UK
London Marathon could face potential disruption from environmental groups

Story by Ben Church • Yesterday 

The London Marathon could become the latest sporting event to face protests and potential disruption from environmental campaign group Just Stop Oil which says it will “continue to disrupt sports and cultural events.”

Thousands of runners are set to raise millions for charitable causes on Sunday in a race watched by hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of London and millions more on television.

But the much-loved annual event, which winds its way across the British capital’s most famous streets and concludes on the Mall, faces the real threat of disruption from UK protest group Just Stop Oil, which is campaigning for governments to end the use of fossil fuels.

“We will continue to disrupt sports and cultural events until the institutions join us in civil resistance against new oil and gas,” Just Stop Oil said in a statement, when CNN Sport asked whether it would look to interrupt the London Marathon.

“We don’t answer questions about our plans. That’s irrelevant when we face crop failure, drought and starvation within a few short decades. To allow new oil and gas is the greatest criminal act in human history. It’s genocidal.”

Just Stop Oil have glued themselves to roads, ziplocked their necks to goal posts, blockaded oil facilities and targeted iconic artwork. In October, in one of their most high-profile protests, they flung tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s famous “Sunflowers” at a London gallery.

More recently, two Just Stop Oil activists caused delays at the World Snooker Championship after storming the tables and throwing orange powder paint on one of the playing surfaces.

“It’s time for everyone to join us in civil resistance or face the loss of everything we know and love. Which side are you on?” the group asked in their statement.

Just Stop Oil’s protests have succeeded in gaining attention, but they have also attracted waves of criticism for disrupting daily life, delaying emergency services and damaging cultural heritage.

Climate group Extinction Rebellion (XR) has also organized a wide scale protest this weekend which hopes to see tens of thousands of activists descend on central London, mainly around Parliament, which is close to the marathon’s finish line.

The four-day protest – dubbed ‘The Big One’ – will see multiple campaign groups come together to demand the UK government stop its search for new fossil fuels immediately.

According to XR’s website, nearly 30,000 people have already said they’ll join the four-day protest.

In a statement to CNN, XR said it has no plans to disrupt the race and has been working alongside the Metropolitan Police to ensure both events can be staged together.

XR urged other groups to join the peaceful protest.

“Help us build this mass movement so we become impossible for the government to ignore!” said the group.


London Marathon could face potential disruption from environmental groups© Provided by CNNA Just Stop Oil protester recently disrupted the World Snooker Championship on Monday.

- Mike Egerton/PA Images/Getty Images

But the police say they are prepared for people who try to stop the race.

“People can expect a visible, engaging but firm policing presence to tackle any criminal or anti-social behavior and disorder,” the Metropolitan Police told CNN in a statement.

“Alongside a significant policing response, we will be using specialist officers to respond to any protesters who lock or glue themselves to street furniture or purpose-built structures.”

‘A little bit worrying’

David Row, a communications manager from London, is one of the thousands of runners putting together the final preparations for the race.

Amid the uncertainty and potential chaos of Sunday, he is just hoping all his hard work won’t be for nothing.

Like many, Row has put his “heart and soul” into training for the last few months, getting up at 6 a.m. local time to follow a training plan which has him ready for this one moment.

“You just want it to go perfectly, so to hear that there might be something going on with the campaign groups is a little bit worrying,” the 34-year-old told CNN Sport.

“If there was a delay, or worst-case scenario they called it off, I’d be devastated, but in the same sense, I know these groups are there for a serious reason.

“They’ve got an agenda that they don’t feel is being listened to, so they want to get that across.”

On Sunday, Row will run for Macmillan Cancer Support, in memory of his late mother.

He’s aware that many of his fellow participants will also be running for their own deeply personal causes and, while he sympathizes with the wider climate issues, he questions whether the London Marathon is the right event to protest at.

He says activists risk alienating people against the worthwhile cause by targeting events that bring so much “positivity” and “good energy” to society.

“You’ve probably got people running that for the same reasons that they’re disrupting the race,” he said.

“I get that they’ve got a bigger cause but […] disrupting someone who’s running in memory of someone important to them or running for a charity that’s doing good, it doesn’t really strike a balance for me.”

CNN reached out to the London Marathon for comment but did not get a response at the time of publication.

