MONDAY, MAY 05, 2025 PlayLoading... Bangkok changes traffic flow on Rajaprarop and Rama I roads from 5–20 May to ease congestion from Orange Line construction, aiming for 15% improvement.The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTTPP) announced on Monday that it has begun implementing experimental traffic pattern changes on two major roads in central Bangkok to alleviate congestion caused by the ongoing Orange Line electric railway construction. OTTPP Director Panya Chupanit said the revised traffic patterns, affecting sections of Rajaprarop Road and Rama I Road, will be tested on a trial basis from Monday, 5 May to 20 May. He explained that the temporary changes are intended to relieve congestion resulting from the construction of the Orange Line extension, which runs from the Cultural Centre to Taling Chan. The adjustments were approved on 22 April by the committee responsible for monitoring traffic impacts from the Orange Line construction project. Panya outlined the following changes to traffic flow: Thai Schools Gear Up for Term Start with Safety Checks and Tablet Rollout Tawee visits Narathiwat, pledges to tighten security for Buddhist communities Trump orders 100% tariff on foreign-made movies to save 'dying' Hollywood Ratchada Night Market Shuts Doors Suddenly, Leaving Businesses in the Lurch Chadchart confident search for 14 missing workers will be completed in four days All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueAt about 7.15am on Sunday, May 4, police attached to Orange Highway Patrol were conducting speed enforcement on the Northern Distributor Road. A silver Ford Falcon displaying red P plates was detected travelling north, "well above" the 60km/h speed limit. The vehicle's speed was checked by police on the radar at 115km/h The Falcon was stopped and the 18-year-old male driver produced a P1 Provisional licence which he only obtained five weeks prior The P-plater's car after being pulled over Picture by Highway PatrolThe teen also returned a positive breath test and was placed under arrest for secondary analysis which returned a result of 0.027 Provisional licence holders are restricted to zero alcohol limit The driver was issued with an infringement notice for a P1 driver exceeding the speed limit more than 45km/h He was also issued with drink driving offences and saw his license suspended for six months File pictureThe driver was issued infringement notices for P1 driver exceed speed limit over 45kmh and Special category driver drive with special range PCA and his licence was suspended for a period of 6 months Police urge all drivers to slow down and consider the amount of alcohol consumed the previous evening before deciding to drive I am a senior journalist for ACM in the Central West. I cover council, human interest, and crime. Email me at riley.krause@austcommunitymedia.com.au Newsletters & AlertsView allDaily Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. Love footy? We've got all the action covered. The latest news, results & expert analysis. Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. 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All rights reserved Transport for NSW has been improving safety along a 50 kilometre section of the Mitchell Highway for the past few years with a number of projects now complete The latest sections completed and now open to traffic include Vittoria Curve in May 2024 following Vittoria East and East Guyong which were completed in December 2023 The road from Bathurst to Orange sees around 10,000 traffic movements a day and has a history of road crashes proven life-saving solutions are being installed at various locations View the November notification (PDF, 332.93 KB) for more information The next stage of work to improve road safety on the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange will not only focus on saving human lives it will also focus on the preservation of local wildlife Read the full media release for more information Transport for NSW is delivering safety improvements for the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange to improve safety for road users and reduce the risk of crashes along the 50 kilometre section of the highway A number of emergency repairs have also taken place to improve the safety of all road users Following severe weather at the end of 2021 major repair works were carried out between Bathurst and Orange Extensive patching and pothole work was carried out along the Mitchell Highway along with safety upgrade work including sealing road shoulders and widening centre lines Road safety improvements such as the construction of a westbound overtaking lane at Guyong and road surface improvements and culvert works at East Guyong have been recently completed The aim of these safety improvements is to increase the separation of oncoming vehicles and provide a more forgiving road environment for when people make mistakes vegetation removal and drainage improvements throughout the project Some documents on this page may not comply with accessibility requirements (WCAG) If you are having trouble accessing information in these documents, please contact us Night detour of the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange from Tuesday 6 December Changed traffic conditions on the Mitchell Highway at Vittoria Mitchell Highway East Guyong safety upgrade July 2021 - Reduced speed limit along Mitchell Highway near Thompson Road in Orange February 2021 - Work continues for a safer Mitchell Highway at East Guyong For further information about this project Email: western.projects@transport.nsw.gov.au Transport for NSW recognise and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and care of Country We pay respect to traditional custodians and Elders past and present Orange announces the appointment of Jérôme Hénique replacing Jean-François Fallacher.Jérôme Hénique will remain a member of the group's executive committee and report to Christel Heydemann He will also join the Board of Directors of Orange Middle East & Africa (Orange MEA) on the same date.He will be replaced in his current role by Yasser Shaker in agreement with the Board of Directors of Orange MEA Yasser Shaker will also join the telecoms operator's executive committee.Copyright (c) 2025 CercleFinance.com Monday - Friday 9am-12pm / 2pm-6pm GMT + 1 All financial news and data tailored to specific country editions Distribute Your News Directly to Readers and Internet Search Widespread Integration into Global News Publications Industry Specific to Reporters and Trade Publications Delivered Over News Wires Geographic & Topic Specific a global leader in fiber-based specialty materials has received Home compostability certification* from the Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA) for its Sulpack� product range a leading global provider of ingredients for healthier food and beverages is delighted to announce its sponsorship of Future of Food a major new exhibition opening this summer at the iconic Science Museum in London Muntons is supporting a new regenerative agriculture lighthouse project which is being led by the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) an organisation founded and sponsored by King Charles III Agence Fran�aise de D�veloppement (AFD) and Conservation International have signed a historic agreement to protect restore and mobilize finance for nature and biodiversity at scale Best Seller Publishin g announces the release of �Smart Production Systems: Analytics and AI-Enabled Productivity Improvement� by Semyon Meerkov Dental implant surgery has gotten much better with new technology Promenade Murrieta Dental now offers computer-guided dental solutions This makes the treatment more precise and improves results Best Seller Publishing announces the release of Christian Howard�s new book �From My Soul To Yours: The Poem Journeys of a Mystic Mind.