Peru Reports Seven Blocked Highways as Anti-Government Protests Restart

Marcelo Rochabrun
Wed, July 19, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- Thousands of Peruvians took to the streets nationwide to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, as her approval ratings dip to record lows and the economy reels.

More than 30 different protests across the Andean nation were reported by Peru’s ombusdman’s office Wednesday. Protesters also gathered in the center of the capital city, Lima, where the presidential palace and congress are located.

“This is an expected situation,” Prime Minister Alberto Otarola told reporters in the afternoon. Some road blockades were reported, but commerce was largely unaffected. It is unclear if the protests will continue Thursday and beyond. Earlier this year, protests that also sought Boluarte’s resignation extended for months and and helped guide the economy toward a recession.

The new protests come as Boluarte is more unpopular than ever seven months into her tenure. A poll by Ipsos this month showed the president’s popularity remains at a record-low 14%. That figure rises to 32% among the wealthiest and falls to 9% among the poorest.

Read More: Latin America’s Star Economy Races Toward a Technical Recession

Despite her low approval, she has found support in an equally unpopular Congress and among business leaders.

The president is also facing an unusually weak economy that appears headed into a mild recession due to the lingering effects of earlier protests and now the looming El Nino weather pattern.

Boluarte came to power unexpectedly in December when her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was impeached and arrested for trying to illegally dissolve congress. Boluarte, then vice president, took over, triggering protests seeking new general elections.

While she held onto power, the economy stalled and clashes between security forces and protesters left almost 50 civilians dead, some of which human rights organizations have called extra-judicial executions. Boluarte has said she will stay in power until 2026, which if successful would make her the longest-serving Peruvian president in seven years.

Tech bros and Wall Street billionaires are indulging anti-vaxxer RFK Jr.'s presidential dreams

George Glover
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, speaks to people from a wide spectrum, including coronavirus skeptics, gathered under the Victory Column in the city center to hear speeches during a protest against coronavirus-related restrictions and government policy on August 29, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Silicon Valley and Wall Street stars are indulging Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign.


Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, SPAC king Chamath Palihapitiya, and hedge fund legend Bill Ackman have all shown support.


RFK Jr. has said that vaccines cause autism – and the White House recently blasted him for sharing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street just can't get enough of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who was rebuked by the White House last week for sharing a "vile" anti-Semitic COVID conspiracy theory.

Backers of the presidential candidate – a member of the Kennedy dynasty who believes that the CIA killed his uncle and vaccines cause autism in children – include Twitter's co-founder and a legendary hedge-fund manager who made billions betting stocks would tank during the pandemic.

Here's a list of high-profile people voicing support for RFK, Jr, who's currently polling in the mid-teens for the Democratic nomination, per FiveThirtyEight:

Billionaire investor and Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman – who's also endorsed JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon running for higher office – has repeatedly backed Kennedy on Twitter and donated $3,300 to his campaign in the second quarter, according to a Federal Election Commission filing.

Fisher Investments founder Ken Fisher donated $6,600, per the same filing.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey told the "Breaking Points" podcast last month that he was backing Kennedy, who he said "has no fear in exploring topics that are a little bit controversial and in the future".

Mark Gorton, who created LimeWire and now runs the algorithmic trading firm Tower Research Group, told CNBC in May that he's given over $1 million to Kennedy's anti-vax non-profit, Children's Health Defense.

"SPAC king" Chamath Palihapitiya and PayPal founding exec David Sacks hosted a fundraiser for Kennedy last month. "The Establishment and [main stream media] will paint him with all kinds of labels so you don't give him a chance," Palihapitiya said after.

Some have carried on standing by Kennedy after he suggested during a press event last week that COVID-19 had been genetically engineered to spare Ashkenazi Jewish and Chinese people. (He then denied that those comments were "ethnically targeted").

Ackman briefly condemned the controversial candidate – then claimed he'd "quickly jumped to conclusion based on a headline" and shared a Tweet where Kennedy said he'd been criticizing "ethnically targeted bioweapons", not spreading debunked anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

This isn't the first time parts of Wall Street and Silicon Valley have backed an anti-establishment firebrand.

In both 2016 and 2020, big names like venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman backed Republican candidate Donald Trump. Look how that turned out.

11 mustangs die in US roundup in Nevada caught on video, showing horses with broken necks



LEAVE THE ROUND UP TO INDIGENOUS COWBOYS

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nearly a dozen wild horses have died in the first 10 days of a big mustang roundup in Nevada, deaths that a Las Vegas congresswoman is calling tragic proof of the urgent need to outlaw helicopters to capture the animals on federal land.

