MANCHESTER has beaten London, Dublin and Los Angeles in a league table of the world's best places to live.

But the top 10 most desirable cities, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, are virtually all in Canada and Australia, because they are seen as safe from terror attacks.

With cities ranked in groups of 10, Vancouver and Melbourne came first and second, ahead of Vienna and Geneva. Others in the top 'liveability' bracket were Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Zurich, Toronto and Calgary.

Helsinki

Manchester was ranked in the ninth group, ahead of London, Dublin and Los Angeles. Berlin, Tokyo, Helsinki, Frankfurt and Stockholm also rated well.

The worst places to live, the survey said, are Algiers in Algeria and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea because `many aspects of daily life present challenges'.

The placings are based on how 127 cities were ranked in terms of personal risk, infrastructure and the availability of goods and services.

Jon Copestake, editor of the report, said: "In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with the lower perceived threat of terrorism."