
TORONTO (AP) — Britta Curl-Salemme and Michaela Cava each scored twice and the Minnesota Frost beat the Toronto Sceptres 6-3 on Saturday in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * TORONTO (AP) — Britta Curl-Salemme and Michaela Cava each scored twice and the Minnesota Frost beat the Toronto Sceptres 6-3 on Saturday in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? TORONTO (AP) — Britta Curl-Salemme and Michaela Cava each scored twice and the Minnesota Frost beat the Toronto Sceptres 6-3 on Saturday in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Curl-Salemme gave Minnesota a 4-3 lead at 6:29 of the third period. Cava scored the final two goals, the last into an empty net. Claire Butorac and Dominique Petrie also scored and Maddy Rooney stopped 21 shots to help Minnesota improve to 2-0-1. Daryl Watts, Victoria Bach and Jesse Compher scored for Toronto. The Sceptres are 1-2-0. Minnesota beat Toronto for the fourth straight game dating to last season’s playoffs. The Frost won the final three games of a best-of-five semifinal after dropping the first two. Takeaways Frost: Defender Maggie Flaherty served the first game of a two-game suspension for a headshot on Boston’s Alina Mueller, with Mae Batherson taking her place for her PWHL debut. Batherson is the younger sister of Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson. Sceptres: Rylind MacKinnon is one of only two Canadian university players in the PWHL, with New York’s Emmy Fecteau from Concordia the other. MacKinn, a former University of British Columbia defender, has two assists this season. Up next Toronto is at New York on Wednesday night. Minnesota host Ottawa on Thursday night. ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports Advertisement
As most countries in South-east Asia are still developing and have relatively weak economic foundations, climate finance is necessary for the region to take climate action. SINGAPORE – To the rest of the world, Pari Island may be just another of the thousands of islands that make up the vast Indonesian archipelago, some so tiny they do not have names. But non-profit Friends of the Earth Indonesia is fighting for more visibility for the plight of its 1,500 inhabitants, who are facing the loss of their homes and fishery livelihoods as sea levels rise. The island was partially inundated an unprecedented 10 times in 2023 by exceptionally high tides. Island communities in South-east Asia, like those on Pari, have long grappled with worsening climate impacts, but often find it difficult to access the funds they need to become resilient against floods and typhoons. Countries in the region also need assistance to phase out coal. The Indonesian island of Pari lies just above sea level, making it highly prone to flooding from high tides. PHOTO: ZVG But the recently concluded UN Climate Change Conference COP29 could offer some hope, with developed countries agreeing to channel US$300 billion (S$402 billion) a year to developing countries by 2035. The ultimate aim is to raise US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for countries in need, through various forms of finance. But the US$300 billion core amount was criticised as woefully insufficient by climate-vulnerable countries and civil society, who expected richer countries – who were historical emitters – to commit more. It is also uncertain how the amount will be raised. While developed countries will take the lead, the COP29 decision stated that the amount will come from “a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources”. Mr Gao Xi, a research associate at the NUS Energy Studies Institute (ESI), said: “Most South-east Asian countries are coastal, making them particularly vulnerable to threats such as typhoons, floods and droughts caused by climate change. Frequent extreme weather events often result in significant financial losses and social disruptions.” In 2024 alone, the Philippines was struck by six typhoons within a span of 30 days – between October and November – killing more than 170 people, displacing more than 214,000 people and causing damage worth about 470 million pesos (S$10.8 million). While the archipelago is prone to tropical storms, such back-to-back typhoons within a month is unusual. An aerial view shows submerged homes at a village in Ilagan, Isabela province in the Philippines on Nov 18 due to continuous heavy rains from Super Typhoon Man-yi. PHOTO: AFP As most countries in South-east Asia are still developing and have relatively weak economic foundations, climate finance is necessary for the region to take climate action, added Mr Gao, with money particularly needed for clean energy generation, low-carbon transport and coastal defence. According to the International Energy Agency, Asean will need US$21 billion in investments annually from 2026 to 2030 just to upgrade its energy infrastructure. And to build resilience against climate impacts, the region needs US$422 billion until 2030. The finance outcomes from the UN conference in Azerbaijan could also benefit other developments in South-east Asia, such as the future regional power grid and carbon trading, which can also benefit Singapore. Funding the Asean power grid The funds pledged at COP29 could provide crucial support for accelerating the development of the Asean power grid. One of the region’s decades-long ambitions, the complex power interconnection will enable electricity trade across borders – for both energy security and access to greener energy. The regional ambition made progress with the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore electricity import pilot in 2022, which transmitted 100MW of hydropower from Laos to Singapore, via Malaysia and Thailand. This was later