Canadians aren’t confident the government is doing enough for affordable telecom services: poll

Story by MobileSyrup • Apr 13

A new poll shows the majority of Canadians are concerned about monopolies and the way they impact prices.

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE



The data from Mainstreet Research shows 92 percent of those surveyed blame market concentration for higher prices across grocery and telecom sectors. A further 69 percent said current competition regulations are benefiting large companies at the expense of consumers.

Results are based on automated telephone interviews conducted between March 29th and 30th. The sample consists of 1267 adults residing in Canada and represents the country’s voting population.

According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s 2019 monitoring report, the big three (Bell, Rogers, and Telus) controlled 91 percent of the mobile and internet services market, and Canadians believe this is a problem.


Polling results show 72 percent of Canadians aren’t confident the government is doing enough for affordable and competitive telecom services in Canada; the results label 44 percent as “strongly not confident.”

 A majority of respondents who felt this way reside in Alberta and Ontario.

“Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne just permitted the Shaw buyout, crowning Rogers the single largest company in our telecom sector in one of the biggest buyouts the country’s ever seen,” OpenMedia Campaigns Director, Matt Hatfield, said.

“These clear poll results should be setting off alarm bells in government offices across the country: band-aid solutions aren’t enough.”

The Minister’s approval was the final step Rogers needed to complete its $26-billion takeover of Shaw. Vidéotron was also approved to take over Freedom Mobile from Shaw in an effort to create a fourth leading wireless provider. Despite the approval, critics have voiced their concerns about the merger, arguing the approval will come at a cost to Canadians.

The poll further shows 83 percent of Canadians believe the current costs of internet and mobile services are impacting their budget, with 44 percent labeling the action as significant.

Source: OpenMedia

Indigenous youth groups are ‘lifelines’ in their communities and Ottawa is failing to support them

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

Indigenous youth organizations doing vital work in their communities deserve sustainable funding and a means to hold Ottawa accountable for upholding financial support, a new report says.

The report, titled A Labour of Love: The Unpaid and Exploited Labour of Grassroots and Community-Based Indigenous Youth Groups, calls out Ottawa for what it deems a failure to value the work of young Indigenous organizers who support youth in their communities.

The report was published on April 17 alongside a panel hosted in New York City for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the UN’s central body on global Indigenous concerns and rights.

Gabrielle Fayant, one of the report’s co-authors, told Canada’s National Observer that Indigenous youth organizers are in New York City to give voice to groups that are overworked, overwhelmed and underpaid.

“I hope that we can put pressure on the federal government to at least meet with us and see the amazing work that we're doing,” said Fayant, who is also an organizer for the Ottawa-based Assembly of Seven Generations, an urban Indigenous youth organization that delivers cultural support and empowerment programs.

The report centres around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 66, which urges the federal government to provide multi-year funding for community-based youth organizations to deliver programs to other youth.

Between June and October 2022, a team of eight facilitators and writers heard from 10 diverse youth groups and collectives, visiting each group in their territory and community. The report found the current funding system, propped up by short-term project grants, is failing Indigenous youth groups and leading to exploited labour, stretched budgets and funds not reaching the youth themselves.

Much of the work done by Indigenous youth groups identified in the report happens on a volunteer basis or through month-to-month contracts. Many organizations cannot employ full-time staff members, it found. Part of the demand from the report’s authors is ensuring that Indigenous youth groups have full-time employment, community space and, most importantly, land for programming.

“That's why we need that volunteer funding. We need to be able to plan the year ahead,” Fayant said.

Indigenous Services Canada told Canada’s National Observer the federal government provides multi-year funding through a pilot project with the Canadian Roots Exchange, a national Indigenous youth organization that provides programs, grants and funding.

Canadian Roots Exchange CREation is currently running a pilot program that provides short-term grants of up to $5,000, medium-term grants worth $30,000 and multi-year funding at $150,000 over two years.

But Fayant and her co-author Brittany Matthews told Canada’s National Observer the funding won’t cover the needs of Indigenous youth groups, particularly land-based programming and office space.

The $150,000 grant over two years may only cover the costs of one or two full-time staff per year and low salaries, never mind benefits for staff or programming funds.

Fayant and Matthews also said the youth groups would need an outside trustee, such as a designated board member, to be eligible for funding, creating a further barrier. Many youth groups aren’t eligible today for this reason.

“The report is clear — funding must be multi-year and based on the best interests and needs of Indigenous young people,” Fayant and Matthews said.

“We have heard this rhetoric from Canada for years with little changing.”

Much of the work Indigenous youth organizations do involves at-risk youth, Fayant said. Many of those young people are descendants of residential school survivors and struggle with the impacts of intergenerational trauma.

“It's a lot of crisis mode,” she added.

Fayant described Indigenous youth groups as “lifelines,” noting the burden of their communities’ challenges falls on their shoulders.

“It's almost like we don't have a choice to do this work, even though it's so draining, and it just feels so, so hard,” Fayant said.

At the panel in New York City, which was live-streamed on YouTube, Fayant described youth organizers as facing “ongoing poverty,” forced to patch a living together through a trickle-in of short-term grants.

