The Ultra-High-Energy Neutrino May Have Begun Its Journey In Blazars

Visualization of the ultra-high-energy neutrino event detected by the KM3NeT/ARCA detector in the Mediterranean Sea. The colored tracks show the Cherenkov light produced as secondary particles travel through the water and are recorded by the detector’s optical modules. 

CREDIT: KM3NeT

March 10, 2026 
By Eurasia Review


Three years ago, in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the passage of an “ultra-energetic” cosmic neutrino was observed — the most energetic ever detected. The event drew international attention from the scientific community as well as from the media and the public, not least because the origin of this particle — whose energy exceeded that of previously observed neutrinos by more than an order of magnitude — is unknown.


A new paper published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP) by the KM3NeT collaboration, which operates the KM3NeT/ARCA detector off the coast of Sicily, suggests that the source of this particle may be in a population of blazars — active galactic nuclei hosting a supermassive black hole that emit a plasma jet directed toward Earth.

In search of the “culprit”

KM3NeT/ARCA is a neutrino detector immersed in the depths of the sea off the coast of Sicily, and it may come as a surprise that it is still under construction. Nevertheless, on 13 February 2023 it recorded an extraordinary signal: the passage of a neutrino which, at around 220 PeV, far exceeded the energies of all high-energy neutrinos observed up to that point. The event also caught the scientific community off guard: what could have generated a particle with such exceptional characteristics?

To answer this question, the collaboration worked much like forensic investigators deducing who or what left a particular trace at a crime scene: starting from an initial hypothesis, the authors simulated the events that might have occurred and then compared the results with the actual observations.

The authors’ hypothesis — one among several proposed over the past year — is that the ultra-high-energy neutrino may have been produced in a specific class of blazars. “There are several possible explanations for the origin of this particle,” explains Meriem Bendahman, a researcher at INFN Naples and a member of the KM3NeT collaboration, among the authors of the study, which counts hundreds of contributors. “For example, it has been proposed that such neutrinos are generated when ultra-high-energy cosmic rays interact with the cosmic microwave background radiation, the residual light from the early Universe. But there is also the possibility that the neutrino originates from a diffuse flux produced by a population of extreme accelerators, such as blazars.”

A diffuse source

Bendahman explains that there are reasons to believe the observed neutrino did not originate from a single sudden and identified event — such as an explosion or a flare. In similar cases, scientists look for an electromagnetic “counterpart,” that is, a signal in radio, optical, X-ray or gamma-ray emission coming from the same region of the sky in coincidence with the neutrino detection

In the case of the event three years ago, however, no such electromagnetic counterpart was found. “This does not completely rule out the possibility of a point-like source,” Bendahman notes, “but it leads us to consider that our neutrino may come from a diffuse background — that is, from a flux of neutrinos including contributions from many sources.”

“We therefore simulated a population of blazars using an open-source software called AM3, with physically motivated parameters,” Bendahman explains. To build a realistic model of blazars, the researchers fixed many parameters to values already known from other independent observations, such as the magnetic field strength or the size of the emission region.


In the simulations, they mainly varied two key parameters: the baryonic loading, which indicates how much energy is carried by protons compared to electrons (and therefore how many neutrinos can be produced), and the proton spectral index, which determines how the proton energy is distributed and how likely it is to reach extreme energies.

For each combination of these two parameters, they calculated both the diffuse neutrino flux and the corresponding gamma-ray flux, to be compared with observational data.
The comparison with IceCube and Fermi LAT

One of the strengths of Bendahman and colleagues’ work is its integrated approach: in addition to KM3NeT/ARCA data, the authors also considered observations from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. They did not rely only on what had been observed, but also — and perhaps especially — on what these instruments had not observed.

The absence of comparable ultra-high-energy events in existing neutrino datasets, including those from IceCube, suggests that such phenomena are extremely rare. Any viable model must therefore also account for this absence. The proposed scenario satisfies this constraint.

Moreover, since neutrino production is generally accompanied by gamma-ray emission, the authors verified that the contribution from blazars does not exceed the extragalactic gamma-ray background measured by Fermi.

In this way, Bendahman and colleagues showed that a population of blazars is a plausible source of the ultra-high-energy neutrino: “We modelled a realistic population of blazars with physically motivated parameters, and we found that this population of blazars could explain the origin of this ultra-high-energy event, while also being consistent with the constraints that we have regarding the gamma-ray and neutrino observations.”

KM3NeT: the best is yet to come

The hypothesis that a population of blazars may lie at the origin of the event remains promising, but it needs to be tested with new data. “We need more observational data,” explains Bendahman. “KM3NeT is still under construction, and we detected this ultra-high-energy neutrino with only a partial configuration. With the full detector and more data, we will be able to perform more powerful statistical analyses and open a new window on the ultra-high-energy neutrino universe.” At the time of the observation, only 21 detection lines of KM3NeT were active, corresponding to about 10% of the final volume of the apparatus.

If confirmed, this KM3NeT collaboration’s interpretation would provide new insights into the ability of blazars to accelerate particles to even more extreme energies than previously hypothesized. “We have never observed such a high-energy neutrino before, and if it turns out to come from cosmic accelerators like blazars,” Bendahman concludes, “it would give us new insight into how these objects can emit particles at energies beyond what we previously expected.”

The Global 5G Divide – STATISTA

Global 5G coverage reached 55% of the population by the end of 2025, but access remains sharply uneven, with high-income countries enjoying more than 80% coverage while low-income regions — particularly in Africa — remain largely unconnected. / bne IntelliNews

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By Tristan Gaudiaut for Statista March 10, 2026

The rollout of 5G technology remains far from bridging the global digital divide. Quite the contrary, the connectivity gap between high-income and low-income regions has widened in recent years, Statista reports.

