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Mr Innes also expressed his disappointment that Australia's international aid program was not doing more to directly help the disabled, who were the ''poorest of the poor'' in developing countries.
Mr Rudd said $88 million had been allocated by AusAid since 2008 to disability-inclusive aid programs.
But Mr Innes, who is blind, said disability aid money was focused on preventing avoidable blindness and traffic accidents, which were health issues. ''There's nothing wrong with preventing disability, just don't take it out of the disability budget,'' he said.
A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd said a $30.2 million in aid for disabled groups and equipment did not appear in a Labor election document but its funding remained intact.
The world’s most widely used insecticides have contaminated the environment across the planet so pervasively that global food production is at risk, according to a comprehensive scientific assessment of the chemicals’ impacts.
The researchers compare their impact with that reported in Silent Spring, the landmark 1962 book by Rachel Carson that revealed the decimation of birds and insects by the blanket use of DDT and other pesticides and led to the modern environmental movement.
Billions of dollars’ worth of the potent and long-lasting neurotoxins are sold every year but regulations have failed to prevent the poisoning of almost all habitats, the international team of scientists concluded in the most detailed study yet. As a result, they say, creatures essential to global food production – from bees to earthworms – are likely to be suffering grave harm and the chemicals must be phased out.
The new assessment analysed the risks associated with neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides on which farmers spend $2.6bn (£1.53bn) a year. Neonicotinoids are applied routinely rather than in response to pest attacks but the scientists highlight the “striking” lack of evidence that this leads to increased crop yields.
“The evidence is very clear. We are witnessing a threat to the productivity of our natural and farmed environment equivalent to that posed by organophosphates or DDT,” said Jean-Marc Bonmatin, of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, one of the 29 international researchers who conducted the four-year assessment. “Far from protecting food production, the use of neonicotinoid insecticides is threatening the very infrastructure which enables it.” He said the chemicals imperilled food supplies by harming bees and other pollinators, which fertilise about three-quarters of the world’s crops, and the organisms that create the healthy soils which the world’s food requires in order to grow.
Professor Dave Goulson, at the University of Sussex, another member of the team, said: “It is astonishing we have learned so little. After Silent Spring revealed the unfortunate side-effects of those chemicals, there was a big backlash. But we seem to have gone back to exactly what we were doing in the 1950s. It is just history repeating itself. The pervasive nature of these chemicals mean they are found everywhere now.
“If all our soils are toxic, that should really worry us, as soil is crucial to food production."
The assessment, published on Tuesday, cites the chemicals as a key factor in the decline of bees, alongside the loss of flower-rich habitats meadows and disease. The insecticides harm bees’ ability to navigate and learn, damage their immune systems and cut colony growth. In worms, which provide a critical role in aerating soil, exposure to the chemicals affects their ability to tunnel.
Dragonflies, which eat mosquitoes, and other creatures that live in water are also suffering, with some studies showing that ditchwater has become so contaminated it could be used directly as a lice-control pesticide.
The report warned that loss of insects may be linked to major declines in the birds that feed on them, though it also notes that eating just a few insecticide-treated seeds would kill birds directly.
The report is being published as a special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research and was funded by a charitable foundation run by the ethical bank Triodos.
The EU, opposed by the British government and the National Farmers Union, has already imposed a temporary three-year moratorium on the use of some neonicotinoids on some crops. This month US president Barack Obama ordered an urgent assessment of the impact of neonicotinoids on bees. But the insecticides are used all over the world on crops, as well as flea treatments in cats and dogs and to protect timber from termites.
The new report, called the Worldwide Integrated Assessment on Systemic Pesticides, analysed every peer-reviewed scientific paper on neonicotinoids and another insecticide called fipronil since they were first used in the mid-1990s. These chemicals are different from other pesticides because, instead of being sprayed over crops, they are usually used to treat seeds. This means they are taken up by every part of the growing plant, including roots, leaves, pollen and nectar, providing multiple ways for other creatures to be exposed.
The scientists found that the use of the insecticides shows a “rapid increase” over the past decade and that the slow breakdown of the compounds and their ability to be washed off fields in water has led to “large-scale contamination”. The team states that current rules on use have failed to prevent dangerous levels building up in the environment.