The London Marathon is set to begin with the wheelchair and elite events before the mass start follows at around 10 a.m. local time.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

Children’s cat-killing contest axed following backlash in New Zealand

Story by Heather Chen • Yesterday 

A contest planned for children in New Zealand to hunt and kill feral cats as part of a drive to protect native species has been axed following backlash from the public and animal rights groups.

The event would have been part of a fundraiser organized by the North Canterbury Hunting Competition for the Rotherham School, located in the Canterbury region of South Island.

Organizers on Saturday had announced a new junior category for children under 14 in the annual competition – to hunt feral cats for a top prize of 250 New Zealand dollars ($150).

The announcement drew public anger leading organizers to withdraw the event on Monday.

In a statement issued Wednesday, organizers said “vile and inappropriate emails and messages had been sent to the school and others involved.”

“We are incredibly disappointed in this reaction and would like to clarify that this competition is an independent community run event,” the statement read.

While cats are a popular and beloved pet among many New Zealanders, feral cats have been a long-standing issue between animal lovers and authorities because of the impact they can have other wild animals.

In neighboring Australia, authorities say feral cats threaten the survival of more than 100 native species. Feral cats are blamed for killing millions of birds, reptiles, frogs and mammals, every day, prompting authorities to arrange regular culls.

Organizers of the contest in Canterbury maintained that the junior hunting tournament to kill feral cats, using a firearm or other means, was about “protecting native birds and other vulnerable species.”

“Our sponsors and school safety are our main priority, so the decision has been made to withdraw this category for this year to avoid further backlash at this time,” it said.

“To clarify, for all hunting categories, our hunters are required to abide by firearms act 1983 and future amendments as well as the animal welfare act 1999.”

Fears for pets

Addressing concerns from the public, organizers had earlier announced rules to discourage young participants from targeting pets.

Any child who brought in a microchipped cat would have been disqualified, organizers said.

The group also noted that scheduled hunts for other categories like local pigs and deer would still proceed.

The New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was “both pleased and relieved” that the cat-killing contest for children had been removed. “Children, as well as adults, will not be able to tell the difference between a feral, stray or a frightened domesticated cat,” the SPCA said.

“There is a good chance someone’s pet may be killed during this event. In addition, children often use air rifles in these sorts of event which increase the likelihood of pain and distress and can cause a prolonged death,” it added.

Animals rights group PETA also welcomed the decision to cancel the event.

In a statement, Jason Baker, the group’s Asia Vice President said, “Encouraging kids to hunt down and kill animals is a sure-fire way to raise adults who solve problems with violence … We need to foster empathy and compassion in kids, not lead them to believe animals are ‘less than’ humans while rewarding them for brutality.”

The event attracted significant overseas attention, including from British comedian Ricky Gervais, a known animal lover with more than 15 million followers on Twitter.

He slammed the proposed cat hunt in a sarcastic tweet, saying: “Right. We need some new PR ideas to make the world love New Zealand. Maybe something involving kids & kittens. Yes, Hargreaves?”

New Zealand is one of the world’s last remote island nations and has no native land mammals besides bats.

There have been official campaigns against cats in previous years – including one that encouraged cat lovers to avoid replacing their pets when they die.

“Cats are the only true sadists of the animal world, serial killers who torture without mercy,” said then-Prime Minister John Key, who himself had a cat named Moonbeam.

“Historically, we know that feral cats were responsible for the extinction of six bird species and are leading agents of decline in populations of birds, bats, frogs and lizards,” Helen Blackie, a biosecurity consultant at Boffa Miskell told CNN affiliate RNZ.

Blackie, who has studied feral cats for two decades, said numbers had exploded in the last decade, and in some areas where pests were tracked by camera, feral cats outnumbered other species like possums.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

BRRR,COLD WAR 2.0
China ramps up construction on its new Antarctic station, report says

Story by Alexander Smith • Yesterday 

Thousands of miles from Washington, Beijing or Taiwan, the race between China and the West is heating up — in the coldest place on the planet.

China has restarted construction on its fifth base in Antarctica for the first time since 2018 and is making “significant progress,” according to new analysis. The U.S. has three year-round research stations in the Antarctic.

The new Chinese site could be used to strengthen its intelligence-gathering capabilities in the area, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, said in the report released Tuesday. And it comes as China is “undertaking the most significant expansion of its footprint there in a decade,” according to CSIS.

The report, “Frozen Frontiers,” also detailed China’s moves in the Arctic, where it is stepping up investments with Russia to exploit potential new shipping routes freed up by melting sea ice.

China has stressed that its ambitions in Antarctica and the Arctic region, which are both home to research stations from the U.S. and its allies, are purely scientific. But its accelerating developments are seen by some in the West as part of a wider effort to strengthen footholds for its military around the globe.


Temporary buildings on Inexpressible Island at China's fifth Antarctic research station in 2018. (Xinhua via Alamy file)© Xinhua via Alamy file

“If they see themselves as an incoming superpower with global ambitions, why would they not want to” expand their presence there?” said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London. “Why should the Antarctic be any different?”

CSIS analyzed January satellite images from the Colorado-based Maxar Technologies showing construction work being carried out at the new base on Inexpressible Island, almost 2,000 miles south of New Zealand. It's also some 200 miles from the United States' own McMurdo Station, the largest base on the frozen continent.

After several years of inaction, the site now has a number of new support facilities, with groundwork already in place for a larger structure, the satellite images show. Once completed, the 5,000-square-meter site is expected to include a scientific research and observation area, an energy facility, a wharf for its two Xuelong, or “snow dragon” icebreakers, and other buildings, CSIS said.

Like the U.S. and other countries, China is treaty-bound to limit its Antarctic activity to “peaceful purposes,” although military personnel are allowed to carry out scientific research. However, CSIS said a satellite ground station at Beijing’s new base will “have inherent dual-use capabilities” — scientific and intelligence.

The ground station, it said, could be used to collect signals intelligence and telemetry data from rockets launched by U.S.-allies in Australia and New Zealand.

China has stressed its ambitions in the region are purely scientific.

“China has made remarkable progress in deep-sea and polar scientific research, and significantly enhanced its capability to understand, protect and utilize both deep-sea and polar regions,” Han Zheng, who was then vice premier and has now been appointed vice president, said in January.

But its own military-affiliated National Defense University said in a 2020 textbook that "mixing" civilian and military facilities was "the main way for great powers to achieve a polar military presence."

According to the Department of Defense report last year, China’s strategy for Antarctica is partly based on these “dual-use technologies” — facilities that are ostensibly scientific but improve the country’s military capabilities, too.

Since the 1950s, the American military has participated in Operation Deep Freeze providing logistical support to the U.S. Antarctic Program and the National Science Foundation.

But CSIS told Reuters that while the U.S. still maintains a larger research presence in Antarctica — including the biggest facility in its McMurdo station — China’s footprint is growing faster.

Hydropanels aim to bring clean water to the most remote deserts

Yesterday 

Nearly 30 years after a California desert town successfully sued a utility company over contaminated water, an emerging piece of technology is being installed to bring some relief.

ABC News
Power of Water: Bringing clean water to the most remote water-starved areas
Duration 10:00  View on Watch

An engineering firm has set up hydropanels in Hinkley, California, which create clean water using a system that draws in moisture, air and the sun.

"There's no water connection anywhere. This is a fully off-grid autonomous technology," Colin Goddard of SOURCE Global told ABC News' Ginger Zee as he showed off an installed model.


A hydropanel installed in Hinkley, Calif., helps to produce clean water for residents.© ABC News

Even though some contend the technology's costs may be too high at the moment to bring water to such remote areas, some families who have been living there said the panels are a lifesaver.MORE: Erin Brockovich: the real story of the town three decades later

Roberta Walker, a Hinkley resident who worked with Erin Brockovich in her lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric for contaminating the water, told ABC News Live that the community - comprised of about 300 people - is still reeling from the chromium 6 that's in the ground.

Many of the homes in the area became uninhabitable and several families were forced to move out, she said.



Colin Goddard of SOURCE Global speaks with ABC News' Ginger Zee about hydropanels.© ABC News

"People that can't afford to buy or build anywhere else…because it's a toxic wasteland," she said.

Goddard said hydropanels have been installed in 50 countries around the world to help communities like Hinkley that barely have clean water access.

The solar-powered hydropanels use fans to draw air and push it through water-absorbing material, according to Goddard. The material traps the water vapor from the air, which is then extracted and condensed into clean water, he said.



Roberta Walker speaks with ABC News' Ginger Zee.© ABC News

"You can quite literally put these on the ground, point them towards the sun, and make your own drinking water," he said.

But with those benefits comes a major cost. Goddard said the panels, which last about 20 years, cost $4,000 upfront.MORE: Map: Where US cities are running out of clean water

Yoram Cohen, the director of the water technology research center at UCLA, told ABC News that those costs may not be sustainable. Cohen noted that the average person needs about 2 liters of water a day, but the hydropanels currently produce 3 to 5 liters for one household.

"If you are in an area where you have no water whatsoever… the question is why? Why would you want to actually develop residential [properties]?" he asked.



Hinkley, California's water is still not safe to drink for many families.© ABC News

Still, Maria Monroy, of Newbury Springs, California, told ABC News that the tech's upfront cost is worth it. She said she and her family had to rely on gallons of bottled water a month.

On top of the cost of the bottles, Monroy said she also had to spend 30 minutes driving to pick them up.



Children collect drinking water made from a hydropanel installed in California.© ABC News

"Hopefully other people do want to get them in their properties and be able to rely on it that way," Monroy told ABC News.

Walker said she's hopeful that the technology can help out her town and the people still living there, even if it will take more time.

"[You] have hope that there's going to be change in this world and that somebody, somewhere, somehow is going to figure out a way to clean up this land," she said. "But I hope that it will happen for my kids and my grandkids."

'Like none before:' Deadly, record-smashing heat wave scorches Asia

Story by Doyle Rice, USA TODAY • Yesterday 

Much of southern and southeastern Asia is enduring a deadly, record-smashing heat wave, one that's being called the continent's worst ever recorded in April.

Several all-time record high temperatures have been broken, including a torrid 113.7 degrees in Tak, Thailand, the nation's hottest reading on record.

Laos also recorded its highest reliable temperature in its history earlier this week, with 108.9 degrees at Luang Prabang, reported climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera.

As the searing heat spread from India to China to Thailand to Japan, Herrera called it a "monster Asian heat wave like none before."
Heat turns deadly in India

It was in India where the heat deaths were reported. According to CNN, 13 people died of heat stroke, and 50 to 60 others were hospitalized after attending a ceremony in the city of Navi Mumbai, located in the western state of Maharashtra last Sunday.

According to Axios, the ceremony was held outdoors, with tens of thousands of people packed close together.

Elsewhere, the eastern Indian state of West Bengal closed all colleges this week due to scorching heat.

In addition, this February was recorded as the warmest February in the country in 122 years.

Role of climate change: Extreme heat waves may be our new normal, thanks to climate change. Is the globe prepared?

Record heat in China, Japan, Koreas

Meanwhile, hundreds of weather stations across China have seen their warmest April temperatures on record, the Capital Weather Gang said. Climate specialist Jim Yang said 109 weather stations across 12 provinces broke their record for high temperature for April on Monday.

The heat reached Japan and the Koreas on Wednesday, Herrera said, as temperatures reached near 90 degrees, which is unusually high for April in those countries. More records are expected there in the next couple of days, he added.


People rest under the shade of trees to beat the intense heat in Lucknow in the the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Wednesday, April 19, 2023.© Rajesh Kumar Singh, AP

What caused the heat wave? Is climate change to blame?

"The heat was caused by a building, large ridge of high pressure that reached from the Bay of Bengal to the Philippine Sea," AccuWeather meteorologist Jason Nicholls said. High pressure prevents clouds and precipitation from forming, and typically brings clear skies.

More broadly speaking, AccuWeather said the scale of the heat wave bears the hallmarks of climate change, as human-induced warming is making heat waves in the region last longer at higher intensities.

Axios said "the most recent report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made clear that 'every increment' of additional warming will worsen climate change effects, including heat waves."

Contributing: The Associated Press

Egypt worries as climate change, dam project threaten Nile water supply

Yesterday

Egypt has long been called the "gift of the Nile" as it has historically depended on the river for survival. But over the next two years, experts say Egyptians could approach a state of "absolute" water scarcity.

ABC News
The Nile River: The water crisis in Egypt
View on Watch   Duration 4:16

Climate change, population growth and a regional fight for water resources are all contributing to the risk of water imbalance, experts say.

About 90% of Egypt's population lives along the Nile River, with the waterway providing nearly all Egyptians with drinking water. The country is facing an annual water deficit and is estimated to be categorized as water scarce by 2025, according to the United Nations.

Rising sea levels are prompting saltwater intrusions that are not only affecting water supply but also spoiling agricultural farmland, according to water management experts.


The sun rises behind the skyline of Egypt's capital Cairo and its Nile river island of Manial, Nov. 3, 2022.© Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

"The sea is rising in the Mediterranean Sea, and the land is sinking in the Nile Delta. And as a result, the Nile delta becomes the second most susceptible place on earth to climate change impacts in terms of sea level rise," says Karim Elgendy, an associate fellow at the Chatham Institute think tank.

Egypt is not the only country that depends on the river -- it's shared by 11 African countries. The completion of a mega-dam on the river poses another significant threat to the water supply in the region, critics of the project say.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been a part of a contentious decade-long dispute involving Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The hydro-electricity dam is now nearly complete and has begun filling to provide direly needed energy supply to Ethiopia. The GERD is expected to make the country a major power exporter in the region.



The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a massive hydropower plant on the River Nile that neighbors Sudan and Egypt, as the dam started to produce electricity, Feb. 19, 2022, in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia.© Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

"Folks have never actually went to war just because of water. Now, we could be at the point in history where that changes," says Mohammed Mahmoud, a director of the Climate and Water Program at the Middle East Institute.

In 2019, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his country should be ready for a war with Egypt over the dispute. In 2021, Egypt and Sudan held joint military exercises to showcase security ties between the two countries in response to the ongoing conflict, the Associated Press reported.MORE: Nobel Peace Prize winner says Ethiopia is 'readied' for war, 11 days after award

The dam's impact on the water supply depends on how fast it's filled, according to Elgendy. "It will determine the impact of this disruption and the reduction to the volumes of water that goes to Egypt," he said.

A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022.© Amanuel Sileshi/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt's population of 109 million is projected to grow significantly in decades, further straining the demand for water in the region.

"There'll be an imbalance in terms of less water supply and inflated demand," said Mahmoud. "Both because of climate change, and also because of socio economic conditions and population growth."


An aerial view of the Nile is seen during World Water Day in Cairo, March 22, 2023.© Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ethiopian officials have insisted that the dam will not impede on both Sudan and Egypt's water supply. Negotiations over an agreement between the three nations over the filling of the dam have stalled recently.

"I believe there will come a point where some level of cooperation has to happen, because there is no other alternative," says Mahmoud.

COLD WAR 2.0

UFO Senate hearing: Pentagon official 'concerned' about China and Russia's 'advanced tech'

Story by Chris Eberhart • Yesterday 

The head of the Pentagon's office tasked with tracking UFOs told lawmakers of "emerging capabilities" and "advanced tech" from potential foreign adversaries — specifically Russia and China — that "are concerning."

Ex-Navy pilot with UFO experience says US needs to focus less on 'little green men,' more on science  Duration 4:20    View on Watch

TODAYPentagon to testify at UFO hearing in Congress
2:33

DailymotionPentagon Official Co-Authors Paper Suggesting Alien Intelligence Behind UFO Sightings
1:31

DNADNA | Aliens spaceships in our solar system: Pentagon
0:00

But there's no definitive evidence of extraterrestrial technology or alien life, Sean Kirkpatrick, the director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), said during Wednesday's Senate meeting of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

"Of the cases that are showing some sort of advanced technical signature … I am concerned about what that nexus is," Kirkpatrick said after he was asked about Russia and China's capabilities to attack and surveil U.S. interests.

"I have indicators that some are related to foreign capabilities. We have to investigate that with our [intelligence community] partners."

‘RUNAWAY FIREBALL’ COULD BE ALIEN PROBE THAT CRASHED OFF COAST OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA: HARVARD SCIENTIST


Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, testified before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities April 19, 2023 U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services

© U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services

He didn't expound on what the "indicators" are but said America's adversaries, especially China, "are not waiting" and "advancing quickly."

"They are less risk-adverse at technical advancement than we are. They are willing to try things and see if they work," Kirkpatrick said.

"Are there capabilities that can be employed within an ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) or weapons fashion? Absolutely. Do I have evidence that they're doing this in these cases?"

Kirkpatrick paused for a few seconds and seemed to weigh his response before answering, "No, but I have concerning indicators."


UAP reporting trends presented to the Senate during an April 19, 2023, hearing U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services© U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services

Again, he didn't expound on what he meant by "indicators.


The AARO director said he's talking about a "single percentage" of all the cases analyzed, which he said is about 650 reports, and it's difficult to definitively determine the object's origin without seeing a country's flag on the side of the object.

‘MOSUL ORB’: US SILENT ON UFO FILMED BY MILITARY OVER IRAQ

Wednesday's public hearing is only the second one in the last 50 years in which lawmakers have openly discussed UFOs. The first was last May.

Before Kirkpatrick was peppered with questions from lawmakers, he gave a general overview of what his department has done, presented several infographics about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) reporting trends and discussed a handful of specific cases.

The number of reported UAPs, which is a Department of Defense-created term for UFO, has increased in frequency over the last few years as the stigma of reporting these types of encounters slowly wears off and as the government ramps up its focus on the potential safety risks unexplained objects in the sky could pose to U.S. military personnel.

Several whistleblowers and former military pilots have also come forward and talked about their interactions with potential UFOs, including former Navy pilot Ryan Graces, who described objects showing "contacts on our radar, contacts on our camera system."

"We were seeing these with our eyeballs … Two aircraft from my squadron were flying side by side, and one of these objects went right between their aircraft."

The issue heated up again in February after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon and three other unidentified flying objects in American airspace over an eight-day stretch.

The ongoing review by the U.S. intelligence community and the Pentagon of hundreds of UAP incidents reported by military personnel was one of the techniques that helped identify the Chinese spy balloon, a U.S. official said in February.

"We need to be able to agnostically, as a media, accept that there is uncertainty and look at it from a first principles approach," Graves said in March. "Because if we wrap it into all that context about little green men, we’re going to be barking up the wrong tree."

What the objects are or what they could be, is unknown, he said. But if it's a national security issue, the court of action is clear.

NS
Bear Head receives EA approval for green hydrogen and ammonia proposal

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

POINT TUPPER — Bear Head Energy Inc. received provincial approval of its environmental assessment submission for a proposed green hydrogen and ammonia production facility in the Point Tupper Industrial Park on April 13.

The company proposes to construct a green hydrogen and ammonia production, storage and loading facility capable of producing two million tonnes per annum of ammonia, focused on the use of renewable power to run the facility.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Timothy Halman wrote in his approval letter to the company, “Following a review of the information provided by Bear Head Energy Inc. and the information provided by the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia, and the public during consultation on the environmental assessment, I am satisfied that any adverse effects or significant environmental effects of the undertaking can be adequately mitigated through compliance with the attached terms and conditions.”

Just more than 10 pages of conditions set for the project include points regarding decommissioning and site reclamation; accidents, malfunctions and contingency plans; air quality and noise; public engagement and engagement with the Mi’Kmaq of Nova Scotia; flora and fauna; water resources as well as project design, facility development and operations.

The project will be built in phases based on the availability of renewable power and is expected to begin construction in 2024 with plant commissioning and first ammonia production scheduled in late 2027.

To view the EA application and conditions of approval, visit https://novascotia.ca/nse/ea/bear-head-energy

Lois Ann Dort, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal

FASCISTI

Italian minister sparks fury for saying immigration leads to ‘ethnic replacement’

Story by Barbie Latza Nadeau • Yesterday

The brother-in-law and close political ally of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has warned that Italy’s low birth rate and an increase in irregular immigration could lead to “ethnic replacement,” sparking anger from the country’s opposition.

Francesco Lollobrigida remarks comes in response to a recent report which found Italy has one of the world’s lowest birthrates with fewer than 400,000 births in 2022.

He made the comments at a conference on Tuesday, where he said that incentives to have more babies, suggested by Meloni, did not mean women had to stay home to raise them.

“The way is to build a welfare system that allows you to work and have a family, supporting young couples to find employment,” he said. “Italians are having fewer children, so we’re replacing them with someone else. Yes to helping births, no to ethnic replacement. That’s not the way forward.”

Elly Schlein, the new head of Italy’s Democratic Party, described Lollobrigida’s statement as “disgusting” and “reminiscent of the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.”

She accused Lollobrigida of reverting to the mentality of the 1930s, saying his words “have a flavor of white supremacism.”

Speaking to reporters at a protest against the state of emergency against migrants in Rome, Schlein added that she hopes Meloni’s government distances itself from the statements, “made on the day when President (Sergio) Mattarella is visiting Auschwitz.”

Lollobrigida said that while he was not against controlled immigration, noting his grandfather emigrated to Italy, irregular migration is a threat.

“If there are requests for a workforce, when you have exhausted the internal demand, you can, you must provide a workforce that also comes from other countries. It must be clarified that the first enemy of regular immigration, made through organized flows, is illegal and clandestine immigration,” he said.

Meloni’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and she has yet to make a public statement. Matteo Salvini, a junior partner in Meloni’s coalition of far-right and center-right parties, had previously tweeted about the threat of “ethnic replacement” in 2017, and Meloni had used the term in political speeches in 2016.

Italy has had a record number of arrivals by sea this year, with 34,715 people arriving as of April 19, according to the Interior ministry.

Far right White supremacist groups and conservative media personalities in both Europe and the US have been widely condemned in recent years for attempting to inflame nativist feelings among conservative White populations by warning that immigrants are “replacing” native born populations.

Replacement theory was first popularized by French writer Renaud Camus with his 2011 essay, “Le Grand Remplacement,” which posited White Europeans were being replaced by Muslim immigration.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

CLASS CONCIOUSNESS

Overwhelming majority of Gen Z workers would quit their jobs over company values, LinkedIn data says

Story by Sophie Kiderlin • 

Company culture is increasingly important to employees – and can be a deciding factor for those considering quitting or choosing a new job.


Company values are increasingly important to employees, and can be deciding factors for those considering quitting, or choosing a new job, LinkedIn says.© Provided by CNBC

A survey from LinkedIn found the vast majority, 87%, of Gen Z professionals would be prepared to quit their jobs to work elsewhere if the values of the new company were more closely aligned.

Millennials were found to feel similarly, according to the jobs and networking platform. When taking both groups into account, almost 9 in 10 professionals would do so, but the figure falls to 7 in 10 for Gen X.

LinkedIn defines Gen Z as those born between 1997 and 2012, those who are currently in their late teens or early twenties, and millennials as individuals who were born between 1981 and 1996 and are now in their late twenties to early forties. Gen X covers those in their forties to late fifties born between 1965 and 1980.

"Younger generations, in particular, want to work for companies where they can, where they can evoke change where they can make a difference," Josh Graff, managing director for EMEA and LATAM at LinkedIn, told CNBC Make It.

When exploring whether to move to a new job or company, 60% of millennials and Gen Zers said values could be a dealbreaker, according to LinkedIn's data.

The survey, which is based on 7,317 respondents in the U.K., France, Germany and Ireland, also found that 59% of European professionals would not work for a company if its values did not align with their personal ones. For 55% of those surveyed, a pay rise would not be enough to convince them to stay.

At a time when many are bearing the brunt of a cost-of-living crisis, Graff said the survey's findings underscore the importance of company values to an employee.

This shift has been a recent trend, Graff says, explaining that there are two key driving factors behind it. The coronavirus pandemic is one of them, he says, as it prompted many people to question where, why and how they work.

"And at the same time, certainly over the last few years, I think all of us, but in particular younger generations, are more politically and socially aware," he added.

Companies have been responding to the changing priorities of job seekers, LinkedIn's data shows. Over the past two years, there has been a 154% increase in entry-level job postings that mention company values, the platform says.

This includes topics like career development, learning opportunities, diversity and work-life balance. The latter is now mentioned 65% more often, according to the data.

The change is paying off for companies — job ads that talk about values receive almost double the amount of applications compared to two years ago, LinkedIn says.

This is especially important in the context of high demand for skilled workers and continuously tight labor markets, which have made it difficult for some companies to find and retain employees.

"Values will be a survival issue for many companies over the next decade," Graff said.