According to the International Telecommunication Union, 5G networks covered 55% of the world’s population at the end of 2025, but access is highly uneven. As highlighted by our infographic, in high-income countries, over 80% of the population now enjoys 5G coverage, while in low-income countries, less than 5% do. The urban-rural gap is also particularly pronounced: globally, 66% of urban residents have 5G access, compared to just 40% in rural areas (a 26 percentage point difference)​⁠.

Regions like East Asia, led by China, South Korea, and Japan, are at the forefront of 5G deployment, with China alone surpassing the 1bn 5G connections mark in 2024 and reaching near-universal urban coverage. South Korea was the first to launch 5G and now enjoys nearly 100% coverage nationwide, followed by countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore and Japan (98 to 99%)​⁠. North America, particularly the United States and Canada, also shows coverage and adoption above the global average, with over 300mn 5G connections and rapid expansion in both urban and suburban areas​⁠.

In contrast, much of Africa and some parts of South Asia and Latin America remain far behind. For example, it was estimated that only 12% of the African population would be covered by 5G by the end of 2025, with rural areas often completely unserved​. Elsewhere in the world, countries like India, while making progress (40% 5G coverage in 2025), still face significant barriers due to infrastructure costs and regulatory challenges.

The ITU emphasizes that closing the global connectivity divide requires not only massive infrastructure investment in developing countries, but also policies addressing affordability, digital skills and equitable access. Without targeted action, the gap is likely to widen in the coming years, leaving rural and low-income populations even further behind in the digital economy. You will find more infographics at Statista

Don’t just follow the news—understand

Virtual Reality Games Can Increase A Player’s Desire To Help Others

Immersive Media Communication graduate students Isaac Wu (left; game developer) and Leila Okahata (researcher). The student research team tested a prototype of their custom-built virtual reality game at Climate Change Game Night 2025. 

CREDIT: Photo by Jeremy Henkelman-Parker, University of Oregon


March 10, 2026
By Eurasia Review

Playing a virtual reality game can increase a person’s sense of altruism and influence levels of empathy, according to a new study from University of Oregon researchers.

The study tracked participants’ feelings as played through a virtual reality scenario in which they helped a boy find his lost dog. The results, published in Frontiers in Virtual Reality, suggest that immersive games can motivate people to help, even if they can’t directly relate to someone else’s emotions.

UO communication and media studies expert Samantha Lorenzo is not a gamer, but she knows the power of a good story. Lorenzo has widely studied the social and psychological impacts of different forms of communication and has seen how narratives can play a big role in how people understand information. So when she encountered research about how games can be used for social and emotional benefits, she started getting curious.

She wondered whether narrative-driven games could be used to influence emotional processes, like altruism and empathy. She was especially interested in virtual reality, or VR, due to the immersive nature of the platform, which she theorized could enhance the emotional experience for players, leading to more positive outcomes and longer-lasting effects.

“I had an idea that VR might be an effective tool to influence people’s ability to want to help others and better understand other people’s perspectives,” Lorenzo said. “I wanted to explore possible behavioral changes from immersive environments and the underlying mechanisms that foster altruistic engagement within, and beyond, the gaming world.”


She teamed up with Danny Pimentel, assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Communication. He also codirects the Oregon Reality Lab, where UO students and researchers can develop virtual-, augmented- and mixed-reality media and test their capacity to address social, environmental and business problems.

The research team, led by Lorenzo, decided to explore these questions by developing a narrative-driven VR game that would immerse players in an emotional storyline, so they could analyze whether that gaming experience affected the player’s levels of empathy and altruism. A trio of UO graduate students were instrumental in designing and developing the game.

In their game, Empathy in Action, players enter a neighborhood community where they encounter Alden, a young boy who just lost his dog, Buddy. Players are faced with a range of tasks, both physical and emotional, including searching for clues and deciding whether, and how, to comfort the distraught child.

The researchers considered a few different narratives for the game but landed on the lost dog scenario because it felt like a believable storyline that could happen in real life, Lorenzo said. She and her team thought that a realistic narrative would be the most effective tool for helping people consider how they would actually react in a similar situation.

Both before and after participants played the game, the researchers asked the players a series of questions to gauge whether, and how, the game influenced their levels of empathy and altruism.

“We wanted to see if the game shifted their motivation to help others and if it affected their ability to understand other people’s emotions,” Lorenzo said.

Surprisingly, the team found that a person’s sense of empathy and altruism don’t always increase together.

People’s sense of altruism did go up in the study, but whether they felt greater empathy was more complicated, Lorenzo explained. The researchers saw significantly higher ratings of cognitive empathy, which is an ability to recognize and understand someone else’s feelings. But there was a decline in affective empathy, where a person actually feels the sadness that another person is feeling.

Their data suggested that people might feel moved to help, even if they may not feel greater empathy for those in need.

“People knew that this was a sad situation and that’s why they wanted to help,” she said. However, they didn’t directly feel the same sadness Alden did about losing his dog.


As part of the study, participants suggested potential applications for immersive digital games like Empathy in Action. Their recommendations included classrooms and other learning environments, therapeutic or rehabilitative settings, and conflict-resolution trainings.

Lorenzo stresses that this was an exploratory study, to probe whether VR has the power to influence altruism and empathy, and there’s a lot of room for further research. She believes different storylines could produce different findings. And she personally hopes to build on it through her public health research to see how immersive, narrative-driven interventions could be used for things like understanding and coping with medical challenges.

“This gaming technology is new and exciting, and there’s a lot of potential for researchers to keep exploring how immersive media can be leveraged for social good,” she said.

 

‘AI brain fry’: Why your brain feels fatigued after using AI chatbots at work

Copyright Canva

By Anna Desmarais

Published on 10/03/2026 - EURONEWS

Mental exhaustion from AI use could become more common as employees build and oversee more AI agents.

If you feel mentally drained after spending hours working with artificial intelligence (AI), it may be “AI brain fry,” according to a new study.

Harvard University surveyed over 1,400 American full-time workers at large companies to find out how much they use AI in their work and how it affects their cognition.