extended to include another 100MW from Malaysia’s electricity grid in October 2024, but this includes a mix of energy sources, including coal and natural gas. Singapore is also laying the groundwork for the regional grid by committing to import 5.6GW of clean electricity from Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Asean envisions a power grid by 2045, and climate finance has the potential to address the unique challenges of financing such a large-scale, multi-country initiative, said Mr Beni Suryadi, acting executive director at the Asean Centre for Energy based in Indonesia. Several key challenges make traditional financing for the Asean power grid difficult. One is cross-border investment risks, since the giant grid will involve multiple countries with different regulatory frameworks and tariffs. Another is the high upfront capital required, especially for building the grid and transmission infrastructure. The resulting long payback periods can put off traditional investors, who seek quicker returns, noted Mr Beni. Climate finance can loosen these gridlocks. These funds often come in the form of concessional loans with low interest rates, grants, or guarantees which lower the financial risks for private investors. When forms of finance like green bonds, blended finance and funding from the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank are injected into a mega-project first, the risks are lowered for private investors to participate. Blended finance refers to bringing together monies from the public sector, the multilateral development banks, philanthropies and the private sector. “This is where climate finance can step in – by bridging these gaps, mitigating risks, and enabling investments that otherwise might not materialise,” he added. As a wealthier developing country, Singapore would not be a recipient of the US$1.3 trillion, and instead would contribute voluntarily to climate finance. But the island-state would be a beneficiary, nonetheless, of the Asean power grid, which would enable it to import low-carbon and renewable electricity to reduce its carbon emissions. Singapore’s National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) said the Asean power grid would maximise the region’s diverse renewable energy potential by matching renewable resource-rich areas with those that need to buy clean energy. “By doing so, it can reduce the region’s dependence on fossil fuels, increase resilience against fluctuations in global energy markets and make progress towards our decarbonisation targets,” the NCCS spokesperson added. But while the Asean power grid is undoubtedly a worthy project, directing climate finance to it would not be straightforward, as it would be considered an electricity transmission project, said Mr Beni. Whether transmission projects are considered to be green and contribute to reducing carbon emissions is still a question to be settled. “At the moment, climate finance for transmission infrastructure projects is still nascent, while the needs are huge,” he added. The Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant in Hoa Binh province, Vietnam. Singapore is laying the groundwork for the regional grid by committing to import 5.6 gigawatts of clean electricity from Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. PHOTO: REUTERS South-east Asia: Between the devil and the deep blue sea South-east Asia is in a tricky position when it comes to receiving climate finance as stipulated by COP29. On the one hand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia were, until 2019, among the 20 countries most exposed to climate risks, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, which is published by non-profit organisation Germanwatch. But South-east Asia is expected to continue its fast economic growth, accompanied by more greenhouse gas emissions, noted Dr Kim Jeong Won, a senior research fellow at ESI. This growth has reclassified many Asean nations as middle-income countries, reducing their eligibility for development financing, she added. Among the developing nations, the least developed countries and small island developing states are recognised as having the greatest need for support. Given the competition for funding, a significant gap already exists between the required investments and actual finance that the countries have received. For example, only 9.7 per cent of investments from the UN’s Green Climate Fund – the world’s largest fund of its kind – has been channelled to South-east Asia. Similarly, only 6.3 per cent of investments from the UN’s Adaptation Fund has been allocated to Asean countries, said Dr Kim. She added: “South-east Asian countries are expected to compete for limited bilateral and multilateral public funding with other low-income developing countries.” If they want to attract a greater share of private funding, it is vital that countries develop more innovative finance models and attractive climate-related projects, she noted. Ms Lau Xin Yi, sustainable finance lead for South-east Asia at the Carbon Trust consultancy, is looking at a newer type of finance tool called climate transition bonds. The proceeds from these bonds can be used for a wider range of decarbonisation projects, including those in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement and petrochemicals. Despite guidelines to prevent greenwashing, Ms Lau noted that about 90 per cent of the transition bonds issued globally has been dominated by Japan’s issuances. “Climate transition bonds can help South-east Asia unlock more capital needed for its low-carbon transition. More capital will be channelled towards clean technologies, but how transition is achieved will vary across sectors and regions,” said Ms Lau. More