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Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
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Canada cuts study permits for 2025, here’s what it means for students

Canada’s approval of new international student permits has plunged to its lowest level in ten years, even deeper than during the COVID-19 shutdown. According to new data from ApplyBoard, Ottawa’s strict caps on post-secondary intakes are driving the decline. The platform projects that the federal government will approve just 80,000 new study permits in 2025, a 62% drop from 2024 and far below pre-pandemic levels. By comparison, Canada approved around 92,000 new permits at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Read More: Rural Indians join rush to study abroad as prospects dim at home   Screenshot [ApplyBoard's - Canada's Student Cap Causes Greater Declines Than Pandemic] ApplyBoard warned that the sharp decline will make 2025 “one of the most competitive years ever” for students hoping to begin studies in Canada. Colleges are bearing the brunt of the cap, with extensions now making up nearly 80% of all study permits, and fewer than 30,000 new approvals expected for college programs nationwide. Universities, meanwhile, show modest recovery, with approval rates rising from 30% in May to 55% in August, but opportunities remain limited. Read: It takes a village—but where is Pakistan’s? The report also noted that students from India, the Philippines, and several African nations face the lowest approval rates, threatening campus diversity across Canada. For the first time, students already in Canada will account for nearly two-thirds of all post-secondary permits issued this year, underscoring how extensions have overtaken new approvals. If current trends persist, ApplyBoard projects that Canada’s total international student population could shrink by up to 50% in 2026, as fewer new students replace graduating cohorts. Despite the slowdown, 95% of international students surveyed by ApplyBoard said they still aspire to study in Canada, citing its academic standards, post-graduation work opportunities, and multicultural environment. “While short-term challenges persist, student confidence in Canada’s long-term value remains remarkably strong,” the report concluded.

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