Roughly 14 percent of respondents reported feeling a “mental fog” after intensive conversations with AI systems. They described symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, slower decision-making, and even headaches.

Their findings were strong enough for researchers to coin the term “AI brain fry,” describing the mental fatigue from heavy AI use.

The problem is becoming more common as companies start asking their employees to build and manage AI agents, which are capable of performing tasks with little human supervision.

“Employees find themselves toggling between more tools,” the studywrote. “Contrary to the promise of having more time to focus on meaningful work, juggling and multitasking can become the definitive features of working with AI.”

The strain could mean more errors, decision fatigue, and could even boost people’s intentions to quit their jobs, the study found.

Related

The research comes after several social media posts from AI users, claiming they feel increased cognitive load and mental fatigue when working with the programs. One AI founder said he “ends each day exhausted, not from the work itself but from the managing of the work.”

What type of AI work is most mentally draining?

The survey examined how people interact with AI to identify which tasks create the most fatigue.

The most taxing work involved oversight: situations where employees would monitor the outputs from an AI system. Workers doing this kind of monitoring reported 12 percent more mental fatigue than those who did not, the university found.

The researchers say oversight work involves information overload, which the university describes as “feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information one must process at work.”

Oversight workers also said that AI increased their workload because it forces them to track “more outcomes for more tools in the same amount of time.”

Related

There also appears to be a tipping point when it comes to the number of tools people can handle. Productivity began to decline when employees used more than three AI tools simultaneously, the study found.

Participants with brain fry reported making 39 percent more major mistakes than their colleagues who did not experience the same kind of fatigue, the survey found.

Professionals in marketing, operations, engineering, finance and information technologies (IT) were the most likely to report having brain fry.

However, the researchers also found that AI could be used to reduce burnout if it replaces routine or repetitive tasks. They said it is an important distinction between the types of stress that AI can alleviate and others that it could worsen.

Researchers Create Index To Assess Soil Health In Mangroves

March 10, 2026 
By Eurasia Review


Brazilian researchers have developed an index that can measure the health of mangrove soils at different stages. When applied to degraded, restored, and preserved areas, the index revealed that healthy mangroves, including recovered ones, provide ecosystem services at nearly maximum capacity. In contrast, deforested mangroves have only a small fraction of this potential.

The Soil Health Index (SHI) ranges from 0 (worst) to 1 (best) and is described in an article published in the journal Scientific Reports. By translating complex processes into a simple metric, the tool can help managers set conservation and restoration priorities.

The SHI was constructed from a set of variables that together represent the main physical, chemical, and biological processes responsible for soil functioning.

It incorporates attributes related to carbon dynamics, such as soil texture, organic carbon content, and pseudototal iron; the fixation of contaminants, especially different forms of iron minerals; and nutrient cycling, including biological indicators based on the enzymatic activities of soil microorganisms. Together, these variables reflect the soil’s functional state and its capacity to provide ecosystem services.

In the search for nature-based solutions to address the climate crisis, mangroves offer an opportunity to generate environmental and social benefits. In addition to being important carbon sinks, they support fishing and help contain coastal erosion, among other services.


Nevertheless, it is estimated that 30% to 50% of the world’s mangroves have been lost in the last 50 years. This process may be accelerated by climate change, including rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events, as well as deforestation and urban expansion.

Brazil has the second largest mangrove area in the world – about 1.4 million hectares along the coastline, second only to Indonesia – and the most extensive continuous stretch, which is located between the states of Amapá and Maranhão. These areas are important for fishing due to their wide biodiversity, with more than 770 species of fauna and flora.
Results

When applied to the Cocó River estuary in the Brazilian state of Ceará, the SHI revealed contrasting conditions in the area, including recovery in restored areas and the associated implications for ecosystem services. Mature mangroves had the highest SHI values (0.99 ± 0.03), and degraded sites had the lowest (0.25 ± 0.01).


Regions replanted nine and 13 years ago had intermediate values (0.37 ± 0.01 and 0.52 ± 0.02, respectively). The oldest regions performed better, indicating gradual recovery.

“The research sought to quantify important aspects related to the health of mangrove soils and their ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, contaminant immobilization, and nutrient cycling. We set up a scale from 0 to 1 to monitor ecosystem restoration in relation to the recovery process,” explained environmental manager Laís Coutinho Zayas Jimenez to Agência FAPESP. “My dream now is to use the Soil Health Index in a practical application. To show my peers, the managers, that it’s possible to analyze whether a mangrove that has undergone recovery is fully producing ecosystem services and how long it takes for this to happen.”

The article is based on her doctoral thesis from the Graduate Program in Soils and Plant Nutrition at the Luiz de Queiroz School of Agriculture at the University of São Paulo (ESALQ-USP). It was developed under the guidance of Tiago Osório Ferreira and with the support of FAPESP.

Jimenez is currently the head of the mangrove sector at the Forestry Foundation’s Biodiversity Directorate. She leads a groundbreaking project that aims to measure the carbon stock of São Paulo’s mangroves and detect the presence of toxic elements, such as heavy metals, in their soils.

The work is being carried out in partnership with the Center for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON), a FAPESP Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Center (RIDC) based at ESALQ-USP.

The Forestry Foundation is an agency of the São Paulo Department for the Environment, Infrastructure, and Logistics (SEMIL) that is responsible for the state’s Conservation Units. At least 16 of the more than 100 units have mangroves.

“Even if the restoration of mangrove functions is rapid, that can’t be used as an argument for not protecting them from degradation. While some ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling, have been observed to resume, others, such as controlling coastal erosion, take longer,” Jimenez points out.

“Blue carbon”

Mangroves are called “blue carbon forests” because they absorb large amounts of CO₂ from the atmosphere and store organic carbon in the soil for decades more efficiently than tropical forests do. However, changes in land use and pollution increasingly threaten mangrove soils, compromising their functionality.

