Kashmir Shiites march to mourn martyr after 33-year ban lifted

#KASHMIR IS #INDIA'S #GAZA
AFP
Thu, July 27, 2023 

Shiite Muslims march through Kashmir's largest city for a major Muharram religious festival allowed to proceed for the first time in 33 years

 (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA)

Thousands of Shiite Muslims marched through Indian-administered Kashmir's largest city Thursday for a major religious procession permitted in the restive territory for the first time since a ban was imposed decades ago.

The Islamic calendar is currently in the month of Muharram, the holiest time for Shiites across the world when large processions mark the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein in the seventh century.

But authorities in Kashmir had banned the traditional ceremony in 1990, the year after an armed revolt against Indian rule erupted in the disputed region that is also claimed by Pakistan.

Since imposing direct rule on the territory four years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been eager to claim improved security in the territory after decades of unrest.

Top police officers and administrators walked alongside mourners who marched through the streets of Srinagar beating their chests and waving flags, following several rounds of negotiations between officials and clerics to allow the march to proceed.

"This is a dividend of peace," the city's top administrator Mohammad Aijaz told reporters after the procession concluded without incident.

Some small Muharram processions have been permitted in Kashmir since the 1990 ban but often ended violently, with mourners shouting slogans demanding independence and government forces dispersing crowds with tear gas and pellet-gun fire.

Shiite Muslims are a minority in mostly Sunni Kashmir but authorities believe they account for at least 10 percent of the region's population of nearly 14 million.

This year's procession was by far the largest in a generation and the first time many of those who joined were allowed to participate.

Authorities allowed the procession on condition that mourners would not use "anti-national slogans or propaganda" or display any references to rebel groups and "banned organisations".

- Decades of unrest -

Tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed in Kashmir since the outbreak of an insurgency against Indian rule in 1989.

Insurgent groups demand independence or a merger with Pakistan, which controls part of the region, and India has at least half a million troops permanently stationed around Kashmir to keep order.

Modi's government revoked the territory's constitutional guarantees of limited authority in 2019.

Indian tourists have since flocked to the region, cinema halls reopened in Srinagar last year after being shuttered for decades, and in May the city hosted a G20 meeting ahead of a September summit of world leaders in New Delhi.

But critics say that authorities have dramatically curtailed civil liberties in a clampdown on unrest, with ongoing restrictions on journalists, public protests and religious worship.

The region's chief cleric has been confined to house arrest since 2019 and prayers at Srinagar's main mosque remain subject to restrictions on congregation size.

Mansoor Abbas Ansari, a Shiite leader and one of the organisers of Thursday's procession, demanded the release of detained religious leaders and called for an end to the capping of congregations at prayer services.

"Only then will the government's claims of peace be proved," he told reporters.

pzb/gle/pbt

Mineral-rich nodules and the battle over mining the deep sea

Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS with Kelly MACNAMARA in Paris
Wed, July 26, 2023 

Graphic showing the three different types of seabed zones being explored for potential mining

 (Paz PIZARRO)

They might look like pebbles strewn across the seafloor, but to the unique animals of the ocean deep, polymetallic nodules are a crucial habitat.

To the mining firms vying to extract them, on the other hand, they promise to be a "battery in a rock."

These nodules, found on the seafloor several kilometers below the surface, are to be the subject of the first submarine mining contract application, which the government of Nauru is expected to soon submit to the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

The contract is for Nori, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc, a subsidiary of Canada's The Metals Company.
- ADVERTISEMENT -


This has caused concern among conservationists and scientists, who fear the severe impacts of mining a relatively untouched region of the planet that is rich in life, much of which remains unknown to science.

- Ancient -

Polymetallic nodules are most abundant in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) -- off the west coast of Mexico in the Pacific -- as well as in the central Indian Ocean and in the Peruvian Basin, according to the ISA.

The nodules were probably formed over millions of years.

They likely started off as solid fragments -- perhaps a shark tooth -- that sank down to the soft muddy seabed, then grew slowly through the accumulation of minerals present in the water in extremely low concentrations.

Today, they reach up to 20 centimeters (nearly 8 inches) in size: "metal pebbles," according to the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea.

Adrian Glover, of Britain's Natural History Museum, thinks of them as like "potatoes" scattered on the seabed, roughly 15 to 20 kilograms (33 to 44 pounds) of them per square meter.

One of the reasons why the nodules have never been buried under the mud in the Pacific is because the sea is food poor, with fewer dead organisms -- known as "marine snow" -- drifting down to the depths to eventually become part of the seafloor mud.

Sedimentation rates in some areas of the CCZ are "almost zero", Glover said, amounting to just a centimeter per thousand years.

The nodules were first recovered from the Pacific deep in the 1870s by the Challenger expedition, which used thousands of meters of hemp rope, a steam-powered winch and plenty of manpower to dredge the westerly part of the CCZ.

"Straightaway they realized they were very interesting, it was actually one of the biggest discoveries of the voyage for them," said Glover.

But they were not considered to be a "resource," he added.

- 'Clean' power? -

Some 20 companies or research centers have been awarded exploration contracts by the ISA for these nodules. One of these is Nori, whose contract covers four zones totalling some 75,000 square kilometers (about 30,000 square miles) in the CCZ.

These nodules are mainly composed of manganese and iron, but they also contain strategic minerals such as cobalt, nickel and copper.

According to the ISA, the CCZ contains around 21 billion metric tons of nodules, which could correspond to a reserve of six billion metric tons of manganese, 270 million metric tons of nickel and 44 million metric tons of cobalt, exceeding the known totals of these three minerals on land.

Advocates of undersea mining point to their potential use for green technology, particularly for electric vehicles.

"A battery in a rock," says The Metals Company.

"Polymetallic nodules are the cleanest path toward electric vehicles."

But that is an argument rejected by environmental NGOs and some scientists.

This claim is "more public relations than scientific fact", Michael Norton, of the European Academies' Science Advisory Council, told AFP, calling it "rather misleading" to say that demand cannot be met without undersea minerals.

