'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
The United Nations chief urged the first world conference on water in over 45 years on Wednesday to address the "21st century emergency" that is wasting the world's most important resource and has left billions of people without clean water and basic sanitation.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the opening session that water is "humanity's lifeblood" and a human right, but the world is draining it "through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use and evaporating it through global heating."
In a challenge to all nations and the broader international community, he said the three-day conference must represent "a quantum leap" in recognition of the vital importance of water and the need for action to ensure its sustainable use.
Guterres called for "game-changing commitments" toward UN goals, including ensuring that all people have access to drinking water and sanitation by 2030.
The UN World Water Development Report, issued on the eve of the conference, says 26% of the world's population -- 2 billion people -- don't have access to safe drinking water and 46% -- 3.6 billion people -- lack access to basic sanitation. UN research also shows that almost half the world's people will suffer severe water stress by 2030.
The UN secretary-general called for major investments in water and sanitation systems and efforts to address climate change, stressing that "climate action and a sustainable water future are two sides of the same coin."
According to conference organizers, such commitments will be the key outcome of the conference. Already, more than 500 commitments have been registered from governments, UN agencies, business leaders and civil society, they say.
Just before the conference opened, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced a new commitment from the Biden administration, of $49 billion to be put toward "equitable, climate-resilient water and sanitation investments at home and around the world."
She said the new U.S. funding "will help create jobs, prevent conflicts, safeguard public health, reduce the risk of famine and hunger, and enable us to respond to climate change and natural disasters."
But the U.S. envoy stressed the need for global cooperation and urged the UN Security Council to take up the issue of water scarcity, which exacerbates conflicts and disrupts peace and security.
The UN Water Conference is co-hosted by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon. There are 171 countries, including over 100 ministers, on the speakers list.
Rahmon said Tajikistan has abundant drinking water, although 1,000 of its 14,000 glaciers have completely melted in the last few decades. Noting that the last UN water conference was held in 1977 in Argentina, he proposed holding the next one in Tajikistan in 2028 to monitor implementation of the commitments being made during the current meeting.
Willem-Alexander stressed that over the next three days "we went to get the water wheel spinning" and ensure that the alarming state of the world's water resources is given a high place on global agendas.
"Water security is one of the defining concerns of our time and it will determine our collective sustainable future," the Dutch king said.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.