Beaches, ski resorts, mountains, great weather and friendly people are just some of the ingredients of the best place to live in the world. But where is this heaven on earth, where you can have a great standard of living and healthcare, get your hands on the world’s best goods and experience some of the best services ? The answer, according to the United Nations quality of life survey, is Vancouver in British Columbia. The “City of Glass” – so called because of its mirror-fronted skyscrapers - has topped the poll every year for nearly a decade. Conde Nast Traveller describes Vancouver as the “perfect Pacific city, shimmering on the edge of a beautiful harbour”. Canada did well in the poll, with two other entries: Toronto at number nine and Calgary in tenth place.

Jon Copestake, editor of the Economist Intelligence Unit, which commissioned the research, said: “There are hardly any problems in Canada and even less in Vancouver.” An impressive five Australian cities made it into the top 10, explaining why so many Brits escape the UK for Down Under. London failed to impress in the survey and came a dismal 47th out of the 127 cities included. The worst place to live was named and shamed as Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

<B>Toll from Toronto mystery illness climbs to 16</B>

Sixteen people have now died from a mystery viral outbreak at a Toronto nursing home and 38 are in hospital, health officials said on Wednesday, as testing continued to uncover the cause of the illness. The unidentified respiratory illness, which was first detected on September 25, has sparked memories of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak two years ago that killed 44 people in and around Canada’s largest city.

Health officials have confirmed the outbreak is not severe acute respiratory syndrome, although it is a particularly severe flu-like illness. They said it is now under control. Six new deaths were added to the toll on Wednesday, all of them elderly residents at the Seven Oaks Home for the Aged. All of the dead were aged between 50 and 95.“The six new deaths are not new cases,” said David McKeown, Toronto’s medical health officer. “All of these elderly individuals had been previously identified as cases and had underlying medical conditions.”