- Impact fears -

Unlike the other two types of subsea mining resources regulated by the ISA -- including the mining of hydrothermal vents -- nodules do not require digging or cutting.

In tests carried out at the end of 2022, Nori lowered a collector vehicle to a depth of 4.3 kilometers (about 2.7 miles).

It swallowed nodules and sediment and then separated them, transporting the nodules to the surface vessel via a giant pipe and discharging the sediment into the water.

Catherine Weller, global policy director at the conservation organization Fauna & Flora, said that while the nodules are lying on the seafloor, they cannot just be "plucked" individually.

The impacts on the wider ocean system of churning up sediment and releasing wastewater was "simply unknown," she added.

Weller said the unique composition of the nodules which attracts mining firms is also what makes them such a special habitat for the creatures that live in the ocean depths.

"So they themselves are a really important part of the deep sea system."

abd-klm/nro

Machu Picchu's servants hailed from distant lands conquered by the Incas, genetic study finds

Kristina Killgrove
Wed, July 26, 2023 

A view of Machu Picchu's rocky ruins from a mountaintop.

Men and women who served Incan royalty at Machu Picchu weren't locals; they came from distant lands conquered by the empire, a new study finds.

An international team of researchers analyzed the ancient DNA of more than 30 people buried at Machu Picchu who were likely servants attending the Incan elite, and compared the genetic data with the DNA from other ancient human remains and modern people from the region.

The results revealed that the servants hailed from throughout the Andean highlands, as well as from all along the coast of Peru, according to the study, published Wednesday (July 26) in the journal Science Advances.

Who lived at Machu Picchu?

The Incas ruled over the Andean region of South America from the early 15th century to the mid-16th century, when the Spanish toppled the empire. More than a century before the Spanish invasion, the Incas built a massive palace high in the mountains of southern Peru, likely for Incan emperor Pachacuti, who reigned from 1438 to 1471. But little is known about the origins and lives of the servants who ran the Machu Picchu estate.

Roughly 750 people lived at Machu Picchu — including the emperor, other members of Incan royalty, guests and permanent servants — during the peak season between May and October, according to the study. Many royals were served by men known as "yanacona," who were not Incan. Rather, they were often taken from conquered lands and presented as gifts to the emperor. Women known as "aclla" were also removed from their homelands and given as wives to these male servants. Together, the yanacona and aclla ministered to the needs of the emperor and his guests as they engaged in feasting, singing, dancing and hunting and carried out important religious ceremonies.

Related: Machu Picchu was built decades earlier than thought

Over the past century of archaeological work at Machu Picchu, researchers have discovered the graves of nearly 200 people who died between the years 1420 and 1532. Given the simple and non-Incan-style ceramics buried with the individuals, it has long been assumed that these burial caves held the remains of the yanacona and aclla servants who attended the royal family. Previous research using biochemical analysis additionally suggested a high level of ethnic diversity among the Machu Picchu burial population.

A map of South America showing where the different servants originated.

To further test the hypothesis that the people buried at Machu Picchu were servants who were brought there from different parts of South America, the researchers analyzed the ancient DNA data of 34 people found in the four cemeteries at Machu Picchu, as well as the DNA of 36 modern and ancient people from the Urubamba Valley, also called the Sacred Valley, north of the Incan capital of Cusco.

The results revealed that "Machu Picchu was substantially more genetically diverse [...] than contemporary rural villages in the Andes," according to their study, led by Lucy Salazar, an archaeologist at Yale University.

Additionally, the team found a significant difference between the genetic ancestries of the male and female servants: Most male individuals came from the highland regions, while the female individuals had much more diverse, non-highland ancestries.

In testing the skeletons for biological relatedness, the researchers found only one pair of first-degree relatives: a mother and daughter buried close to each other. The mother appears to have come from the Amazonian lowlands, while the daughter grew up in the highland or coastal Andes. The lack of additional biological relationships suggests that servants arrived at Machu Picchu as individuals rather than as communities or extended families, the researchers concluded.

RELATED STORIES

—1st intact evidence of Incas' underwater ritual offerings found in a lake in the Andes

—The Incas mastered the grisly practice of drilling holes in people's skulls

—Incan idol that allegedly escaped conquistadors' destruction is real, new analysis shows

Ken-ichi Shinoda, an anthropologist and the director of the National Museum of Nature and Science of Japan who was not involved in the study, told Live Science in an email that "considering that Machu Picchu was a significant city at the time, it is not surprising that people from various Andean regions gathered here." Shinoda and his team previously analyzed DNA from skeletons in non-elite burial sites around Machu Picchu and found much less genetic diversity.

The skeletons in the new study, which were excavated and brought to Yale University in 1912, were the subject of repatriation claims until they were all returned to Peru in 2012. Previously, "I couldn't analyze them," Shinoda said. "Now that it has become possible, I'm delighted that new discoveries have been made."

While the new analyses reveal information about the origins and lives of the servants who ran Machu Picchu, questions about the lives of the royalty remain.

"Despite the inherent limitations," the researchers wrote, "our analyses of the nonelite individuals demonstrate that genomic information, in combination with archaeological and ethnohistorical sources, can reveal a more nuanced and comprehensive view of daily life at Machu Picchu than has been available in the past."

France's Macron warns against new 'imperialism' in the Pacific

Ceremony to mark the 140th anniversary of the creation of the Alliance Francaise centres
WHICH IMPERIALIST COUNTRIES WOULD THOSE BE MSSR.

Thu, July 27, 2023 
By Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron warned against "new imperialism" in the Pacific during a landmark visit to the region, denouncing predatory behaviour by big powers in a region where China is extending trade and security ties.

France, which has island territories spanning the Indo-Pacific including French Polynesia, has boosted defence ties with India and other countries in the region as part of a move to counter Chinese influence.

In a speech in Vanuatu, Macron, the first French president to have set foot on the Pacific islands nation since war leader Charles de Gaulle, said France would work "shoulder to shoulder" with states in the region to preserve their independence.