Almost as concerning as what is known about neonicotinoids is what is not known, the researchers said. Most countries have no public data on the quantities or locations of the systemic pesticides being applied. The testing demanded by regulators to date has not determined the long-term effect of sub-lethal doses, nor has it assessed the impact of the combined impact of the cocktail of many pesticides encountered in most fields. The toxicity of neonicotinoids has only been established for very few of the species known to be exposed. For example, just four of the 25,000 known species of bee have been assessed. There is virtually no data on effects on reptiles or mammals.
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Short sleeve cotton jersey t-shirt in white. Rib knit crewneck collar. Logo printed in black at chest. Tonal stitching.
“I think it has been an amazing journey to watch him grow as a leader,” de Villiers said. “I think, at the start, when people mentioned to me he has leadership qualities and might become a captain one day, I doubted it. I thought he was very emotional. Always a great player, but I thought he was emotional with his reactions. I think he has found a way to deal with it.
“He is still an emotional character, he loves winning, and is very passionate but he has found a way to really manage that and control that. I know he is a great asset for Indian cricket, he leads exceptionally well. He has shown he has skills with his captaincy and he has taken all the doubters and showed them he can conquer anything,” he explained.
De Villiers was most impressed with Kohli’s captaincy during the bitterly-fought home Test series against Australia.
Despite not scoring many runs, de Villiers felt Kohli didn’t allow his poor form affect his captaincy which was impressive.
“He did not have the best of series with the bat in hand but what stood out for me was his leadership,” he stressed.
“I don't think I can be the best batsman (because) I don't play all formats,” he pointed out.
It would be nice to believe news from North Korea this week is evidence that country’s regime is serious about the “denuclearization” deal with President Donald Trump.
Indeed, the report sounded very, very good: “North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June,” The Associated Press revealed this week.
Among facilities being dismantled were a rocket engine test stand used for the regime’s ballistic missle program.
Perhaps Kim is moving to keep his promise to Trump. Be assured, however, that if he is, it is not out of the goodness of his heart. It may be that Trump’s rhetoric, though far from matching Kim’s in terms of bellicosity, has worried the North Korean leader.
But if Kim is lying, it would not be the first time a North Korean leader has pledged to dial back the aggressiveness – then has gone back on his word.
Kim’s regime was built on militarism. So until and unless U.S. intelligence agencies can confirm Kim is backing away from his nuclear devices and missiles, put away the party hats and noise makers. If he holds true to form, he is engaged in no more than a massive campaign of deception – all the while planning to build more rockets and bombs.
The question in the White House now should be what to do if that is Kim’s scheme. What not to do is what U.S. officials have done for decades. We simply cannot pretend we have been successful when we have not.
Corporations have rights; why not a lake?
Happy 65th Anniversary Mom and Dad!
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Happy 40th Anniversary Mark and Beth!
Nice range on the Main St. close to all the H/W. No garage but plenty of parking, nice kitchen, hardwood floor, huge basement and big back yard. Low rent. Some restrictions apply. Licensed agents/ brokers must be physically present with buyer/ customer for all showings-per MLS rules!
This story is part of Tipping Point, a series examining what happened to economic promise in New Orleans in the years after Hurricane Katrina. Read more of this series here.
The 94-Broad bus pulls up at dawn on Chef Menteur Highway near Michoud Boulevard in New Orleans. Judy Stevens, an Ochsner Medical Center retinal angiographer, boards. It's the first of three buses she must take, five days a week, to get to work at the hospital in Old Jefferson.
On a good day, it takes her more than an hour to complete the roughly 17-mile trip -- a commute a car owner can do in 30 minutes. She leaves her home at 5:30 a.m. to account for delays and be at work before 7:45 a.m. The bus rides are usually hassle-free, she said, except once she gets to Jefferson Parish.
Instead of dropping her off at the hospital, her second New Orleans bus route ends short of the parish line. She can wait indefinitely for a Jefferson transfer or walk more than a mile to work.
"I'm OK with taking the bus," Stevens said. "But they've got some issues."
Stevens' truncated commute reflects much of what's challenging with public transit in metro New Orleans, with few routes connecting parishes and where services by the largest transit agency, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, are regional in name only.
This disconnect is especially acute between Orleans and Jefferson parishes, the area's most populous and with the most riders crossing a parish line. That political boundary has for years been a barrier for better regional transit, experts and critics say.
No one has tallied exactly how much this hurts riders and our region's economy. But hurt it does, experts agree. Like Stevens, riders must spend hours taking several buses, many of which require a transfer from one parish's transit system to another -- a burden that tends to disproportionately affects lower-income workers who most rely on public transit.
That burden weighs heavier as the cost of living and home prices rise in New Orleans, pushing many workers farther into suburbs. That lengthens their commutes or leaves them at the mercy of smaller, less efficient bus systems with routes that are farther away from most jobs.
The lack of more efficient transit also hinders local efforts to grow higher-paying sectors, such as tech and health care. Amazon, for example, said transit connectivity is a key factor in their site search for a second headquarters. New Orleans, which did not make Amazon's list of finalists, doesn't measure up, experts said.
This disjointed system is not what proponents had in mind when they convinced the Legislature to create the Regional Transit Authority in 1979. Instead, they envisioned grouping transit services for Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes.
Sharonda Williams, the most recent chairwoman of the RTA's board of commissioners, said state law says parishes can "elect to participate" in the authority, but she stressed that they're not bound to join.
"The law that established the Regional Transit Authority spoke to the greater New Orleans region, essentially opting into a system that would be a consolidated transit system," said Williams, a lawyer. "Parishes have the opportunity to opt in, and some of them did not."
New Orleans' RTA has by far the largest transit system of those four parishes, though it was almost entirely wiped out by floodwaters from levee failures during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Today, the RTA boasts 132 buses on 34 routes, 66 streetcars on five lines, ferries crossing the Mississippi River and paratransit -- all together completing about 20 million trips a year, according to federal data.
Jefferson Transit, or JeT, is less than a third that size at 41 buses on 13 routes, plus paratransit. It completes around 2 million trips per year. Other than Orleans, only Jefferson participates in the RTA -- and in a limited capacity.
St. Tammany's public transit is nearly nonexistent. In St. Bernard, the parish website until it changed recently was blunt about who should ride the parish's one bus line: "If you have your own vehicle, please use it instead," the website used to read.
While the four parishes lack in cooperation, there's no shortage of people needing public transit across parish lines, particularly workers in Orleans and Jefferson. A 2015 study used U.S. Census data to show 37 percent of roughly 54,000 low-wage in New Orleans travel to jobs in Jefferson Parish. Similarly, around half of roughly 44,000 low-wage workers in Jefferson Parish commute into Orleans.
"You've got a lot of people who are cross-commuting and commuting quite far distances," said the study's co-author, Marla Nelson, an associate professor with the University of New Orleans' Department of Planning and Urban Studies. "If these are people who rely on public transportation, that's difficult and a real burden."
There's no specific data to say for sure, but other studies have looked at the impact of having few options for workers who must cross parish lines.
In its annual report on local transit last year, the nonprofit Ride New Orleans found that New Orleans residents on average can only reach 11 percent of the metro area's jobs using public transit or walking 30 minutes or less -- compared with just above 85 percent of jobs reachable by car.
It's much worse in the suburbs, which have less bus routes. Ride New Orleans estimated only 4 percent of jobs in Jefferson Parish and less than 1 percent in St. Bernard are reachable via public transit or a 30-minute walk.
"There are a lot of things we need to do to fix that," said Alex Posorske, Ride New Orleans' executive director. "But ultimately, if you don't bridge the regional gap you're just chipping away at it."
One trip highlighted by the Ride New Orleans report is Stevens' commute from near Michoud in New Orleans East to Ochsner on Jefferson Highway.
In the morning, the 94-Broad drops her off across from the courthouse on Tulane and South Broad avenues, where she catches the 39-Tulane to the Uptown intersection of South Claiborne and South Carrollton Avenues.
That's where things get a little tricky.
At a bus stop in the Claiborne neutral ground on a morning this past February, Stevens waited with a crowd of other riders to board the "Kenner Local" -- the Jefferson Transit bus that crosses the parish line on Jefferson Highway and can take her to Ochsner. RTA's 39-line bus, she explained, will go no farther up Claiborne than the parish line, so the Kenner Local or a 1.1-mile walk are her only options for the final leg of her daily trip.
Taking the Kenner Local requires another $1.50 ticket. When it rains, Stevens said she often waits inside a drug store across the street and hustles through rush-hour traffic once the JeT bus arrives.
"That would be nice if it would go a little bit further," Stevens said of RTA's 39-line as she waited at the bus stop. "It could be like just a few blocks before Ochsner."
RCMP is investigating an assault with a weapon which occurred in the parking lot of a convenience store on Wednesday morning.
Police say two teens are in hospital after a stabbing in Surrey.
The RCMP is investigating an assault with a weapon that occurred in the parking lot of a convenience store Wednesday morning.
Police say they responded to reports of an altercation and found two male youths, aged 15 and 16, who were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
They say they’re trying to find another youth who is identified as a person of interest in the investigation.
Mounties say their initial prove shows all three youth were known to each other.
After 12 years of leftist government, Argentina shifted towards the centre-right on Sunday by giving a presidential victory to Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri of the Cambiemos (Let’s Change) party.
With 98.87% of the vote counted, the former chief executive of the Boca Juniors football club was on 51.44%, nearly three points ahead of his rival Daniel Scioli of the Peronist Victory Front who was on 48.56%.
The result is likely to reverberate across Latin America.
In his victory speech, the winner promised to boost the economy, tackle narco-trafficking and defend democracy.
Thousands of campaigners cheered and danced in the Macri campaign bunker as the results came in. Outside, supporters banged drums and honked car horns in jubilation.
The scenes were unthinkable just two months ago, when Scioli was so far ahead that many pundits predicted he would win in the first round. But Macri – a wealthy businessman from a family of Italian migrants – successfully presented himself as the candidate of change at a time when many voters are concerned about inflation, slowing growth and crime.
The consequences of change could be enormous. Macri has promised to strengthen institutions, introduce more pro-business policies, cut deals with foreign creditors and realign Argentina’s foreign policy away from Venezuela and Iran and closer to the US. He has also indicated that he will adopt a less confrontational stance over the Falkland Islands.
For his opponents, this was a dark day. The loss is the most significant defeat for a leftist candidate in South America for more than 10 years.
During the campaign, Scioli – who was handpicked by the outgoing president – criticised his rival as a representative of “savage capitalism” and warned that social benefits would be cut if the Casa Rosada changes hands.
Since 2003, it has been the home of the Kirchners. Elected during a “pink tide” of leftist administrations in Latin America, Nestor Kirchner initially made impressive gains, securing deals with most of Argentina’s creditors, reducing inequality, boosting employment and supporting closer regional integration.
However, since his death in 2010, Argentina’s economy has lost momentum, inflation has surged to around 30% and poverty appears to be creeping back. Fernández has also fought a series of bruising battles with the country’s biggest media group, Clarin.
The 32 million eligible voters had to weigh up whether Scioli or Macri could improve the situation.
Haarsh Limbachiyaa, who was recently seen as a contestant on Khatron Ke Khiladi 9, is excited about his latest production Khatra Khatra Khatra, which he co-hosts with wife Bharti Singh.
Newly launched reality series Khatra Khatra Khatra is keeping the audience entertained. Combining stunts with comedy, the show features Bharti Singh, Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Vikas Gupta, Aly Goni and Ridhima Pandit among others.
Apart from hosting it with Bharti, Haarsh is also the creator of Khatra Khatra Khatra. The writer-turned-producer recently interacted with indianexpress.com about the show, his wife’s popularity and the guests he plans to invite.
Q. How did you develop the idea of Khatra Khatra Khatra?
I was holidaying in Goa, working on something else, when this idea struck me. I shared the idea with Colors and they called us for a meeting. Luckily for us, the channel loved our idea and here we are.
After working on numerous non-fiction shows, all that we spoke about was the format. So for this show, there is no format. It is about a bunch of friends having fun. Also, it is very different from Khatron Ke Khiladi. Waha jaan pe baat thi yahan shaan pe (Khatron Ke Khiladi had life-threatening tasks, but over here there are reputation-threatening tasks).
Q. Many people think you are riding high on Bharti’s success. What do you feel?
Well, I would like to say, they are quite right! I am what I am because of Bharti. And if I will not ride on her success, who would? She is my wife. And I don’t see anything wrong in that.
Q. Even though you have Bharti, why did you decide to make a show with so many celebs?
Honestly, when I shared the idea with Bharti, she just loved it. Khatra Khatra Khatra is all about friendship. It is almost like having a picnic together. There is no stress over lines. It is less work and more fun. But yes, all of us have a hard time dealing with each other’s pranks.
Q. The show seems to be all about fun. As a producer, how difficult it becomes to handle all these stars?
It is completely all about fun. I tell them to just come in time. Rest everything is sorted. Once the camera rolls, we are only enjoying ourselves. People have also been asking me about Bharti but I must tell you, knowing that it’s all our own money, she has been a thorough professional. She even pushes me to wake up on time.
Q. While the show is entertaining, it has been put at the time slot of 6 pm. Do you feel that will affect its overall viewership?

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