� It will be available in the Amazon store for free for only five days In a world where the boundaries between online and offline life continue to blur �Bean$ and Things� presents a compelling memoir that captures the strange and often chaotic nature of our digital lives Knight Foundation today announced the opening of the latest application cycle for its Knight Art + Tech Expansion Fund a grant opportunity designed to help artists and arts organizations build digital capacity and strengthen their use of technology announce that they have completed a new investment as part of their pan-European strategy dedicated to Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) following their first investment in Florence last November and a recent one in Barcelona.� The building is a … World-class vineyards are just the beginning The NSW central tablelands city has excellent shops Orange is on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people which my family has owned for five generations After going to university in Sydney I moved back to the central tablelands I’m now a winemaker and the owner of Swinging Bridge winery The Union Bank restaurant is in a 1850s heritage schoolhouse. It’s the place to go right now and it’s open seven days. The octopus and beef tartare starters and the sirloin main are my go-to dishes. Lucetta Dining is an intimate 35-seater that’s always packed and serves Italian food such as duck ragu pasta with king brown mushrooms Rowlee Wines Dining and Bar is known for its big share plates and lovely views. Photograph: Tom FergusonWe’re starting to have more and more world-class dining options in the vineyards too. Printhie Dining serves south coast oysters fresh from a saltwater tank The oysters go down well with the sparkling wine Printhie is known for Our servers are sommelier-trained so it’s a lively environment to learn about wine Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Cafes don’t last here if they do bad coffee – we’re very picky. Byng Street is the go-to for brunch with the family. Its coffee carts do a roaring trade around town too. Good Eddy does the best toasties and bacon and egg rolls We have four distinct seasons in Orange and lots of deciduous trees to show them off. Cook Park has really old trees and good swings for children The Trail of Awesomeness is a mountain bike trail through town down into the state forest It’s a flow track (you don’t have to pedal) that showcases flora and fauna at different elevations Hole-in-the-wall wine bar Hey Rosey Photograph: Pip FarquharsonOur nightlife is very vibrant We’ve got a population of 45,000 people and a lot of midweek travellers so most of our pubs are busier than Sydney’s It does live music some nights; it’s a pretty youthful scene Spilt Milk Bar is a gelato joint that’s flat-out with five-year-olds getting ice-cream rewards after school through to couples hitting it up after dinner It has nearly killed local restaurants’ dessert menus seasonal ingredients and produces fun combos including fresh mint and lime in its virgin mojito sorbet refurbished furniture and French and Italian antiques The Corner Store Gallery, just outside the city centre, runs a tight ship. It highlights artists from Orange and beyond and gives them more visibility with pop-up exhibitions. Orange chamber music festival showcases something different to the wine culture people expect and uses venues such as wineries and churches for its concerts Orange food week’s main events often sell out in a dayOrange Regional Gallery shows high-profile exhibitions including the Archibald prize It’s just had its temperature control and security improved so it can show more valuable works Orange food week began in 1992 and is Australia’s longest-running food festival Forage is a 4km walking feast with matched food and wine stations set up through the vineyards The Sampson Street Lunch is an annual event – a four-course meal for 300 people outdoors under the plane trees The charming village of Millthorpe Photograph: Stephen Dwyer/AlamyOrange is surrounded by historic villages with developing food and wine scenes When a lot of other places had the cash to knock things down these small agricultural towns didn’t have the resources Tom Ward is the owner and winemaker at Swinging Bridge in Orange CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) Grattan launched the 2025 Orange Book – a pre-election policy blueprint to improve the living standards of all Australians – at a public event at the State Library of NSW on Wednesday 19 March our experts discussed the big new ideas Australia needs and the necessary but difficult reforms where we should stay the course And they answered audience questions on what should be on the agenda of the next government – whether Labor or Coalition the panel featured Grattan policy experts including CEO Aruna Sathanapally and Grattan Program Directors Tony Wood (Energy and Climate Change) Brendan Coates (Housing and Economic Security) Read the Orange Book We’re here today and massive thanks to the State Library of New South Wales for hosting us at this lovely space We’re here today to launch Grattan Institute’s 2025 Orange Book it is my real delight to be able to launch the Orange Book here in Sydney It’s the first time we’ve done it Grattan’s Orange Book takes its name from the incoming government briefs that a government receives when it wins power And we take this opportunity to set out from Grattan’s 16 years of work what are the evidence backed policies that we need to see I want to start by acknowledging that we’re meeting here on Gadigal country I want to extend those respects to any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples who are joining us here today I’m thrilled to be here for the launch of the Orange Book and I’m thrilled to be here with Grattan because as