incentives to protect Asean forests A bright spot at COP29 was an agreement on carbon trading , achieved after nearly 10 years of negotiations. Carbon trading is governed under a segment of the Paris Agreement known as Article 6, which was finalised at COP29. This means countries can trade carbon credits in two ways – either under a UN-managed carbon programme or through bilateral agreements. Singapore is currently collaborating with more than 20 countries in carbon markets, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. With Article 6 in place, NCCS said countries that do not have their own national registry to transfer credits can also now use an international registry or receive support from the UN to create their own system. “This reduces the barriers to entry, encouraging more countries to start engaging in carbon markets cooperation, including with Singapore.” Mr Anshari Rahman, director of policy and analytics at Temasek-backed investment platform GenZero, said that carbon markets can unlock financing for deserving and untapped technology, and nature-based solutions in the region. South-east Asia, which is home to the world’s third-largest tropical forest basin after the Amazon and the Congo, would have more incentives to protect it, if it were to receive carbon credits arising from nature-based projects. South-east Asia is home to the world’s third-largest tropical forest basin after the Amazon and the Congo. PHOTO: THE NATURE CONSERVANCY Mr Olivier Levallois, founder of Hamerkop Climate Impacts, said some examples are a peat swamp conservation project in Indonesia’s Tanjung Puting National Park, and a carbon forestry programme in Timor-Leste that also benefits small-scale farmers. Singapore has also mandated that carbon project developers must contribute 5 per cent of their share of proceeds from carbon credits towards the host country’s adaptation efforts. This is another way of raising climate finance. “Considering Singapore’s position as a regional carbon trading hub, it should benefit from this early-stage excitement, with more project developers getting involved and capital flowing into carbon projects,” added Mr Levallois, who is also senior director at Chooose, a Norwegian company that helps airlines with their sustainable aviation fuel and carbon programmes. Mr Anshari noted that progress on Article 6 at COP29 helped to shore up market confidence for carbon markets, which have been under scrutiny for years. Mr Levallois said the next steps are to work towards carbon projects, set up regulatory frameworks and develop carbon monitoring methods. A crucial aspect of this process is to increase demand for credits. “The market needs to have stronger demand signal, and it is unclear yet whether companies will suddenly trust these (Article 6) mechanisms and make funding available to address their climate impacts,” he added. Mr Anshari said: “We are closely tracking the development of the infrastructure and tracking systems required to operationalise Article 6 decisions, and we expect to see meaningful progress in 2025 with the first few (carbon) projects to be registered under the (UN) by COP30 in Brazil.” Paying up for climate PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ADOBE STOCK, LIM YONG At COP29, nations set an ambitious goal to channel US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035 to developing countries to help them reduce carbon emissions and deal with the impacts of climate change. The Straits Times breaks down the layers of finance needed to achieve this target based on insights from independent experts, who suggest raising US$1 trillion annually by 2030 as the first step. 1. Developed nations (US$80 billion to US$100 billion) 2. Multilateral development banks (US$240 billion to US$300 billion) 3. Voluntary contributors (US$30 billion to US$50 billion) 4. Innovative sources (US$140 billion to US$160 billion) 5. Private sector (US$450 billion to US$550 billion) SOURCES: INDEPENDENT HIGH-LEVEL EXPERT GROUP ON CLIMATE FINANCE, UN CLIMATE SUMMIT NEWS Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now
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Daily Post Nigeria Oyo: Makinde flags off upgrade of Eruwa farm settlement Home News Politics Metro Entertainment Sport News Oyo: Makinde flags off upgrade of Eruwa farm settlement Published on November 21, 2024 By Musliudeen Adebayo Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has flagged off the upgrade of the moribund Eruwa farm settlement. DAILY POST reports that the farm settlement located in the Ibarapa geopolitical zone of the state has been in bad condition in the last few years. Makinde on Thursday performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the upgrade of the moribund 3,250-hectare farm settlement to an agribusiness industrial hub. He said that the project, once completed, would put Ibarapaland on the global agricultural map and create thousands of jobs for youths in the zone and across the state. The governor, while addressing the gathering, added that his administration would also complete the Ido-Eruwa Road within the next year. He used the opportunity to charge residents of the zone to make investors feel welcome when the new agribusiness hub is completed. He said: “About five years ago, we started what I will call the journey to make agribusiness the driver of Oyo State’s economy. Immediately we came into office, we got access to a N7.6 billion loan facility taken by the previous administration and our plan was to use this loan to ensure that two of our moribund farm settlements are converted to agribusiness hubs. “So, we started a pilot project at the moribund Fasola Farm Settlement, which we picked to serve as a prototype. It was an ambitious project because no state in Nigeria had ever done that. “At first, we thought it would take like a year to complete the pilot project at Fasola, which is about 1,000 hectares. By calculation, it is bigger than Victoria Island in Lagos. Eruwa Farm Settlement is three times bigger than Fashola and what you see in the new Fasola Agribusiness Hub today is what we are putting up here. “So, I want to say to the people of Ibarapaland that you should be ready because Ibarapaland is now on the agriculture map. We are quite happy and, as for me, I feel fulfilled that this journey to develop this farm estate is getting done.” Related Topics: Makinde Oyo Don't Miss Defence Headquarters, CSOs tackle Tompolo over oil theft allegation against Navy You may like 2025: Pray against massive Ebola spread in Lagos, Oyo, others – Primate Ayodele warns Ondo Election: Osun, Oyo our next targets – Ganduje on Aiyedatiwa’s victory Yuletide: Oyo, Osun tighten security around borders Ondo guber: Only PDP is solution to Nigeria’s problem – Makinde Ondo 2024: Let peoples’ votes count on Saturday – Makinde warns INEC Oyo seals hospitals as four die of suspected cases of Lassa Fever Advertise About Us Contact Us Privacy-Policy Terms Copyright © Daily Post Media Ltd
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Sydney teen’s sporting pilgrimage almost ruined by English weatherScottish actor Brian Cox has said he will “try to spend as much time here” in the UK as he can following the results of the US presidential election. The Succession star, 78, has been outspoken about his views on President-elect Donald Trump , and called him a “monster” while he was a guest on Channel 4’s live coverage of the US election last month. Asked if the result has made him lose faith in people, he told The Guardian : “No, it doesn’t make me lose faith in people. It just makes me realise people are stupid. “We’re in for a pretty rough old four years coming up.” Speaking about whether he will stay in the US, he said: “I don’t know. I’ve got to because my sons are there. But I’ll try to spend as much time here (UK) as I can.” Trump, 78, will take office on Inauguration Day on January 20, 2025. Last month, Boris Johnson clashed with Cox over Trump in what was branded a “highlight” of Channel 4’s US election coverage. Cox, who played Logan Roy in the hit HBO series, made his disdain for Trump known during his virtual appearance, during which he said: “We have to make sure that he doesn’t get in because he is a monster, he really is. He’s crazy, he’s insane, he wants to be a dictator. “I think he’s lost it, quite frankly. I think he’s deeply mentally unstable and I think he has been for some time. This is not a man who should be the president of the United States, absolutely not. He’s unreliable, he’s a convicted felon, I’m horrified.” His comments arrived after Johnson explained that he did not think fears about Trump becoming president, including that he would “give away” Ukraine to Russia, were accurate. In response, Cox said: “It’s ridiculous — of course he will. He’ll do what suits him. He’ll do what suits Donald Trump. The man is completely self-serving. He is totally self-serving. He is only interested in one thing, and that’s Donald Trump. “He doesn’t give a damn about America, he really doesn’t.” Johnson, who repeatedly plugged his new book , defended Trump from Cox’s claims that he is a “monster”. As Johnson spoke, an unimpressed Cox could be seen glaring at the UK prime minister, with screenshots of the moment going viral on social media. Cox voices Helm in the new anime Lord of the Rings film The War Of The Rohirrim , and will star in the play The Score at Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, from February. Additional reporting by the Press Association
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Gaston Martirena and Adrian Martinez scored first-half goals as Argentina's Racing won its first Copa Sudamericana championship by beating Brazil's Cruzeiro 3-1 in the final on Saturday. Martirena opened the scoring in the 15th minute and Martinez added a goal five minutes later to give “La Academia” its first international title since 1988 when it won the now defunct Supercopa Sudamericana. “Maravilla” Martinez scored 10 goals in 13 matches and finished as the top scorer in the competition. “We suffered until the last minute, but to be able to win a cup after so many years is a blessing,” Martinez said. “It's historic, it was a long time without being able to raise an international cup, we have a poor year in the league, but we were able to give the fans this satisfaction.” Roger Martinez sealed the victory with a goal in the 90th. Kaio Jorge scored in the 52nd for Cruzeiro. Racing, a team based in the city of Avellaneda, took the lead when Martirena, a Uruguayan right-back, sent in what appeared to be a cross from the right but the looping ball went over Cruzeiro goalkeeper Cassio and into the far corner of the net. Martinez doubled the lead with a shot from five meters. The game was played in Estadio General Pablo Rojas in Asuncion, Paraguay, where most of the 45,000 fans were supporting Racing. Copa Sudamericana is the second most prestigious club competition in South America behind the Copa Libertadores, and its first edition was in 2002. Racing is the first Argentinian team to win the competition since 2020 when Defensa y Justicia beat Lanus. The last two competitions were won by Ecuadorian teams. Brazilian teams Atletico Mineiro and Botafogo will play next weekend in the Copa Libertadores final in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Romania's far-right candidate Calin Georgescu on Saturday urged voters to go to polling stations despite the country's top court having scrapped the presidential elections over alleged irregularities amid claims of Russian interference. The court's shock ruling, coming just before the presidential run-off which had been due Sunday, opens the way for a new electoral process starting from scratch in the EU and NATO member state bordering war-torn Ukraine. The annulment follows a spate of intelligence documents declassified by the presidency this week detailing allegations against Georgescu and Russia, including claims of "massive" social media promotion and cyberattacks. Georgescu -- who unexpectedly topped last month's first round of voting -- called for voters on Sunday "to wait to be welcomed, to wait for democracy to win through their power", said a statement from his team. "Mr. Calin Georgescu believes that voting is an earned right," said the statement. "That is why he believes that Romanians have the right to be in front of the polling stations tomorrow." Georgescu himself would go to a polling station near Bucharest at 0600 GMT, said his team. Earlier Saturday, police raided three houses in Brasov city in central Romania as part of the investigation "in connection with crimes of voter corruption, money laundering, computer forgery". Among the houses searched was that of businessman Bogdan Peschir, a TikTok user who according to the declassified documents allegedly paid $381,000 to those involved in the promotion of Georgescu, Romanian media reported. Peschir has compared his support for Georgescu to the world's richest man Elon Musk's backing of US president-elect Donald Trump. Little-known outsider Georgescu, a 62-year-old former senior civil servant, was favourite to win the second round on Sunday against centrist pro-EU mayor Elena Lasconi, 52, according to several polls. But the constitutional court on Friday unanimously decided to annul the entire electoral process as it was "marred... by multiple irregularities and violations of electoral legislation". President Klaus Iohannis said on Saturday that he had discussed with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and they agreed on the "need to strengthen the security of social media". The European Commission announced earlier this week that it had stepped up monitoring TikTok after Romania's authorities alleged "preferential treatment" of Georgescu on the platform -- a claim the company has denied. More from this section Following the court's decision, the United States said it had faith in Romania's institutions and called for a "peaceful democratic process". Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., on X branded the vote's cancellation an "attempt at rigging the outcome" and "denying the will of the people". Georgescu called it "a formalised coup d'etat" and said democracy was "under attack". His team on Saturday declined to comment on the raids, saying they "will not comment or provide answers until we have exact data". Georgescu and another far-right party, the AUR, have said they plan to appeal the decision to stop the voting to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. A past admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Georgescu, an EU and NATO sceptic, in recent days had reframed himself as "ultra pro-Trump," vowing to put Romania "on the world map" and cut aid for neighbouring Ukraine. In an interview with US broadcaster Sky News on Saturday, Georgescu said there were no links between him and Russia. Political scientist Costin Ciobanu told AFP that the annulment has "further polarised Romanian society". With trust in institutions and the ruling class already low, the vote's cancellation poses a "major danger that Romanians will think that it doesn't matter how they vote", Ciobanu added. Elsewhere in the EU, Austria annulled presidential elections in 2016 because of procedural irregularities. In Romania, a new government is expected to set another date for the presidential vote. In last weekend's legislative elections, the ruling Social Democrats came top. But far-right parties made big gains, securing an unprecedented third of the ballots on mounting anger over soaring inflation and fears over Russia's war in Ukraine. In a joint appeal on Wednesday, the Social Democrats and three other pro-EU parties -- together making up an absolute majority in parliament -- signed an agreement to form a coalition, promising "stability". bur-jza/jjB.C. Premier Eby says U.S. tariffs would be 'devastating' for forest industry
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MUNICH (AP) — Harry Kane is the quickest player to score 50 goals in the Bundesliga after scoring a hat trick on his 43rd appearance on Friday. Kane’s three goals – including two penalties – gave Bayern a 3-0 win over Augsburg , stretching the Bavarian powerhouse’s lead to eight points ahead of the rest of the 11th round. Kane scored 36 goals in 32 league appearances last season, his first for Bayern after joining from Tottenham. It was also the first season since 2012 that Bayern failed to win the title, as Bayer Leverkusen went undefeated to snap Bayern's winning run. As well as 14 league goals this season, Kane has scored five in the Champions League and one in the German Cup. Against Augsburg, he had to be patient as Augsburg goalkeeper Nediljko Labrović and his defenders stood firm. “It was somehow typical Harry Kane,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. “It was close in the first half, close, close, close, and then it happens, I think three goals in 15 minutes. Of course, he can do that. But for such a player, I have to say, he had a lot of chances that he could maybe make more of. Then, in an instant, everything is perfect and he can score many goals.” AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer