recruitment agency Cooper Fitch.

Cooper Fitch projects that salaries across the United Arab Emirates will flatline in 2025, with an average increase of 0%, despite expected GDP growth.

Its UAE Salary Guide 2025, based on a survey of business leaders from over 1,000 organizations, also notes that some market analysts warn the country's expanding expat population could eventually drive average salaries down.

Dubai is an expat hot spot

Foreigners have long been drawn to Dubai by tax-free incomes, a luxury lifestyle, and a warm climate.

Dubai's population has surged to about 3.85 million, with expats accounting for roughly 87%, according to government data.

This marks a population increase of about 475,000 people from March 2020.

The positive economic indicators, including inflows of foreign direct investment and rising GDP, may entice even more people to relocate to Dubai in the coming years.

However, Cooper Fitch said that when it comes to salary increases, the significant population growth is "balancing the economic gains."

Fiona Robson, the head of the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, told BI that the influx of expats is expanding the talent pool for job vacancies.

As such, she said that salary stagnation "could be due to less of a need to offer premium salaries when there is already a good set of candidates to select from."

Salaries flatline, while living costs soar

Dubai remains a magnet for high-income earners, said Washika Haak-Saheem, the dean of Dubai Business School at the University of Dubai, in an email to BI.

However, those who are less well-off may be increasingly feeling the pinch.

Haak-Saheem said that for middle-income professionals "who are important to Dubai's dynamic economic growth, ensuring sustained salary growth remains an area of focus."

Dubai is now the costliest city in the Middle East for expats, and 15th globally, according to Mercer's Cost of Living 2024 ranking.

Housing is a major factor.

In the 12 months leading up to December 2024, rents rose by an average of 16%, said CBRE's head of MENA research, Matthew Green, in an email to BI.

"This has been driven by a rapidly rising population, with new supply failing to keep pace with demand," he said. And rents are forecast to rise even further in the coming quarters, Green added.

"The disparity between escalating living costs and stagnant salaries poses financial challenges for many expatriates," Rizwan Tahir, professor of global management at the Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai, told BI.

The cost of a growing population

Flatlining salaries and rising rents may be the price of Dubai's expanding expat community. Even so, the city plans to keep growing.

According to its urban development roadmap, Dubai aims to increase its population by an additional 5.8 million by 2040.

Going forward, available salaries and rents could lead to a reduction in disposable income for some, but Trefor Murphy, CEO of Cooper Fitch, said that context is key when it comes to salaries in the UAE.

"They're already at that very high level and it's tax-free," he said, adding: "People get paid really well."

Do you have a story to share about life as an expat in the UAE? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

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$1 million will buy you about as much space as a parking spot in superrich Monaco

Monaco coast
Monaco is smaller than New York's Central Park.

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

  • Monaco is the world's most expensive place to buy luxury housing.
  • The 2025 Knight Frank Wealth Report says $1 million buys just 205 sq ft of prime residential property.
  • The tax haven is tiny and densely populated, so there's very little space to build on.

A million dollars will only buy you about as much space as a parking spot in Monaco.

That's according to this year's Knight Frank Wealth Report, which found that $1 million will buy just 19 square meters, or about 205 square feet, of prime residential property in the microstate on the French Riviera.

In comparison, the same amount would get you 34 square meters (about 366 square feet) in New York — the world's sixth most-expensive market for luxury real estate.

Hong Kong is ranked second, followed by Singapore, Geneva, and London.

Monaco remains a magnet for the superrich due to its lack of income or capital gains taxes, along with its favorable climate and high-quality healthcare.

However, housing costs are exceptionally high. Monaco was also the world's most expensive luxury rental market last year.

A Knight Frank analysis from May 2024 found that renting a 1,100-square-foot property in Monaco starts at about $19,350 a month. A $30,000 budget would likely only stretch to a modest two-bedroom apartment.

Monaco's extreme property prices are driven by a lack of space to build more properties, resulting in a limited housing supply.

At just 510 acres, Monaco is the world's second-smallest sovereign state after the Vatican City.

For perspective, the constitutional monarchy is smaller than New York's Central Park, which covers 843 acres, while the entire city spans about 200,000 acres.

According to the latest World Bank data, Monaco is also the most densely populated country, with 18,681 people per square kilometer.

To address the space constraints, Monaco has been reclaiming land from the sea for decades. In 2019, Savills said it was investing more than $2 billion to extend Monaco's coastline by a further 15 acres, creating homes for about 1,000 people.

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A former top Biden DEI chief says companies should 'bunker down' and stand up for diversity

A portrait of Dr Alaysia Black Hackett
Dr Alaysia Black Hackett

Courtesy of Dr Alaysia Black Hackett

  • One of Biden's top DEI chiefs said she wants to dispel "myths" amid Trump's rollback of the practice.
  • Alaysia Black Hackett told Business Insider that corporations should hold firm to DEI practices.
  • She said that companies are now reaching out to her for advice.

A former DEI chief who served in the Biden administration wants to "dispel a lot of the myths" swirling around diversity initiatives.

These include the idea that DEI hires aren't recruited on merit, or that diversity initiatives are only aimed at benefiting Black People, said Alaysia Black Hackett, who served as the Department of Labor's chief diversity and equity officer before resigning last month.

"It is not: 'You have to make sure you have a woman in a leadership position," Black Hackett said in an interview with Business Insider. "It is looking at the data to say: 'What groups of people are we missing and how can this be a detriment to the service?'"

The sentiment toward DEI has been shifting in recent months. According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of people who see DEI as a positive fell from 56% to 52% between February 2023 and October 2024. At the same time, those who saw it as a bad thing grew from 16% to 21%.

But Black Hackett says the field is misunderstood, in part thanks to a tough media environment, and the Biden administration not being good at touting its own achievements. She said she believes people don't want to understand what diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility really stand for.

"People want to hate it because it seemed to benefit one race of people more than it fits another," she said.

What does DEI do?

During her two and a half years in the Biden administration, Black Hackett said federal hiring initiatives were merit-based and designed to "ensure that our internal federal workforce mirrored the communities that we serve."

If federal bodies lacked diversity of thought, "we're going to miss something," she said.

Black Hackett described much of her work as being aimed at making sure that federal funding filtered through to people who are either under-resourced, or are in historically underrepresented groups.

Much of her work focused on determining how federal funding could effectively reach marginalized communities. This included identifying rural communities that needed better internet access — a fixture in Biden's infrastructure law in 2021.

"When you look at data about rural communities, you will see that it's not typically inundated with people of color," she said, adding that "most Americans fit under at least one of the categories under DEIA."

Impact on corporate DEI

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month ending DEI programs in the federal government. The Trump administration has said DEI "divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination."

Trump has directed federal agencies to compile lists of private companies' DEI efforts, and many, including Meta and Walmart, have decided to roll back or end their DEI programs. Others, like JP Morgan and Costco, have not altered course on their diversity policies.

Black Hackett said that companies are reaching out to her for advice.

"I have small business owners who are asking me: 'Alaysia, what do I do? What direction is this going to impact me?'" she said.

She said that companies feeling cowed should "bunker down, stand up for what's right, and look at your data" to see the benefits.

"Productivity goes up," she said. "Statistics show that. People are more productive if they feel like they're welcome in their environment, their thoughts, their opinions."