a journalist who’s been covering politics and policy for 30 years I can’t tell you how we love the Grattan Institute and all these people on stage and the evidence based research they do I’m also wanting to say how wonderful it is to have so many people come out in their lunchtime to talk and listen about public policy gives me great heart because sometimes you think Some of these polls are really quite disheartening and I know some of you work in the policy space Aruna Sathanapally is the CEO and Director of Grattan’s Economic Prosperity and Democracy Program Tony Wood is a long-time contact and friend and Director of Grattan’s Energy and Climate Change Program and one of the best in the business in my view Brendan Coates is Director of Grattan’s Housing and Economic Security Program And Sam Bennett is Director of Grattan’s Disability Program I think it’s just a terrific spread of issues we’ve got here today I too want to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we’re gathered on here today the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation in Sydney It always was and always will be Aboriginal land the public servants hand an incoming Labor government a red book or an incoming Coalition government a blue book Do you think that might be needed if we end up with a minority government And it might play a part in their negotiations I know that there are different views as to what a minority government means for Australia There are some who see a minority government as I think it depends on the nature of your crossbench It depends on the nature of the negotiations What we have seen is a real appetite amongst many members of Australia’s crossbench for real policy One of the things that independents don’t have access to is So they’re not in government they don’t have access to the public service and because they’re not an opposition with a major party infrastructure behind them they don’t have access to that party infrastructure That is why independent sources of evidence based analysis are so important in the context of a minority government because it puts that fact base and that evidence base people like the crossbench but also in the hands of the Australian public when they’re watching these negotiations play out We’ve perhaps many of us here remember 2010 And Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor and all those talks that went for so many days I hope you’ve got all their numbers on speed dial creating uncertainty for supply chains here it’s a word I’m using a lot lately upended global economic order in less than 60 days The Grattan Institute’s Orange Book is a blueprint for long term reform to expect our governments to make long term policy decisions and long-term thinking and wind back cost of living help in such an unstable world Aruna Sathanapally: I think it’s both reasonable and it’s necessary these are the sorts of policy reforms that we would say are necessary to ensure our future prosperity these are the necessary policy reforms to ensure that we remain resilient to shocks If we don’t have a resilient economy and if we don’t have strong public policy institutions we will be less equipped to handle whatever the global turbulent times throw at us it changes the space in the public conversation for good long-term thinking which is that a society that has a resilient Is a society that can ensure a high quality of life and prosperity Fran Kelly: Let’s talk about that word prosperity because as you read through the orange book The report claims to chart the path to a more prosperous Australia should the focus be more on resilience than prosperity And should we be always pressing that prosperity button I think that one of the things that’s quite tempting when there’s an environment of crisis is to think that we have to surge to the crisis and we have to press pause on everything else And it’s a real danger for governments but the fact of the matter is that we are a big country there might be particularly profound challenges on our defence forces in terms of upending their strategic planning but that doesn’t mean that we press pause on health reform That doesn’t mean that we stop trying to get the best educational practices in our schools And even though it might be the case that the Prime Minister has divided attentions we don’t want to see the rest of government grind to a halt and we certainly don’t want to see the Australian population led to believe that we can’t have policy progress because the global outlook is troubling Fran Kelly: And I’m just going to interrupt at this moment to remind you all that there will be questions at the end the net zero transition is the first challenge dealt with in the Orange Book You and I have been talking about this for many decades Australia has made good progress on emissions reduction; you tell us in the blueprint But we keep hearing we’re falling behind at the first hurdle that the 43 percent cut to 2005 emissions by 2030 Tony Wood: If I knew the answer to that I would have invested in this future but I think the reality is that we are going Partly because at the beginning of this decade we were doing quite well indeed One of the challenges of course is that the government made a very strong commitment we’re trying to do that by achieving 82 percent of our energy coming And that one looks much more challenging because for many reasons we ran into problems building the transmission grid to support the renewables themselves Electricity has reduced emissions dramatically since our emissions overall are well down to what they were then A lot of industrial emissions haven’t come down at all are the ones that we really have to get on top of because we don’t get to reducing emissions unless all the sectors of the economy do that what we have to see in this next government is the capacity to look across those sectors and do this And with absolute respect to my fellow colleagues here There is nothing more important for the next government than addressing these issues I’m not saying it’s the most important because what this government does really set up but for the benefits that we can get as a country I think we’ve got some tremendous opportunities here and we need to make sure we don’t get ourselves caught up in being depressed because we only got to 75 percent renewable by 2030 Fran Kelly: The fact is that this government the Labor government has trumpeted its renewable energy target but it’s gone cold it seems to me on telling us what our 2035 target will be And I wonder whether you see this as this makes you nervous Are this just domestic political wobbles before an election Or is it more about that global uncertainty I mentioned earlier to emissions reductions in the light of the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement terminating big chunks of Joe Biden’s new Green Deal Have we