Indigenous youth groups don’t have the same privileges or outcomes as other non-profits because of unreliable and inadequate grants, the report found. The result is inconsistent and underpaid employment among Indigenous youth organizers, with compounding effects such as low credit and inability to secure a mortgage, it added.

Fayant said the progress on the TRC call to action is “in limbo” while she and other youth organizers struggle to make ends meet, working precariously or on a volunteer basis. Fayant can’t imagine what a permanent Indigenous youth panel would look like, noting that Indigenous youth haven’t been given the platform to create it.

Fayant notes the irony: the work of Indigenous youth will always be put on panels and lauded, but those same grassroots youth are stonewalled when they ask for stable funding.

“We’re not even at the table yet; we’ve just been completely ignored,” she said.

Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

Canada has a dental assistant shortage. Experts worry it’ll only get worse

WOMEN WORKERS SHORTCHANGED

Story by Katie Dangerfield • Tuesday

A dental assistant works on teeth cleaning for a young Syrian girl who has never been to a dentist before.© Sarah Kraus / Global News

A shortage of dental assistants across Canada may cause a backlog in oral health care and could impact dentists' capacity to take on new patients, experts warn.

The dental assistant shortage has been happening for years now, according to Lynn Tomkins, president of the Canadian Dental Association (CDA), and with the federal government's new dental care plan for Canadians, she worries that without proper staffing, many dentists may not be able to meet the patient demand.

"The shortage of dental assisting is the number one issue for dentists across the country," she said. "So dentists have had to alter their hours, in some cases reduce their hours because they don't have the support staff, just like operating rooms and hospitals. They don't have the nurses, you can't do the treatment."

Even before COVID-19 hit the health-care system, there was a shortage of dental assistants in Canada, she said.

The CDA states that in 2019, up to a third of Canadian dental offices were looking to add a dental assistant to their staff.

"COVID-19 exacerbated this problem," Tomkins said, noting that the pandemic pushed the Canadian health-care system to the brink, causing front-line staff workers, including dental assistants, to leave the profession.

"People have perhaps gone into other areas to work remotely and dentistry cannot be done remotely," she said.

Tomkins estimates that there is a current "shortage of almost 5,000 dental assistants" in Canada.

Video: Calgary dentists raise concerns about new federal dental benefit

A 2022 survey conducted by the Canadian Dental Assistants Association (CDAA) and shared with Global News highlighted this problem amid the pandemic.

The survey found that during the height of the pandemic, around 57 per cent of dental assistants said their work environment became increasingly stressful and difficult and around 21 per cent felt the expectations of their employer became unreasonable.

The survey also showed that during the height of the pandemic, around 42 per cent of the respondents said they felt unfairly compensated given the higher level of risk they experienced at work.

One of the main drivers behind the shortage of Canada's dental assistants is a lack of proper compensation and benefits, said Kelly Mansfield, a board member of the CDAA.

Mansfield, who worked as a certified dental assistant for more than 30 years, said the shortage isn't because dental assistants are not graduating, it's that many are choosing to leave the profession.

"It's very hard to raise a family on a dental assistant salary. I was a certified Level 2 assistant for over 10 years and worked in private practice and I left because I just couldn't live on the salary of a dental assistant," she said.

"So I did take my oral health education and I went into a different profession."

There are other professions a dental assistant can go into, rather than working at a dentist's office, she said, such as working in dental insurance, sales or public health.

"There are many jobs that you can use the dental assisting profession, that will offer you better benefits and better compensation," Mansfield said.

Whether it's patient care, assisting with a dental procedure, sterilizing equipment or taking X-rays, Tompkins said the role of a dental assistant is crucial.

"We do rely on them a great deal," she said. "In many cases, they're like a surgical scrub nurse, working right beside the dentist, mixing materials, handing instruments, keeping the material dry. So it is actually quite a challenging job."

Without proper staffing, Mansfield and Tomkins believe dental offices may not be able to run at full capacity.

The risk is that many Canadians won't be able to receive oral health care, as "dentists cannot work without dental assistants," Mansfield warned.

"Although the biggest risk would be that dentists are hiring untrained individuals that are being hired to fill the role. This is a significant concern to dental assistants and a significant concern to the general public," she said.

And now that the federal government plans to roll out its Canadian Dental Care Plan, Tomkins said there is even more of a need for dental assistants.

In its March budget, the federal Liberals announced plans to expand its dental plan to provide coverage for an estimated nine million uninsured Canadians with an annual family income of less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with family incomes under $70,000, by the end of 2023.

With an expected increase in demand for dental appointments because of federally funded dental coverage, Tomkins said the CDA wants to ensure the staffing capacity is there.

Earlier this year, the CDA published a policy paper asking the government to develop an oral health staffing strategy in preparation for the increased dental service for nine million more Canadians.

"There will be a gradual rollout of this national dental care program. And it will give us some opportunity to increase our capacity. But we do need to recruit more dental assistants. We need to find ways to make them stay in the field," Tomkins said.

She said other ways to recruit and keep dental assistants in the office are to provide more mental health support services and give the option of distance learning in order to reach people in remote communities.

"We also need to make dental assisting aware to new Canadians, because it's a relatively short educational path, six months to nine months to a very good job that's very much in demand."

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."

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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.