The global initiative Mangrove Breakthrough aims to restore and conserve 15 million hectares of mangroves globally by 2030. According to the initiative, these ecosystems store the equivalent of more than 22 gigatons of CO₂. Losing just 1% of the remaining mangroves could lead to emissions equivalent to those produced by 50 million cars each year.

“As the study was conducted in a recovery area, the results debunk the idea that the ecosystem is resilient to anthropogenic interventions. We show that it can be degraded at a very rapid rate. But the good news is that the system also recovers quickly, provided that restoration is carried out in an assisted and elaborate manner, respecting the local conditions of the environment in which it’s located. This makes it possible to restore the ecosystem’s functions and its ability to provide services,” says Professor Hermano Melo Queiroz, from the Department of Geography at the Faculty of Philosophy, Languages, and Human Sciences (FFLCH) at USP.

Queiroz is one of the corresponding authors of the article, along with Ferreira, the director of dissemination and a researcher at CCARBON. Other members of the group include Professor Maurício Roberto Cherubin, director of research at the center and a soil health specialist, and Francisco Ruiz.

“In this research, one of the objectives was to translate information on very specific biogeochemical processes for use by environmental managers. By showing that carbon stocks return to restored mangrove areas, the index sends a very important message in the fight against climate change,” says Ferreira, who has been researching mangrove areas for over 25 years and contributed to the creation of a database containing information on the entire Brazilian coast.

Ferreira coordinates the project “BlueShore – Blue Carbon Forests for Offshore Climate Change Mitigation,” which was developed within the Research Center for Greenhouse Gas Innovation (RCGI), an Applied Research Center (ARC) set jointly by FAPESP and Shell, featuring the participation from other companies and hosted by the Engineering School (POLI) of USP.

Open and changeable

The researchers point out that one unique feature of the SHI is the ability to include specific information about each ecosystem and its environment for different regions of the country. For example, it is possible to enter data on ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and contaminant immobilization, as well as geochemical data, such as the amount of phosphorus.


“The greater the amount of phosphorus, the more beneficial it is for the ecosystem. However, in the case of mangroves, depending on the context, excess phosphorus can cause contamination or eutrophication,” says Queiroz.

Eutrophication causes the excessive proliferation of algae and cyanobacteria in mangrove areas. These organisms block sunlight and consume oxygen, resulting in foul odors, fish deaths, loss of aquatic biodiversity, and deterioration of water quality.

Now, the scientists say the next step is to understand what type of carbon is “returning” to these soils and how stable it is.

The study also inspired a new project, “Unraveling the Health of Brazilian Mangrove Soils”, which is funded by FAPESP and will apply a similar methodology in different regions of the country.

The proposal combines soil analysis, remote sensing, and spatial modeling to map the health of mangrove soils and their carbon sequestration potential. The initiative aims to generate the first large-scale map of mangrove soil health in Brazil.

Raccoons Solve Puzzles For The Fun Of It

March 10, 2026 
By Eurasia Review


They raid compost bins, outsmart latches and sometimes look gleeful doing it. A new UBC study in Animal Behaviour suggests raccoons may not just be opportunistic—they may be genuinely curious.

UBC researchers Hannah Griebling and Dr. Sarah Benson-Amram found raccoons continued solving puzzles long after retrieving the only food reward available. This behaviour reflects intrinsic motivation rather than hunger and is described as “information foraging,” because no additional food was given for continuing.
Nine ways in—and they kept going

Researchers used a custom multi-access puzzle box with mechanisms such as latches, sliding doors or knobs. The box had nine entry points, grouped as easy, medium and hard. In Each 20-minute trial the puzzle box contained a single marshmallow, yet raccoons often continued opening new mechanisms after eating it, a clear sign of information-seeking.

“We weren’t expecting them to open all three solutions in a single trial,” said Griebling. “They kept problem solving even when there was no marshmallow at the end.”
When risk rises, raccoons play it safe

When solutions were easy, raccoons explored broadly, trying multiple openings and varying their order. As task difficulty increased, they favoured a dependable solution—but still explored multiple solutions even at the hardest level, showing flexible problem-solving.


Griebling said the pattern reflects a classic tradeoff between curiosity and effort or potential risk. Raccoons adjusted strategy based on perceived cost and risk, mirroring decision-making frameworks in other animals and humans.

“It’s a pattern familiar to anyone ordering at a restaurant,” she said. “Do you order your favourite dish or try something new? If the risk is high—an expensive meal you might not like—you choose the safe option. Raccoons explore when the cost is low and quickly decide to play it safe when the stakes are higher.”
Built for urban life

The findings help explain why raccoons thrive in urban centres like Vancouver. Their success could be attributed to the cognitive and physical traits that suit urban life.

Their forepaws, rich with sensory nerves for foraging in streams, are well suited to manipulating latches and handles—often the same kinds used by humans. Solving problems for information, not just food, may give them an advantage in complex environments, helping them access garbage bins or other food sources. Vancouver’s greenspaces, waterways and generally tolerant public provide near-ideal habitat.

“Understanding the cognitive traits that help raccoons thrive can guide management of species that struggle, and inform strategies for other species, like bears, that use problem-solving to access human-made resources,” said Griebling.

Although the experiment involved captive animals at a research facility in Colorado, previous research suggests wild raccoons show similar problem-solving abilities, though researchers caution the behaviours may not be identical.

“Raccoon intelligence has long featured in folklore, yet scientific research on their cognition remains limited. Studies like this provide empirical evidence to support that reputation,” said Dr. Benson-Amram.

How Microbes Use Ancient Carbon

March 10, 2026 
By Eurasia Review


Hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor release carbon dioxide that is many million years old. This old carbon originates from the Earth’s interior, and it escapes either directly from the Earth’s mantle or is produced when rocks that contain limestone or other carbonate minerals are heated or transformed in geologically active zones. These processes primarily occur where tectonic plates converge or diverge, and hot, rising material heats the sea floor. However, the fate of this carbon after it enters the sea has so far been largely unclear.