A 2022 report by the International Labor Organization said that DEI can add value to businesses through increased employee productivity, stronger collaboration with colleagues, and improved well-being.

The recent DEI rollback could make people become "afraid to even show up as their authentic selves," Black Hackett said.

Even so, she feels positive about the future of DEI initiatives.

"What I will say, and I will say it quite candidly, is DEIA is resilient," she said. "The work doesn't stop."

The White House didn't reply to a request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider

I was one of the first Western tourists to visit North Korea in 5 years. I was surprised we were allowed to see signs of poverty.

Luca Pferdmenges in Rason, North Korea
Luca Pferdmenges visited the Rason Special Economic Zone in North Korea in February 2025.

Courtesy of Luca Pferdmenges and Luna Salerno

  • Luca Pferdmenges visited North Korea as one of the first Western tourists there in five years.
  • He told BI it was surprising that the tour guides didn't try to hide the country's poverty.
  • The influencer has visited almost every country in the world — he has just two more to go.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Luca Pferdmenges, a 23-year-old German travel influencer who was among the first Western tourists to visit North Korea since 2020. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I've wanted to visit North Korea for a long time. I'm two countries away from my goal of visiting every country in the world, and for me, it's about giving every place a chance, even if I hate the politics.

Going there, there were lots of rules to follow and moments that felt quite staged, but what surprised me most was that they didn't hide the country's visible poverty.

Entering North Korea

There have been a few false starts in the past, but two weeks ago, Koryo Tours set up a WhatsApp group for travelers flexible enough to enter North Korea on short notice.

I was in Lisbon when I got the confirmation. I would be among the first foreign tourists allowed back after a five-year hiatus, as long as I could reach Quanhe in China in time.

With just two days to plan it, I flew from Lisbon to Dubai, then onto Beijing, and finally to Quanhe.

I was nervous about the border crossing from China into North Korea, because you don't really know what to expect. They can pretty much do whatever they want with you, including going through all the photos on your phone.

Some people got their phones checked, but I didn't.

Luca Pferdmenges in Rason, North Korea.
North Korea opened up to Western tourists again in early 2025.

Courtesy of Luca Pferdmenges and Luna Salerno

When we crossed the border, you could tell that it wasn't really a routine procedure for them, because the border had been closed for five years. It was all a bit improvised, but it worked out.

Once inside North Korea, a few things immediately stood out. There are no advertisements anywhere — not even in the cities. Instead, it's just propaganda posters, portraits of the leaders, and flags.

I was also surprised that COVID-19 is still such a big deal there. About 80% of the people I saw wore masks, and every bag entering the country had to go through a disinfecting machine.

'It felt an awful lot like a school trip'

Everything on a North Korean tour is very, very organized, with strict rules to follow.

Some are obvious — like not speaking badly about the leaders. There are also more persnickety rules that you may not be aware of, like the requirement that whenever you take a photo of any statues of the leaders, everything needs to be completely in the frame — no cropping or zooming in on anything.

It felt an awful lot like a school trip. Everyone is on a bus, with assigned seats and the guide never leaves you.

Over five days, we did a lot of random things: climbing a mountain, visiting a shopping center, and touring a foreign language school.

In the school, the teacher pretty much read a script when we entered the classroom.

We also visited the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. It's a whole routine: You have to buy plastic flowers to show your respect.

Luca Pferdmenges in Rason,
The tour included visits to a foreign language school, a shopping center, and statues of North Korean leaders.

Courtesy of Luca Pferdmenges and Luna Salerno

Seeing the poverty

The Rason region is poorer than Pyongyang, the capital, which is still closed to most foreigners, and as we traveled from place to place, we saw the poverty.

People in the rural areas were clearly very poor, and we weren't allowed to photograph them. Many of them were using oxen and carriages.

Our guides also very strictly told us not to photograph the farmers' houses in the countryside because they are very run-down and shabby.

Surprisingly, they didn't close the curtains so we couldn't see it. The guides also didn't deny that there is poverty; they just don't like people taking photos of it and presenting it as the sole truth.

That being said, if you have a good job and relative privilege, you can get a phone and access the local internet. They even have an app store where you can download the Korean version of Western games.

I was very surprised to learn that there's a North Korean version of "Clash of Clans."

Luca Pferdmenges in Rason
Luca Pferdmenges traveled to North Korea with Koryo Tours.

Courtesy of Luca Pferdmenges and Luna Salerno

A visit to a pharmacy

The tour itself was surprisingly affordable — about $740 in total, including a night in China and most of the food.

North Korea is quite cheap for Westerners, and the hotel was actually really good.

On occasion, we had some unexpectedly authentic interactions with the locals, like when we visited a pharmacy. They were largely confused about why we were there; they'd probably never seen a foreigner before.

Visiting a pharmacy may not seem like a typical tourist activity, but the country is eager to showcase the parts that function well.

People think of China as this really oppressive state where everything is controlled, but, to us, it felt like entering the free world again. We could leave the bus and go wherever we wanted, which really puts things into perspective.

Everyone has an opinion about North Korea, and it's so different from any other place in the world. But I saw a North Korea that wasn't just black and white.

I'd definitely go back because it's one of those places that you leave with more questions than you previously had.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Want to live in the US? Trump says invest $5M for a 'gold card'

President Donald Trump applauding in the Oval Office.
President Donald Trump said the "gold card" would replace the EB-5 investor visa program.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

  • On Tuesday, Donald Trump touted a "gold card" for wealthy foreigners to live and work in the US.
  • He said it would allow wealthy individuals the chance to live in the US for about $5 million.
  • The "gold card" would replace the EB-5 visa, which requires a minimum investment of $1.05 million.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US was creating a "gold card" that would enable wealthy foreigners to live and work in the US in exchange for a fee of about $5 million.

"You have a green card, this is a gold card," he told reporters in the Oval Office, calling it a route to citizenship with green card privileges.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking alongside Trump, said the card would replace the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which he described as "full of nonsense, make-believe, and fraud."

Lutnick contrasted the new program with the EB-5, which he said was a "low-price" way to get a green card.

The EB-5 program grants foreign investors the chance to obtain a green card if they create jobs and make a minimum investment in US commercial enterprises of $1.05 million — or $800,000 in rural and high-unemployment areas.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the US issues about 10,000 EB-5 visas each year.

Lutnick said money raised by the new program could be used to reduce the US deficit.

The newly proposed "gold card" program would require a significantly higher investment.

"Wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card," Trump said, adding, "They'll be wealthy, and they'll be successful, and they'll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people."

Trump also didn't rule out selling the cards to Russian oligarchs, saying he knew "some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people."

But Lutnick said foreigners would be vetted to ensure they were "wonderful, world-class global citizens."

Trump and Lutnick said additional details would be available within two weeks.

Trump's latest proposal is not without precedent, as similar programs exist in the United Arab Emirates, the Caribbean, and, more recently, New Zealand.

Immigration has been a central focus for Trump since he returned to the White House, including efforts to implement mass deportations of migrants living in the US unlawfully and to end birthright citizenship — a move facing legal challenges.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Mining the moon for minerals could be worth billions, but astronomers warn it's bad news for science

The International Space Station (ISS) is photographed with the full moon in the background from Cihanbeyli district of Konya, Turkiye on January 24, 2024.
Mining the moon could be a huge money-making industry in the future.

