Climate change is costing Canadian cities billions. Experts say there’s a better solution. An Ontario highway, Highway 402, east of Windsor, had to be shut down last week because extreme heat caused it to buckle and expand for the second straight year in a row -- while one of Ontario’s key transit services, GO Transit, said it will have to slow down its trains in extreme heat because of the risk of tracks buckling.

These are just a couple of examples of cities having to react to mitigate or repair damage caused by climate change, unless they begin investing into climate-proofing their infrastructure, say climate experts.

“The level of heat that we’re now seeing and the frequency at which we see temperatures ... are beyond what infrastructure was designed for,” said Ryan Ness, director of adaptation at the Canadian Climate Institute, in an interview with CTV News Saturday.

“Steel, concrete, asphalt are expanding and contracting more often than they used to. They’re reaching temperatures they’re not designed for, which leads to either catastrophic damage like the heaving we’ve seen on Highway 402 or longer-term chronic damage: rotting potholes, degrading bridges that need maintenance more often.”

A report released earlier this year by the Canadian Climate Institute titled “Prepare or Repair: How Climate-Proofing Public Infrastructure Pays Off” found that investing in climate-proofing infrastructure could save Canadian cities billions of dollars each year.

The report estimates that over the next 75 years, Canada will have to pay roughly $15.1 billion per year on average to maintain, renew and reactively repair infrastructure but if Canada spends roughly $4.1 billion, proactively adapting infrastructure to make it climate-resilient, costs from climate change damage could be reduced to $2.5 billion per year.

The total cost of the $4.1 billion investment plus $2.5 billion in repairs means Canada could save $8.6 billion annually, according to the report.

Ness says roads are the first things governments should start tackling, taking advantage of doing maintenance work to repair the pavement with heat-resistant asphalt.

“Roads are by far Canada’s most expensive and valuable form of infrastructure just because there’s so much of it -- and it’s so important to how, not only people get around, but goods get around -- and how the economy functions in this country,” said Ness.

The New York City Health Department said it tested the cooling towers of 183 buildings in neighborhoods encompassed by three zip codes that are among its wealthiest and most densely populated

Death toll from Venezuela’s twin quakes rises to 3,889. The death toll from the powerful twin tremors that struck Venezuela two weeks ago has risen to at least 3,889, a government report published Thursday stated.

Nearly 17,000 people were injured in the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on June 24, while almost 18,000 more lost their homes.

The death toll rose from 3,811 to 3,889 on Thursday, according to a report from National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez posted on Telegram.

Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday called for the release of Venezuelan funds frozen abroad to help the country cope with the disaster.

The United Nations is meanwhile trying to raise some US$300 million in recovery funds for Venezuela.

The South American country is also negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unblock its financial assets, according to IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack.

In the hardest-hit coastal area of La Guaira, over 800 buildings sustained damage while 190 collapsed entirely.

While rescue teams were abandoning the search for survivors a fortnight after the disaster struck, some families had not given up hope of finding their loved ones.

Ciro Ocando believes he has located the spot where his teenage sons are buried under mountains of rubble in Playa Grande in the city of La Guaira.

He, like many others, just wants to find the bodies of his boys aged 13 and 18, having accepted that their chances of survival are non-existent at this stage.

“I’m in the right place, but there are a lot of obstacles,” he told AFP, using his own tools to dig through the debris.

#China’s consumer inflation slowed more than expected after a pullback in commodity costs with an easing of tensions over Iran last month

Carney’s NATO gun gift turned over to RCMP

U.S. begins removal of #Syria designation as state sponsor of terrorism.

#WASHINGTON - The United States on Wednesday began the removal of Syria’s decades-old designation as a state sponsor of terrorism that has severely impeded investment.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

This is a developing story. More details to come...

The #US Justice Department settled a second lawsuit against the government brought by Michael Flynn

#BELGOROD, July 7. Repeated missile strikes have been launched against Belgorod and the Belgorod district, resulting in injuries and damage, Acting Governor Alexander Shuvayev stated.

"The Ukrainian armed forces have launched repeated missile strikes on Belgorod and the Belgorod district. Preliminary reports indicate there were no casualties following the shelling. <…> A report has been received in Belgorod regarding a fire at an infrastructure facility. Firefighters are at the scene," he said.

Earlier, he reported "a massive Ukrainian missile attack" in which "although most of the missiles were intercepted, some struck civilian #infrastructure." The regional head then noted that "three people were injured in the village of Belovskoye."

Shuvayev also noted that power and water outages have been reported. Energy infrastructure facilities have sustained serious damage, the acting governor stressed.

#Lebanon says Israeli strike on south kills 4, including 3 women. Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said a school principal, her mother, a foreign female domestic worker and a male Syrian worker were killed when an Israeli drone targeted their car as they returned from inspecting their family home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

The Israeli military said on Monday that it identified “four suspects” approaching the area its forces occupy in southern Lebanon who posed a threat and so “conducted a precise strike in order to remove the threat”.

Israel has kept up intermittent strikes on south Lebanon, particularly in the Nabatieh area, despite the two-week-old truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives.

Both sides accuse the other of violating the ceasefire.

A lawmaker for Hezbollah, Ihab Hamade, denounced Monday’s strike as “a heinous crime against civilians” and blamed it “first and foremost” on the Lebanese state.

His movement has been highly critical of an agreement signed last month by Lebanon and Israel aiming to pave the way for a permanent end to hostilities.

The NNA reported further Israeli strikes on Monday afternoon.
‘Lasting peace’

The framework agreement followed an earlier deal between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the wider regional war that also established a ceasefire in Lebanon, in effect since June 21.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider war with rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The Israeli-Lebanese deal calls for the disarmament of the Iran-backed group, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, starting with two “pilot” areas, but without specifying a timeline for the pull-out.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Monday that Israel’s occupation was preventing the Lebanese army’s deployment to the south.

A statement from his office said he emphasised the need to pressure Israel to withdraw because “the occupation undermines the legitimacy of the (Lebanese) state and prevents the army from deploying, and the laying of foundations for achieving a just and lasting peace”.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reiterated that Israel’s military would maintain its presence “as long as necessary in order to protect the residents of the north and all the citizens of Israel”.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed around 4,300 people.

The conflict also displaced more than one million people, but according to the United Nations more than 640,000 have returned home since June 22.

United States President Donald #Trump, publicly thanked #FIFA after the governing body suspended the red-card sanction issued to #USA striker #Folarin #Balogun.