"There is in the Indo-Pacific, especially in Oceania, new imperialism appearing and a power logic which is threatening the sovereignty of many states, the smallest and often the most fragile ones," Macron said, without naming any country.

"The modern world is shaking up the Indo-Pacific's sovereignty and independence. First, because of the predation of big powers. Foreign ships fish illegally here. In the region, many loans with Leonine conditions strangle up development."

Pacific Islands nations are being courted by China, a major infrastructure lender which struck a security pact with Solomon Islands last year, and the United States, which is re-opening embassies closed since the Cold War.

MACRON FOLLOWS AUSTIN

China has been a major infrastructure lender to Pacific Islands nations including Vanuatu over the past decade. Vanuatu's largest creditor is China's EXIM bank, accounting for a third of debt, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Washington has stepped up U.S. Coast Guard patrols and surveillance for illegal fishing in the Pacific islands, after concern at China's naval ambitions.

After Vanuatu, Macron is due to arrive in Papua New Guinea on Thursday evening, hot on the heels of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who was there on Thursday.

In May, the U.S. and Papua New Guinea (PNG) signed a defence agreement that sets a framework for Washington to refurbish PNG ports and airports for military and civilian use.

The United States and its allies are seeking to deter Pacific Islands nations from establishing security ties with China, a rising concern amid tension over Taiwan.

Macron's advisers say France can be an "alternative" and help island nations diversify their partnerships without becoming too reliant on one single country.

(Reporting by Michel Rose; additional reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

US power regulator to weigh plans to speed up green energy connection


 Plant grows through an array of solar panels in Fort Lauderdale

Updated Thu, July 27, 2023 
By Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom

WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Thursday will vote on proposals to speed up the connection of new energy projects to the electric grid, which could ease a growing backlog of requests from renewable energy developers and deliver more green energy to consumers.

Long waits for transmission interconnection have slowed efforts to ease wild pricing and tight power supply in some markets, and hobbled the deployment of big solar and wind projects that the Biden administration wants built to combat climate change.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will bring up its proposed improvements for the grid interconnection process at its monthly meeting later on Thursday, according to its agenda. The planned vote comes nearly one year after landmark legislation aimed at boosting renewable energy projects called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) became law.

FERC Chairman Willie Phillips said in May that the commission could address the problem in part by shifting the approval process from a “first come, first serve” approach to a “first ready” approach – meaning projects that are ready with land rights and permits could move ahead instead of waiting behind developers that are less prepared.

New renewable generators and battery storage resources currently must go through a complex process before they can be connected. That process, which includes multiple studies of how their projects will affect the grid, can be costly and time consuming.

An April analysis by the government-funded Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that the average interconnection process takes five years, more than double the time than in 2008. Meanwhile, last year's passage of the IRA, which offers tax credits for renewable energy, has spurred major investment in new projects.

The interconnection proposal is part of a broader package of reforms FERC is working on in coming months to help hasten the deployment of renewable energy and storage. It is also seeking to finalize proposals this year to improve planning and cost allocation for transmission lines.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom; editing by Susan Heavey)

WE ARE ALL FROGS IN THE POT

July has been so blistering hot, scientists already calculate that it's the warmest month on record

SETH BORENSTEIN
Updated Thu, July 27, 2023 

WASHINGTON (AP) — July has been so hot thus far that scientists calculate that this month will be the hottest globally on record and likely the warmest human civilization has seen, even though there are several days left to sweat through.

The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday proclaimed July’s heat is beyond record-smashing. They said Earth’s temperature has been temporarily passing over a key warming threshold: the internationally accepted goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Temperatures were 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times for a record 16 days this month, but the Paris climate accord aims to keep the 20- or 30-year global temperature average to 1.5 degrees. A few days of temporarily beating that threshold have happened before, but never in July.

July has been so off-the-charts hot with heat waves blistering three continents – North America, Europe and Asia – that researchers said a record was inevitable. The U.S. Southwest's all-month heat wave is showing no signs of stopping while also pushing into most of the Midwest and East with more than 128 million Americans under some kind of heat advisory Thursday.

“Unless an ice age were to appear all of sudden out of nothing, it is basically virtually certain we will break the record for the warmest July on record and the warmest month on record,” Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo told The Associated Press.

Scientists say that such shattering of heat records is a harbinger for future climate-altering changes as the planet warms. Those changes go beyond just prolonged heat waves and include more flooding, longer-burning wildfires and extreme weather events that put many people at risk.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pointed to the calculations and urged world leaders, in particular of rich nations, to do more to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases. Despite years of international climate negotiations and lofty pledges from many countries and companies, greenhouse gas emissions continue to go up.

“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” Guterres told reporters in a New York briefing. “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”

Buontempo and other scientists said the records are from human-caused climate change augmented by a natural El Nino warming of parts of the central Pacific that changes weather worldwide. But Buontempo said ocean warming in the Atlantic also has been so high — though far away from the El Nino — that's there's even more at play. While scientists long predicted the world would continue to warm and have bouts of extreme weather, he said he was surprised by the spike in ocean temperatures and record-shattering loss of sea ice in Antarctica.

"The climate seems to be going crazy at times," Buontempo said.

Copernicus calculated that through the first 23 days of July, Earth’s temperature averaged 16.95 degrees Celsius ( 62.5 degrees Fahrenheit). That’s nearly one-third of a degree Celsius (almost 0.6 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than the previous record for the hottest month, July 2019.

Normally records are broken by hundredths of a degree Celsius, maybe a tenth at most, said Russell Vose, climate analysis group director for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Usually records aren't calculated until a week or longer after a month's end. But Vose, who wasn’t part of the research, his NASA record-keeping counterpart Gavin Schmidt and six other outside scientists said the Copernicus calculations make sense.

Buontempo’s team found that 21 of the first 23 days of July were hotter than any previous days in the database.

“The last few weeks have been rather remarkable and unprecedented in our record” based on data that goes back to the 1940s, Buontempo said.

Both the WMO-Copernicus team and an independent German scientist who released his data at the same time came to these conclusions by analyzing forecasts, live observations, past records and computer simulations.

Separate from Copernicus, Karsten Haustein at Leipzig University did his own calculations, using forecasts that show at best the warming may weaken a tad at the end of month, and came to the conclusion that July 2023 will pass the old record by 0.2 degrees Celsius (.36 degrees Fahrenheit).

“It’s way beyond everything we see,” Haustein said in his own press briefing. “We are in absolutely new record territory.”

Haustein said even though records only go back to the middle of the 19th century, using tree rings, ice cores and other proxies he calculates that this month is the hottest in about 120,000 years, which Buontempo said makes sense. Other scientists have made similar calculations.

“The reason that setting new temperature records is a big deal is that we are now being challenged to find ways to survive through temperatures hotter than any of us have ever experienced before,” University of Wisconsin-Madison climate scientist Andrea Dutton said in an email. “Soaring temperatures place ever increasing strains not just on power grids and infrastructure, but on human bodies that are not equipped to survive some of the extreme heat we are already experiencing.”

It’s no accident that the hottest July on record has brought deadly heat waves in the U.S. and Mexico, China and southern Europe, smoke-causing wildfires and heavy floods worldwide, said Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto.

The average temperature being measured is like “the fever temperature that we measure for our planet,” Otto said.

“We are in uncharted territory as far as humans on this planet are concerned, so our records are falling with increasing frequency and that’s exactly what we expect to — and what we’ve been predicting would — happen,” said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe.

In the middle of some of the worst heat, where Phoenix is now at a record 27 straight days and counting of 110 degrees or higher temperatures, University of Arizona climate scientist Katharine Jacobs said the records are giving humanity a message about reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

“Events like this are signposts along a highway we don’t want to travel,” Jacobs said in an email. “It is time to stop playing political games and get serious in order to protect ourselves and future generations.

___

Jamey Keaten contributed from Geneva and Edith Lederer from the United Nations.

___

Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

___

Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears

___

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

World is entering ‘era of global boiling’, UN warns as July is the hottest month on record

Louise Boyle
Thu, July 27, 2023 a


July is set to be the hottest month on record - and likely in 120,000 years. From left: A firefighter tackles flames in Rhodes; A man soaks himself in water in Zagreb, Croatia as it hit 40C; A bus trapped by flash flooding in Osong, South Korea. Inset, a graph showing global temperature rise (epa/AP)

The warning lights have been on for weeks but now it is official: July 2023 is set to be the hottest month on record - and likely in 120,000 years.

The record-breaking average global mean temperature - the overall reading if you could stick a thermometer at every location on Earth - was confirmed by scientists at the European Copernicus Climate Change Service and World Meteorological Organization on Thursday, based on analysis of international climate and weather datasets.

“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday morning in New York.

“The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”

Dr Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at Leipzig University whose separate analysis was first to confirm the new record, told a press briefing on Wednesday that July 2023 was also likely the warmest in 120,000 years, stretching back to the interglacial Eemian period when hardwood trees grew in the Arctic and hippos roamed as far north as the Rhine and Thames valleys.

It follows the hottest June on record, and toppling of the hottest day records, multiple times, in early July.

The overall mean temperature, which scientists say is around 17C (62.6F), isn’t going to kill anyone but it means that the planet has a “fever”, said Dr Frederike Otto, senior lecturer at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change.

July 2023 is set to be the hottest month on record, and likely in 120,000 years. The record-breaking average global mean temperature, the overall reading if you could stick a thermometer at every location on Earth, was confirmed by scientists, including at the European Copernicus Climate Change Service and World Meteorological Organisation on Thursday, based on analysis of international climate and weather datasets. Senior climate correspondent Louise Boyle reports on the findings. #fypシ #fy #fyp #news #climate #world #heat #weather♬ original sound - The Independent

The increase in global heat is manifesting in extreme weather events worldwide. Southern Europe, North Africa and Asia have faced relentless heatwaves since late spring, and in the southern United States, temperatures have regularly topped 100-degrees for weeks.

Phoenix, Arizona had a record-breaking 19 days in a row above 110F this month while China set a new national temperature record of 52.2C on 16 July in Xinjiang province.

Global daily surface air temperature (in Celsius) from 1 January 1940- 23 July 2023. This year and 2016 are thick lines shaded in bright red and dark red, respectively. Other years are shown with thin lines and shaded according to the decade, from blue (1940s) to brick red (2020s). The dotted line and grey envelope represent the 1.5C threshold above preindustrial level (1850–1900) and its uncertainty

 (Copernicus/WMO)More

Wildfires have exploded across Greece, Italy, Croatia and Algeria. In Canada, there are now more than 1,000 wildfires, doubling the amount four weeks ago, which have destroyed 46,000 square miles - an area half the size of the UK.

The extreme heat is also playing out in intense, erratic rainfall which has led to deadly flash flooding in China, South Korea, Brazil and US Northeast.

The 2023 July record also came with a public health warning.

Heatwaves are known as “silent killers” and are the deadliest of all climate-driven disasters. Extreme temperatures contributed to more than 60,000 deaths in Europe alone last year.

These deaths are most often among society’s already vulnerable groups, and an aging global population along with growing cities - which can be much hotter than rural places - means that “heat deaths will only increase,” Dr Otto said.

A firefighting helicopter dumps water in Mandra, west of Athens, on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Another heatwave is expected to hit Greece today (AP)

Dr Marina Romanello, a climate change and health researcher at UCL, said the record heat was “rapidly undermining the foundations of health” and placing more burdens on many countries’ already over-stretched healthcare systems.

Heat-related mortality for those over 65 years old has risen by about two-thirds in the past 20 years meanwhile, wildfire exposure has increased in 60 per cent of countries.

Almost a third of global land area is affected by drought annually compared to the 1950s, with the Horn of Africa and South America being particularly vulnerable. These conditions are pushing tens of millions more people into extreme hunger.