gone cold on the ambition in the light of the Donald Trump election and Peter Dutton’s nuclear play I’m still more than accepting of the current opposition’s position on net zero by 2050 Fran Kelly: You mean to get there by nuclear I didn’t quite the issue about nuclear is not a solution for today if this election is partly about the cost of living something that’s going to affect our energy supply in 30- or 40-yearsyears’ time is not going to have any impact on the cost of living what would they do on day one and two and three It’s all going to be exactly the same issues that the current government would have if they were re-elected those issues to do with making sure we maintain a secure system Making sure that we retain a reliable system And that’s the hierarchy in which most people when push comes to shove and I’ll just stay with Tony a little longer before I go to the others The Greens demand from the Australian Government The coalition condemns Labor’s renewables only policy Labor isn’t stopping gas exploration or gas fired power but is gas a viable fuel in a low emissions future We’ve just seen a big announcement from the coalition today that it would green light and Tony Wood: Think one of the conundrums in this whole story has been that We really haven’t decided whether gas is our friend or our enemy Fran Kelly: Politicians can’t say that I’m amazed how they can hold two contrary positions in their brain at the same time But the issue of gas is very intriguing because it has been our friend for many years we’ve had gas in this country for more That’s the best marketing term I’ve ever come with And you will see right now lots of advertising going on because the gas industry is absolutely paranoid that what’s happening is an existential threat to their business what we’re going to do is move away from using gas for heating our homes and all those sorts of things We can do that eventually with hydrogen if we have to The real role for gas is going to be to back up wind and solar the government is now more careful about not being all about renewables some of you would be old enough to remember an actress who’s still around called Judi Dench do we need a whole lot more gas development Do we need to be unlocking these gas deposits is that we’re running out of the gas where most And we don’t have the mechanism of getting that gas to them from where we have lots of gas filled in Queensland and the Northern Territory And probably cheaper than building pipelines I don’t have a problem at all having gas in the system because I think if we had gas playing that backup role We don’t need more gas for our domestic consumption are we going to continue to be a supplier of gas to other countries in the world that don’t have the same resources we do but we need to be very careful that we don’t lock ourselves in depending on that because those countries will also move away from using gas for what they use it today and we need to be prepared for the transition away from that and it’s you can’t do a transition to net zero if you’re exporting so much gas The NDIS is a new key area of reform for Grattan You suggest that the federal government needs to make it a priority in this election it’s the first time we’ve had a chapter on the NDIS in the Orange Book We think it’s a priority and needs to remain one this scheme has become an essential part of the social fabric here in Australia it’s also one of the biggest pressures now on the federal budget 1 percent of Australia’s gross domestic product by 2034 if we’re making that level of an investment in the EIS we need to be pretty confident as a country The results that disabled Australians and tax payers expect and that it’s doing so from a sustainable platform although the good news is it’s doing great things for many thousands of there are literally hundreds of thousands of people that are getting support from our NDIS that never had any support Only 12 percent actually of people that identify as having a disability in Australia get any support from the NDIS we know from experience now that some of those groups are not being served well by the current design And it clearly isn’t on a sustainable trajectory at the moment Fran Kelly: And it’s part of that sustainability review and trying to tighten up to stop it from but they won’t keep rising at the same rate you’re saying people are finding it hard to get a place within it but are there those within it who shouldn’t have a place but I heard the economist Chris Richardson say the other day that one in seven this is the result of longstanding design issues that have just come into starker relief as the scheme And we’ve seen many more people enter it particularly in the younger age categories of six-year-old Australian boys are on the NDIS now That’s not a statistic that anyone ever anticipated more than double the amount of children in the scheme that the Productivity Commission thought would be the case what are they there for and should they be there what’s the answer to this particular cohort Sam Bennett: Nobody’s doubting that these folks have needs This is clearly a huge amount of unmet need and there’s been a gravitational pull children with developmental disabilities and autism to the NDIS the question isn’t whether they have needs what’s the best way to meet those needs Fran Kelly: And foundational supports that we hear about Sam Bennett: I think that’s a big part of the solution The NDIS has become completely about individualised funding That was never actually supposed to be the case It was supposed to be a much more balanced range of ways that people can get support I would say that experience has shown over the last 12 years that giving a bucket of money to a family with a child with a developmental disability to navigate a market of providers that want to to offer and have incentives that continue to do that isn’t necessarily the best You’d be much better off with timely access to expert advice this what we lost when the states agreed to sign on and It’s the We don’t have the supports in the schools that kids need to identify or work with a kid who may have Because the states have already handed over that bucket of money there’s a lot of ire around states services having pulled back over time The analysis we’ve done though show that the overall spending across governments is much higher now on disability than it was in the preceding era So really the problem is one of the targeting of the funding that’s available for disability all being in this individualized funding system not necessarily the most effective and efficient way of providing support to the kind of group that we’re talking about building those services back up is the right idea People will know that the States and the Feds are currently locked in negotiations that they can’t get out of since the commitment was made to