Yunus Turkyilmaz/Anadolu via Getty Images

  • Moon mining could become a multibillion-dollar industry.
  • The moon holds resources like rare earth elements, water ice, and helium-3.
  • But astronomists say large-scale lunar mining could be bad news for scientific research.

Mining the moon for water, helium-3, and rare earth elements could become a multibillion-dollar industry in the near future, but astronomers warn it risks coming at the expense of scientific discovery.

The NASA-sponsored Jet Propulsion Laboratory estimates that the moon holds untapped resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

These include water ice, which could support lunar habitation or be converted into rocket fuel, and rare earth elements, which are a key component in modern electronics.

Perhaps the most lucrative lunar prospect is helium-3, a non-radioactive isotope that holds the potential to be used for nuclear fission.

Helium-3 traded for about $2,500 per liter in 2024, according to the Edelgas Group.

"That's a huge market, in principle, and something is coming along very fast," Martin Elvis, a senior astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, told Business Insider.

He also said that lunar law is "very much" like the Wild West, where a "bad incentive" now exists that encourages those who reach mining sites first to "exploit" them quickly before anyone can catch up.

Resource-rich, scientifically valuable

NASA, China, and several private companies aim to mine the moon within the next decade. However, astronomers warn that large-scale operations there could make studying the universe more challenging.

The moon has scientifically significant sites that could also be rich in lunar resources, creating a potential clash between money-making ventures and scientific research.

These areas include the far side of the moon, a radio-quiet environment ideal for studying the cosmic Dark Ages, the time before there were stars and galaxies.

Elvis said the moon's permanently shadowed regions near its poles are also "special places for astronomy." But they're believed to be rich in water ice — crucial for future space exploration — once again making them highly valuable for resource extraction.

Ongoing human activities, such as water extraction or deploying rovers for mineral mining, could introduce vibrations that disrupt delicate lunar studies, Elvis said.

"Mining for water is probably the worst," he added.

A loose legal framework

While legal frameworks exist — such as the Artemis Accords, a non-binding set of principles established in 2020 and signed by over 50 countries — Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, told BI these agreements come with their own challenges.

One of the details of the Artemis Accords was actually explicitly permitting space mining, provided it complies with the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and is done in a "safe and sustainable" way, he said, "effectively allowing people to set up camps in different places on the moon to extract resources."

According to Elvis, there is a relatively brief window of time to "inject the need for science" into the lunar mining debate. One suggestion he had was introducing protected planetary parks on the moon's surface.

Massey, meanwhile, stressed that any future regulations should emphasize astronomy's value and better protect scientific research, rather than focusing solely on the financial prospects.

"There should be more stakeholders than just the wealthy and companies that want to do this," he said, adding: "The stakeholders ought to include all of us — just as all of us have a stake in terrestrial environments."

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DEI is good for our business, Coca-Cola says

A hand picking up a bottle of Coca-Cola from a store sheld.
Coca-Cola says having a diverse workforce is crucial to its success.

Firdous Nazir/NurPhoto via Getty Images

  • Coca-Cola has warned that DEI policy changes could negatively affect its business.
  • In a filing, the company said fostering an inclusive workplace culture was "critical" to its success.
  • Its rival PepsiCo has rolled back DEI initiatives amid Trump's anti-DEI push.

Coca-Cola has warned that changes to policies meant to diversify its workforce could negatively affect its business.

In an annual filing, the company said its business could be adversely affected if it was "unable to attract or retain specialized talent or top talent with diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds."

"Our diverse, high-performing global employee base helps drive a culture of inclusion, innovation and growth," it said. "We aspire to develop a global workforce with diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds that reflect the broad range of consumers and markets we serve around the world."

It added that it remained committed to "providing access to equal opportunities and fostering belonging both in our workplaces and the local communities we proudly serve."

These efforts, it said, are "critical" to the company's growth and success.

Coca-Cola added that failure to maintain a corporate culture that "fosters innovation, collaboration, and inclusion" could disrupt its operations and "adversely affect our business and our future success."

A growing list of major companies are announcing rollbacks of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives following President Donald Trump's January executive orders, which ended federal diversity programs and placed federal DEI staffers on leave.

Coca-Cola's industry rival PepsiCo rolled back some of its DEI policies this month, scrapping a breakdown of its workforce demographics from a recent filing and removing a line about how a "culture of diversity, equity and inclusion is a competitive advantage" that retains talent and strengthens its reputation.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are both government contractors.

Though Trump's executive orders primarily targeted DEI efforts in the public sector, the "ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity" order also calls for encouraging the private sector to end "illegal DEI discrimination and preferences."

Asked last week whether the company would be changing its DEI policies to comply with the executive order, Coca-Cola's chief financial officer, John Murphy, said it was "focused on having the best talent around the world," according to Bloomberg.

He added, however, that it would "follow any change in regulations at the national level."

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North Korea has reopened to Western tourists for the first time since the pandemic

Tour group visits North Korea
Young Pioneer Tours was among the first foreign tour groups to visit North Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Courtesy of Young Pioneer Tours

  • North Korea has reopened to Western tourists this week.
  • Westerners can't visit Pyongyang, but they can go on tours to the Rason Special Economic Zone.
  • A tour guide told BI his first group in years included people from the UK, Australia, and Jamaica.

North Korea reopened its borders to Western tourists this week.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has been largely closed to Westerners. But on Thursday, Pyongyang allowed tour groups to visit the country's Rason Special Economic Zone, a region near the Russian and Chinese borders.

On Thursday morning, Rowan Beard of Young Pioneer Tours led one of the first foreign tour groups to return to the country.

Beard told Business Insider that the group consisted of 10 people from a number of different countries, including Singapore, Australia, the UK, Jamaica, and Germany.

"The country has been closed for five years so it's been a huge build-up and a huge interest from people wanting to go," he said.

While some of the visitors are specifically interested in North Korean culture, history, and society, Beard said that others simply wanted to tick off another country.

"Some of the people we're taking, North Korea is the last country for them to visit," he said.

Another couple, he added, grew up under communist rule in Romania and wanted to visit North Korea, a communist dictatorship, for nostalgic reasons.

"You get all these different types, it's a mix of interests," Beard said.

Rowan Beard of Young Pioneer Tours visits North Korea
Rowan Beard of Young Pioneer Tours said he visited North Korea a week before it opened to assess conditions in Rason.

Courtesy of Young Pioneer Tours

Beard told BI that he only learned of the potential reopening about a week prior, so the first group was made up of those who could quickly arrange flights to China and have their entry permits processed in time.

Another tour is scheduled for March 2, with 26 people booked onto it, he added.

Beard — who said he visited Rason a week before it reopened to assess the conditions — said North Korean officials have not set a specific quota for how many foreign tourists can visit but that numbers are small due to "logistical" limitations.

"There are logistical constraints in Rason when it comes to hotel vacancy, the amount of English guides that are available, and the buses they have," he said.

Rason Special Economic Zone
Rowan Beard said there's been a lot of interest in visiting North Korea's Rason Special Economic Zone.

Courtesy of Young Pioneer Tours

The State Department issued a ban on US citizens traveling to North Korea in September 2017 following the death of Otto Warmbier, an American student who was arrested on a tour and who was released in a vegetative state, dying soon after.

A July 2023 State Department travel advisory warns against travel to North Korea, citing a "continuous serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of US nationals."

Russians, however, have been back visiting North Korea's shores since the start of 2024, and Pyongyang remains closed to all but Russian tourists.

Foreign tourists on guided tours generally face strict regulations in North Korea — they must be accompanied at all times and are only allowed to take photos of approved sites.

The tourism industry has provided a crucial source of foreign currency for North Korea, which has struggled under international sanctions.

Later this year, the Wonsan-Kalma beach resort is set to open and is already advertising tour dates for Russian visitors.

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The price of rice in Japan is soaring. The government is releasing 210,000 tons from its stockpile to fight it.

Rice and chopsticks
Rice, a staple of Japanese cuisine, has seen soaring prices.

kenta ishizuka/Getty Images

  • Japan says it's releasing 210,000 tons of rice to try to curb soaring prices.
  • Prices have rocketed since last year, with the price of rice up 70.7% year-on-year in Tokyo.
  • Japan's government turns to its stockpiles in times of poor harvests or natural disasters.

A staple of the country's cuisine, rice has seen soaring prices in Japan, prompting the government to step in with its own stockpiles in a bid to stabilize the market.

Taku Eto, Japan's agriculture minister, announced at a press conference Friday that the government will release up to 210,000 tons of rice kept aside for emergencies.

The latest average retail price of an 11-pound bag of rice in Japan was 3,688 Japanese yen, about $24, The Guardian reported, citing a government survey, up from about $13 last year.

In comparison, the price in the US for the same quantity of rice is $11, according to the US Bureau of Labor.

Data released by the Japanese government at the end of January showed that the price of rice rose 70.7% year-on-year in Tokyo, the capital.

The first 150,000 tons of government rice will be auctioned to wholesalers next month, and is expected to reach retailers in late March or early April.

Eto said he hoped releasing rice from the stockpile would help "normalize" the market and distribution.

The price spike began last fall, when the price of newly harvested rice in Japan reached its highest level in 31 years.

Rising labor and fertilizer costs due to inflation, a summer heat wave, and increased demand from an unprecedented number of tourists helped drive the rise.

But Eto attributed the price hike to a distribution bottleneck, saying at the press conference that enough rice is being produced to meet demand.

US consumers are also struggling with soaring prices, notably of eggs. Egg prices in the US are at an all-time high, caused in large part by a bird flu crisis that has wiped out an estimated 7% of the national flock.

Some US grocery stores are cracking down on how many eggs a shopper can buy at one time, and the average price of a dozen Grade A large eggs in the US has hit an all-time high of $4.95.

Japan started stockpiling rice in 1995, after a major crop failure in the early 1990s. It generally only taps into its reserves in response to unusually poor harvests or natural disasters.

On Wednesday, the Bank of Japan's governor, Kazuo Ueda, warned that food prices in the country could remain high.

He also said that the bank was "deeply aware" that this was negatively impacting people's lives.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Government watchdogs fired by Trump are suing to get their jobs back

President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Eight inspectors general are suing the Trump administration.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

  • Eight former inspectors general fired by the Trump administration are suing to regain their jobs.
  • Their lawsuit says the administration violated federal laws protecting them from interference.
  • Efforts by the Trump White House to shrink the federal workforce have been met with legal challenges.

Eight former federal inspectors general who were fired from their independent watchdog roles are suing to regain their positions, marking the latest legal challenge to President Donald Trump's administration.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a federal district court in Washington, DC, accused the administration of violating "unambiguous" federal laws designed to protect inspectors general from "interference" in their nonpartisan oversight duties.

One law, the Securing Inspector General Independence Act — passed in 2022 with bipartisan support — requires the president to give Congress advanced notice before removing an inspector general, and to provide a "substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons."

The lawsuit claims that Trump ignored these laws just days into his current term, and instead dismissed them via a "two-sentence email sent by the director or deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel."

As a result, the lawsuit said they lost access to their government email accounts, computer systems, and government-issued devices, and were barred from entering the government buildings they were assigned to work in.

The former inspectors general represented eight federal agencies — the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, State, Agriculture, Education, and Labor, as well as the Small Business Administration.

The lawsuit named Trump and the heads of those agencies as defendants.

The lawsuit said the inspectors general are seeking redress for their "unlawful and unjustified" terminations. They're demanding to be reinstated until the president removes them from their posts in accordance with the law.

The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Congress created the inspectors general in 1978, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, to combat fraud and abuse. It subsequently granted the federal watchdogs the authority to investigate and audit agency activities.

The removal of the inspectors general last month drew criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described them as a "chilling purge" that he said showed Trump is "terrified of accountability."

Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, said in January that she didn't understand why "one would fire individuals whose mission is to root out waste, fraud, and abuse."

The lawsuit comes amid efforts by the Trump administration, spearheaded by Elon Musk, to shrink the federal workforce. Measures have included a federal worker buyout, a return-to-office mandate, a hiring freeze, and the removal of DEI roles.

Some of these efforts have triggered their own legal challenges.

Unions sued to halt the deferred resignation program for federal workers, but on Wednesday a federal judge lifted an order blocking the Office of Personal Management from enforcing the deferred resignation deadline.

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These are the safest countries to work and live as an expat, according to a new ranking

Reykjavík, Iceland
Iceland has topped the Global Peace Index list since 2008.

Elena Goosen/Getty Images

  • Insurer William Russell ranked the safest countries for expats in 2025.
  • The ranking considers political stability, crime, natural disasters, and healthcare, among other things.
  • The list features countries in Europe, including Slovenia and Switzerland, as well as some in Asia.

For those considering living and working abroad, safety will likely be a key factor in choosing a destination.

William Russell, an expat insurance provider, has ranked the safest places to live as an expat in 2025.

The ranking uses data from the 2024 Global Peace Index and the World Risk Report, which consider factors such as political instability, the level of violent crime, the impact of terrorism, and vulnerability to natural disasters.

William Russell said it also considers healthcare access and digital security.

It found that the safest countries shared a few characteristics, including high levels of wealth, social welfare, and education.

There's another common thread — the majority are in Europe.

10. Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur skyline, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is popular with expats.

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Tenth on William Russell's ranking is Malaysia.

As Malaysia exits an era of political turmoil, its government hopes that rising investments and startups flowing into the country signal that it is on its way to becoming Asia's Silicon Valley.

The HSBC Expat guide says Malaysia's growing IT sector already offers plenty of opportunities for expats, who may choose the country for its relatively low living costs, accessible healthcare, and tropical climate.

9. Slovenia
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana is the picturesque capital of Slovenia.

Tuul & Bruno Morandi/Getty Images

William Russell also ranks Slovenia highly as an expat destination.

The OECD Better Life Index notes that Slovenia outperforms the global average in safety. It found that 91% of people in the country feel safe walking alone at night, and that the homicide rate is far below the OECD average.

For expats moving with families, Brittany McAnally, who lived in Slovenia for a year with her family, told Business Insider that Ljubljana, the picturesque capital, feels especially safe for raising kids.

8. Denmark
Copenhagen, Denmark
Denmark is committed to ensuring work-life balance.

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Denmark came in eighth.

