Global National: Aug. 13

As Israel waits for Iran to launch a promised retaliatory attack over the killings of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, world leaders are hoping for meaningful progress to be made towards the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza. Iran’s response to calls to “stand down,” and why it might delay an attack. Canada’s temporary foreign worker program was launched more than 60 years ago to help ease labour shortages, but a United Nations report is now slamming it as a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.” Mackenzie Gray explains why, as calls grow to overhaul how Canada treats migrant workers. As sexually transmitted infection (STI) cases reach highs that haven’t been seen in Canada in years, Nova Scotia is now joining Ontario in offering take-home test kits. How the kits work, why health experts say they’re crucial to stopping the spread of the diseases, and which provinces could soon follow suit. And data from NASA’s Mars InSight lander, which finished its mission in 2022, have revealed an enormous “hidden ocean” beneath the red planet’s surface. How the discovery was made, what it says about life on Mars, and the twist that might prevent humans from accessing that water for the foreseeable future.

• WATCH: Global National – Aug. 13