Canada failing to meet 2020 emissions targets

Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq's department prepared the latest progress report to the UN on the federal government's emissions targets. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Canada will fail to meet its 2020 greenhouse gas reductions targets under the Copenhagen Accord even with more regulation of the oil and gas sector, according to a new report and internal government analysis obtained by CBC News.

A report released today titled Canada’s Emissions Trends shows projections to 2020 with a significant and growing gap for targets even under variable economic growth and energy resource development scenarios.

Prince George’s christening

When three-month-old Prince George was christened today, the ceremony steeped in British tradition was more than a private family celebration of its latest addition. The christening of the third in line to the throne in a small London chapel was also another signal that the once-fusty House of Windsor is determined to mould a more modern image of the monarchy, including how George's father, Prince William, may focus on a lower-key approach to royal life.

George — formally known as Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge — is now part of the "magical group of eight," which includes his great-grandmother, the Queen, her husband Prince Philip, grandfather Prince Charles, his wife Camilla, Kate and William and William’s brother Prince Harry

Caution for Immigrants: Most Commonly Advertised Occupations in Canada

A letter for all immigrants relocating to Canada to pursue a career, the top jobs by all the provinces in a recent survey by StatCan are listed  below. Babysitters, Nannies, and Parents' Helpers had the most job ad volume among these provinces. Cooks were the second most in-demand occupation and it appeared among the top 5 jobs in each province. Despite only appearing on some lists, demand for Sales, Marketing, and Advertising Managers increased the most in the past year out of the positions listed above. Next to Cooks and Babysitters, Nannies, and Parents' Helpers, Sales Representatives and Truck Drivers appeared most often. Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Occupations only appeared in Alberta and Prince Edward Island. Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics was unique in Saskatchewan. Technical Sales Specialists – Wholesale Trade was only among the most advertised occupations in British Columbia. Visiting Housemakers, Housekeepers, and Related Occupations was distinctive in only Newfoundland and Labrador. Please be advised, see the full list below

Entrepreneurs Feel Closer to God Than the Rest of Us Do

The study: Mitchell J. Neubert and three colleagues at Baylor University investigated the connection between faith and the propensity to start a business, by examining data from a survey that queried 1,714 U.S. adults about their religious habits. They found that entrepreneurs prayed more frequently than other people and were more likely to believe that God was personally responsive to them.

The challenge: Do people who launch companies really feel a deeper connection to their deity than non-entrepreneurs? Professor Neubert, defend your research.

Neubert: Entrepreneurs seem to be more religious in a couple of small—but statistically significant—ways. They pray more—several times a week, on average—and are more likely to believe in an engaged, responsive God who takes a personal interest in them. You can see how the two might be related: If you think God cares about you, you’re more likely to talk to him. Entrepreneurs also are more apt to worship with a congregation that encourages business activity. On other measures—church affiliation, belief in God, and service attendance—they seem to be as religious as everyone else: Nearly nine out of 10 are affiliated with some religion. They attend church monthly, on average, and two-thirds say they have no doubt that God exists. But even those findings might surprise people who assume that hard-driving business people are too busy or greedy to make time for religion.

The Rise and Fall of World's Richest Drug Lords

Fugitive Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, best known for ordering the kidnapping, torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena in 1985, appears to be the first in a generation of Mexican drug kingpins to amass a fortune estimated in the billions of dollars. During the 1980s he headed the Guadalajara Cartel, which was at the time the world’s most powerful drug organization.

Caro Quintero was sentenced in 1989 to serve 40 years in a Mexican prison for the murder of Camarena and his Mexican pilot, and for drug trafficking. But after spending 28 years in jail, the 61 year-old Caro Quintero was secretly released in the middle of the night on a legal technicality by an obscure court in Guadalajara in August.

17 Incredibly Successful People Who Started As Interns

A wealth of knowledge, extensive opportunities and a foot in that dream job's door can only describe one thing: internships.

Several of us have been there -- in college, high school or even as an adolescent -- getting a glimpse of the real world and a chance to climb the career ladder.

The paid vs. unpaid debate rages on inside intern land despite many positive work outcomes. It isn't ALL grabbing coffee and making copies.

Internships can actually get you somewhere and Hollywood has proof. We found at least 19 examples. These stars worked their way up before hitting it big.

1. Steven Spielberg
The prolific producer began an unofficial internship with Universal Studios when he was 17 years old. Spielberg continually snuck onto the studio lot (he wasn't granted access) and networked with directors, even creating a short film that found its way into executives' hands. Universal heads were so impressed that they offered him a seven-year contract. The rest is history.

2. Conan O'Brien
Funnyman O'Brien discussed his time interning for Barney Frank at the House of Representatives during an "Inside the Actor's Studio" episode. He says he didn't pursue politics because, "I didn't want to work my way up."

3. Tom Hanks
Before he was a movie star, Hanks was a college kid interning for the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. He obtained stage confidence and a wealth of theater production experience. The internship turned into a three-year gig ... in which the actor would drop out of college (no longer needing formal theater education).

4. Oprah Winfrey

'God particle' theorists receive Nobel Prize in physics

A proton-proton collision produced in the Large Hadron Collider shows characteristics in line with the decay of a Higgs boson particle.

The Higgs boson, or the "God particle," which was discovered last year, garnered two physicists the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday, but it didn't go to the scientists who detected it. Nearly 50 years ago, Francois Englert of Belgium and Peter Higgs of the United Kingdom had the foresight to predict that the particle existed. Now, the octogenarian pair share the Nobel Prize in physics in recognition of a theoretical brilliance that was vindicated by the particle's discovery last year. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the prize to them. Higgs and Englert's theories behind the elusive Higgs boson explained what gives matter its mass.

FBI shuts down online black market for illegal drugs, arms and money

Prosecutors also charged that in March, Ulbricht tried to hire someone to kill a Silk Road user

US authorities said Wednesday that they have busted an online black market for drugs, hitmen, hacker tools and more, arresting the suspected mastermind of a nefarious bazaar called Silk Road.

Ross William Ulbricht, also known as "Dread Pirate Roberts," was arrested on Tuesday in San Francisco after the website was shut down, the Justice Department said in a statement. His online moniker appeared to be taken from a character in the film "The Princess Bride. "Prosecutors said they seized approximately $3.6m worth of Bitcoins, the largest-ever seizure of the digital currency.

The debt ceiling and potential impact on Canada explained

President Obama addresses the press as Republican House Speaker John Boehner looks on.

Getty Images

So what is the debt ceiling exactly—and more importantly, what does it mean for Canada if the U.S. government hits it?

It’s a complicated question everyone from big financial investor-types and lawmakers are trying to unpack now, 10 days ahead of a deadline set in Washington to either raise the ceiling, which would allow the U.S. Treasury to borrow additional money to continue funding the business of government, or not, leaving the Treasury in a position where it will run short of cash.

Teenagers arrested for Facebook kiss

Moroccan police have arrested a teenage boy and girl for posting a photograph of them kissing on Facebook, with the incident provoking a slew of copycats, a rights organisation said. "It involves a teenage boy and his girlfriend. They were arrested on Thursday for violating public decency by posting a photo of them kissing" in the northeastern town of Nador, said Chakib al-Khayari, president of the Rif Association of Human Rights on Friday.

Freed Canadians barred from leaving Egypt

Canadians John Greyson and Tarek Loubani had been held in the high security Tora facility for 6 weeks

Two Canadians released from an Egyptian prison after being held without charges since mid-August have barred from flying out of the country, Cairo airport officials said. John Greyson, a Toronto-based film-maker and York University professor, and Tarek Loubani, a physician from London, Ontario, had checked in for a flight to Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday, but were prevented from boarding the plane after their names appeared on a "stop-list" issued by prosecutors, the airport officials said.

Song of the Week: Supersoaker by Kings of Leon (Live performance in London 02 arena)

[Verse 1:]

My motivation has gone too soon
Good vibrations all over you
Act like you mean it, you mean it
You've got a story you never tell
Down in the delta I'm ringing bells
I've never seen it, seen it
Back of my mind I'm on my way
I see through smiles on every face
I don't believe it, believe it

[Pre-Chorus:]
Cause I'm a supersoaker red, white,
And blew em all away
With the kisses unclean
as the words that you say

[Chorus:]
I don't mind sentimental girls at times
Mister walk away, walk away

[Verse 2:]
The flags are flying across the plains
I've got a secret picking at my brain
I wanna see you, see you
The exit sign is on my face
Don't know my home, I don't know my place
I just wanna be there, be there

[Pre-Chorus]

[Chorus x2]

I don't mind sentimental girls at times
I just lay it on the line, on the line

[Chorus x2]

Ex-Revenue Canada lawyer advised how to hide money offshore

An exclusive CBC News hidden camera investigation into the world of offshore banking uncovered a former executive with the Royal Bank of Canada and a former lawyer with the Canada Revenue Agency offering advice on how to hide money from Canadian tax authorities.

As part of the joint investigation with Enquête, the CBC’S French-language investigative program, CBC News hired a private investigator, who is also a restaurant and bar owner in Toronto, to test 15 different offshore service providers in Canada and abroad.

The investigator was given a story: over the years he had squirrelled away as much as a million dollars that he hadn’t declared, and wanted to hide it offshore to avoid paying taxes.

More than half of the offshore service providers tested with hidden cameras by the CBC in Canada and Barbados provided advice that wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny, according to CBC experts.

Struggle for India’s Women Far From Over

There were 24,923 reported rape cases in India last year. On average, 24% of rape cases end with a conviction. The verdict was in. A New Delhi court has found four men guilty of rape and murder in the case of a 23-year-old woman assaulted on a bus as it drove through the Indian capital in December. Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Kumar Singh face a possible death penalty when they are sentenced.

Judge Yogesh Khanna’s decision may help provide a sense of closure for the woman’s family and friends. But for India, the struggle to stop violence against women is far from over.

Apple overtakes Cocacola as world's number one most valuable brand

For thirteen years, Cocacola was the world's number one most valuable brand...but not anymore. In 2013, two brands took over - Apple and Google, leaving Cocacola at number three.

From New York Times
Apple is the new most valuable brand in the world, according to a closely followed annual report. The report, to be released next Monday, is from Interbrand, a corporate identity and brand consulting company owned by the Omnicom Group that has been compiling what it calls the Best Global Brands report since 2000. The previous No. 1 brand, Coca-Cola, fell to No. 3.
Not only has Apple replaced Coca-Cola as first among the 100 most valuable brands based on criteria that include financial performance, this is the first time that the soft drink known for slogans like “It’s the real thing” has not been No. 1.

Apple’s arrival in the top spot was perhaps “a matter of time,” Jez Frampton, global chief executive at Interbrand, said in a recent interview. Apple was No. 2 last year, climbing from No. 8 in the 2011 report.

“What is it they say, ‘Long live the king’?” Mr. Frampton asked. “This year, the king is Apple.”

The 2013 report begins: “Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new No. 1 — Apple.”

The report estimates the value of the Apple brand at $98.3 billion, up 28 percent from the 2012 report. The value of the Coca-Cola brand also rose, by 2 percent to $79.2 billion, but that was not sufficient to give Coca-Cola a 14th year as Interbrand’s most valuable brand.

Canada Launches First Public Umbilical Cord Bank

Canada's first national public blood bank for umbilical cord blood began taking donations Monday at the Ottawa Hospital.

Canadian Blood Services said the bank will let the public donate rather than discard umbilical cords, which are a rich source of stem cells.

A newborn baby boy's umbilical cord blood is collected to try to cure his sister of leukemia in Beijing in 2005. Prior to Monday's announcement Canada was the only G8 country without a national cord blood bank. ( China Photos/Getty)

Some 1,000 Canadians are currently waiting for life-saving stem cell transplants to treat diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma or aplastic anemia, according to Canadian Blood Services.

The group said Canada was the only G8 nation that doesn't have a national public cord blood bank.

Robert Klaassen, a hematologist/oncologist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, said the new cord blood bank is "long overdue."

Klaassen said having our own national cord blood bank will shorten wait times and increase the pool of potential matches when stem cells are needed, while cord blood will also provide a more flexible source of stem cells than bone marrow.

"The main problem we have is that many patients when they need a bone marrow transplant don't have a brother or sister or sibling to match to so we have to start looking for unrelated matches," said Klaassen.

'Breaking Bad' series finale breaks records for ratings and piracy

Last night the television series Breaking Bad came to an end, and the numbers prove the show had become a true cultural phenomenon in its last months. According to network AMC, 10.3 million viewers tuned in to watch the end of Walter White's story, a record high for the program, and an increase of more than 300 percent over the season finale last year. "Breaking Bad is simply unique," AMC president Charlie Collier said in a statement. "It all starts with Vince Gilligan who really only ever asked for one thing — the opportunity to end the show on his own terms."

BETTER THAN 'DEXTER,' SHY OF 'THE SOPRANOS'

It's a staggering number that demonstrates just how much momentum the show has gained. By way of comparison, only 6.1 million viewers tuned in for Showtime'sDexter finale earlier this month, and theBreaking Bad numbers even crept near the ratings for the finale of HBO's former heavyweight The Sopranos. 11.9 million people watched the controversial finale to David Chase's mafia drama in 2007. For a broader, broadcast network reference point, ABC's Lost finale had 13.5 million viewersthree years ago.

The cultural conversation was in full swing on Twitter as well. According to AMC, 1.24 million tweets from over 601,000 different users referenced the show while the finale was broadcast on the east and west coasts of the US. The activity hit a peak of 22,373 tweets per minute just as the first showing began, with series star Bryan Cranston's thank you to fans retweeted over 52,000 times.

Viewers watching Breaking Bad through illegitimate means also wasted no time in viewing the finale. According to TorrentFreak, the episode was downloaded by more than 500,000 people in the first 12 hours after it aired, with 18 percent of downloads originating in Australia. The United States and the UK rounded out the top three countries pirating the show. While the number was a record for Vince Gilligan's show, it proved no match for Game of Thrones, which had its season premiere downloaded over a million times in less than a day.

All told, it's a tremendously successful conclusion to the series, and a reminder yet again that amazing things are possible if unique shows are given time to develop. For AMC, however, the question now turns to how it's going to replicate that kind of success. Thespin-off series Better Call Saul won't likely garner the same kind of rabid following as the original Breaking Bad, but the network already has plenty of promising projects in development. TheVerge

50 Most Innovative Companies In The World

Every year since 2005, the Boston Consulting Group has surveyed more than 1,500 senior global executives for a snapshot of the most innovative companies in the world. Each executive is asked to rate the companies in their industry by how innovative they are, and those results are then weighted to reflect three-year shareholder growth, revenue growth, and margin growth. Despite losing some of its luster over the past year, Apple tops the list for the ninth consecutive year. Its biggest competitor, Samsung, moves to just one spot behind it, making next year's list one to watch.

The ranking also shows some volatility. Struggling Dell drops 11 places, and Intel falls 13 slots.  The vast majority of the companies on the list fall into just three categories: technology, consumer and retail, and automotive companies. Technology dominates, making up half of the companies in the top 10. Meanwhile, the automotive sector, which has had to step things up to meet consumers' increasing demands, saw the biggest leaps, with three companies in the top 10 and Volkswagen jumping 31 spots.

Health care and energy are almost nowhere to be found, with only one and three companies in the top 50, respectively.

Here are the top 50 most innovative companies:


BusinessInsider

Three of world's five $1bn plus wealthiest women are from China

Half of the world's wealthiest female billionaires are Chinese, according to a respected ranking published on Tuesday by a Shanghai-based business magazine.

According to the Hurun Report's "Hurun China's Women Rich List 2013", three of the world's five wealthiest women with assets of over $1bn (£626m) – and six of its top 10 – are Chinese. None of the world's top 10 richest men are from mainland China.

China's wealthiest woman is Yang Huiyan, the 32-year-old heiress to Country Garden, an expansive property developer in the affluent southern province Guangdong. Yang has assets of 51bn yuan (£5.2bn). She graduated from Ohio State University in 2003.

Yang is followed by Chen Lihua, 72, of Fu Wah International, an "industrial investment company" founded in Hong Kong in 1988. Chen, worth 37bn yuan, was named one of "the world's 100 most influential people" by Time magazine last year for her philanthropic efforts.

About a quarter of the list's 50 wealthiest women work in real estate; 18% of them are involved in finance. China's richest women are generally younger than their male counterparts, with an average age of 48 compared with 52.

Canada's population surpasses 35 million for the first time

Statistics Canada estimates that the country's population hit 35,158,300 on July 1 — an increase of 404,000 people, or 1.2 per cent from the previous year.

The agency says the increase equals the one observed between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012 and is similar to the average annual gains over the last 30 years.

It says the latest population estimate is based on the 2011 census counts, adjusted for census net undercoverage and incompletely enumerated Indian reserves.

Ontario is home to 38.5 per cent of the population, a slight increase from its share of 35.6 per cent in 1983. Second on the list is Quebec with 23.2 per cent, B.C. with 13 per cent and Alberta with 11.4 per cent.

Canada’s population growth rate is at 1.2 per cent this year, unchanged from last year. Most of that growth comes from immigration.

The report says population growth for the year ending last June 30 was lower in the Atlantic provinces and negative in Nova Scotia, while generally higher in the western provinces.

Alberta's estimated population grew by 3.4 per cent, mainly due to international and interprovincial migration.

The low growth in the Atlantic provinces is attributed to a low rate of natural increase and interprovincial migration losses, which reached a six-year high.

Over the last 30 years, the population of Ontario grew almost twice as rapidly (39.8 per cent) as that of Quebec (21 per cent). theStar

Immigrating to Canada? Think twice

OTTAWA -- Samer Elbanna left Egypt in search of a better life for his family. But leaving a job in procurement -- one that had him dealing with companies all over the world -- in order to sling burgers at an Ottawa fast food joint wasn't what he had in mind.

Now the 29-year-old is casting a longing glance back at his homeland, wondering if he has a better shot there at the life he dreams about.

"I'm now thinking a lot of that. Because my life is not easy here," Elbanna said.

"So I'm thinking about going back to Egypt. I have everything there, or I have to fight here to be something."

With his daughter Farida about to turn two next month and no prospects on the horizon of landing a job like the one he left in Egypt, Elbanna and his wife Sara are wondering if they should just cut their losses and return home.

Canada’s greatest untapped asset?

Aside from tired old tropes (oil, water, trees), what should our country develop in order to boost our competitive edge? We asked four Canadians in diverse fields to name an unexpected resource.

Big brains, basic science

Bob McDonald

Science journalist and host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks, who started his career as a demonstrator at the Ontario Science CentreFrom a science point of view, our greatest asset is brainpower. Canadian scientists are highly regarded around world. We have teams working on the Large Hadron Collider, one of the largest experiments in the world. We are well regarded on space – we were the third country in space, and we continue to lead in satellite and robotic technologies. We’ve just had Chris Hadfield on the International Space Station. We’re big in nanotech and genetics research. But I don’t think we’re tapping it, because funding in fundamental science – why-is-the-sky-blue science – is being cut back. I think that’s a loss not only to Canada, but to the world. Fabulous universities are putting out really smart people and a lot of them are leaving to go to other countries.

Cash-strapped Canada Post weighs future of mail delivery

Door-to-door mail delivery could become a thing of the past as Canada Post considers ways to remake its balance sheet in an era of declining letter mail volumes. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

Urban Canadians could be saying goodbye to door-to-door mail delivery.

Cutting that service is among the options being seriously considered by Canada Post as it grapples with plummeting volumes of letter mail and financial losses of $104 million in the last quarter.

The minister responsible, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, says it's an idea worth considering.

"They don't need need the government of Canada's policy changes in order to convert to community mailboxes in urban areas.

"That's a huge cost savings and it's those kinds of things that we want to see come to fruition."

'No single option we looked at will be enough to close the gap'- David Stewart-Patterson, Conference Board of Canada

As it stands now, only one-third of Canadians get their mail delivered right to their door. Everyone else picks up the post from community, apartment or rural lot line mailboxes. According to a Conference Board of Canada report, Canada Post is on track to lose $1 billion a year.

If the corporation cut door-to-door delivery, the Conference Board's vice-president of public policy David Stewart-Patterson says it could reduce those losses by more than half.

"No single option we looked at will be enough to close the gap. What Canadians need to think about is a range of options and what combination is likely to meet their needs best."

Argentina Most Expensive Place to Buy iPad, Canada and Malaysia Cheapest

Consumers in Argentina pay the most globally for an iPad, more than double the cost in Malaysia, the world’s cheapest place to buy the Apple Inc. product.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A customer wearing a mask designed to resemble late Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs holds up a portrait of Mr. Jobs on his iPad outside an Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 20, 2013.

A 16-gigabyte iPad with Wi-Fi and aretina display sells for $1,094.11 in Argentina, compared with $473.77 in Malaysia, according to CommSec, a unit of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank.

Other expensive places to buy an iPad include northern Europe and Latin America. (Brazil: $791.40; and Denmark: $725.32.)

CommSec has been keeping an iPod index since 2007 (it later added the iPad) as a way of monitoring whether currencies are valued appropriately.

The index is a way of exploring the economic concept of purchasing power parity. That is, a good should trade at the same price in different countries when expressed in the same currency given free markets.