The 11 deaths so far include five young foals, four horses with broken necks and a stallion with a snapped rear leg that was chased by a helicopter and horseback rider as it tried to flee on three legs for 35 minutes before it was euthanized, according to witnesses.

The horse that broke the leg jumping over a trap fence last Wednesday was a lead Palomino stallion called “Mr. Sunshine” by those who'd watched him roam wild over the years southeast of Elko.

A longtime observer and defender of the mustangs caught the animal's struggle on video.

“It made me physically ill to see what was done to that beautiful stallion I have known for years," said Laura Leigh, the founder of Nevada-based nonprofit organization Wild Horse Education.

Leigh, who's been fighting roundups in court for more than a decade and advocates ending them altogether, said the contracted wranglers were trying to pressure the mustangs into the temporary trap coral when the horse leaped out and broke the leg.

“He tried to buck off the searing pain and then struggled on three legs. He was then pursued to the far side of the valley and shot. The incident took longer than 30 minutes to resolve," she said. “These barbaric, cruel, intentional acts must end.”

The deaths should serve as a wake-up call, said Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus. “A horse with a broken leg was chased in the sweltering heat by a helicopter," she said, criticizing a Bureau of Land Management practice the she is trying to ban through House legislation.

"This latest instance of BLM mistreatment of Nevada’s wild horses is tragic," Titus said Tuesday.

Leigh and others sued after the death of several horses during a roundup a decade ago, and the bureau adopted a Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program in 2015 that among other things prohibits helicopters from making contact with the mustangs.

But the agency has resisted efforts to stop using helicopters, saying they're necessary to access remote herds.

“The BLM policies and staff prioritize the well-being and humane care of all wild horses during all gather operations,” bureau spokeswoman Heather O'Hanlon said in an email to The Associated Press on Monday. She said the agency has a Department of Agriculture veterinarian assessing and monitoring animal conditions and consulting with bureau officials to ensure the health and safety of horses and people.

Bureau spokeswoman Rita Henderson said injuries to wild horses and burros during roundups are rare. She said the “vast majority” — more than 99% — are gathered without severe incident or injury that causes death.

The bureau says its latest roundup started July 9 in eastern Nevada between Elko and Ely because overpopulated herds are seriously damaging the ecology of the range.

Nevada is home to nearly two-thirds of the 68,928 wild horses the bureau estimated on March 1 were roaming federal lands in 10 Western states stretching from California to Montana.

The agency plans to gather about 2,000 horses from the roundup in three areas — the Antelope Valley, Goshute and Spruce-Pequop. It says the estimated 6,852 horses is nearly 14 times what the range can sustain.

As of Tuesday, they had gathered 1,087, the bureau said.

By balancing the herd size with what the land can support, the agency aims to protect the habitat for other wildlife species including sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, mule deer and elk, said Gerald Dixon, the bureau’s Elko district manager.

But critics say the real purpose is to appease ranchers who don't want horses competing with their livestock for precious, high-desert forage where annual precipitation averages less than 10 inches (25 centimeters).

The American Wild Horse Campaign is publicizing the graphic photos and video shot by Leigh and others “to educate the public about the BLM’s inhumane approach to wild horse management," group spokeswoman Grace Kuhn said.

"This cruel treatment of wild horses in unacceptable and far below the standard that Americans expect for these iconic animals," she said.

Scott Sonner, The Associated Press

WORKERS CAPITAL
Calpers Posts 5.8% Gain Helped by Stocks and Private Debt

P3 

PUBLIC PENSIONS FUND PRIVATIZATION

Eliyahu Kamisher
Wed, July 19, 2023 




(Bloomberg) -- Calpers swung to a 5.8% gain in its latest fiscal year as the stock market rally and private debt buoyed the largest traditional public pension fund in the US.

The preliminary return for fiscal 2023 reported on Wednesday is a sharp turnaround for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, whose 6.1% loss in the prior year was its worst showing in more than a decade. The gain left Calpers holding $462.8 billion, enough to cover 72% of its future obligations, unchanged from a year earlier.

It’s the first full fiscal year since Calpers ramped up its private equity investments with a $25 billion bet, while increasing the use of leverage and allocations to private debt. The results were mixed. Returns for the year ended June 30 were driven by a 14.1% surge in publicly traded stocks and 6.5% on private debt, as private equity slipped 2.3%, real assets dropped 3.1% and bonds remained flat.

“It really was a tale of two stories,” said Calpers Chief Investment Officer Nicole Musicco. “The first half of the year we were flat, and then caught up in the second half.”