The Path of Hydrothermal Carbon

In a new study, researchers from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen, and the National Sun Yat-Sen University, and the Exploration and Development Research institutes in Taiwan investigated a hydrothermal vent system at a depth of about ten meters off the coast of Kueishantao island in Taiwan. They tracked the path of this carbon in the surrounding sea and its uptake by microorganisms and other living things.

“We were able to show that millennia-old carbon from hydrothermal vents can power life in these extreme systems,” says Joely Maak, the study’s lead author and researcher at MARUM.

The team used a special isotope in this study: radiocarbon (14C). This radioactive isotope is created in the Earth’s upper atmosphere by cosmic radiation. The resulting 14C then enters the natural carbon cycle as carbon dioxide and is absorbed by plants, microorganisms, and, ultimately, animals. As long as an organism is alive, the proportion of 14C remains almost constant. However, once an organism dies and is no longer exchanging carbon with the atmosphere, the 14C gradually decays, and after several tens of thousands of years, it becomes virtually undetectable. Carbon from the Earth’s interior is extremely old and has been separated from the atmosphere for a very long time, and therefore no longer contains 14C.

When this carbon enters the ocean through hydrothermal emissions, its signature differs significantly from that of modern atmospheric carbon. In fact, it is “radiocarbon-dead.” For the current study, the researchers are using this exact difference to trace the path of hydrothermal carbon through the marine ecosystem.

“Our approach was to use the old, 14C-free carbon from hydrothermal sources as a natural marker. We were surprised by how clearly the fingerprint could be traced through the entire food web, even into higher organisms,” says Dr. Hendrik Grotheer, geochemist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research.
Efficient Metabolic Pathway Shapes Entire Food Webs

The team’s previous work has shown that specialized bacteria at these vents have a special “secret weapon,” namely, the reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle. This energy-efficient metabolic pathway enables microorganisms to incorporate carbon dioxide into their biomass even under extreme conditions. Building on these results, the new study now shows that the carbon from the hydrothermal vents actually accounts for up to 30 percent of the bacteria’s biomass in the hydrothermal system and is passed on in the local food web. Crabs living directly at the hydrothermal vents also contain this ancient carbon because they feed on the microbes living in the hydrothermal system. Consequently, their body tissue appears measurably older than it actually is.


Project manager Dr. Enno Schefuß of MARUM explains, “Only by combining the study of specific bacterial markers (so-called ‘fatty acids’) and radiocarbon analyses of these, we could obtain these new findings – a combination of state-of-the-art technology and meticulous laboratory work.”

Photosynthesis Also Uses Hydrothermal Carbon

Using additional hydrogen isotopes, the researchers were also able to determine whether the carbon was assimilated via chemosynthesis or by photosynthesis. Unlike photosynthesis, in which plants use sunlight to generate energy, chemosynthesis works completely without sunlight. In this process, microorganisms use reduced chemicals from the Earth’s interior to generate energy. Until now, it had never specifically been demonstrated that photosynthesis plays a role in the uptake of old carbon from hydrothermal systems. The current study was able to show, by using several isotope systems, that hydrothermal carbon is assimilated by photosynthesizing organisms further away from the vent.

“At the same time, the results show that despite the various assimilation mechanisms, only a small proportion of the total carbon released actually remains in the local ecosystem. The majority of the CO2 escapes direct biological use and is distributed into the ocean with the surrounding water masses or escapes into the atmosphere,” adds first author Joely Maak. “On the other hand, the release of components not covered in this study, such as dissolved organic carbon and micronutrients from marine hydrothermal vents, may influence the biogeochemistry of the oceans. This will be investigated in more detail in several projects in the second phase of the Cluster of Excellence, which has just been launched,” notes co-project leader Dr. Marcus Elvert from MARUM.

International Collaboration for Successful Exploration of Hidden Ocean Processes

The study emphasizes the importance of long-term international cooperation between Taiwan and Bremen, demonstrating how modern isotope methods can help to reveal previously hidden biogeochemical processes in the sea. “This study shows the importance of long-term international cooperation for understanding complex oceanic processes,” says Dr. Solveig Bühring. “My Taiwanese project partner, Prof. Yu-Shih Lin, and I led the fieldwork. This collaboration began with a jointly funded DAAD scholarship and has evolved into an extremely successful research partnership. I very much hope that we can continue this close exchange in the future and jointly gain further insights into the role of hydrothermal systems in the global carbon cycle.”

BATSHIT CRAZY

Trump Administration Plans To End Ban On Bear Baiting In Alaska National Preserves

March 10, 2026 
Alaska Beacon
By Yereth Rosen


(Alaska Beacon) — The Trump administration is seeking to open national preserves in Alaska to bear baiting by sport hunters.

The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday announced that it will propose a new rule to overturn restrictions imposed by the Biden administration and prior to that, wider restrictions imposed by the Obama administration.

The proposed rule would allow for state regulations to apply in national preserves, which are part of the National Park System. Sport and subsistence hunting, trapping and fishing are allowed in national preserves in Alaska, under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, or ANILCA.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game allows hunters to use bait to hunt bears in certain places and at certain times of the year. Baiting is the practice of setting up stations with food to attract bears so they can be targeted for hunting.


In a statement, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the proposed rule will restore the state’s previously established authority to manage sport hunting and trapping in Alaska’s national preserves.

“For decades, Alaska’s national preserves were managed under a framework that respected the State’s authority, protected subsistence uses and ensured conservation of wildlife resources,” Burgum said in the statement. “This proposed rule restores that balance. It reduces unnecessary federal overreach, aligns federal regulations with state law, and honors the commitments Congress made in ANILCA.”

The proposed Trump administration rule, like the Biden-era and Obama-era restrictions, applies only to sport harvesters. The federal government, not the state government, regulates subsistence harvesting on federal lands in Alaska, including national preserves.

Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said he welcomed the new Department of the Interior plan.

“It is refreshing to see a federal agency recognize the State’s role as the primary manager of fish and wildlife within its borders and affirm the importance that federal actions not undermine that foundational responsibility,” Vincent-Lang said in a statement. “These changes support the cultural heritage and long-standing traditions of Alaskans who use these lands to fulfill their subsistence needs and continue to pass down a way of life to future generations of Alaskans.”

But conservation groups criticized the move.

Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, said in a statement that the proposed rule should be rejected.

“This proposed rule, like so many before it from this Administration, will endanger our national parks, the millions of visitors that visit them every year, and the animals that inhabit them,” she said in the statement. “For years, bear baiting policy in Alaska’s national preserves has been treated like a political light switch in Washington — flipped on and off with each new administration. But the consequences are anything but political. Bear baiting disrupts natural wildlife behavior and creates dangerous conditions for people visiting these lands managed by the National Park Service.”

Nicole Schmitt, executive director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, said the proposed rule change is not justified, noting that current rules already protect subsistence users.

“The rule change we see today was championed by Safari Club International, who just last month petitioned the Department of Interior to dismantle the power and local representation on the Federal Subsistence Board. Now, this same outside group wants to unlock Alaska’s National Preserves for expansive sport hunting, opening cherish(ed) preserves like Denali to bear baiting,” Schmitt said in a statement.

The new Trump administration proposal will be detailed in an upcoming Federal Register notice that will kick off a public comment period, the Department of the Interior said.

The new proposal is the latest in a decade-long history of rule changes for sport hunting in Alaska national preserves.

In 2015, the Obama administration issued a rule barring bear-baiting and other controversial hunting practices like killing cubs in dens, using dogs to hunt bears and shooting swimming caribou, all practices that were allowed on state land.

The first Trump administration overturned those restrictions. The Biden administration in 2024 resurrected part of the Obama administration’s restrictions, specifically focusing on the bear-baiting ban. At the time, the National Park Service determined that bear baiting posed safety risks to people and animals because it could make bears habituated to human-provided food.

The debate over state regulation of sport hunting and trapping on federal lands in Alaska has also sparked litigation.

In 2020, conservation groups, including the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, notched a victorywhen a federal court struck down the first Trump administration’s plan to allow baiting of brown bears within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The state and the Safari Club International attempted to reverse that ruling, but the appeal was rejected by the 9thCircuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined the state and Safari Club’s request to take up the case.


Alaska Beacon

Alaska Beacon is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government. Alaska, like many states, has seen a decline in the coverage of state news. We aim to reverse that.

LeBlanc heading to Washington after Carney says CUSMA 'broken' by U.S. tariffs

By The Canadian Press
 March 05, 2026 

Former ministry of finance special advisor Julian Karaguesian says Dominic LeBlanc may want to ‘scope out the parameters’ of a new trade deal.

OTTAWA — Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is set to meet President Donald Trump’s trade czar in Washington on Friday, a day after the United States announced it was launching bilateral discussions with Mexico on the review of the continental trade p
act.

LeBlanc’s office said he will be meeting with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss the upcoming mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, as well as other bilateral concerns.

The continental trade pact has shielded Canada from the worst impacts of Trump’s tariffs but the president has repeatedly questioned whether CUSMA should be continued.

The Canada-U.S. relationship has been upended by Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation. Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a media availability in Australia on Wednesday that CUSMA “effectively has been broken in the short term by U.S. actions.”

Carney said Canada is looking to this year’s trade pact review to “re-establish the trust” individuals, businesses and investors need to guide trade between the nations.


Trade talks between Canada and the United States stalled last October after Trump was angered by an Ontario-sponsored ad quoting former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

Despite the freeze-out, LeBlanc and Greer have continued communications by phone.

Canada began domestic CUSMA consultations last year but Ottawa has not formally launched anything with the United States. Greer said last month Canadians have barriers that make it difficult to hold bilateral trade talks.

“They refuse to sell U.S. wine and spirits on their shelves,” Greer told Fox Business. “There are a variety of issues they have not addressed and aren’t addressing and this makes it a big challenge and an obstacle for starting real negotiations with them.”

Some have suggested that the contentious Canada-U.S. relationship could mean the United States and Mexico begin CUSMA negotiations with Canada on the sidelines.

Something similar happened during the original CUSMA negotiations to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement during Trump’s first term.

Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s trade representative at the time, recounted in his book that the United States and Mexico came to an agreement and “Canada was welcome to join if it wanted,” but Washington and Mexico City were “prepared to move forward bilaterally if it did not.”

Ultimately, an agreement was reached that was hailed a success in all three countries.

In a news release Thursday, Greer’s office announced that he and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard have instructed their negotiators to begin a “scoping discussion” on the trilateral trade pact.

The release said negotiators are expected to hold their first meeting the week of March 16, and to then meet regularly afterwards as part of the review.

LeBlanc’s meeting in the United States capital could lay the groundwork for Canada to be brought to the CUSMA negotiating table.


CUSMA’s review essentially sets up a three-way choice for the partner countries to make in July. They can renew the deal for another 16 years, withdraw from it or signal both non-renewal and non-withdrawal — which would trigger an annual review that could keep negotiations going for up to a decade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2026.

The Canadian Press

Mexican companies eager to keep CUSMA treaty, report shows

By Reuters
March 09, 2026 

From left to right: Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney; Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum; U.S. President Donald Trump. (The Canadian Press / The Associated Press)

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican businesses are eager to maintain a trilateral trade agreement with the United States and Canada that is up for review this year, according to a report summarizing Mexico’s public consultation, released on Monday.

The consulted companies called the CUSMA treaty, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020, essential for investment certainty and protecting regional supply chains.

Mexico’s Economy Ministry released the 88-page report one week before the U.S. and Mexico are slated to hold bilateral discussions to kick off a three-way review of the USMCA.

With some 80% of Mexican exports going to the U.S., the treaty is critical to the Latin American country’s economy.

The pact, signed during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term, requires Mexico, the U.S. and Canada to hold a joint review this year to extend the agreement.


If extended, the treaty will remain in place for another 16 years. If the countries don’t reach an agreement, it is subject to annual reviews, which many industries consider an effective death knell for the USMCA.

The report stresses that Mexican businesses broadly want to strengthen the pact rather than a wholesale renegotiation.

That, however, may be overly optimistic, given that Trump has publicly questioned the need for the treaty and threatened to pull out of it altogether.

(Reporting by Emily Green; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Andrei Khalip)

Half of Canadian small businesses see U.S. as unreliable partner one year into trade war: CFIB

ByAnam Khan
March 04, 2026 

The Toronto skyline  

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Half of Canadian small businesses no longer view the U.S. as a reliable trading partner one year into the trade war, according to a new study by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

The study shows the strain is showing up directly in day-to-day business dealings.

“Small businesses have faced massive uncertainty since the trade battle began last year,” Dan Kelly, president of the CFIB said in a press release.

“Small business owners have been dealing with the whiplash of trying to keep up with sudden changes and threats, including many that don’t happen or are revised within hours. With the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) coming up for review in the months ahead, the stakes are even higher.”

About 75 per cent of small businesses say the tariff fight has strained their relationships with U.S. partners or clients, up from 49 per cent in March 2025. More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of Canadian small business owners also continue to report being negatively affected by U.S. tariffs.

Tariff pain is widespread, relief is limited

CFIB research also found tariffs hit firms unevenly, with 37 per cent of owners saying 2025 was a good year, while 35 per cent said it was a poor one.

“There’s reduced profits, reduced revenues. These are the major things, and all of this has implications on what funds they have available to reinvest in their business, or to pay employees,” said Marvin Cruz, CFIB’s senior director of research and one of the authors of the report.

“The entrepreneurial spirit is a bit dampened.”

Cruz said the pressure is pushing some owners toward tough decisions, including taking on more debt or even thinking about closing.

About 18 per cent of businesses that reported a poor year said they contemplated permanently closing because of tariffs, compared with two per cent among those reporting an average or good year.

Nearly a third, 31 per cent, of businesses that had a poor year said they took on increased debt, compared with 10 per cent for those reporting an average year and five per cent for those reporting a good year. Poor-performing businesses also reported higher levels of reduced hiring and paused investments.

Federal relief failing to support SMEs

While a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on tariff rates is expected to provide some relief, CFIB said it will not change the situation for most Canadian exports, since many goods are already covered under CUSMA. The group said the ruling should still help the 27 per cent of businesses hurt by tariffs on non-CUSMA compliant goods.

At the same time, CFIB said steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by both countries remain a major challenge, with 44 per cent of small businesses reporting they have been affected.

Limited uptake in federal tariff response initiative

CFIB also pointed to limited uptake of Ottawa’s Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI), stating that less than one per cent of small businesses have applied and 77 per cent are entirely unaware the program exists.

“We keep hearing the same things from small business owners: they’re too small to qualify, they didn’t know about the program, or that the required paperwork isn’t worth the time and resources,” said Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB executive vice-president of advocacy.

CFIB said restrictive eligibility rules are a key barrier. In British Columbia, businesses must employ at least 10 full-time workers to qualify, while in Quebec, eligibility is now closed and applications are limited to manufacturing firms with annual revenues of $2 million or more.

The organization said it has sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finance Minister Champagne, and Canada’s Regional Development Agencies questioning the program’s design and effectiveness.

CFIB is calling on Ottawa to:Provide broad tax relief, including a reduction in the small business tax rate from nine per cent to six per cent.
Create a rebate program for tariff-impacted SMEs and ensure rebates and refunds are not treated as taxable income
Stay focused on maintaining the CUSMA agreement to reduce uncertainty and protect cross-border supply chains.

Methodology

Final results for the Your Voice- February 2026 survey. The online survey was conducted between February 5-24, n= 1,379. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of at most +/- 2.60 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Final results for the Your Voice – December survey. The online survey was conducted between December 4-31, 2025, n= 1,663. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of at most +/- 2.40 per cent, 19 times out of 20.


Anam Khan
Journalist, BNNBloomberg.ca

More than 20 U.S. states sue over new global tariffs Trump imposed after his stinging U.S. Supreme Court loss

ByThe Associated Press
March 05, 2026 

Cars drive by a Mercedes-Benz dealership on the Bedford Automile in Bedford, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

WASHINGTON — Some two dozen states challenged U.S. President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs on Thursday, filing a lawsuit over import taxes he imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.

The Democratic attorneys general and governors in the lawsuit argue that Trump is overstepping his power with planned 15 per cent tariffs on much of the world.

Trump has said the tariffs are essential to reduce America’s longstanding trade deficits. He imposed duties under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs he imposed last year under an emergency powers law.

Section 122, which has never been invoked, allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15 per cent. They are limited to five months unless extended by Congress.

The lawsuit is led by attorneys general from Oregon, Arizona, California and New York.

“The focus right now should be on paying people back, not doubling down on illegal tariffs,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield. The suit comes a day after a judge ruled t hat companies who paid tariffs under Trump’s old framework should get refunds.

The new suit argues that Trump can’t pivot to Section 122 because it was intended to be used only in specific, limited circumstances -- not for sweeping import taxes. It also contends the tariffs will drive up costs for states, businesses and consumers.

Many of those states also successfully sued over Trump’s tariffs imposed under a different law: the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

A FedEx cargo plane is shown on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Four days after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping IEEPA tariffs Feb. 20, Trump invoked Section 122 to slap 10 per cent tariffs on foreign goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant told CNBC on Wednesday that the administration would raise the levies to the 15 per cent limit this week.

The Democratic states and other critics say the president can’t use Section 122 as a replacement for the defunct tariffs to combat the trade deficit.

The Section 122 provision is aimed at what it calls “fundamental international payments problems.” At issue is whether that wording covers trade deficits, the gap between what the U.S. sells other countries and what it buys from them.

Section 122 arose from the financial crises that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s when the U.S. dollar was tied to gold. Other countries were dumping dollars in exchange for gold at a set rate, risking a collapse of the U.S. currency and chaos in financial markets. But the dollar is no longer linked to gold, so critics say Section 122 is obsolete.

Awkwardly for Trump, his own Justice Department argued in a court filing last year that the president needed to invoke the emergency powers act because Section 122 did “not have any obvious application” in fighting trade deficits, which it called “conceptually distinct” from balance-of-payment issues.

Trump slams U.S. Supreme Court's 'very unfortunate ruling' on tariffs

Still, some legal analysts say the Trump administration has a stronger case this time.

“The legal reality is that courts will likely provide President Trump substantially more deference regarding Section 122 than they did to his previous tariffs under IEEPA,” Peter Harrell, visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Institute of International Economic Law, wrote in a commentary Wednesday.

The specialized Court of International Trade in New York, which will hear the states’ lawsuit, wrote last year in its own decision striking down the emergency-powers tariffs that Trump didn’t need them because Section 122 was available to combat trade deficits.

Trump does have other legal authorities he can use to impose tariffs, and some have already survived court tests. Duties that Trump imposed on Chinese imports during his first term under Section 301 of the same 1974 trade act are still in place.

Also joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Lindsay Whitehurst And Paul Wiseman, The Associated Press

Judge orders refunds after U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs

By The Canadian Press
March 05, 2026 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

WASHINGTON -- A judge with the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday ordered refunds for companies that paid tariffs that were later struck down by the United States Supreme Court.

In a 6-3 ruling last month, America’s top court concluded it was not legal for U.S. President Donald Trump to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, better known as IEEPA, for his sweeping and erratic “Liberation Day” tariffs and fentanyl-related duties on Canada, Mexico and China.

The conservative-led court found that the U.S. Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress power over taxes and tariffs.

The Supreme Court ruling did not say whether there should be refunds, leaving companies that paid the duties to sue the federal government.

In Wednesday’s decision in the New York trade court, Judge Richard Eaton said all importers who paid IEEPA duties are “entitled to the benefit” of the Supreme Court’s decision.


Eaton was ruling specifically on a case brought by Atmus Filtration, a filtration company in Tennessee, but said he will be the only judge to hear cases about refunds.

Eaton ordered the Trump administration to finalize import paperwork without charging companies the IEEPA tariffs. If goods are past that process, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will have to recalculate them without the tariffs, Eaton said.

The Liberty Justice Center, which represented five American small businesses that pushed back on Trump’s tariffs, said the decision made it clear that all importers of record hit by IEEPA duties are entitled to refunds.

“This decision is an important step toward ensuring that businesses can recover the money they were forced to pay under tariffs the Supreme Court has now confirmed were imposed without legal authority,” the centre said in a statement on social media.

A coalition of more than 1,000 small businesses called it a victory and called on the Trump administration to act swiftly. Dan Anthony, executive director of the We Pay the Tariffs coalition, said “now the ball is in the government’s court and small businesses are concerned they will drag this out further.”

“American small businesses have waited long enough,” Anthony said in a news release. “A full, fast, and automatic refund process is what these businesses are owed and anything less is unacceptable.”

The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment. It’s unclear if the Trump administration will appeal the order or take other action to slow down the process.

Trump had warned that the Supreme Court’s decision would have catastrophic consequences for the country. After the top court’s decision came down, he said the question of refunds would get “litigated over for the next two years.”

The government had collected more than US$130 billion from the tariffs by mid-December, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

In a court filing Wednesday ahead of the decision, the Trump administration indicated interest would be included if refunds are ordered.

Brandon Lord, a senior official in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trade office, wrote that “in accordance with applicable law, any validated refund of IEEPA duties would include interest.”


Lord indicated refunds could take some time because the department “still requires a review period to ensure no violation of other customs laws and no other duties, taxes or fees are owed.”

Some Canadian companies will be waiting on refunds but Canada had largely been shielded by the IEEPA tariffs due to a carveout under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA.

Trump declared an emergency at the northern border related to the flow of fentanyl last year in order to use IEEPA to hit Canada with 35 per cent tariffs. Those duties didn’t apply to goods compliant under CUSMA.

Trump replaced his IEEPA tariffs last week with a 10 per cent worldwide tariff using Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. That duty can only increase to 15 per cent and it will expire after 150 days unless Congress votes to extend it.

That global tariff also does not apply to CUSMA-compliant goods.

Additionally, Canada is being hammered by Trump’s sector-specific tariffs on industries like steel, aluminum, automobiles, lumber and cabinets.

By Kelly Geraldine Malone

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.

With files from The Associated Press

Bay du Nord oil project hits key milestone as N.L., Equinor sign benefits agreement


By The Canadian Press
Published: March 03, 2026 

A sign for the company Equinor is displayed on Oct. 28, 2020, in Fornebu, Norway. (Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)

ST. JOHN’S — A proposed deepwater oil project off Canada’s east coast has reached a key milestone.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government announced an agreement today with Norwegian energy company Equinor on how to divvy up the development’s anticipated rewards.

Premier Tony Wakeham unveiled the benefits agreement at a St. John’s hotel alongside Tore Loseth, Equinor Canada’s country president.

The province says the agreement provides up to $6.4 billion in direct revenue to the government over the first 25-year phase of the project through royalties, taxes and a possible equity stake.

Equinor will also provide $200 million in “fabrication funds,” which the province says it will use to build a floating dry dock capable of serving ships weighing more than 18,000 tonnes.


The $11.9-billion project would be the first deepwater oil development in the country and Equinor is still considering whether to proceed.


The company has spent the past few years overhauling the project to cut costs and expects to make a final investment decision next year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2026.