This year’s extreme heat is being amplified by the emergence of a natural climatic pattern, El Nino, which leads to hotter ocean temperatures. Since May, record sea surface temperatures have driven marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean, the UK and Ireland, the Baltic Sea, the Sea of Japan along with parts of the Pacific and western Indian Ocean.

But without a manmade climate crisis, “these heatwaves would be the statistical equivalent of impossible,” Dr Otto said.

The hottest month on record is a direct result of the burning and extraction of coal, oil and gas. We need to accelerate the clean energy transition to draw back from this runaway climate crisis.

Dr Catherine Abreu, executive director of Destination Zero

“This is not chance. These are not rare events in today’s climate.”

If El Nino intensifies, it’s possible that next summer will be even hotter.

In the first and third weeks of July, the planet shot 1.5-degrees (2.7F) above the average temperature 150 years ago - before humans began burning massive amounts of fossil fuels.

It doesn’t mean that the planet will permanently exceed 1.5C - the temperature limit set by the Paris Agreement which refers to long-term warming - but shows “we are close” and that 1.5C will likely be permanently breached in the early 2030s, Dr Haustein said.

The culprit of all this extreme heat are the excessive emissions from burning fossil fuels.

“We know who is responsible,” said Dr Catherine Abreu, executive director of Destination Zero, a diplomatic initiative focused on limiting fossil fuel production.

She pointed to a few dozen major players in oil, gas and coal, along with large cement-makers, adding that the fossil fuel industry has “known for decades” about the impacts their products would have on the planet.

A person receives medical attention after collapsing in a convenience store on July 13, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. EMT was called after the person said they experienced hot flashes, dizziness, fatigue and chest pain. The temperature has been above 110F in Phoenix for most of July

 (Getty Images)

“The hottest month on record is a direct result of the burning and extraction of coal, oil and gas,” she added. “We need to accelerate the clean energy transition to draw back from this runaway climate crisis.”

But even as scientists sound the alarm, again, political and corporate will to tackle the global crisis is lagging.

The global fossil fuel industry more than doubled their profits to $4 trillion in 2022 but little of this money has been used to transition away from oil and gas to clean energy.

At the geopolitical level, progress is grindingly slow. Last weekend’s meeting of energy ministers from the G20 - the world’s 20 richest countries - ended with failure to reach consensus on cutting down fossil fuels and a walk-back on commitments made in 2022.

Many governments are still prioritising, and subsidising, the oil and gas industry over healthcare, Dr Romanello said, and the global carbon price is still negative.

According to the 2022 Lancet Countdown report, led by Dr Romanello, in the majority of 86 countries creating the bulk of global emissions, the net cost of fossil fuel subsidies is $400bn. For one-third of these countries, their losses exceed what they spent on healthcare.

The new July record raises the prospect that 2023 could be the hottest year in human history, a record that is unlikely to hold for long.

“The extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change and a foretaste of the future,” said WMO’s Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

“The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is more urgent than ever before. Climate action is not a luxury but a must.”

US lawmaker Greg Casar ends thirst strike after nine hours

Bernd Debusmann Jr & Chloe Kim - BBC News
Wed, July 26, 2023 

After nine hours, Greg Casar ended his thirst strike

A US congressman ended a food and water strike protest over a Texas law overriding protection for people working outdoors in intense heat after nine hours.

Texas Democrat Greg Casar's "thirst strike" hoped to highlight the need for rules around outdoor working.

Temperatures have been soaring across much of the southern and western US.

The new Texas law effectively bans local rules, such as a 10-minute break for every four hours worked outside.

More than 400 workers have died in heatwaves since 2011, according to Bureau of Labour statistics.

Mr Casar said in a tweet: "Yesterday was incredible. I was honoured to be joined at my thirst strike by workers in Texas and across the nation - and by lots of colleagues pushing for federal heat safety protections."

He added: "[Nine] hours without water or food, but I'm more energized than ever to get this done."

On Tuesday, he announced the his plan to not drink water or take breaks, "through rain or shine, in solidarity with our nation's workers".

He had said the thirst strike would go on until a nurse requires him to stop.

"Currently, there are no federal protections for workers exposed to heat," he added. Mr Casar's office did not respond to further questions about why the thirst strike ended.

As he began his strike at the US Capitol, Washington DC was experiencing hot, humid temperature of about 31C (87F). Without fluids, a human can only survive a few days, according to the UK National Health Service. The capital could see temperatures of up to 37C on Thursday.

In a letter, Mr Casar and more than 100 other members of Congress said protection from extreme heat "is a matter of life and death for many workers and their families" across the US.

It cited a report of several examples of workplace deaths to have taken place this year that are believed to be the result of the heat.

The death of a 40-year-old postal worker who died on his route and a 35-year-old worker believed to have died of heat exhaustion while working to restore power in Texas' Harrison County were included.

"We know extreme weather events such as heat waves are becoming more frequent and more dangerous due to climate change," the letter added. "Urgent action is needed to prevent more deaths".

The letter called on the federal government to implement a number of safeguards.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law overturning several local heat protections, such as an Austin regulation requiring a 10-minute break for every four hours for people working in the heat.

Supporters of the Texas move argued local regulations were applied "inconsistently" and encroached on the state's ability to regulate commerce and trade.

How desperate US prisoners try to escape deadly heat


Heatwave: BBC correspondents on how people are coping

"Our nation - and my home state of Texas - is experiencing a historic heatwave - exposing workers to deadly 100+ temperatures," Mr Casar tweeted.

"Yet in the middle of the heat wave, Greg Abbott signed a law eliminating workers rights to water breaks".

Absent any federal policy, the Texas law goes into effect on 1 September.

The current intense heat for much of the US shows little sign of abating. About 46 million Americans were under heat warnings on Tuesday, with temperatures expected to rise for many parts in the coming days.

ECOCIDE

A fire is still burning on board a car-carrying cargo ship near a sensitive Dutch bird habitat

A cargo ship packed with nearly 3,000 cars is still ablaze close to a world-renowned bird habitat off the Dutch coast

By MIKE CORDER 

Associated Press
July 27, 2023, 3

A boat hoses down the smoke from a fire which broke out on a freight ship in the North Sea, about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland, Wednesday, July 26, 2023. A fire on the freight ship Fremantle Highway, carrying nearly 3,000 cars, was burning out of control Wednesday in the North Sea, and the Dutch coast guard said it was working to save the vessel from sinking close to an important habitat for migratory birds. 

(Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands via AP)

The Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A cargo ship packed with nearly 3,000 cars was still ablaze Thursday close to a world-renowned bird habitat off the Dutch coast as firefighters and salvage crews waited for the flames to subside before attempting to board the vessel.

The Fremantle Highway was sailing from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore when it caught fire shortly before midnight Tuesday about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland, sparking fears of an environmental disaster.

One crew member died and others were injured in the early hours of Wednesday. The entire crew has been evacuated from the ship.

The Dutch coast guard said “the situation at the moment is stable.” The agency planned to fly experts over the ship late in the morning Thursday to take stock of its condition. The cause of the fire hasn't yet been established.

The Japanese-owned ship carrying 2,857 cars, including 25 electric cars, is close to a chain of islands and the World Heritage-listed Wadden Sea, an important habitat for migratory birds.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has warned about the possible dangers of electric vehicle battery fires, a hazard that stems from thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that causes uncontrolled battery temperature and pressure increases.

The blazing vessel is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Borkum, the westernmost of the German East Frisian islands. Germany sent a ship that doused the sides of the Fremantle Highway with water on Wednesday to keep it as cool as possible.

The coast guard said that was no longer happening “because unnecessary amounts of water must be prevented from getting on board. This endangers the stability of the ship.” It said the fire was burning more intensely when the ship was cooled on Wednesday.

German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said that she couldn't rule out the possibility of the burning ship sinking.

“A totally normal car transport by sea could turn into an environmental catastrophe of unknown proportions,” Lemke said in a statement. “This fills me with deep concern.”

She said that if the ship sinks, "large quantities of fuel and other environmentally harmful pollutants from the cargo ship’s load could contaminate the sensitive ecosystem of the North Sea extensively. The unique Wadden Sea national park is in serious danger. That must be prevented with all our resources.”

The Netherlands on Wednesday sent a ship equipped with special booms to contain oil spills to the area as a precaution.

The fire in the North Sea isn't the first to break out in a car-carrying cargo ship.

A year ago, it took firefighters nearly a week to extinguish a similar blaze in a car transport ship in Newark, New Jersey. Two firefighters were killed and five others were injured battling the flames.

In March 2022, a large cargo vessel carrying cars from Germany to the United States sank in the mid-Atlantic, 13 days after a fire broke out on board. The Felicity Ace sank about 400 kilometers (250 miles) off Portugal’s Azores Islands as it was being towed after a salvage team had put out the fire.


___

Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.

RIP

Sinead O’Connor’s voice ‘was Ireland right down to the ground’

Singer is remembered as ‘fearless’ and the ‘greatest voice of her generation’.

Sinead O’Connor on the Graham Norton Show in 2012

 (PA) / PA Wire

By Rob Freeman
5 hours ago

Sinead O’Connor has been labelled “the greatest voice of her generation” amid a host of tributes to the Irish singer.

Artists from across the musical spectrum, writers, actors and other celebrities shared their admiration for the often controversial singer, who has died at the age of 56.

Writer Bonnie Greer described O’Connor, who had a massive hit with the Prince song Nothing Compares 2 U, as having a great soul music voice.

She tweeted: “Soul music is not about ‘ooh, baby, baby’. And I know about soul music because I was born and grew up around where Sam Cooke sang… and #Prince knew that #Sinead had it in her, too – that’s why she got his song.

“But her voice was #Ireland right down to the ground.”

The Irish author Marian Keyes described the news as “heartbreaking”, describing the singer as an “amazing, brave, beautiful, unique wonder”, while writer Caitlin Moran said O’Connor was “THE greatest voice of her generation, no contest” and “fearless”.

Victoria Mary Clarke, the wife of The Pogues star Shane MacGowan, thanked O’Connor for her “love and friendship”.

Posting a photo on Twitter of MacGowan and O’Connor together from their younger years, she wrote: “We don’t really have words for this but we want to thank you Sinead.

“For your love and your friendship and your compassion and your humour and your incredible music.

“We pray that you are at peace now with your beautiful boy. Love Victoria and Shane.”


Clarke, who retweeted a picture of the singer and her son Shane who died last year, also remembered her as “incredibly funny” in a second post.


“She told outrageous jokes at the most inappropriate times and she cracked me up! There will never be anyone even remotely like her,” she added.

The singer Cat Stevens, who like O’Connor converted to Islam, said “she was a tender soul”, while singer-songwriter Billy Bragg described her as “braver than brave”.

Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan posted on Instagram, saying she was “fiercely honest and sweet and funny.

He wrote: “She was talented in ways I’m not sure she completely understood. But Sinead stands alone as a figure from our generation who was always true to the piercing voice within and without. And for that I will always admire and respect her.

“And never forget that she was once cancelled for an act of simple resistance. Her crime? Tearing up a photo.”

Rapper turned actor Ice T tweeted: “Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people”, while American singer-songwriter Jason Isbell posted: “I hope there’s peace for Sinead at last.”

Among other musicians to post tributes were Belinda Carlisle, Janelle Monae, UB40, Melissa Etheridge, Margo Price and Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello.

Irish comedian Dara O’Briain said he hoped the singer “realised how much love there was for her”.

Actor Mayim Bialik said “her music changed the industry”, adding O’Connor’s “fierce fearlessness made a tremendous impression” on her as a teenager.

Oscar winner Russell Crowe shared a story about meeting her while working in Ireland last year and enjoying a conversation outside a pub.

He wrote: “In a conversation without fences we roamed through the recent Dublin heatwave, local politics, American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition in many places, but particularly in Australia, her warm memory of New Zealand, faith, music, movies and her brother the writer.

“I had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine.

“What an amazing woman. Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad.”