Calpers is trying to make up lost ground after being rocked by successive management changes. It’s been leaning on alternative assets under Musicco, who was recruited from a Canadian pension fund last year, amid pressure to meet an annual return target of 6.8%. If there’s a shortfall, municipalities across California could be forced to cut services to meet pension obligations.

The preliminary five-year average return now stands at 6.1%, down from 6.7% the previous fiscal year. The 10-year average is 7.1%

The latest results mirrored a slowdown in private equity markets as higher interest rates ended years of easy deal-making. The loss from private equity for Calpers followed gains of 3.3% and 44% in preceding years. The fund’s data for private equity, private debt and real assets are reported on a one-quarter lag, and were current as of March 31.

Musicco expects a “downward tailwind” to hurt private equity returns when those numbers are updated, but she remained bullish on the asset class.

“There’s such a huge menu of opportunity within private equity,” Musicco said in a call with reporters.

Calpers Chief Executive Officer Marcie Frost said her fund is maintaining its focus “on meeting the long-term retirement promises made to our members and their families.”

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the second-largest US pension fund, has yet to release its fiscal 2023 results. Earlier this month Calstrs Chief Investment Officer Christopher Ailman said he expects an “upper-single-digit kind of year” that falls short of its 7% benchmark.

(Updates with executive comments and return data starting in the fourth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

Trimmed trees outside LA studio become flashpoint for striking Hollywood writers and actors



LOS ANGELES (AP) — A row of tightly trimmed ficus trees along a stretch of sidewalk outside Universal Studios has become a hot spot in the face-off between Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters and actors.

Some members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Writers Guild of America unions — along with sympathetic local politicians — think the studio purposely pruned the trees in an effort to remove a source of shade for workers picketing under the hot Southern California sun. They gathered regardless on Wednesday, with one woman wearing a green wreath on her head and holding a sign depicting a full, untrimmed tree under the words “Never Forget.”

“Universal, get your ducks in order. We don’t want to see any more shady nonsense because the people are watching,” said Konstantine Anthony, a SAG-AFTRA member and the Democratic mayor of nearby Burbank.

Burbank's city limits don’t include the stretch of Barham Boulevard where the trees were trimmed, which is part of Los Angeles. Anthony said he had consulted with Los Angeles political leaders about the trimming.

“We can’t find any work orders done for this particular tree trimming, which is problematic because in Southern California we have a lot of laws governing trees,” he said. “Normally, you don’t trim until October, and in fact, the exact same style and type of tree about 200 feet this way are not trimmed. But those aren’t providing shade to the picketers, are they?”

Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman, whose district includes Universal City, said in a statement that no permits had been issued for tree trimming at the site. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said his office was investigating the issue.

An NBCUniversal spokesperson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that it knew the trimming had “created unintended challenges for demonstrators, that was not our intention.” The studio said it was working to provide some shade coverage for picketers.

Jeff Turner, The Associated Press

Wed, July 19, 2023

Tunisia's El General: The rapper who helped bring down Ben Ali

Mike Thomson - BBC News, Tunis
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Rapper El General sings his latest release, Sfax 1.jpg

Tunisian rapper El General was just 21 when his haunting, raw video Rais Lebled, or Mr President, went viral in late 2010.

Standing in a darkened, sewage strewn alley - festooned in graffiti - he ripped into the country's then dictator, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali - in a way none had dared before.

Born Hamada Ben Amor, the fiery young man's explosive song gave voice to the anger, frustration and despair of a whole generation.

"I knew there would be consequences, which scared me due to my young age. I realised the danger of what I had done," he tells the BBC.

El General was fast becoming famous but with his baseball cap pulled down low of his forehead, few knew his real identity. However, with chanting protestors bellowing his song throughout the country, El General's cover was eventually blown and he was arrested.

"I thought this is the end, you know, because at that time if you went into the Ministry of Interior you wouldn't come out again."

Thankfully and perhaps surprisingly, El General was freed after a few days. By this point his song was not only a revolutionary anthem in Tunisia but had become a rallying cry for pro-democracy protesters across the Middle East, from the streets of Egypt to the souks of Bahrain.

El General's face adorned the front page of Time magazine, which listed him among the 100 most influential people in the world.

El General is now married, and lives with his family in an upmarket suburb of the capital

By mid-January 2011, Ben Ali had fled the country. El General and all those who took to the streets in what became known as the Jasmin Revolution had won.

Unfortunately, democracy was to prove a big disappointment to many in Tunisia. Although it survived there, unlike in other countries that rose up during the Arab Spring, successive governments did little to improve the lot of most Tunisians.

Most politicians came to be viewed as more interested in pointless squabbling and their own self-importance than rescuing a nosediving economy. Democracy was soon seen by many as synonymous with anarchy, political inertia and the collapse of law and order.

All of which led to the landslide victory of Kais Saied in the 2019 presidential election. The balding former law professor promised to rescue the country from political and economic chaos. What followed is described by his critics as akin to a coup.

After suspending parliament in July 2021, the populist president went on to give himself the powers to rule by decree. Soon after that he scrapped parliament, which has since been replaced by a feebler version, largely stripped of powers to oppose the president.

Mr Saied went on to dissolve the High Judicial Council, which guarded the independence of the courts, before sacking more than 50 judges.

Last year Mr Saied rewrote the constitution after winning a referendum, which had been boycotted by most opposition groups, amassing even more power for himself. Next came the arrest of dozens of those who have opposed him, from politicians, lawyers and journalists to academics and activists.

To El General, the clock appears to be turning right back to the days of fear and repression.

"We are more under control than ever. We don't know if we're living in the present or back in 2010. I'm one of many who feel our country is in danger. We are still in shock. We didn't expect this level of repression."

While Mr Saied has been largely effective in supressing dissent, he has had much less success in keeping prices down.

Inflation is pushing many foods beyond the price of even middle-class Tunisians and there are severe shortages of staples like rice, sugar and oil. All of which, one market vendor lamented, is forcing some people to sift through roadside rubbish for food.

Kais Saied was a publicity-shy professor who became president

Nowhere is the rise in poverty more evident than in the struggling suburb of Ettadhamen in the capital, Tunis, where youth unemployment is particularly rife.

With drug abuse soaring, a gym owner there, who preferred not to be identified, has begun offering kick-boxing classes. He hopes this will give young people some pride and an interest in something other than narcotics.

One young man, sweating heavily from a vigorous work-out, explained that he aimed to get to the top of the sport, so that he could compete in kick-boxing competitions in Europe. The idea being to jump ship as soon as he got there.

"If I get the chance to go abroad and box, the first thing I'll do is think of a way to stay there. I can't lie, if I find a way to do this I won't come back."

Sadly for him, the gym owner later revealed that the sport's authorities have got wise to wise to such schemes.

He said they were now taking the passports of Tunisians competing overseas and escorting them to and from competitions.

Thousands of other desperate Tunisians are joining soaring numbers of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa in trying to reach Europe in small makeshift boats.

Sadly many don't make it. Since 2014 nearly 28,000 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean illegally.

Many do survive the extremely dangerous journey. So far this year more than 60,000 migrants have arrived in Italy, double the number for the same period in 2022.

As the numbers grow, so does the EU's determination to stop them coming. This is proving quite an earner for the Tunisian leader.

Despite saying earlier this year that he was not willing to act as Europe's border guard, earlier this week Mr Saied accepted about $118m (£90m) from the European Union (EU) to help combat Tunisia's people-trafficking trade.

A further $1bn is being offered by the EU for investment in Tunisia. This, though, is dependent on Mr Saied agreeing to the terms of a $2bn bail-out package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). So far he has refused to do that.

The IMF deal requires him to cut costly subsidies and slim down the bloated government workforce, which Mr Saied knows will be highly unpopular and could even lead to another uprising, this time against him.

For the time being at least Mr Saied remains surprisingly popular, though there are growing numbers of people who are deeply worried about the direction he is taking the country. From incendiary speeches about migrants and the jailing of his political opponents, to his deliberate enfeebling of parliament and the judiciary.

The mass dismissal of judges by the president caused outrage in Tunisia

One such person is El General, though times have changed. Since the huge success of his uprising anthem, he has got married and settled down to raise his family.

The former firebrand now lives in a large imposing house in one of Tunis's upmarket suburbs.

Having watched his country fall victim to growing repression all over again, El General says he felt compelled to return to song-writing.

His insists the lyrics of his latest release include criticism of Mr Saied, though this time it is certainly no revolution rap.

It seems El General is content to leave this fight to a new generation of rappers, who perhaps have a little less to lose.

"El General will always be El General, but maybe there is someone who would now be more revolutionary than me. Like in football, for example, we say Lionel Messi is the best of the best, and maybe in a few years there will be someone playing football better than him."

You can listen to Mike Thomson's report on the BBC World Service's Assignment programme

Kuno cheetah deaths: Could radio collars be killing the big cats in India?

Geeta Pandey - BBC News, Delhi
Wed, July 19, 2023

Cheetahs are housed in Kuno national park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh

Could radio collars, the crucial electronic devices that help track the movement of protected animals, be harmful for them?

That is the question many are asking after the deaths last week of two cheetahs who were among the 20 big cats brought to India with much fanfare last year. Cheetahs, that were declared extinct in 1952 in India, were reintroduced as part of the world's first intercontinental relocation of a large carnivore. They are housed in Kuno national park in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

Until now, eight cheetahs, including three cubs born in March, have died.

Some of the deaths have been caused by unavoidable reasons, such as cardiac failure precipitated by stress or mating injuries.

But several wildlife experts and veterinary doctors have told the BBC that the last two deaths were caused by maggot infestations following skin infections. And they say one of the reasons could be the radio collars that the animals are made to wear for their own protection.

It's a theory the environment and forests ministry has strongly rejected. In an official statement, the ministry insisted that the adult cheetahs all died "due to natural causes" and said reports blaming radio collars were "speculative and lacking in scientific evidence". The BBC also reached out to Mr Rajesh Gopal, chairman of the cheetah project, but he hasn't responded yet.

Wildlife experts, however, say such injuries are not uncommon among other big cats too, especially during India's humid rainy season.

Alok Kumar, former chief conservator of forests in Madhya Pradesh, told the BBC that the deaths among big cats could be due to many reasons but radio collars - although key to their survival - could be a factor too.

"These collars carry chips that send information about the wearer through satellites and are necessary to monitor the movement of the animal for their safety and protection," Mr Kumar said, adding that he "has seen infections caused by collars even in tigers".

Yadvendradev Jhala, veteran conservationist and one of the experts who planned and oversaw the translocation project, told the BBC that the wounds may be caused by the animal scratching the area around the collar because of humidity.

Twenty cheetahs were brought to India with much fanfare last year

"This is the first monsoon for the cheetahs who have come from the jungles of Africa which are dry zones and they are still trying to acclimatise to Indian monsoon," he said.

The cheetahs "have a very heavy under-fur" - thick hair under their neck - which absorbs a lot of moisture in very damp weather and that makes it soft and tender and itchy.

"And when the animal scratches, if the skin breaks, then flies lay eggs there and a maggot infestation happens which leads to a bacterial invasion and causes septicaemia, leading to death," he added.

A lot of prestige is attached to the cheetah project in India - Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had travelled to Kuno last September to release the first batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia into the national park. (Twelve big cats were brought in from South Africa earlier this year.) So it's no surprise that every death - and birth - makes headlines.

Inside India's plan to bring back extinct cheetahs


The world's fastest cat is returning to India

The death of the cubs from "malnourishment and dehydration" had led many to ask why the authorities didn't intervene in time to ensure their survival. Similar questions are being asked now after last week's deaths.

One veterinarian who has seen a video of one of the two bodies said on condition of anonymity that "it was covered with thousands of maggots from head to toe".

"It takes several days for an animal to die from a maggot infestation, so how come no-one noticed?" he asked.

The last cheetah to die was Suraj who was spotted last Friday by a monitoring team "in a lethargic state" with "a fly around its neck", the Indian Express reported. Three hours later, Suraj was found dead.

A wildlife official said "initial investigation found the cause of the feline's death to be wounds on the neck and back".

The paper quoted Madhya Pradesh principal chief conservator of forests JS Chauhan - who has since been removed from his position - as saying that another male cheetah, who had died a few days earlier, had similar injuries. Mr Chauhan said that "one of the causes could be the satellite collars".

On Wednesday, reports said at least three other cheetahs were sick with similar wounds, with wildlife experts calling on the authorities to investigate the role of radio collars in the deaths.

Officials say radio collars and are necessary to monitor the movement of the animal for their safety and protection

Mr Jhala says the only way to deal with the situation is to check all the remaining cheetahs to see if any of them have any lesions.

"And if they find any, then they have to treat them. The collars, of course, can't be put back on until an animal has fully healed, which means that the cheetahs will have to be brought back into protected enclosures for their safety," he adds.

The action plan for the reintroduction of the cheetah in India had anticipated a 50% mortality rate in the first year of the project.

Mr Jhala says it was anticipated that the deaths would be from snaring and poaching, accidents involving vehicles and in conflict with leopards.

"It's very positive that the anticipated causes haven't happened," he said. "On the other hand, the deaths that have taken place have been a learning experience, a very expensive learning experience."

Mr Kumar says that projects like these are expected to have a long gestation period.

"Cheetah is a new species in our home. It may take five to 10 years to settle them in the Indian subcontinent," he said. "We are taking lessons every day, learning how to manage and protect them."

Canada wants US skilled workers - and they are interested

Sam Cabral and Nadine Yousif - BBC News, Washington and Toronto
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Leon Yang says the US needs to update its immigration policies if it wants people like him to stay.

When Leon Yang was 16, he moved by himself from Xi'An, China to the US, to study in a country where he believed that, if he worked hard every day, he could get where he wanted.

Fascinated by airplanes and everything else that flies in the air, he developed a passion for aerospace that took him from high school in Greenville, South Carolina to New York University (NYU).

With a mechanical engineering degree under his belt, he is now responsible for the soil compactor line at a construction equipment company in Atlanta, Georgia.

But nine years on from his life-altering decision, he has lost faith that he is still competing on a level playing field.

"For the past three years, I've had recruiters from major companies reach out to me, 10 to 20 a week," he claims.

As soon as they find out he is on a visa in the H1-B specialty occupation category, however, "most of them walk away", he said.

The H1-B allows foreign-born, US-educated individuals to work in the country for three to six years, but requires sponsorship by an employer and often provides no meaningful path to permanent residency.

This week, Mr Yang, now 25, submitted his application for a new Canadian programme that offers open work permits, for up to three years, to H1-B visa holders and their immediate family members.

The measure, a temporary effort to attract skilled and high-tech US workers to the country, only opened on Monday morning. By Tuesday, it had already reached its initial cap of 10,000 applicants.

Canada's immigration minister Sean Fraser announced the new work permit programme in June.

The burst of applications is a sign of mounting frustrations among skilled workers in the US who feel trapped in the limbo of a legal immigration system that they see as outdated and unfriendly.

When his visa expires, Mr Yang says he will have few options. He fully intends to move to Canada if he is accepted by the programme.

"I will be treated not equal, but fair compared to other competitors in the job market and that's one of the things I've missed so much in the past three years," he told the BBC.

Mr Yang is hardly alone in feeling that way. Thousands of skilled foreign nationals either fail to make the cut for the H1-B visa or, when chosen, spend years waiting for a chance at the permanent residency green card.

Demand for the visa category "massively" outstrips supply, said Madeline Zavodny, a University of North Florida economics professor who studies immigration and the future of the US labour market.

When it was established by the US Congress in the year 1990, only 65,000 foreign nationals could apply for the visa each year.

That limit has since been raised only once - to 85,000 - which Ms Zavodny says is "way too small".

"Employer demand has risen, immigration has become much more common and the US workforce hasn't grown enough to keep up with employer demand," she said.

The crush of applicants also prompted US immigration authorities in 2014 to switch from a first-come, first-serve process to a randomised lottery system.

The result, according to Ms Zavodny, is that the US is losing graduates of its own universities who want to stay but are forced to return to their home countries or go elsewhere for employment.

"The impressive thing about Canada is how nimble and flexible they are," she said. "They are constantly innovating their immigration policies, while the US has not for decades."

Why Canada aims to bring in 1.5m immigrants by 2025


Canada adds million to population inside a year

It remains to be seen whether Canada will extend the cap for its work permit programme or seek to make it permanent.

But a spokesperson for its ministry of immigration told the BBC it believed there were likely more than 400,000 eligible applicants at any given time.

"This temporary policy is intended to facilitate career development and mobility for tech workers, expanding the range of opportunities available for skilled workers to advance their career in the North American tech sector," communications advisor Julie Lafortune said.

"The immense interest in Canada's new H1-B application stream is a strong indication of just how competitive Canada is on the global stage."

Ron Hira, a research associate with the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute think tank, says the H1-B programme is "a mixed bag" that sometimes rewards "the best and brightest" but largely benefits workers with skills already abundantly available in the US.

His research also suggests employers, like technology and outsourcing companies, are exploiting the visa category to hire migrant workers they routinely underpay and place in poor working conditions.

And if terminated, workers on the visa have only 60 days to secure new employment.

"It's not a big surprise that some H1-B workers want to escape and maybe think that Canada will be a better option for them," Mr Hira said.

"If we want immigrants," he added of the US, "we should be offering them green cards, not placing people in situations where the employer controls them."

A Canadian citizenship ceremony

He warns that it is far too early to know if Canada has made a good decision, in spite of the optics, and points to its lack of screening criteria for the open work permit as well as mass layoffs in the US tech industry.

"We don't know what mix of workers have applied," he said.

"It could be that some of them are very highly skilled. It could be that some of them have ordinary skills and they're just trying to escape a bad situation."

In fact, the longer that H1-B visa holders remain in the US, the more their concerns of getting a raw deal may intensify.

Those who seek green cards run up against the limited quotas allotted by nationality.

"The wait is so long now that, functionally, a new applicant from India is not going to get a green card in their lifetime," said David Bier, the associate director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank.

The problem is compounded for those with families, as their children lose eligibility for the green card as dependents when they reach the age of 21 and must leave the country.

"If your kids are having to leave the country, you might want to consider going to a country that would welcome you and your family," said Mr Bier.

"The Canadian offer is: you come, immediately get to work for any employer you want and you're going to have a clear path to permanent residency to stay. That is a very attractive offer."

Soumya, 42, a financial services employee in New Jersey, is one Indian national who has applied for the Canadian work permit.She claims the stress and anxiety borne out of the green card "waiting game" is "killing a lot of the enthusiasm that people initially came [to the US] with".

"If people live in a country for 10 years, and they're still not sure whether they'll get to stay, that's not the feeling someone should have," she said.

B.C. boy, 9, dies from asthma ‘exacerbated’ by wildfire smoke: How smoke impacts asthma

As hundreds of wildfires keep burning, we spoke to a respirologist about the impact of smoke.

Karla Renic
·Lifestyle Editor
Wed, July 19, 2023 


Carter Vigh was just nine years old when he died from asthma attack that was worsened by wildfire smoke. (Facebook/Amber Vigh; Getty)

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a qualified medical professional before engaging in any physical activity, or making any changes to your diet, medication or lifestyle.

A nine-year-old boy from British Columbia has died from an asthma attack, which his parents say was worsened by smoke from wildfires.

Carter Vigh died in an emergency room on July 11, after long-lasting CPR attempts by staff.

His mom, Amber Vigh, told CBC hospital staff "tried everything" in a Monday interview near 100 Mile House, B.C.

"I just stood there and just told him that I loved him and just to breathe... This time was just different."

As reported by CBC, Vigh said Carter had asthma his whole life and always had a puffer with him.

That day, he was at a birthday party, "when the air was clearer," and showed no signs of struggling. In the evening, he began coughing and it eventually became worse until his mom took him to the hospital. According to the broadcaster, Carter later lost consciousness and staff "performed CPR for 25 minutes before the boy was declared dead."

Vigh and her husband James told CBC they were told their son likely had a severe asthma attack exacerbated by smoky air.

Fires still burning

Wildfires have been burning across Canada for over a month, in what was declared as the worst wildfire season on record for the country.

As of Wednesday, there are more than 880 wildfires burning — majority out of control — including more than 370 in B.C. alone.

Special statements for poor air quality were issued in B.C., Alberta, Yukon, Quebec, the Northwest Territories and parts of Saskatchewan.

Expert weighs in on wildfire smoke impact on children

Dr. Chung-Wai Chow tells Yahoo Canada smoke exacerbates the symptoms of pre-existing lung conditions, in both children and adults.

However, children are of a higher concern because they have smaller lungs and less developed airways.

Children have smaller lungs and less developed airways. (Getty)
How common are chronic lung conditions?

Chow, a transplant respirologist at the University Health Network in Toronto, said asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are the third most common health issues facing Canadians.

A 2021 report from Asthma Canada outlined more than 3.8 million Canadians are affected by asthma, and about 250 people die from it each year.

According to Chow, "we will see more and more cases of asthma" in the country.

"I fully expect, unfortunately... chronic diseases like asthma and COPD will become a greater and greater percentage of our healthcare problems in the years to come."
Impact of smoke on the lungs

Chow said there are two ways in which human lungs are impacted by the smoke: acute exposures and chronic exposures.

Air pollutants from smoke linger in the air, she said, leading to poor air quality even after smoke — and they travel with the wind.

"There's an irritant effect because these particles, they're a little bit toxic, so people who breathe that in will get a sore throat, get stinging eyes, a cough," Chow explained. "Some people get a sensation of burning in their throat or have a sense of shortness of breath."

Hundreds of wildfires are burning in B.C. alone. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

For children, the impact can be more severe.

"Our airways and our lungs continue to grow and develop into our late teens and early 20s," Chow said.

"Healthy young children, if they're exposed over long periods of time, will end up with smaller lungs and smaller airways and fewer lumbar airways than someone who has not been exposed."

Older patients are also at higher risk, she added, as the immune system becomes less active and people become more susceptible to respiratory symptoms.

Another impact is that air pollution (including particles from smoke) is "associated with the transport of respiratory pathogens, viruses and bacteria," Chow claimed.

Overall, the long-term impact "increases infection and decreases the immune response to our ability to actually respond to these infections appropriately."

Cough, sputum and allergies are common symptoms of wildfire smoke and pollution impact. (Getty)

As far as short-term impacts, Chow said what's currently presenting is cough, sputum and allergies. But, she emphasized though wildfires have been only happening now for two months, they reoccur every year.
Impact of smoke on those with asthma

Smoke can impact healthy lungs, but adding a chronic lung condition into the mix means "exacerbations," Chow said. With asthma, that means more asthma attacks.

Chow said asthma is a "reversible disease" by definition.

"One of the concerns is that with repeated episodes of exacerbations, is that the reversibility decreases."

The respirologist explained patients with asthma who are exposed to irritants — such as smoke — can have an immediate reaction, or a delayed one.

Since the start of the summer, and the wildfire season, Chow said it's evident in emergency departments there are more people coming in with respiratory symptoms.

"They were well-maintained, on the current medications, and then with the really bad pollution in the summer, people are actually having more symptoms."

Vancouver has been in under air quality statements through much of July. (Getty)
What parents of children with asthma can do

According to Chow, the best move to protect yourself from smoke is "avoidance," though acknowledging it can be difficult for those living in polluted areas.

"Keeping yourself or your children from being exposed means [being] in a climate controlled environment."

She recommends investing in HEPA filters. But, that's not enough.

"We all want our kids to play and exercise, and I hate sort of giving this advice, but I think it's necessary. On days when the air quality is bad is to keep your kids and yourself inside.

When the air quality is bad is to keep your kids and yourself inside.Dr. Chung-Wai Chow

For those who must spend time outdoors when air quality is low, she recommended wearing an N95 mask that can filter pollutant particles.

Specifically with asthma, Chow reminded parents to make sure maintenance puffers are being used regularly. It "will do a lot in terms of protecting them from getting more symptoms, even if they are exposed."

Loud music festivals could reduce some bats’ activity by almost 50% – study

Claire Hayhurst, PA
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Loud music festivals could reduce the nightly activities of bats by almost 50%, according to a study.

Researchers from the University of Bath and the University of the West of England have presented the first evidence of the impact of such events on bat activity.

They found loud music playback alone – without factors associated with festivals such as lighting and habitat change – was enough to disturb several species of bat.

The study is published in the British Ecological Society Journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

It found nightly bat activity along woodland edges for the Nyctalus/Eptesicus species declined by 47% when loud music was played.

Bats from the more tolerant P. pipistrellus species decreased their activity by 32% during periods of music playback.

The creatures were played music to reflect a number of genres, ranging from Bootylicious by Destiny’s Child to heavy metal tune War Pigs by Black Sabbath.

Jack Hooker, a postgraduate researcher at the University of the West of England, said: “Our study is an important addition to a sparse evidence base detailing the impacts of this type of noise pollution on UK wildlife, that will hopefully aid in the implementation and enforcement of policies relating to noise levels.”

Nocturnal species are reliant on sound to glean information about their environment for their lives, including navigation, finding food, mating and avoiding predators.

Mr Hooker added: “Given that music festivals have become ubiquitous in the UK and are increasingly being held in places that are important for local wildlife, it is imperative that guidance relating to their planning and implementation is evidence-based and fully protects local biodiversity from any potential negative impacts if we are to share these habitats with wildlife in a sustainable manner.”

In the study, authors selected 10 sites in south-west England and South Wales between August and September in 2021.

They chose dark, semi-natural landscapes located along woodland edges adjacent to grassland or pasture habitats to resemble the conditions of festivals.

Music by Destiny’s Child was among songs played by researchers to test the activity of bats (Anthony Harvey/PA)

The experiment was conducted over two nights – a quiet night and a night with loud music playback at volumes reaching 100 decibels, comparable with noise levels at such events.

Five songs were stitched together to provide 10 minutes of music medley, with noise alternating between this and 10 minutes of ambient background noise for two hours after sunset.

Bat activity was recorded at the woodland boundaries roughly 2m from the speakers, and at additional distances of 20m and 40m to study noise disturbance impacts at a range of distances and volumes.

Dr Emma Stone, lecturer at the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, said: “Music festivals undoubtedly affect bat activity, but steps such as making quiet hedgerows available could really make a difference in reducing negative impacts.”

The five songs played to the bats were: Bootylicious by Destiny’s Child, Untold Stories by C3B, War Pigs by Black Sabbath, Life Gets Better by Ed Solo & Skool of Thought, and Seventeen by Sharon Van Etten.