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Full disclosure: companies face emissions reporting mandates even as Canada lags

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

TORONTO — It’s getting harder for companies to hide their dirty secrets.Regulators around the world are increasingly forcing them to disclose their carbon emissions, along with other key climate change considerations such as how much financial risk they face.Momentum is building as the rising dangers from wildfires, droughts and floods become harder to ignore, and as the alphabet soup of disclosure regimes get boiled down to clear international standards on the key questions companies most need to answer. But while both the need and the path forward are getting increasingly clear, experts say Canada is falling behind.At this year’s UN climate conference in Dubai, Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor and a central player in global climate finance, was talking excitedly about the reporting framework established — in record time — by the International Sustainability Standards Board. “Now countries are starting to implement. It’s been endorsed by the securities re...

Tim Hortons to revive beloved dutchie, other favourites to mark 60th anniversary

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

TORONTO — For roughly two decades, Canadians have been telling Tim Hortons something’s missing from the company’s menu: The dutchie. The sweet, square-shaped treat speckled with raisins dates back to the brand’s 1964 inception but was taken off the menu in the early 2000s. It made a short-lived reappearance in 2017 for Canada’s 150th anniversary. Come Jan. 10 though, the dutchie will return — and Tims president Axel Schwan predicts customers will be thrilled the company heard their pleas.“It’s always about listening well,” he said this month, sitting before a plate piled high with dutchies in Tim Hortons’ Toronto test kitchen.“Having two big ears and one mouth is very helpful, I learned from my mom.”The dutchie’s return comes as Tims prepares to sprinkle its menu with a number of new products and old favourites to mark its 60th anniversary on May 17.The milestone year will pay homage to some of the original treats on ...

‘Pushed down our throats’: Letters detail school pronoun concerns in Saskatchewan

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

REGINA — The Saskatchewan government received 18 official complaints in the summer before it implemented a rule preventing most children from changing their names or pronouns at school without parental consent. The emails, recently obtained by The Canadian Press through an access-to-information request, were received in June and July and offer a first look into what may have influenced the government when it changed pronoun and sexual education rules in August. The rules require students under 16 who want to change their names or pronouns to have permission from their parents. Third-party organizations are also banned from presenting sexual education, and parents can pull their children from such courses.In the letters to the government, the complainants ask Saskatchewan to do something about pronouns, sexual education and Pride activities in schools.Most urge the province to follow the New Brunswick government, which required parental consent over pronoun or name changes before Sas...

US defense secretary arrives in Israel and is expected to press for a more targeted approach in Gaza

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was expected to press Israel to wind down major combat operations in Gaza on a visit Monday, in the latest test of whether the U.S. can leverage its unwavering support for the offensive to blunt its devastating impact on Palestinian civilians.France, the U.K. and Germany — some of Israel’s closest allies — joined global calls for a cease-fire over the weekend, and Israeli protesters have demanded the government relaunch talks with Hamas on releasing more hostages after three were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops while waving a white flag.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will keep fighting until it removes Hamas from power, crushes its still-formidable military capabilities and returns the dozens of hostages still held by the group after its Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the war.The U.S. has vetoed calls for a cease-fire at the U.N. and rushed munitions to its close ally while pressing it to...

Miss Manners: Snow shoveling has created an awkward situation with my neighbors

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I live in the Northeast, where snowstorms are commonplace. Both of us are fortunate to have jobs that generally close in bad weather, so we have time to clear snow at our leisure.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Our houseguests canceled abruptly and implied we were running a frat party Advice | Miss Manners: If you’re the best man at this wedding, brace for embarrassment Advice | Miss Manners: I’m irritated by drivers who leave their car at the pump Advice | Miss Manners: I’m offended that they think my husband knows best Advice | Miss Manners: Do they think that as doctors they have some special aura? A friend of ours has grandparents who live in our neighborhood. They are relatively recent immigrants from a warm climate, and we have taken to shoveling their driveway and walkways whenever the weather warrants it.This friend’s whole family h...

Europe’s top soccer teams await draw for Champions League’s round of 16

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Europe’s top teams are waiting to discover who they will be playing in the round of 16 of the Champions League.The draw takes place from 1100 GMT at UEFA headquarters on Monday and it includes eight former champions who have combined to win 33 of the 67 titles since the European Cup started in 1955.Among them is defending champion Manchester City, who was a group winner along with Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona.They’ll be facing the following teams who were second in their groups: Copenhagen, PSV Eindhoven, Napoli, Inter Milan, Lazio, Paris Saint-Germain, Leipzig and Porto.In the last 16, teams cannot play an opponent from their own country or a team they already faced in the group stage. There’s no country protection after that.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSource

Impulsado por la lluvia, este transportador de semillas podría ayudar a reforestar las zonas más remotas

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

(CNN) –Los bosques del mundo están amenazados. Además de la tala para obtener madera y la tala para dar paso a la agricultura, el aumento de las temperaturas globales está causando incendios forestales más intensos . Este año será el más caluroso registrado y ha sido el peor récord en términos de incendios en bosques boreales en todo el mundo.La reforestación es esencial en la lucha contra el cambio climático y para proteger la biodiversidad, pero plantar árboles jóvenes a mano puede ser lento y requerir mucha mano de obra.En los últimos años, se comenzaron a utilizar drones para arrojar semillas en tierras deforestadas por incendios forestales; una empresa llamada Mast Reforestation, anteriormente DroneSeed, aplicó este método en el oeste de los Estados Unidos y más allá, y en todo el mundo. Wildlife Fund utilizó drones especializados para restaurar matorrales rurales en Australia. Pero para que vuelva a crecer, las semillas caídas tienen que llegar al suelo y germinar, y eso...

This new DC-area hospital is a one-stop shop for women’s health care

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

In less than a year, doctors at VHC Health in Arlington, Virginia, planned, built and opened the D.C. area’s only one-stop health care center for women.The goal of the new Charlotte Stump Benjamin Center is to make appointments and follow-ups easy and convenient for women, said Dr. Kelly Orzechowski, the center’s chief medical officer.“A lot of times women are so busy caring for other loved ones that they don’t actually prioritize their own health care,” she said. “So, they’re more likely to delay a mammogram and that can affect the quality of life and health care, if things are picked up late.”Health care centers for women only are a national trend that has reached the D.C. area.Dr. Kelly Orzechowski, the center’s chief medical officer, speaks with guests during the grand opening ceremony. (Courtesy VHC Health)The center, located on the fifth floor of VHC Health’s outpatient pavilion, is the first of its kind in the area that of...

Tras su desaparición en 1982, Johnny Gosch se convirtió en uno de los primeros “niños del cartón de leche”. Su caso aún es un misterio

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

West Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — Johnny Gosch salió de casa por última vez un cálido domingo de finales de verano, a la pálida luz de la mañana, antes del amanecer. Tenía 12 años y le gustaba construir maquetas de cohetes. Poco antes de las 6 de la mañana, un vecino escuchó el ruido de una carreta por el patio y supuso que era Johnny tomando su atajo habitual de camino a recoger los periódicos. Otro repartidor de periódicos recordó haber visto a Johnny cerca del lugar donde dejaba los periódicos. El chico vio detenerse un vehículo azul y a Johnny hablando con un desconocido.Lo que ocurrió en los minutos siguientes resonaría durante las cuatro décadas posteriores, mucho más allá de las verdes colinas de Iowa. Johnny se convertiría en una trágica abstracción, un rostro en un cartón de leche, una historia que advirtió a otros niños de que se alejaran de las rutas de reparto de periódicos y cambió la forma en que la Policía trataba los casos de niños desaparecidos.Las razones de la d...

Stock market today: World shares are mostly lower as Bank of Japan meets, China property shares fall

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:03:28 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mostly lower on Monday, while U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.3% to 16,699.58 and in Paris, the CAC40 fell 0.5% to 4,066.69. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 7,592.11. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher. The Bank of Japan began a 2-day meeting that investors are watching for hints of a change to the central bank’s longstanding near-zero interest rate policy. Investors have been speculating for months that rising prices would push Japan’s central bank to finally shift away from its lavishly lax monetary policy. But the meeting that ends Tuesday is not expected to result in a major change.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.6% to 32,758.98, while the U.S. dollar edged higher against the Japanese yen, rising to 142.36 from 142.11.The BOJ has kept its benchmark rate at minus 0.1% for a decade, hoping to goose investments and borrowing to help drive su...