Ilana Buhl, an American teacher who moved to Denmark in 2018, told BI she feels much safer there, both as a woman and in terms of gun violence.

Beyond safety, Buhl said she enjoys a significantly better work-life balance— a core aspect of Danish working culture, where long summer vacations are standard and employees receive at least five weeks of paid leave a year.

7. Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon is already popular with digital nomads.

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Portugal, already a hub for digital nomads, came seventh.

The European nation is drawing in North Americans, who praise its affordable healthcare, quality of life, and work-life balance.

The Global Peace Index 2024 ranked it seventh in the world for safety, noting high levels of political stability and very low levels of violent crime.

6. Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland
Many of Switzerland's cities are extremely liveable but also expensive.

@ Didier Marti/Getty Images

Switzerland is famously politically neutral, meaning there's little risk of it being involved in an international conflict. This likely factored into its ranking.

The Global Peace Index notes that there's a low risk of violent crime, political instability, or political terror within the country.

Expats generally earn well in Switzerland, but a 2024 study by consulting firm Mercer found that Swiss cities, including Zurich, Geneva, Basel, and Bern, are among the most expensive cities in the world to live in as an expat.

Mercer ranked Zurich as 2024's most liveable city, thanks in part to its public services and low crime rates.

5. Singapore
Singapore
Singapore is expensive, but expats can earn high salaries.

Calvin Chan Wai Meng/Getty Images

Fifth on William Russell's ranking of the safest places for expats is Singapore.

Although it's one of the world's most expensive cities, HSBC Expat says international workers are still drawn to the city-state by its high salaries, opulent lifestyles, and convenient location for travel across Southeast Asia.

Healthcare there also ranks among the best in the world, although it can be expensive.

William Russell noted that Singapore also has efficient infrastructure and is one of the most digitally secure countries in the world.

4. New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand is making it easier for foreigners to live, work, and invest in the country.

Nazar Abbas Photography/Getty Images

New Zealand, fourth on William Russell's ranking, is making moving there easier for expats, investors, and digital nomads.

In the past few weeks, it has relaxed both its "golden visa" and visitor visa rules.

Although the country has recently faced economic headwinds, it is a peaceful place with a low crime rate and plenty of opportunities for expats in engineering, medicine, and other industries.

That said, William Russell noted that there are environmental safety issues, such as rising sea levels leading to more flooding in coastal areas.

3. Austria
Vienna, Austria
Vienna is repeatedly ranked as one of the world's most liveable cities.

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Austria came third in the ranking.

William Russell said that factors that make it safe for expats include a strong public health system, an extensive rail system, and a low rate of serious crimes.

In 2024, Vienna, Austria's capital, was number two in Mercer's ranking for most liveable cities for expats. Meanwhile, The Economist Intelligence Unit named it the most liveable city in the world in 2024, for the third year running.

2. Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Ireland's crime rate has been trending down in recent years.

Walter Bibikow/Getty Images

Coming in second in the ranking, William Russell attributed Ireland's safety for expats to factors such as a downward-trending crime rate, a tolerance of migrants, and a strong and stable economy.

Alexis McSparren, an American who moved to Ireland, told BI that she has never felt safer than she does living in Dublin, highlighting, in particular, the strict gun laws.

1. Iceland
Reykjavík, Iceland
Iceland has topped the Global Peace Index list since 2008.

Elena Goosen/Getty Images

Top of the ranking was Iceland.

The European nation has a significant expat population. According to Statistics Iceland, over 20% of its population was born overseas. Safety, no doubt, plays a big part.

Iceland has topped the Global Peace Index list since 2008, thanks to its low crime rate and its avoidance of international conflicts.

While five expats told BI in 2024 that expensive groceries and the limited daylight in winter can be challenging, the country's stunning scenery, high-quality public services, and safety continue to attract international workers.

William Russell also said that the country topped its ranking owing to factors such as environmental safety — there are few dangerous wildlife and excellent air quality.

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Venice doubles its last-minute 'tourist tax' — with other cities looking to copy its approach to overtourism

Venice
Venice is seeking to address overtourism in the city.

© Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images

  • Venice is doubling a last-minute tourist fee for daytrippers.
  • The fee, first introduced in 2024, is an attempt to manage overtourism and better preserve the city.
  • Venice's tourism chief says other destinations have sought advice on copying the measures.

Venice has doubled its last-minute visitor fee, with the city's tourism chief saying its success has prompted other overcrowded tourist destinations to consider similar measures.

In 2024, the Italian city introduced a €5 charge for visitors on select peak-season dates, in an attempt to curb overtourism.

The fee will remain €5, a little over $5, for those who pay at least four days in advance, but is set to rise to €10 for last-minute bookings.

Fines for not registering range from the equivalent of $52 to $310.

Simone Venturini, the city's tourism councilor, said at a recent tourism fair that other destinations overrun by tourists are looking to follow Venice's lead, something the city's tourism office corroborated.

"We confirm that several institutional bodies, both in Italy and internationally, have contacted the City of Venice to gain a deeper understanding of the Access Contribution mechanism," a spokesperson for Venice's tourism office told Business Insider in an email.

They added that discussions have taken place with representatives from Kyoto in Japan, Formentera in Spain, and the Swiss city of Zermatt, "in addition to various Italian local authorities."

Venice's tourism office said the visitor fee generated €2.4 million in revenue for the city in 2024, about $2.5 million.

It also credited the entrance fee with preventing Venice from hitting previous peak visitor numbers on certain high-traffic days.

The charge applies to daytrippers entering Venice's historic center between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., with exemptions for overnight guests, local residents, students, and those visiting relatives.

In 2024, it was enforced on 29 high-traffic days; in 2025, that will expand to 54 days, covering periods from April to July.

At the tourism fair, Venturini said Venice was a "pioneer" in tackling overtourism.

He said the pilot program had worked and that the goal in 2025 remained the same: To "create a new system to manage tourist flow and disincentivize daytripper tourism in several periods, in line with the delicate and unique nature of the city."

Venice's tourism office said in the statement provided to BI that while the fee led to more people booking visits in advance, the measure was insufficient by itself to prevent overtourism.

Venice has also tried other means, including limiting tourist groups to 25 people and banning loudspeakers on tours.

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A celebrity's private jet crashed into a parked plane on the runway, killing one person

A Learjet 35A
The private jet that crashed was a Learjet 35A.

Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

  • A private jet owned by Mötley Crüe's front man crashed in Scottsdale, Arizona. He wasn't on board.
  • The crash occurred during landing at Scottsdale Airport, and resulted in one death.
  • An airport official said the plane's left main gear appeared to have failed during landing.

A private jet owned by the front man of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe crashed into a parked plane in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday, killing one person.

Vince Neil, the band's lead vocalist, was not on the Learjet Aircraft 35A at the time, which veered off the runway at Scottsdale Airport while attempting to land, Worrick Robinson IV, Neil's legal representative, said in a statement.

The band's statement said that two pilots and two passengers were onboard.

During a press conference on Monday, Dave Folio, a public information officer for Scottsdale's Fire Department, said five people were affected by the crash.

He said one person had died, two were transported to local trauma centers, and one to a local hospital. He didn't give any details about the fifth person.

At the Monday press conference, Kelli Kuester, the airport's aviation planning and outreach coordinator, said the plane was arriving from Austin, Texas, and crashed into a parked Gulfstream G200 jet.

"It appears that the left main gear failed upon landing resulting in the accident," she said.

Lisa Borowsky, the mayor of the City of Scottsdale, confirmed in a statement provided to local media that at least one person had died.

In a now-deleted post on Mötley Crüe's social media account, reported by Forbes, the band said that a pilot of the jet was killed in the crash and that the band would "announce a way to help support the family of the deceased pilot."

The now-deleted post also said that Neil's girlfriend and her friend were on the plane and had suffered non-life-threatening injuries, per Forbes.

The legal representative for the band didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Scottsdale Airport said the runway was closed for several hours after the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

In recent weeks, there has been a spate of aircraft disasters.

Last month, an American Airlines flight collided with a helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport in DC. Sixty-seven people died, including 64 passengers on the plane.

Days later, a medical transport jet carrying six people crashed in Philadelphia shortly after takeoff. The Federal Aviation Administration said there were no survivors.

Earlier this month, a Bering Air flight crashed in Alaska with 10 people on board. The US Coast Guard said there were no survivors.

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Whole Foods store workers form first union under Amazon ownership

Whole Foods Market, store sign on building exterior
Workers at a Whole Foods store in Pennsylvania voted to unionize.

: Plexi Images/GHI/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

  • Whole Foods workers in a Pennsylvania store voted to unionize on Monday.
  • They will join a local chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
  • This is the first successful unionization push since Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017.

Workers at a Pennsylvania Whole Foods store voted to unionize on Monday, forming the first union at the grocery chain since Amazon acquired it in 2017.

Employees voted to join the local chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents more than 800,000 grocery store workers across the US and Canada.

The union said 130 workers at the flagship store in Philadelphia's Center City neighborhood voted in favor of union representation, while 100 voted against it.

"This fight is far from over, but today's victory is an important step forward," Wendell Young IV, the president of the local chapter of the union, said in a statement provided to Business Insider.

He added, "We are ready to bring Whole Foods to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair first contract that reflects the workers' needs and priorities."

UFCW International President Marc Perrone said that "companies must remember that grocery workers play an essential role by helping families put food on their tables."

"This win sends a powerful message to workers everywhere that when we stand together, we can take on even the largest corporations and win," he added.

Amazon acquired Whole Foods, which has 521 US stories and more than 105,000 employees, for $13.7 billion in 2017.

In a statement provided to media outlets, Whole Foods said it was "disappointed" by the result but added that it was "committed to maintaining a positive working environment in our Philly Center City store."

In the statement provided to BI, workers at the Whole Foods store said they "faced a relentless campaign of intimidation, misinformation, and anti-union tactics from Amazon and Whole Foods management."

"They underestimated our determination and unity," the group said.

National Labor Relations Board records show the workers filed to hold a union election in November 2024.

In a statement announcing the petition, workers at the Philadelphia store said they hoped unionization would help them achieve fair compensation and better working conditions.

In 2002, workers at a Whole Foods store in Madison, Wisconsin, voted in favor of a union, but it was dissolved the following year.

Last October, Whole Foods said its sales had increased by more than 40% since Amazon's acquisition, but it didn't provide a dollar amount.

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Many expats move to Dubai for sun and luxury — then work more than nearly anyone in the world

A business woman walks in Dubai
Millions of expatriates are drawn to Dubai, but the working hours are some of the longest in the world.

Xsandra/Getty Images

  • The UAE ranks second in the world for average hours worked a week.
  • Employees there work an average 51 hours a week, far beyond the US average of 38.
  • Expats in Dubai, the UAE commercial hub, told BI their work is intense but richly rewarded.

"I've been on a treadmill before on my work phone, doing barrier options," said Nick Fowler, 33, a British man who moved to the United Arab Emirates two years ago. "It can get a bit ridiculous sometimes."

(Barrier options are a financial product common in asset management, Fowler's industry.)

He is one of the millions of foreigners drawn to Dubai by its year-round sunshine, tax-free income, and its abundant luxury.

But it comes with a catch: they end up working more than nearly anyone else in the world.

The UAE ranks second globally for the highest average weekly working hours per employed person, according to the International Labour Organization.

Employees in the UAE work an average of 50.9 hours a week, far exceeding the 38-hour average in the US and the 35.9-hour average in Fowler's native UK.

The top spot goes to the reclusive Himalayan nation of Bhutan, with 54.4 hours.

Fowler told Business Insider that his typical workday starts around 8 a.m. and ends at 6:30 p.m., often without a proper break as he eats lunch at his desk. His day rarely ends there.

"I've been on dates before [where] I've had to send emails," he said, "and colleagues have rung me when I've sat down to eat dinner."

Luxury, but at a cost

Patrick James, 32, also from the UK, moved to Dubai six years ago.

He had been there on vacation before and was largely unimpressed, but was still drawn to the city by its financial opportunities.

He told BI he was offered a salary twice what he earned as a teacher in London.

While his teaching job in London often ran from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., a recent teaching role in Dubai had him working 12 to 14 hours a day.

Across a five-day week with a shorter Friday, that puts him around 50 hours a week, close to the UAE norm.

"My child is two now," he said. "I wasn't seeing him. He'd wake up, I'd leave at home, and he'd be asleep, and I'd get home, and he'd be asleep."

For a short while, James could justify the sacrifice. "You're working, you're grinding, you're saving your money, and then you get to go on these luxurious holidays," he said.

Eventually, it became too much. Last March, he switched to a remote role with a Japanese health and wellness company, giving him the flexibility to set his own hours while still in Dubai.

James said that he believes that so many expats in Dubai just accept the long hours because of the competitiveness of its job market.

"If you are not good at your job, they'll get rid of you and get someone else," he said.

A highly competitive market

"It is commonly known that in the expatriate market in the UAE, supply is higher than demand," Fiona Robson, a professor of human resources management at Heriot-Watt University, Dubai, told BI.

"This can lead to less power for expatriates if they can be replaced easily, particularly if specialist skills are not needed at the point of recruitment," she added.

Burj Khalifa in Dubai and other skyscrapers
Expatriates dominate the workforce of the UAE, primarily working in the private sector.

TomasSereda/Getty Images

For some, the pressure to perform can feel overwhelming. Eigher Noceda, a Filipina who spent seven years in Dubai working in sales, felt an unspoken expectation to exceed her contractual hours.

"They will not say no if you like to overwork," she said. "If you want to stay after six, it's up to you. If you work on Saturday, they'll not tell you, 'Oh, why are you here? You should go home.'"

Eventually, Noceda realized that Dubai's work culture wasn't for her.

"If you always like to work and you always have the energy to network and really work your ass off, this is the place for you," she said.

But for Noceda, having a work-life balance was more important, so she moved to Italy, where she said she found a work culture that suited her better.

A 'high-context culture'

Rizwan Tahir, professor of International Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Dubai, attributes the UAE's intense work culture, in part, to its "high-context culture," which relies on implicit understandings and unspoken expectations.

Unlike "low-context cultures" in Western countries like Italy — where employees typically adhere strictly to contracts — Tahir said employers in high-context cultures may expect longer hours, additional responsibilities, and availability outside regular work hours, even if not explicitly outlined in contracts.

Tahir highlighted that this dynamic is particularly prevalent in the UAE's private sector, where expatriates form the majority.

"The expectation of long working hours is often deeply ingrained, with many expatriates feeling pressure to demonstrate commitment and loyalty through their availability," he said.

Tahir said: "This cultural difference can lead to misunderstandings, increased stress, and significant challenges in maintaining a healthy work-life balance for expatriates."

Foreigner drinks wine by pool in Dubai
Millions of foreigners are drawn to Dubai's luxurious, tax-free lifestyle.

SHansche/Getty Images

Despite the challenges, for some, the trade-offs are still worth it.

Fowler, the British expat in finance, feels the rewards outweigh the sacrifices.

Thanks to his work in Dubai, he has been able to afford a sports car, live alone, and travel extensively.

He said: "I have a much better life here than I had in London by a long way."

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New Zealand makes it easier for digital nomads to work, as it tries to aid its struggling economy

Popular tourist spots in New Zealand include natural sites like Milford Sound.
Popular tourist spots in New Zealand include natural sites like Milford Sound.

wootthisak nirongboot/Getty Images

  • New Zealand is easing visitor visa rules to allow tourists to work remotely while there.
  • The country has faced economic headwinds, with a recession and rising unemployment in 2024.
  • The digital nomad initiative aims to boost tourism, a vital industry for New Zealand's economy.

New Zealand's government is relaxing visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while in the country, in a bid to boost its struggling economy.

Starting Monday, tourists will be allowed to work remotely for a foreign employer while vacationing there, as part of a new "digital nomad" initiative.

"The change is part of the Government's plan to unlock New Zealand's potential by shifting the country onto a faster growth track," the country's economic growth minister, Nicola Willis, said in a joint statement.

Last year, New Zealand's economy faced significant challenges, with the OECD describing its economic momentum as "weak."

In the third quarter, New Zealand sank into a technical recession, and in November unemployment rose to a nearly four-year high.

New Zealand experienced the largest GDP contraction among developed nations in 2024, Paul Bloxham, HSBC's chief economist for New Zealand and Australia, told RNZ.

The relaxation in rules aims to bring in digital nomads, who have already flocked to countries such as Spain, Portugal, and Malta.

Many countries are targeting this market of often affluent young people. Twenty-nine other countries offer residence visas for remote workers, or "digital nomad visas," Business Insider reported last year.

"Making the country more attractive to 'digital nomads' — people who work remotely while traveling — will boost New Zealand's attractiveness as a destination," Willis said in the statement.

Tourism, once New Zealand's largest export earner before the COVID-19 pandemic, remains a vital industry for the country. Now the second-largest earner, it generates billions of dollars annually and supports nearly 200,000 jobs, Willis said.

Louise Upston, New Zealand's Minister for Tourism, said in the statement that digital nomads are a "brand-new market of tourist" that New Zealand can tap into.

She said they have the potential to spend more time and money in the country, including during the "shoulder season," when fewer tourists traditionally visit.

"Many countries offer digital nomad visas and the list is growing, so we need to keep pace to ensure New Zealand is an attractive destination for people who want to 'workcation' abroad," Upston said.

The rules have been relaxed for all visitor visas, including those for tourists, family visits, and partners or guardians on longer-term stays.

"This Government is committed to supporting a smarter, efficient and predictable immigration system to grow our economy," Erica Stanford, New Zealand's immigration minister, said.

However, New Zealand's Immigration Department urged digital nomads who intend to work remotely in the country for more than 92 days in a 12-month period to be aware of the tax implications.

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Musk wants federal workers back in the office, but a union boss calls it 'political BS'

Elon Musk arrives for the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.
 

Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images

  • A union boss said Elon Musk was unfairly criticizing the federal workforce.
  • Musk has pushed for an RTO for federal workers, saying the status quo is "not fair."
  • Randy Erwin, the union leader, said Musk was too dismissive of their contributions.

The head of a major union of federal employees said he didn't think Elon Musk understood who federal workers are or what they do.

"I don't think he knows the first thing about federal government," Randy Erwin, the national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, told Business Insider in an interview.

"Frankly, I don't think he cares," he added.

Erwin spoke with BI after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday mandating that federal government employees return to the office.

It gave effect to an idea long championed by Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.

In November, Musk, appointed to head up the new enterprise, laid out a vision of a return-to-office mandate for federal workers.

In a joint Wall Street Journal op-ed with Vivek Ramaswamy, who has since exited DOGE, the pair outlined their plans to cut costs and downsize the federal government.

"Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome," they wrote.

"If federal employees don't want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn't pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home," they added.

On Tuesday, Musk wrote on X, the platform he owns, that "pretending to work while taking money from taxpayers is no longer acceptable."

In another post, he said the executive order was about "fairness."

He wrote: "It's not fair that most people have to come to work to build products or provide services while Federal Government employees get to stay home."

Erwin said the image of the work-shy civil servant was untrue.

"There's this myth that federal workers aren't coming to work," Erwin said, describing the talking point as "a bunch of political BS."

A report by the Office of Management and Budget in August said that most of the 2.3 million civilians employed by the federal government already work in person, with 54% on-site and 10% fully remote.

Erwin said he believes Musk views federal workers as "innovation-blocking bureaucrats."

"I've got 110,000 members. Not a single one would fit that description," he said. "They're out there, spread across the country, providing valuable services to the American people."

Erwin added: "I don't think he knows the first thing about the federal workforce, who they are, where they are, and the valuable services that they provide."

He was joined by another union leader in condemning the RTO mandate — Everett Kelley, who leads AFGE, the largest federal employee union, with some 800,000 members.

In a statement, he described remote work as "a critical tool for federal agencies to maintain continuity of operations in emergencies, increase disaster preparedness, and improve efficiency."

Erwin told BI that working from home was part of the appeal of government jobs, which typically pay less than private-sector ones. Without it, it would be harder to retain talent, he added.

"When you can't make anywhere near what you could be making in the private sector, some family, flexible work policies become a very, very important thing," he said.

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Trump orders all federal DEI staffers on leave while he dismantles their departments

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC
President Donald Trump signed an anti-DEI executive order on his first day in office.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

  • US federal agencies were told to put their workers in DEI roles on leave by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
  • President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order terminating DEI roles and initiatives.
  • It's part of a wider right-wing pushback against DEI, which Trump says is discriminatory.

US federal agencies have been told to put their workers in diversity, equity, and inclusion roles on paid leave as DEI initiatives, offices, and programs are dismantled under the Trump administration.

CBS News obtained an Office of Personnel Management memo, dated Tuesday, that said all federal employees in DEI roles should be placed on leave by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Agencies were instructed to tell those in DEI offices that their leave would be "effective immediately" as the agency works to wind down DEI initiatives.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, his first day in office, declaring the termination of DEI "mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities" in the federal government.

The order required agency, department, and commission heads to work with the attorney general and the directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management to take action within 60 days.

As well as the termination of DEI roles, the order also called for the termination of "environmental justice" offices.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, confirmed the memo's authenticity.

"To every reporter asking about this: I can gladly confirm!" she wrote on X.

The memo also urged heads of departments and agencies to immediately take down all "outward facing media," including social media and websites, of DEI offices and cancel any related training.

It also said the heads of departments and agencies needed to report to the Office of Personnel Management by midday ET on Thursday detailing steps taken to implement the memo, including by providing lists of DEI offices, personnel, and any related contracts as of Election Day 2024.

Additionally, the department and agency heads were asked to submit "reduction-in-force" plans for DEI offices to the OPM by the end of the month.

Trump's executive order accused the Biden administration of forcing what it called "immoral discrimination programs" into "virtually all" aspects of the federal government.

The move is part of a wider effort to clamp down on DEI, which has increasingly become the subject of criticism in conservative circles.

On Tuesday, the White House issued a separate presidential order ending DEI-based hiring in the Federal Aviation Administration, including hiring that considers race, sex, or disability.

Trump said in his inauguration speech on Monday that the US would "forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based."

He also announced that it would become official US policy that there were "only two genders: male and female."

Correction: January 22, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the federal agency affected by an executive order Tuesday. It's the Federal Aviation Administration, not the Federal Aviation Authority.

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Union leaders say Trump requiring federal employees to return to the office is a bad idea

Trump speaks at victory rally
President Trump signed an executive order requiring federal government employees to return to office.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

  • Trump signed an executive order requiring federal government employees to return to the office.
  • Union leaders opposed the mandate and said it was based on misconceptions about federal workers.
  • They also said telework was crucial for recruiting talent and emergency preparedness.

Leaders of unions representing federal government employees say President Donald Trump's return-to-office mandate won't make the government more efficient — and could have some unintended consequences.

Randy Erwin, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, or NFFE, and Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE, said the RTO mandate would make the government less effective.

"They're trying to score political points by insinuating that people on telework aren't coming to work when nothing could be further from the truth," Erwin told Business Insider in an interview.

If not for telework and other family-friendly work methods, the federal government "would not be able to recruit and retain the talent that it needs," Erwin said. The NFFE is the oldest union in the US and represents more than 110,000 federal workers.

"When you can't make anywhere near what you could be making in the private sector, some family, flexible work policies become a very, very important thing," he said, adding that some current federal workers may also choose to leave.

Kelley, who leads AFGE, the largest federal employee union representing 800,000 members, also said telework was important to attracting and retaining top talent within the federal government.

"Providing eligible employees with the opportunity to work hybrid schedules is a key tool for recruiting and retaining workers in both the public and private sectors," Kelley said in a statement.

Erwin told BI the mandate suggested a lack of understanding about how the federal government works and that "there's this myth that federal workers aren't coming to work."

An August report from the Office of Management and Budget found that about 10% of civilian workers across two dozen agencies worked remotely without expectations that they would regularly work in the office.

Erwin said comments from the Trump administration, including Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have misrepresented the federal workforce.

"I don't think he knows the first thing about the federal workforce, who they are, where they are, and the valuable services that they provide," he said of Musk, adding, "They're making everybody sound like some innovation-blocking bureaucrat."

Erwin said most federal employees are not based in Washington, DC, and are nationwide. Less than a fifth of the federal workforce in the Office of Personnel Management database lives in DC or the nearby states of Maryland and Virginia, a recent Pew analysis found.

Kelley also said lawmakers and Trump's transition team "spent months exaggerating the number of federal employees who telework and accusing those who do of failing to perform the duties of their jobs."

"The truth is that less than half of all federal jobs are eligible for telework, and the workers who are eligible to telework still spend most of their work hours at their regular duty stations," he added.

Both Erwin and Kelley said telework was also essential to ensuring the federal government's continued smooth operation in a state of emergency.

Erwin said that after September 11, the ability to telework was considered essential for the federal government, adding, "It is only very recently that telework has been frowned upon in the federal government." He said the COVID-19 pandemic showed how the ability to telework enabled the government to continue operating relatively smoothly.

Kelley said remote work has been "a critical tool for federal agencies to maintain continuity of operations in emergencies, increase disaster preparedness, and improve efficiency."

He also said hybrid work has been so successful that many agencies have consolidated or sold off office space that's expensive to maintain, "meaning there may no longer be enough office space to accommodate an influx of on-site workers."

Some federal employees who are union members have collective bargaining agreements that explicitly allow for remote or hybrid work. Erwin said an executive order would not override those agreements, at least for as long as they are active.

Erwin said the return-to-office mandate showed the "problem with governing by completely political, manufactured talking points."

"They're going to force people back into the office, and it's not going to make people more productive for the American taxpayer," he said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

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Among the Davos protesters: an heiress who gave away her fortune and says the rich 'hold too much power'

German-Austrian heiress and social activist Marlene Engelhorn holds a sign reading "tax the rich!" during a rally
The German Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn also took part in protests at Davos in 2024.

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

  • Marlene Engelhorn joined protesters in Davos ahead of the World Economic Forum.
  • Engelhorn, heiress to a German fortune, has been a vocal advocate for taxing the superrich.
  • She told Business Insider why she is protesting against the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

Protests against the World Economic Forum in Davos began on Sunday, with the wealthy heiress of a German business empire among those participating.

As some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world gathered in Switzerland, hundreds of protesters blocked traffic, while others marched, holding signs with messages like "Economy for all" and "Tax the rich."

Marlene Engelhorn, who inherited a fortune as the descendant of a 19th-century German industrialist, was among those marching through Davos, calling for higher taxation on the superrich.

In an interview with Business Insider, Engelhorn said that Davos sees billionaires and entrepreneurs who can afford to be there talking to world leaders, while the people "who are going to be affected by the decisions" are left out of the conversations.

The rich, she said, "already hold too much power."

"The problem we are facing here is that this is called the World Economic Forum, but they hide away in the Swiss Alps, protected by the military and the police, in order to talk about things where no decisions are being made," she added.

Engelhorn's ancestor founded BASF, which would become the world's largest chemical producer.

She received an inheritance of about $27 million after her grandmother Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto died in September 2022. According to Forbes, Engelhorn-Vechiatto's net worth was $4.2 billion at the time of her death.

However, Engelhorn decided to redistribute her inheritance, sending out invitations to randomly selected Austrians to help her choose how best to share it.

Fifty people were chosen to decide how the bulk of the money would be spent, through an initiative called the "Good Council for Redistribution" (Guter Rat für Rückverteilung in German).

Last June, the group decided to distribute roughly $27 million to 77 charitable initiatives, including several women's shelter associations, children's charities, and climate crisis organizations.

The largest sum, of about $1.75 million, went to an environmental group. Other beneficiaries included the World Inequality Lab.

Engelhorn has advocated taxing people like her more heavily. Austria, for example, doesn't have an inheritance tax.

"I never worked for it," she told Le Monde in November 2022.

Engelhorn also took part in protests in Davos last year, and is the cofounder of a group called Tax Me Now, which lobbies for higher taxes on the superwealthy.

Pointing to the US, Engelhorn told BI: "We see what happens when wealth and politics become too intimate. The new government in the US, the cabinet, as it is presented as of now, shows up quite clearly. Thirteen of 25 people are billionaires."

President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet is expected to be the wealthiest in history.

"They're so far away from the actual population," Engelhorn said.

Correction: January 21, 2025 — This story was updated to clarify one of Marlene Engelhorn's positions. She supports inheritance taxes in Austria but is not calling for specific amounts of her inheritance to be taxed. She has separately pledged to give away at least 90% of her inheritance.

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