Sinéad O'Connor Dead at 56

Entertainment Tonight

Jul 26, 2023

Sinéad O'Connor has died. She was 56. The music icon's family confirmed her death to 'RTE' on Wednesday. 'It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,' the family said in their statement. 'Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.' The Irish singer and activist released multiple award-winning records and singles in the '90s, including the chart-topper 'Nothing Compares 2 U.' Sinead is survived by her three children.

It has been claimed that Sinéad O'Connor has passed away. The renowned vocalist of "Nothing Compares 2 U," who went away at the age of 56, was reported to have passed away by the Irish Times.The family of the singer released a statement in which they said, "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad." Her family and friends are heartbroken, and they have asked that their privacy be respected during this extremely trying time. The Irish singer leaves behind three kids to carry on his legacy. Her son Shane, who had just turned 17, perished away the previous year.Sinead published her farewell message on social media by tweeting a picture of her late son along with the following text: "Been living as undead night beast since. He was the greatest love of my life and the brightest light in my soul. Fans and celebrities quickly took to social media after hearing the news of Sinead's passing in order to honour the gifted musician and pay tribute to the legacy she leaves behind. On Twitter, Dara O'Briain sent the following message with his audience: "Ah sh**, Sinead O'Connor has died. The news is certainly very upsetting. How unfortunate. I sincerely hope that she was aware of the amount of affection that was directed towards her."Sinead was the very definition of what it meant to have a punk spirit. She refused to give in to anything, which made her life more difficult than it would have been otherwise. Tim Burgess, frontman for The Charlatans, expressed his wish on Twitter for the musician's well-being, writing, "Hoping that she has found peace."Jedward, who previously competed on X Factor, tweeted, "Rest in Peace." Sinead O'Connor expressed her sadness upon hearing the news. She was a true Irish icon of our generation. This was the first year that we had the pleasure of meeting her, and we found her to be cheerful, as well as quite hospitable and possessing a great heart. O'Connor rose to prominence in the late 1980s with the release of her debut album, titled The Lion and the Cobra. In 1990, she attained worldwide popularity with a new arrangement of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Prince. O'Connor was born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor in Dublin on December 8, 1966. O'Connor has maintained throughout her career that she was subjected to physical abuse following the dissolution of her parents' marriage when she was eight years old. This allegation is elaborated upon in the song "Fire on Babylon" that she wrote. Her problems with stealing and truancy at the age of 15 led to her being committed to a Magdalene Asylum for 18 months in 1979, and it was during this time that she first became interested in music. It was here that she began to develop her writing and music, and it was the drummer of the popular Irish band Tua Nua that "discovered" her, which led to her going on to co-write their song "Take My Hand." She left the band Tonne Tonne Macoute in 1985 and travelled to London, where she was signed to Ensign records after moving there while she was playing with the band. At the age of 20, while she was in the studio making her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, she discovered that her session drummer John Reynolds was the father of her unborn child.They tied the knot in 1987 and went on to have a son named Jake. O'Connor was nominated for a Grammy after the reception of her debut album, which was praised as "a sensation" and achieved the distinction of a gold record. She had already created the identity that we have come to connect her with by the time her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, was released in 1990. This identity includes her signature shaven head, which has become synonymous with her.

  

Acclaimed and outspoken Irish singer Sinead O’Connor dies at 56

Known for her shaved head and fierce voice, she shot to fame with her cover of Prince’s ballad ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’.

Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor, known for her 1990 global hit, Nothing Compares 2 U, has died at the age of 56

 [File: Andrew Chin/Getty Images]

Published On 26 Jul 202326 Jul 2023

Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor, known for her 1990 global hit, Nothing Compares 2 U, has died at the age of 56.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” Irish national broadcaster RTE quoted a statement from the singer’s family as saying on Wednesday.

She crashed onto the global music scene at the beginning of the ’90s with her mesmerising version of the song originally written by pop icon Prince, facing directly into the camera for the music video that has subsequently been viewed almost 400 million times on YouTube.

“Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing his condolences with “all who loved her music”.

O’Connor changed the image of women in music in the early 1990s.

Her shaved head, pained expression, and shapeless wardrobe were seen by many young women as a direct challenge to popular culture’s long-prevailing notions of femininity and sexuality.

The gifted singer was known for speaking up about her struggles with mental health issues, especially after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her teenage son Shane died by suicide in 2022.

O’Connor was also vocal about her political stance against the Catholic Church. She will be remembered in some quarters for ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a television appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in October 1992.

For many years, she called for a full investigation into the extent of the church’s role in concealing child abuse by clergy.

In 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI apologised to Ireland to atone for decades of abuse, O’Connor condemned the apology for not going far enough and called for Catholics to boycott Mass until there was a full investigation into the Vatican’s role, which by 2018 was making international headlines.

“People assumed I didn’t believe in God. That’s not the case at all. I’m Catholic by birth and culture and would be the first at the church door if the Vatican offered sincere reconciliation,” she wrote in the Washington Post in 2010.

O’Connor converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat, though continued to perform under the name Sinead O’Connor.

“I read chapter two of the Quran and I realised I’m home, and that I’ve been a Muslim all my life. There’s a way of thinking,” she said in an interview on RTE’s Late Late Show in September 2019.

“You can be a Muslim without actually being a Muslim as it’s a headset [mindset].”

Sinead O’Connor performs during her concert at Akvarium Klub in Budapest, Hungary, December 9, 2019 

[File: Marton Monus/EPA-EFE]

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

In Pictures

Sinead O’Connor, superstar singer and lifelong nonconformist

The gifted Irish performer was known for her shaved head and fierce and expressive voice.

Sinead O'Connor performs on stage at Glastonbury , United Kingdom, in 1990.

 [Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images]

AL JAZEERA
Published On 27 Jul 2023

Sinead O’Connor, the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s and was known as much for her private struggles and activism as for her fierce and expressive music, has died at 56.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” the singer’s family said in a statement. No cause was disclosed.

Recognisable by her shaved head and with a multi-octave mezzo-soprano of extraordinary emotional range, O’Connor began her career singing on the streets of Dublin and soon rose to international fame.

She was a star from her 1987 debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, and became a sensation in 1990 with her cover of Prince’s ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U”, a seething, shattering performance that topped charts from Europe to Australia and was heightened by a promotional video featuring the grey-eyed O’Connor in intense close-up.

“Nothing Compares 2 U” received three Grammy nominations and was the featured track on her acclaimed album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, which helped lead Rolling Stone to name her Artist of the Year in 1991.

O’Connor’s other musical credits included the albums, Universal Mother and Faith and Courage, a cover of Cole Porter’s “You Do Something to Me”, from the AIDS fundraising album Red Hot + Blue, and backing vocals on Peter Gabriel’s “Blood of Eden”. She received eight Grammy nominations and in 1991 won for best alternative musical performance.

She was a lifelong nonconformist – she said she shaved her head in response to record executives pressuring her to be conventionally glamorous.

A critic of the Roman Catholic Church well before allegations of sexual abuse were widely reported, O’Connor made headlines in October 1992 when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II while appearing on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and denounced the church as the enemy.

O’Connor announced she was retiring from music in 2003, but continued to record new material. Her most recent album was I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss, released in 2014, and she sang the theme song for Season 7 of Outlander.

In 2018 O’Connor converted to Islam and adopted the name Shuhada’ Davitt, later Shuhada Sadaqat — although she continued to use Sinead O’Connor professionally.

Sinead O'Connor sings at the gathering of 20th Anniversary of the March on the British Embassy, on August 19, 1989. [Independent News and Media/Getty Images]

English singer-songwriter Roger Waters performs live on stage with Sinead O'Connor during a concert version of 'The Wall', in Berlin, Germany, on July 21, 1990. [Michael Putland/Getty Images]

Sinead O'Connor with Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, his wife Courtney Love and daughter Frances Bean Cobain at the 10th Annual MTV Video Music Awards, on September 2, 1993. [Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage via Getty]

Irish pop-star Sinead O'Connor, surrounded by security guards, takes cover behind a plastic bag as she leaves a shop in the Old Town of Jerusalem June 15, 1995. [Reuters]

Musicians Sinead O'Connor and Davy Spillane - holding a low whistle - backstage during an episode of the David Letterman Show in New York, on June 15, 1998. [Gary Gershoff/Getty Images]

Broadcaster Gay Byrne and musician Sinead O'Connor on the final episode of the Late Late Show, on May 21, 1999. [David Conachy/Independent News and Media via Getty Images]
Advertisement

Irish singer Sinead O'Connor hugs her daughter Roisin during an anti-racism demonstration in Dublin city centre, on May 13, 2000. [Reuters]

Burning Spear and Sinead O'Conner during 5th Annual Jammy Awards at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City, on April 26, 2005. [E. Dougherty/WireImage]

Sinead O'Connor and Craig Ferguson during The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on October 5, 2005 at CBS Televsion City in Los Angeles, California. [Jesse Grant/WireImage]

(L-R) Actor Sean Penn, singer Sinead O'Connor, CAA Managing Director Bryan Lourd and actress Sandra Bullock attend The 2011 amfAR Inspiration Gala Los Angeles held at the Chateau Marmont on October 27, 2011 in Los Angeles. [Jeff Vespa/Getty Images for amfAR]

Actress Glenn Close, recording artist Sinead O'Connor and composer Brian Byrne attend the Albert Nobbs soundtrack release party at Palihouse on January 6, 2012 in West Hollywood, California. [David Livingston/Getty Images]

Sinead O'Connor performs her Christmas Show on stage at the Royal Festival Hall on December 10, 2013 in London. [Joseph Okpako/Redferns via Getty Images]

Sinead O'Connor and American Blues musician Buddy Guy perform onstage together at Buddy Guy's Legends nightclub, Chicago, Illinois, on January 22, 2016. [Paul Natkin/Getty Images]

Sinead O'Connor performs at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on December 16, 2019 in London. [Gus Stewart/Redferns]

Sinead O'Connor receives the Classic Irish Album award for I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got at the RTE Choice Music Prize at Vicar Street on March 9, 2023 in Dublin. 

[Kieran Frost/Redferns]

Ontario Teachers’ Reverse-Mortgage Lender Eyes Senior Debt Sale

P3 

PUBLIC PENSIONS FUND PRIVATE BANKS

Esteban Duarte
Wed, July 26, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- HomeEquity Bank, Canada’s largest provider of reverse mortgages, is seeking to sell senior bonds denominated in local currency, according to Chief Financial Officer Atul Chandra.

Such an issuance would be the first of its kind for the Toronto-based firm, which has previously only tapped institutional bond markets via the Chip Mortgage Trust. The trust raised C$175 million earlier this month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, with a five-year note priced to yield 6.069%.

“We would want to come back to the market sometime over the next few months,” Chandra said in an interview. “We would like to actually engage with the investors and open up a new channel of funding. That would be a desirable outcome.”

Chandra said the firm had yet to decide whether to next issue debt directly through the bank or via the trust.

HomeEquity Bank specializes in reverse mortgages, offering loans to Canadian homeowners who are 55 or older. Those who qualify can get a loan worth up to 55% of their home’s value and avoid regular payments until they move out or sell the property, according to the firm’s website.

The firm was bought by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board last year.

Home prices across Canada had started to recover earlier this year when the Bank of Canada paused its aggressive interest-rate increases. Policymakers, however, have recently resumed rate hikes — a move that could keep some homebuyers on the sidelines, according to a Canadian Real Estate Association report early this month.

Chip Mortgage Trust’s issuance earlier this month was more than two times oversubscribed and received orders from 16 investors, according to Chandra. That compares to a C$125 million debt sale in 2021 that lured 17 buyers and order book of more than four times the deal size.

Chandra said HomeEquity Bank’s long-term senior debt rating is BBB(low) with a stable outlook at DBRS Morningstar. A representative for DBRS Morningstar didn’t reply to request for comment.

--With assistance from Ari Altstedter.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek