Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has agreed to pay 11.2 million euros (US$13.6 million) in compensation for what the company called his failure to quickly get to the bottom of the 2015 scandal over diesel engines rigged to cheat on emissions tests, the company said Wednesday.
Winterkorn's payment is his share of an overall 288 million-euro settlement with Volkswagen by him and three other former managers.
Volkswagen said it would get 270 million euros ($329 million) from liability insurance against loss from the actions of directors and officers.
Rupert Stadler, former head of the Audi luxury car division, would pay 4.1 million euros; former Audi executive Stefan Knirsch 1 million euros; and former Porsche executive Wolfgang Hatz 1.5 million euros. Porsche is a part of the Volkswagen Group.
More than 30 insurers were also involved in the talks, the dpa news agency reported. The settlement must be approved by the company's annual shareholder meeting July 22.
The company said in a statement that Winterkorn "breached his duties of care" as CEO, based on an extensive investigation by a law firm commissioned by the company.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency caught Volkswagen using software that let the cars pass emissions tests and then turned off air pollution controls during normal driving. Winterkorn, who has denied wrongdoing, resigned a few days after the Sept. 18, 2015 notice of violation from the EPA. Volkswagen has apologized and paid more than 31 billion euros in fines, recall costs and compensation to car owners.
U.S. environmental regulators were alerted to the emissions problems in May 2014 by a study from the West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines & Emissions. Volkswagen, however, continued to assert that the increased emissions came from technical issues, not illegal software.
The investigation found that from July 27, 2015, Winterkorn failed "to comprehensively and promptly clarify the circumstance behind the use of unlawful software functions" in 2.0-liter diesel engines sold in the U.S. from 2009 to 2015.
The company said Winterkorn also failed to ensure that the company answered questions from U.S. regulators "truthfully, completely and without delay."
Separately, prosecutors in Berlin said Wednesday they had charged Winterkorn with making false statements to a parliamentary committee looking into the emissions issue. Their statement said Winterkorn falsely stated that he learned of the illegal software only in September, 2015, instead of in May, 2015.
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.