An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said he believes Ukraine is "making progress," in the Kherson region of the country as they continue to counter Russia's invasion, adding there has been a "kind of change in the battlefield dynamics."
Austin attributed the change to the skill of Ukrainian soldiers and their strategic use of weapons supplied by U.S. and NATO allies, specifically their use of the high mobility air rocket systems, or HIMARS. He made the comments in an exclusive interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria that aired Sunday on "Fareed Zakaria GPS."
"What we're seeing now is a kind of change in the battlefield dynamics," Austin said. "They've done very, very well in the Kharkiv area and moved to take advantage of opportunities. The fight in the -- the Kherson region's going a bit slower, but they're making progress."
Austin said Ukrainian forces have used "technology like HIMARS" and employed it in the "right way" to "conduct attacks on things like logistical stores and command and control, that's taking away -- taken away significant capability from the Russians."
In doing so, Ukrainians have "changed the dynamics, and it's created an opportunity for the Ukrainians to maneuver," he added.
When asked why the U.S. has not supplied longer-range weapons that Ukrainians have asked for, Austin said he communicates with his Ukrainian counterpart, Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov, "routinely," and believes the U.S. has been "very effective in providing them those things that are very, very effective on a battlefield."
While the U.S. has provided Ukraine with HIMARS and guided multiple launch rocket systems, or GMLRS, to be used with the HIMAR systems, Ukraine has asked for Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, which have a longer-range than the GLMR systems the U.S. has provided so far.
ATACMS have a range of about 185 miles (298 kilometres). The maximum range of U.S.-provided weapons to Ukraine is around 49 miles (79 kilometres).
Austin praised the successes Ukrainians have had on the battlefield and noted they are using the weapons and technology given to them by the U.S. in the "right way."
"It's not just about the equipment that you have. It's about how you employ that equipment, how you synchronize things together to create battlefield effects that then can create opportunities," he said.
Austin said what will happen in Ukraine is "hard to predict," but he said the U.S. will "continue to provide security assistance to the Ukrainians for as long as it takes."
"The Ukrainians have amazed the world in terms of their ability to fight back, their ability to exercise initiative, their commitment to the defence of their democracy," he said. "And that willingness to fight has rallied the international community in an effort to help provide them the security assistance so that they can continue to fight."
Austin said while he does not "see an imminent invasion" of Taiwan by China, he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping used the Aug. 3 visit to the self-governing island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as an opportunity to "begin to try to create a new normal."
Pelosi was the first sitting U.S. House Speaker to visit the island in 25 years. China responded by launching military exercises in the seas and airspace around Taiwan.
"We saw a number of centreline crossings of the Taiwan Strait by their aircraft, and that number has increased over time. We've seen more activity with their surface vessels in the waters in and around Taiwan," Austin said.
China's ruling Communist Party considers Taiwan a part of its territory, despite never having governed it, and has vowed to "reunify" it with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.
Austin said he has spoken to his Chinese counterpart, Chinese Minister of National Defence Wei Fenghe, "on the phone and in person" during his time as Secretary of Defence, but the communication channel between the two is "not open" right now.
"We'll do everything we can to continue to signal that we want those channels open, and I would hope that China would begin to lean forward a bit more and work with us," Austin said.
When asked if the U.S. military was prepared to defend Taiwan, Austin said the military is "always prepared to protect our interests and live up to our commitments."
In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired last month, U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated a previous pledge to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion, but he specified that "U.S. men and women" would be involved in the effort.
"I think the President was clear in providing his answers as he responded to a hypothetical question. But, again, we continue to work to make sure that we have the right capabilities in the right places to ensure that we help our allies maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific," Austin said.
Austin reiterated that the Biden administration's policy toward Taiwan, the One China Policy, "hasn't changed."'
Under the "One China" policy, the U.S. acknowledges China's position that Taiwan is a part of China but has never officially recognized the Communist Party's claim to the island of 23 million. The U.S. provides Taiwan with defensive weapons but has remained intentionally ambiguous on whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
"In accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, you know, we're committed to helping Taiwan develop the capability to defend itself, and that work has gone on over time," he said.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.