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In his resignation speech to the House of Commons UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the House on May 20, 2026. He calls for bold action based on a bold vision not simply treading water.  "I left the government because we are in the fight of our lives against nationalism, and it is a fight that we are currently losing." "Unless we change course, we risk handing the keys of No 10 to Reform, and I do not want that on our consciences." "For the first time in our history, nationalists are in power in every corner of the United Kingdom." "Scottish and Welsh nationalism represents an existential threat to the future integrity of the United Kingdom." "And Reform UK represent a threat to the values and ideals that have made this country great." “Never waste a minute – that’s been my mantra in government, and it’s why I don’t believe our party has time to waste in government treading water,” Streeting told MPs. “The Labour party was elected to deliver real change. We still can.”   ...

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Saudi Vision 2030 goals scaled back in 2026 as Saudis and UAE face missile attacks on oil facilities and pipelines. Saudis and UAE, Iraq are working on building new pipelines on east west coasts to bypass Hormuz Straits. Oil could go through to Turkey or Jordan. 

Another key development is the realization in India, China and European Union that renewable energy goals need to be accelerated. This is a positive development coming out of this crisis and will shift the energy equation entirely out of the Middle East. At the same time it reduces the impact of climate change, accelerates the development of renewables technologies.

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BP has serious problems with its corporate culture, and with management board that has failed in finding a good CEO and a good chairman. BP chairman Manifold from a Irish Building Supplies company is removed for being too aggressive and "shouty," belittling colleagues. This is the thrid chairman in a short time and happens when a new CEO joined in April. The previous CEO was let go because of his green strategy and net zero goals that led to a decline in profits. The new CEO's job was to withdraw from the green strategy to tackle climate change and transition away from fossil fuels.

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Securing transparency in financial receipts and their use by Labor Unions is a battle being fought since the Days when Robert Kennedy called this "the Enemy Within," and the Nation was shocked by the corruption in the Labor Unions. Since the days of Tammany Hall and Teddy Roosevelt's effort to clean up the system in the 1890's this is a forever battle. US auto unions benefitted from recent changes as old labor bosses were turned out and free and fair elections took place. The Washington Post says the added requirements for trade unions to file detailed disclosure of how they use funds is necessary and a good change made by the current Labor Secretary. Putting these disclosure forms online is also a good step as all workers can see where the money is going. The Post says no union boss should be afraid of more sunshine.

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Cornyn is a 5 term Republican senator from Texas who was once a rival of Mitch McConnell for Senate Majority Leader. He lost in the Texas Republican primary to challenger Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas. Paxton got the Texas Republican base to back him with CJT's endorsement. The result Paxton wins by 64% to 36% and heads into a fight for the Senate seat with Talarico of the Democrats. Texas voted for DJT by a margin of 14%. Democrats are targeting this Senate seat with huge fundraising. Ted Cruz defended his Senate seat against Rep. Allred with ad spending reaching $210 million in 2024. Talarico has raised $27 million in 3 months, Paxton $7 million. It shows that regardless of which party, both parties spend heavily and raise enormous sums making them beholden to special interests that make it difficult to change aspects of the system such as runaway pharmaceutical costs, cost of living, or to regulate banks, social media, cyber currency, and AI. The result is that Congress has less credibility and poor approval ratings with the public than ever. US Congress has disapproval rating of 90%, only 10% approve of its conduct and performance. Among Democrats 3%, Republicans 20%, and Independents 11%. ...

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  US reaches agreement that would restore oil supplies and bring down oil prices. The supply chains may have to be reconstituted for replacing much of the 20% of the oil that flows through Hormuz if the US, Europe,China and India, Japan, rest of the world are to gain from this experience. The only way to understand the change of mind of the DJT US government and the Saudis/UAE/Qatar for bringing an end to the war without immediately fulfilling required nuclear conditions is from the Saudi point of view it has sought to avoid damage to its oil facilities from Iranian drone and missile attacks. From the US point of view it may see that the US + ramped up Venezuelan production by 2027-2028 with increased push for supplies in other parts of the world with better security than Hormuz, could make up for most of the loss in supply from Hormuz. For the remainder acceleration of the renewal energy in Europe and in China, India could reduce dependence on oil from Saudis/Iran.  US Energy Information Administration forecast is for oil prices currently $103 for Brent crude oil to stabilize at $89 at the end of 2026 and $79 in 2027. The year started in 2026 at $60 per barrel. The UAE oil agency ADNOC says it would take 4 months to get 80% of production back on stream and full flows by 1st quarter 2027. Rystad Energy estimates repair and restoration at oil facilities to cost $58 billion. The MAGA base which opposed wars by Bush and Obama in the region would then look at it this way. The billions that Obama poured into Iran for Iran to rebuild its nuclear program would not happen again, as the US would continue its sanctions till all nuclear materials are removed from Iran. Iran would stall in negotiations that are now put off with only a Memorandum to show for commitment of Iran- though an agreement would only be a piece of paper that Iran may not implement as the failed Obama agreement showed- but yet not have the billions of dollars to support its nuclear program. It would give the US, Israel, and the world 10-15 years in which to respond to another nuclear program by Iran. Iran will need $270 billion to repair the damage to industrial facilities, which shows the cost of the war for the Iranian people just to get a nuclear weapon is prohibitive, considering that the Iranian economy was already in trouble before the war. Inflation and the overall economy will be in difficult shape for many years. Public sentiment in Iran may change the future course of Iran away from the course currently pursued. The entire Middle East  region has not benefitted from its dependence on oil. For the rest of the world finding alternative sources of supply is the best way and EU, China, India should accelerate renewable technologies and goals for energy independence shortening the transition from fossil fuels. ...

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BBC says "tech's seedy side exposed" by Musk- Altman trial 2026. Let's face it there is a seedy side, and a much less benevolent side to Tech than it likes to show. The overspending on AI is a sign of misplaced priorities when so much of US infrastructure is dilapidated, much of it from before 1945, that badly needs to be rebuilt. Much of the promise of hardware from Tech that would change education is a failure so much so that Sweden is shifting on a nationwide effort in its schools to a program - "from screens to binders" that gives children binders with notebooks to write in and books to read, removing screens altogether, and for good reasons of the educators of Sweden. Tech in its grandiose style pretends it is about the technological revolution when it is simply the companies Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, three of which are from the last 15 years. The technological revolution and the scientific revolution date back to Copernicus and Newton and the hundreds, thousands of scientists and pioneers of the industrial revolution of the last 250 years, and the men of vision and wisdom that gave us the British and American Constitution, the principles of self-government of civilized societies. ...

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Billie Jean King whose effort and persistence created the game of Women's Tennis, is alive and well with some words of encouragement, advice. Billie Jean King Commencement address at California State University Los Angeles, where she graduates in history in 2026, sixty two years after letting go college to play tennis. She grew up in Long Beach, with her brother, her parents a fireman who played basketball and a mother who was a teacher. For those who remember she comes from the period of Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith and in Australia Rod Laver, in the seventies. Stadiums are named after her at the US Open Tennis championships, and it was Billie Jean who helped create women's tennis. Some of her advice- "We can never understand inclusion unless we have been excluded." (the first African American player Althea Gibsen is celebrated in a postage stamp yet African Americans barely made it into the sport during her time. Billie Jean asked why it was all white dress, white people, white clubs.) "I like completing things. Finish what I started." (Sixty two years after postponing college in 1962 Bille Jean completes her history degree at Cal State LA in 1986). Billie Jean in another interview says history is so important and the only way to effect change that is good is to know what happened before and why. This is true for another pioneer for women a law student at Stanford named Sandra Day O'Connor of Arizona ranch territory that in those days stretched endlessly on all sides. Gandhi would agree. Hind Swaraj could not be written in 1909 by Gandhiji on a steamship to South Africa from London without asking about history and what had happened to create the Empire in India for the British East India Company traders, with warehouses and private armies, one that extended to Shanghai and Hong Kong in China. Gandhi says in 1909 "English merchants were able to get a footing in India because we encouraged them. When our princes fought among themselves they sought the assistance of Company Bahadur. That corporation was versed alike in commerce and war. We created the circumstances that gave the company control over India." Billie Jean gives some perspective on life and its lessons-"Wherever we are in life we can connect and we can impact change." "At 82 I have learnt about perspective and a few life's lessons- Champions practice their strengths. Concentrate on what you are strong and practice it." "Anything you do winning or losing, good or bad, its feedback not failure. Don't take things personally." "Don't let others define you. You define yourself." "Pressure is a privilege and champions adjust or adapt." "Just remember legacy is what others think about you, what is important is the value of the contributions you make." "Three principles for inner and outer success. Relationships are everything. Relationships with yourself, your family, your loved ones, your faith, and your friends. No. 2- Keep learning and keep learning how to learn. Be a problem solver and a innovator. Our decisions, our actions, our voices will shape what comes next. Have fun. Be fearless and make history." ...

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This report in The Guardian looks at key allies of Andy Burnham as he prepares to run in the Makerfield by-election, and prepares to contest the leadership of the Labour Party in Britain. Key allies include deputy leader of the Labour party Lucy Powell. It includes Mathew Lawrence, Director of  the Common Wealth Project who has set out the philosophy of Manchesterism for a robust effort to make the utilities water, energy and transport serve the public interest, something that never happened under the Tories. Lawrence says it is not about fairness alone "it is good macreconomic policy." Neal Lawson of the Compass thinktank. Lawson says this is about "real change not the cosmetic appeal."Of MP's Anneliese Midgley political director of Unite, Louise Haigh, the former Transport Secretary, of the Tribune group, Lucy Powell a fellow Manchester MP and an ally of the Mayor. Haigh is taking on a role in the Makerfield campaign. Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is also a friend of Burnham. The Mayor's assistants in Manchester are Kevin Lee, with Burnham for 15 years, and Josh Simmons, policy aide. A lot depends on these colleagues and assistants of Mayor Burnham in the days and years ahead, and the future of Britain may rest on their shoulders, on what they do in the days ahead to give the Mayor the support he needs to run the government of Britain in a new direction, and with the resolve and action plan to make for a "Vibrant Britain." ...

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Report from Smart Ageing Summit at Oxford 2026. It rejects the notion common in society that physical decline is inevitable with age. It puts the responsibility of good health on healthy living which means about 80% of the responsibility is on each one of us to maintain good health. Things that are important says this report are completely abstain from alcohol, avoid processed foods (what RFK Jr is telling us as Health Secretary), prioritize sleep, cultivating a "not-meat" mindset, not eating after 6.30 pm. Other studies such as the Oxford Population Health with half a million UK participants show environmental exposures and healthy living habits have far greater importance than biological ageing and inherited genetics. Which also supports this conclusion that it is upto each one of us to build a better quality of life as we age. We assume here that the society we live in is healthy and there are no natural disasters such as climate change or human made disasters such as wars and conflicts, human exacerbation disasters such as not investing in healthcare, education and infrastructure for good public services such as transportation, parks and recreation. Yet that cannot be taken for granted and it is also important for our own healthy living and our spiritual health to invest some of our time and put our money into making sure that this investment takes place in building a healthy society and environment to live in. We do this in our civic life, as parents at parent teacher meetings, as custodians of the environment, being active in our neighborhoods, in business practices, and in supporting and monitoring investments in education and healthcare for our communities. ...

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West Bengal gets a new start after 50 years of mismanagement, corruption and breakdown of law and order, and economic failures, with a new BJP Modi led administration. The speed of the changes are simply astonishing as a state of close to 100 million people -where industrialization never took off as it has in other states, and rural poverty exists in ways thought to belong to the colonial days under the British- gets an administration at the federal level under Modi committed to industrialization, modernization of the economy, on the same rapid scale as that launched in the rest of eastern India. This is a territory half the size of the European Union, once called the Bengal Presidency under the British Empire, comprised of states of Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh, a region where the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers from the mighty Himalayas flow into the sea. It is a low moment for India similar to the period after the Proleterian Cultural Revolution of Mao in China by 1970 and the few remaining leaders under premier Chou-en-lai making a resolute effort under Deng Xiaoping to make a new effort to modernize and industrialize China working with the US and the European Union. That effort went through the initial phase to 1990 to familiarize Communist China with the US and European market systems, and a new phase to 2010 by which time most of these goals had been achieved. India is poised to make that scale of change today over the next two decades as it is already familiarized with the US and European market systems and its net step is in technological advancement and rapid industrialization at scale something that alone can meet the aspirations of the South Asian region. ...

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Canada's pitch to the US before tough negotiations with Jamieson Greer to preserve Canada's automobile industry, its aluminium industry, dairy industry with benefits gained in the past. US had also put forward its pitch for 82% North American content and 50% of it from the US for all automobiles sold in the US. Carney takes a positive approach presenting Canada as a strong partner that would Make America Great Again by offering its vast mineral resources, and its resources of oil and LNG. It says LNG will double from 2030 to 2040 from 50 million to 100 million tonnes of LNG annually. 56 critical minerals agreements with $18 billion in investment, doubling the electricity grid for lowest cost power and second lowest emission in OECD countries. Canada is an anomaly in trade says Sir Ivor Jennings in his book on the British Commonwealth. Its trade east to west is an anomaly when if it was truly apart of the North American economic region it would trade north to south. This is the result of Montgomery's failure to take Quebec during the War of Independence as Washington planned the war with Britain. For instance Ontario would trade with Vermont and New Hampshire and New York near its borders. Instead the dairy industry in Canada operates in competition with the US and sends product east to west. Washington and Oregon are not trading normally with neighbors British Columbia instead shipping product back to eastern Canada. For years the US allowed Canada and Mexico benefits in trade that hurt is own auto industry. Jamieson Greer is expected to change this so that US manufacturing can compete with China and European Union on a level playing field. ...

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New pictures from China's moon mission Chang'e-4.

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NYT gives this perspective of Mikhail Zygar on the difficult economic situation in Russia in January 2026 before the Iran War. Putin considering bringing Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft, as negotiator for Russia with Ukraine, to replace Kirill Dimitriev. Dimitriev is seen in Russia as an insubstantial figure and with no real mandate, on the point of being dismissed by Putin. This would being new life to Ukraine negotiations to end the war. This report says if Russia was to end the war it would have to change the structure of power and that included bringing in a new administration to rebuild the economy, to replace prime minister Mikhail Mishustin. He says oil was sold to India in January for $22 per barrel about one third of the market price. The economy was getting severely affected by the war and the conditions it had created for inflation, oil revenues under sanctions, and by financial and human cost of the Ukraine war, a credit crunch and a wave of bankruptcies that were expected in January 2026. Some of this is confirmed by the perspective offered on the same day this article appeared in NYT by an NYT article from the Foreign Minister of Sweden, Maria Malmer Stenegard. Stengard says Swedish analysis shows central bank interest rates set at 21% in 2024 when interest rates were 10%, suggest inflation was much higher than the 5% official figures. The minister also points out that instead of growing by 13% as official figures reported Russian economy had declined by 8% over 2020 to 2024. British government estimate is that the losses from the Ukraine war are $450 billion. Official growth estimate for 2026 is 0.4%. even with higher oil prices. All this changed with the Iran war by February and the jump in oil prices and Putin has decided not to make the changes he thought necessary and wind up the war, considering that some of the objectives had been achieved and to avoid an economic downward spiral. It is now Putin's decision says this report.  In the past Putin has always given the economy and living standards the priority. Yet the elites in Russia says this report are concerned about the fragile nature of the economy as present oil prices may come down in a short period. ...

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Coal is making a comeback as many countries in Asia are bringing back coal units following LNG shortages. Impact of Hormuz shutdown- 40% increased use of coal in Korea, coal units reactivated in India, and put on standby in Italy. Italy delays phaseout of coal to 2038. Coal is a reliable fuel in this period of Hormuz Straits shutdown. Much of Asia's LNG comes through Hormuz. Use of coal in the US shown here in graphs which in a second explain why the DJT administration and Republicans say it makes so little difference what the US does in coal for climate change when China and India make up 90% of the use of coal. Consider what these charts show- use of coal in 2027 in the US is 331 million metric tons vs 1422 million metric tons for India, almost 5 times the US coal use happening in India. EU is 244 million metric tons. But wait the Chinese number is much much larger than India's - 5005 million metric tons used in China in 2027. India's coal use alone is 3 times that of the EU and the US combined.  China's coal use is about 10 times the coal used in the US and EU combined. And when one compares US+EU use of coal to India + China coal use - India and China used in 2027 13 times as much as the US and European Union.  Which is why because cutting coal use also impacts communities hit hardest by the Elites of America (Bush+ Obama) shipping out its whole manufacturing base to China. These communities get some relief from these same Elites policies that shut down all coal plants, instead of using a carefully structured wind down that allows some selective use of coal plants which are cleaned up for emissions, and pushes China to do more. Small cuts in coal use in China which has benefitted from our Elites shipping out the national manufacturing base of the US to China, would make a bigger difference than large cuts or total shutdown of coal plants in the US, where the communities impacted are in the rural parts of America that have lost factories and jobs such as in Pennsylvania due to Bush and Obama policies of looking the other way to deindustrialization of America. ...

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The conclusion is that there are no easy fixes in geoenginnering that can fix climate change. The world depends on cutting out highly polluting industrial activities, and introducing more efficient less polluting technologies. And doing this at an accelerated pace in all countries as the climate change natural disasters of fires and floods, drought conditions, are a constant reminder of what can go wrong.

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Regardless of what happens in the Brexit talks between Johnson and Leyen the situation will be change for people on both sides after January 1, 2021, says this report in DW.com. Tourism, travel, banking and haulage by truck will be affected.

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A lead researcher at Stanford and UC Berkeley says he hasn't seen anything like it, the opposition intensify so quickly. 70% of Democrats and 50% of Republicans oppose overinvestment in AI  and increasing in sentiment- not about stopping progress but  about stopping hyperlevel investment of trillions of dollars and diverting from reindustrialization/infrastructure for US that creates jobs and a better qualityof life. In today's world neither China or the US can afford hyper investment, most Asian countries would prefer to let the US do it and later get that technology for free one way or the other. Therefore this means the American people are being hoodwinked- they pay the price when their bridges and roads, airports are in disrepair, when even a national network of data charging stations could not get funded under Biden which would have addressed the biggest problem for transition from fossil through EV's to fight climate change.  The investment community is being hoodwinked. Investors are being hoodwinked as the returns are uncertain and cannot be justified on financial grounds- only by hype.  Polls only ask about AI not the hyperinvestment in AI. If the truth is known that these trillions of dollars diverted by using flaws in capital markets in the US, avoiding financial scrutiny and hyping up AI when returns are by a long shot uncertain compared to rebuilding America's infrastructure and industries to compete with China and the EU- that is desperately needed- then these numbers would show the vast majority of Americans oppose this diversion of funds from the infrastructure and reindustrialization that create jobs that support working families. Take for example Texas, a Republican state, where the Agriculture Commissioner is calling for a moratorium on new hyperscale data center development in the state, citing higher costs for farmers, and strains on the power grid. It is not about stopping progress. Fon transition to renewable energy or example the adjustments made by Biden and Democrats allowed some fossil fuels use to make the transition, the same policy being pursued under different political slogans and labels under DJT. It is not about stopping progress as progress continues even under DJT Republican administration - natural gas prices and coal use prices are making natural gas a choice for power plants, the cost of oil at $100 making EV's hybrids cost less than gasoline cars. AI technologies will advance, and the wherewithal, the framework in which AI should operate can be built alongside without throwing everything out of balance. Throwing the whole economy out of balance, destroying the chance to create jobs and bring about the 1st priority of America and EU- reindustrialization and infrastructure renewal alongside India's modernization. That requires these trillions of dollars being pushed into AI by a few self-interested individuals without returns, and trillions of dollars more. If that is accomplished any challenges from China will fade in comparison with the scale of the effort in the EU, the US, and India with the largest industrial bloc in the world far bigger than China. This is not mere words. It is a plan of action that is being put into place right now at Oslo, Norway at the Nordic+EU Summit with India on the next phase of this effort, put into place piece by piece through hard work and a clear vision for the future. ...

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At this point in May (May 22, 2026) a glimmer of hope appears for settling both the crisis in Hormuz and the Ukraine war. Pakistan, Turkey and China following DJT visit to China may be pushing Iran to lower the scale of the conflict. China's first priority was to be accepted by the US at the Beijing meeting as an equal power with the US, and keen to show its willingness to bear responsibility for peaceful resolution in conflict zones as a sign of its maturity as a world power. Much of this is not shown in the media as it is mostly done behind the scenes in communications that the media knows nothing about. Note that even in the depths of the Cold War during the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and Soviet action in Budapest, the US and the Soviets when their economies were not intertwined as the US and China are today, were still talking to each other to limit the conflicts to low level conflict. Hong Kong takeover, China's actions near Taiwan, China's presence in Latin America, Chinese cooperation with Iran, and Russia on Ukraine, China's economic competition in rare earths, are relatively smaller levels of friction considering 1950's Soviet's and the US. At the same time China and the Us are aware of a new bloc emerging in Oslo in May, where India is merging its economy with the Nordic economies of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and of the European Union and Germany, creating a new bloc of 2 billion people that can only grow rapidly with India's potential to exceed growth rates of 20% in the 600 million Eastern region for a decade. EU would make the shift to strategic partnership with India displacing the vital role the European Union has played in China's growth and economy. This would create new pressures for Russian president Putin to decide it is time to listen to a friend India and de-escalate lower the level of conflict with an initial peace deal that would lead to more talks on a final settlement. Because Russia would have a harder time tackling both India and Germany at the same time. NYT shows on the same day May 22 a report on Russia and a report by the Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Sonegard that say the elites in Russia and Putin were by January 2026 having very serious discussion to change the administration, bring Igor Sechin as negotiaor to end the Ukraine conflict before serious, possibly irreversible damage, to the Russian economy. Sweden's Sonegard says that between 2020 and 2024 Russian economy declined by 8%, not grew by 13% as official figures show, inflation is much higher than 5% as official figures show, and credit is tightening, bankruptcies expected, growth even with oil prices up down to 0.4% for 2026. During 20 years running Russia Putin's No. 1 priority, his life's mission was to restore, then exceed by a large margin the living standards of the Russian people. Having at such great cost accomplished the goal of gaining recognition as a Northern Power in Europe, having gained much of Russian speaking eastern Ukraine, Putin could wisely with self respect wind down Ukraine conflict for good. The US gains something similar to Northern Power status for Russia in its recommitment to the Monroe Doctrine, with Russia withdrawing from any involvement- and China tacitly doing the same-  in the western hemisphere. With that the US can tackle its own losses that match Russian losses in lives- loss of more American lives than in the Korean and Vietnam and WWI combined to drug smuggling from Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and restoring rule of law in Cuba, Venezuela, and through drug cartel free Mexico good governance in Mexico.  ...

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Kernza is a new kind of grain from wheatgrass that is environmentally friendly being tried out by Kansas farmers in the US. A single seed of Kernza grain grows into a plant that provides grain year after year without the need for costly fertilizer, more water and energy. It forms deep roots that store carbon, and grows alongside other crops and provides wildlife habitat.  In this report from Washington Post an artisan baking company is shown baking Kernza and wheat grains bread.

Climate change makes Kansas summers much hotter and drier, and makes rainstorms more intensive, says this report. Land Institute ecologists say traditional farming is carbon intensive and alternatives are needed. Kansas had some of the richest soil in America say ecologists, but it is being degraded at a rapid rate. As America's breadbasket state a lot needs to be done to enrich and restore Kansas agricultural land.

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Dvid Attenborough, the naturalist and broadcaster, says he has campaign for years against plastic pollution and no one paid attention. Now he says people are fed up with politics of Brexit and are showing great interest in fighting single use plastic. He says the people in the U.S. are acting even though the president Mr. Trump has taken action for withdrawing from the Paris climate change agreement. He sees things can change quickly if there is a new president and policy changes. 

He is heartened by the way people have received the movie Blue Planet 2 and the action politicians and ordinary people are taking. He thanks primary school teachers for all the work they are doing and the enthusiasm shown.

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India experienced heat waves in March 2022, with the affected areas including Gujarat, Uttarkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh. The IMD, Indian Meteorological Department declared India's first heat wave on March 11, and several heat waves since then.  IMD declares a heat wave when temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit at low elevation. A heat wave is also considered to be taking place when temperatures are 4.5 degrees above normal, with 6.4 degrees called "severe." Senior climate scientists at IMD say heat waves in India are now more frequent and severe with unusual weather conditions in 2022.

2021 and 2022 reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warn that South Asia  faces conditions for heat waves and humidity related heat stress in coming decades. Marine heat waves are also more frequent.

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The NYT covers the GAESA tourism enterprise of Cuba (that operates independent of the government of Cuba) that overinvested in Tourism at the expense of agriculture industry and infrastructure during the Obama administration, leading to collapse with Trump's 2014 embargo on Cuba. GAESA controls about 50% of Cuba's economy, run by military and people from Castro's family.  That left 121 hotels built in the boom years of tourism at 30 percent occupancy. The Iberostar high rise hotel is one of these hotels that rises over dilapidated housing in Havana, the Cuban capital. The investment in tourism by the GAESA enterprise that runs about 50% of the Cuban economy is 13 times what is spent on healthcare and education, says the NYT. The Castro family, Raul Castro family, runs this business venture that was started when the Soviet Union as sponsor of Cuba had collapsed by 1991. The NYT says this 'devolved' the ideas and promise of the revolution. "Devolved?" What kind of word to describe a complete loss of faith, and enormous failure with severe hardship for the Cuban people? It means the whole idea of communism or Marxist revolution has been proven false, even as it survives in Mexico and parts of Latin America. One can be against the Batista regime- similarly against corrupt regimes in Latin America or Asia- that ruled Cuba before the Castro Cuban revolution and still look for better choices and alternatives than what Castro came up with as an answer to Cuba's needs. Much of Latin America is suffering from the same problems of dictatorships and turning to Marxist alternatives - particularly the alternative put forward by Castro in Cuba- that has also destroyed the Venezuelan economy with Chavez's turn to Castro's Cuban revolutionary slogans and ideology. That came up with temporary solutions for the poorer sections of society, yet failed badly for all sections of society in the long term. How else can one explain one fourth of Venezuela's population and about the same of Cuba's leaving the country, some of those who left the critical human capital that would form the core of the human input to combine with capital and technology for advancing the economy. If Cuba were like the Dominican Republic or other parts of the Caribbean to depend on tourism for its national income then would it not be better to have friendly relations with the US, the main source of tourism revenue. The Obama administration was only holding up a failed idea by holding out a helping hand to tourism in Cuba knowing full well that a change to a Republican administration would simply lead to heavy investments in tourism at the neglect of infrastructure, public services and the economy, of health and education, to become large economic losses. This is what has happened.  As China and India have proven and are proving there are no magical ways to economic development- the same route that was traveled by the nations of Northern and Western Europe with scientific advances, technological advances, have to be taken, the same route that was traveled by the US in its industrial revolution and building of infrastructure, that same route has to be taken by all nations. It does not have to take a time period of centuries as in Europe. The US accomplished it faster with new technologies and vast human and natural resources over 100 years, Japan in 50 years, China in 30 years. India in 25 years ongoing.There is room for intelligent solutions to problems, for speed and tapping into new technologies, yet the same inputs of land, labour, capital and technology have to be put together for development. For states or regions, cities, within China and India, the same inputs, the same access to foreign investment and new technologies is the only route to rapid development. Long range plans are set in motion, decades of stable efficient, clean governance is put in place, and alliances are built with the nations of Europe and with the US. This road is traversed though hard work as Japan and China have done, and India today is thoroughly engaged in. ...

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A country with vast boreal forests, rivers and lakes spread out over the upper half othe North American continent, has seen some of the worst effects of climate change in recent years. An area the size of Georgia 38 million acres has burned in wild fires in Canada. Omimitsu Onishi of NYT looks at the Covitchan River on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and how it has changed in this report. Plentiful salmon to the point that you would have to walk over them are a thing of the past.