fund these foundational supports We don’t think that’s necessary This is one of the big arguments in the Orange Book from Grattan if you look at the last year of the forward estimates that all governments have committed to the NDIS then you can use that to establish a range of foundational supports as well as deliver on the promise of the NDIS for those that need that individualised funding too there’s no greater priority for the government I think a lot of Australians think housing is should be the top priority in this election campaign A report out yesterday suggested they’re going to be 400 If the government can’t build houses more quickly how can it make housing more affordable in Australia That’s enough of the antler wrestling now housing in Australia is in a worse state now than it has been any time in recent decades And what’s happened particularly since the pandemic is rental affordability has now gotten so much worse compared to We were before the pandemic where instead of people worrying they’re now much more worried about being able to afford to keep a roof over their heads I think what’s promising is that we are recognising and coalescing the public conversation around supply I don’t think that was there five years ago that we need more housing and that is the number one thing we need to do It is very unfortunate that coalescing around that policy solution is happening at the same time as To build housing in Australia because costs are up particularly for medium density dwellings 20 30 40 percent because of the supply Chain issues It’s partly global dislocations and you know There’s more of that potentially on the way It’s because the cost of labour has gone up because we’re in a full employment economy which is a great thing for many reasons but does have the effect of making it harder to pull workers across but I keep hearing that it’s also about local council regulations and the coalition’s got this big fund that they’re going to propose to help roll out the infrastructure that you need on a housing development to help back up developers I remember Peter Costello saying you’re going to get the local councils and the state governments to free up land Why haven’t we managed to break through that regulatory sort of deadlock Brendan Coates: I think the politics of it are really hard So that is the key reform that we think is necessary is we have made it hard to build more homes we’ve made it hard to build homes where people most want to live Which when you look at prices and rents are the inner and middle ring suburbs of our established areas of our established cities The reason it is difficult is because the planning system the zones that regulate what can be built where and how high and how many have made it hard to build or discouraged or not allowed building in those areas The result is that Melbourne and Sydney are some of the least dense cities in the world for cities of that size at 5 million plus And it results in really expensive housing we’re seeing reforms from the New South Wales government It’s not the federal government that really holds the pen here transport area development in Sydney to get more housing in those areas that are job rich The question is how far have they actually gone and what’s stopped them from going further so far is that a lot of local residents don’t necessarily want to see a lot more density where they are there’s a single dwelling overlay on my street you literally can’t subdivide But it’s something that can’t be done at the moment and I’m not sure how we break through that resistance you don’t want your street suddenly crowded out with I’ve seen That’s not an unreasonable human response How do we persuade voters to come with us on that Brendan Coates: I think it’s a lot of Grattan’s sweet spot which is to be really clear about the trade-offs If you are going to say no to development in that area and we don’t allow it across other suburbs that look like yours your kids aren’t going to be able to live near you which means the grandkids can’t live near you which means we don’t build the housing that Australia needs as the population grows And I think we’re seeing that realisation because when you look at things like the Transport Oriented Development Program in Sydney Fran Kelly: This is building along the corridors around particular designated train stations and other transport nodes it is becoming more popular because as the New South Wales Productivity Commissioner said recently Sydney risks end up being a city without grandchildren And that’s not a social outcome as well as an economic outcome that we want Fran Kelly: And just before I leave the thing of housing for now you in the blueprint in this orange booklet which I recommend you all download and read including further increases in Commonwealth rent assistance But the government’s already done that Last year’s budget had a 10 percent increase about whether just doing that then allows the landlords to put the rents up by the 10% Brendan Coates: So that’s a great question We looked at those recent increases in our work and when you look across areas of New South Wales with more rent assistance recipients and the international evidence backs that up almost all of it goes into renters pockets as opposed to going into the pockets of landlords we’ve seen a 25 or 27 percent increase so far We recommend you need an extra 50 percent increase for singles but there is no cheaper or easier or faster way of helping that cohort than fixing that gap in the income support system is Australia’s budget position strong enough to weather all these gaps We haven’t even talked about defence spending Where do you start to either find the savings for these policies that must be paid for or bring in more revenue Aruna Sathanapally: to your first question Do you want the good news first or the bad news Fran Kelly: I’d like the good news for a change the good news is that actually Australia comes into the period that we’re facing from a position of strength And I know that can be really hard to hear because the last few years have been really tough for many Australians They haven’t been universally tough for all Australians There’s been some divides in terms of the experience we are coming from a position of relative strength There’s a couple of things I’d point to one which Brendan mentioned is a full employment economy We’ve come through a period of inflation We have not dipped into a recession and we’ve managed to maintain a really healthy employment market and that matters not just because it matters to the individuals it’s a really good thing where we’re at the moment We’ve come through a difficult period; we haven’t overcorrected into recession We’re seeing the economy hit a tipping point our net debt’s stabilised at about 20 percent of GDP I’ll get to the bad news in a second because we have some tough fiscal truths to lay down But it’s worth remembering that when things feel like they’re all a bit too hard Fran Kelly: If you read the front page of the Australian today Aruna Sathanapally: We’ve just talked about we’ve talked about two really thorny problems where it’s short-term pain or long-term pain we can decide it’s all too hard and it’s all too expensive and we’re not going to give it a go now but all we’re doing is postponing the pain and hoping that somebody else is going to solve the problem for us and Tony and Alison and our climate team have said this most clearly the bad news is that we don’t Structurally we don’t raise money for the things we spend We tax working people more heavily than we tax older Australians There’s a very significant generational divide in how we tax in this country we don’t tend to rely on other sources of revenue we have as heavily and because of the demographic trends we’re sitting on our spending is going up because of aging and that is that is the biggest call on our health system and yet that is the very cohort that we tax very lightly sources of revenue that are not growing as fast as economic growth and our sources and our This is our failure to make some tough choices and if we put our spending in the right place and think pretty critically about targeting our spending to the people who most need it because you’ve been writing about the retirement income system for a long time and the inequities within it has called the situation that Aruna had just described intergenerational theft there’s money there in the superannuation system vis a vis the tax breaks that are there They’re very generous for older Australians who are coming into a time in life when many and the impact will fall on younger taxpayers Because it would unlock a fortune on other for other priorities and it would also enthuse younger voters Brendan Coates: I certainly think it would enthuse younger voters but it may not enthuse older voters who are those who would have to pay higher taxes is someone’s going have to pay higher taxes just won’t get such a great tax break on their super and the net effect of that is It’s all in the language the reason it’s been difficult is because someone has to lose and people don’t like a situation where they’re being told they’re going to have to either pay more tax or no longer benefit from generous tax concessions Super is clearly the place that we should be looking though because we’re talking about a system where the tax breaks are We have to update this calculation every time we do one of these orange books I’m astounded at how quickly it’s rising It can’t be justified on the basis of optimal tax settings It can’t be justified on the basis of being necessary to support adequate retirement incomes It can’t really be justified on the basis of fairness because 80 percent of the tax breaks are going to the wealthiest 20% and so it is clearly the place that we need to go Paul Keating would say you’ve got to have incentives in there because the the coalition doesn’t support a superannuation guarantee and you need to make people understand that it’s better to put their money there than a deposit for a house if we went the whole hog on Grattan’s recommendations we could be saving north of 10 billion a year which is further trimming some of the tax breaks on contributions There are a few similar ones like that would raise 4 5 billion a year a package I could imagine a government adopting quite a lot of It would be a rerun of what we saw in 2016 when the Turnbull government also trimmed concessions somewhat And then there’s the crossing of the Rubicon It basically allows a lot of older Australians to opt out of the tax system And that’s not sustainable in the long run crossing the Rubicon is what seems to be getting harder and harder for politicians to do You’ve been watching them for a long time but he’s come out and he said the major parties need to stop lying to voters about the scale of the problem and treat the treat the community as adults and spend time explaining maybe even at the time of the initial carbon tax change we’re in a different world now of social media and that is that we know from the last history of all this and beyond that losers always value losses more than winners value gains the losers will shout louder than the winners do when they applaud Fran Kelly: And everything tells us that since COVID I think it was Paul Keating who said at one point That’s a very difficult thing to pay for if you’re going to do what Brendan and I have been talking about when you see what Trump has been able to do so far I don’t agree with almost anything that he’s doing but he has put forward a proposition to people that says What we’re not doing is doing exactly the same story about this little thing we’re trying to put forward here today in our orange book if you listen to the people who say it’s going to be too hard that’s what’s going to make it even harder what we need to think about is our politicians really need to be able to say is because we don’t know a lot of what’s going to happen next; therefore I think there really is an opening here for someone I’m optimistic that maybe some of those very intelligent independents will push a minority government in that direction and we’ve had this conversation for a long time do we have to somehow help Australians understand that a net zero policy that is going to hopefully save the planet And then how do they make sense of that when at the same time they’re saying why are we paying more and why are prices going up Tony Wood: Part of that’s because We got into this space of trying to say all the time And then we realized that if you want to go and live next to a solar farm in Dallas Springs But the problem is that’s not where the people are the reality has always been that there’s got to be this trade off balance And it isn’t the case that renewable energy will be more expensive It is the case that it won’t be much cheaper than what we’ve had we’ll be able to maintain an affordable system And this is the absolute central part of the story is that there will be some trade-offs it won’t be all cheaper and beautiful There will be transmission lines that people won’t like The end result will be a system in which we do have affordable and reliable energy But that’s not a story that we’ve been able to tell so far because neither side of politics has been prepared to take that second step and stitch together I reckon I could write the speech for the next Prime Minister about this is why you can convince Australians to come with you I talk to the guys who wear the yellow vest and women who wear yellow vests in Newcastle which is the world’s biggest coal export facility But they’re ready to come if they can see where they might go next Fran Kelly: I think you should write that speech the challenges of getting people to accept five storey buildings in their street the challenges Tony was just talking about there and we’re just days out from a budget just weeks out from an election campaign starting your blueprint says we need to make good collective choices But everything we’re seeing in our society at the moment is that society is fractured and fracturing further do you think a minority government would help or hinder that Aruna Sathanapally: I’m going to focus on one particular thing because there’s probably many answers to that question We could probably talk about it for half an hour or more but one of the things that we’ve been reflecting on is the role of oppositions and it’s been the case throughout Australian political history not everything is on the table all the time The two major parties have tended to have a set of things that they do not fight over There are things that will need to be fixed Fran Kelly: And we’re not even talking about defence spending yet Aruna Sathanapally: And a wise opposition knows that you make a big fuss about a tough reform That reform is going to be yours to deliver the next time around And so I think that one of the things for us to be looking for and also holding our politicians to account for not to just fight things for the sake of fighting them that a good democratic system involves both the government and the opposition acting responsibly I think Australians generally Felt good about the fact that we’re going to have this system for all we all agreed I think in the social compact that yes it’s a good idea to pay for it through our Medicare levy to some degree But then we see this blowout in the cost We see some people missing out We see too many people or the wrong people on it That’s what is a general sort of perception Do you think that experience is just another example of it of of dulling our appetites for these kinds of big ideas that there was trust there and maybe not so much now Sam Bennett: That’s a great question I really hope not would be my answer I hope I think it remains a scheme for all of its faults it has had teething problems That’s probably the an understatement there’s a lot of work still to do there’s heavy lifting that this next government will need to do to get this scheme back on track But I think it can be done and we’ve set out some of the ways in which that can be done within the orange book that we’re talking about And it still has the potential to be a genuinely world leading scheme I came to Australia from the UK in 2018 specifically to work on the NDIS because I thought this was the biggest social reform happening anywhere in the world at that time and that was an excitement I think it’s an incredible scheme that can I kept promising we’d talk about skills I think we’ve run out of time and there’s a question But I want to finish on the question of trust we’ve established here reform is difficult Is trust the key to more reform and post COVID isn’t the evidence in that trust in our politicians and our institutions has taken a battering the strange thing about COVID was during the COVID response trust in Australia’s government and institutions have never been higher what COVID showed us is that when there is a crisis if governments are open with the public about the shape of it about what they’re going to do to solve it there were consequences to a lot of the measures that government in fact took we may have done some of those things differently But if you think back even just a few weeks to tropical cyclone Alfred And the way in which the population of Queensland and northern New South Wales responded to government and to emergency services it’s chalk and cheese from the way in which a hurricane in the lead up to the US election played out Australians have high degrees of trust in frontline government services what we don’t like is vested interests We have a high degree of scepticism around the role of vested interests in our politics which is why reforms that tackle the impact of vested interests transparency around who ministers are meeting with by various groups are really important to secure exactly that trust I think if politicians are honest and transparent with the Australian public but keeping things behind closed doors won’t work I think we’re about to see a huge lift in defence funding focus on vested interests is probably very timely You can’t take mine because I’m talking put your hand up if we’ve got time for just a few questions and keep them tight if you wouldn’t mind I’m probably the oldest fellow here and I’m a cynical old bastard and I have an issue with all the politicians My understanding is Australia still has a huge amount of gas People say we can’t bring it across to the eastern states what’s to stop us bringing it around by ship to Sydney and Melbourne as far as the housing issue What does the Raton think about the issue of negative gearing causing us problems for the last 60 or 70 years in Victoria we’re going to import gas we tend to think of Queensland as another country the fact that the gas might come from Queensland or the Northern Territory or Western Australia Might actually be almost There’s some infrastructure that has to be built It’s done in other parts of the world In Australia we’ve always been an exporter and an importer of liquefied petroleum gas you’re absolutely right to get the gas we need and we’ll need it in the next three or four years is to get it there by ship because everything else will be far more expensive Is that if it turns out that as we gradually get off gas in Victoria then gradually we won’t need that anymore and you take the ships away You don’t have; you don’t build huge amounts of infrastructure that then becomes a stranded asset got together last Friday and they were supposed to be reviewing how they were going to solve this problem we’ll put it back to the bureaucrats to give us an answer in three months’ time so negative gearing is one of these ones that is always a perennial question in the housing debate Our view is that it has an impact on prices but that impact is actually It has an impact Brendan Coates: Because those concessions get capitalised into house prices but our view is that the combined effect of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount capital gains tax discount being at 50 percent If we were to reduce those by ensuring that native gearing could only be used to offset wage and salary income could only offset those net rental losses against your salary And if we halve the capital gains tax discount we reduce house prices by about one percent these concessions are worth 10 billion dollars in an 11 trillion-dollar housing market and that’s why everyone’s running scared Are you hearing anyone within government or opposition interested again in this even if we were probably quietly hearing it this is probably not the forum where we would say so I’m not sure that we’ll be able to get through you all I was surprised to hear no talk about 1P at all so just some comments around just how important it is today for Australia and one fix on your wish list the one fix is good because we talk about it a lot and that’s where I think skills comes in what we say in the Orange Book is that to solve all of our problems And that’s because productivity is about being smarter and doing more with what we have and that’s absolutely the mindset we need to bring productivity isn’t something government really does and we’ve got recommendations on that productivity in the market economy is down to the private sector And we’re nowhere near the world frontier on that one of the things we can do to get closer to the world frontier is to bring the best global talent to Australia and Brendan’s previously done work looking at our skilled migration system we trumpet to the world how good we are at skilled migration We could make more use of the visas we’ve got to getting the most highly skilled migrants from the world over to come to Australia And we are very lucky because they do want to come world is one in which Australia will remain quite attractive making sure we’re getting the most of their skills So really unlocking the talents and skills we have is one of the best things I think we can do for productivity you can find a productivity fix or a productivity argument in all of our let’s leave aside fixing our literacy and numeracy and our TAFE and our universities and capping foreign students and all of that Because land reforming land use planning rules to allow more houses to be built is probably the best way of improving how our labour markets function Cause if people can’t get to as many jobs across the city then that where they won’t match with the employers with whom they could be most productive you need to think about cities as giant labour market and we’re thinking of upzoning to allow more people to live close to where jobs are we are really saying this is a way for businesses to be able to choose from a larger proportion of the residents of a city Fran Kelly: Because they might not be able to track someone out from Brendan Coates: It’s just the commute’s too far many residents of our cities would happily choose a denser form of housing they’re now one eighth or one tenth acre blocks on the urban fringe Our surveys and the work of others suggest that quite a few people would choose that outcome if they could get it Fran Kelly: And that would make a measurable some of the work that’s been done in the US noting it’s a different system because we’ve got five cities by several percent of GDP if you actually allowed housing in places like San Francisco and Boston and New York and Seattle We need more housing in places where people want to live but there’s a finite skill set to build them and there’s supply chain issues Isn’t there a role here for more regulation by local government to stop this waste of the resource Brendan Coates: That’s a great question what we want to see is where land is scarce which is closer to the centres of our cities One of the reasons we see a lot of renovations is because stamp duty means it’s really hard for people to move to a house that better suits their needs So as long as the renovation costs them less than they lose less money on the renovation than they would have to do to move houses about 40 percent of construction activity is in renovations This is where land tax rather than stamp duty would definitely fix we need to see more housing and we also need a better allocation of the housing stock The work that’s been done suggests that if we were able to replace land tax with stamp duty with a land tax then it would reduce rents and house prices by up to 6% without having to build a single extra home because you would get a better allocation of the housing stock over time Is it just they don’t want to give up that revenue stream Brendan Coates: It’s probably three things One is you want to avoid annoying people that recently paid stamp duty and then you’re going to make them pay the land tax straight away Brendan Coates: The way we manage that is offering concessions then we’re not fulfilling the other objective which is making sure the states have still got the revenue to keep the schools running and the hospitals open the only way I can see this is going to happen is if the federal government basically says 30 percent of the revenue lost over five years for any state or territory government that’s willing to make the switch And that’s just an open offer to the states Perrottet was flagging to the federal government for a long time and the federal government did not come to the table and ultimately it came to nothing because they’ve only got one pot of money so we’re going to have to talk about either retirement incomes or putting up the GST we didn’t speak about is the role of artificial intelligence And I know that some of it is because we don’t know you mentioned that Australia is in an advantage kind of place And when we think about artificial intelligence and what we know is Often young people may be more are more likely to use artificial intelligence so potentially Australia could be in a better place of where the implementation of technology can be faster than other countries we take the best from this technological change Make sure that we take care of the people and potentially job loss or job displacement and we should probably have another panel on that Or for the innovation revolution that never happened I think it’s a big question and we can maybe talk But one thing I’ll say is that a society that has a good safety net is better able to adapt and take risks We’re facing what economists refer to as a structural labour constraint AI and technology are the potential solution for that in healthcare Aruna Sathanapally: But we’re going to have to be prepared to take opportunities we’re going to be better able to do that if we’ve got strong safety nets to deal with dislocation we have a strong safety net compared to the United States and they whip our butts on AI and other innovation Australia has a system of unemployment protection that is far below what most people earn but in terms of how much job mobility we have in Australia And the downside risk of losing your income when we don’t have an unemployment insurance type system can be pretty we don’t actually see people switching and trying new things as much as they might otherwise do there’s a million more answers to every question you’ve asked today And I think an even bigger cheer for the Grattan Institute overall And thank you all of you for coming out and spread the good word Persuade everybody you know that we’ve got to do some things for the greater good even though it’s gone out of fashion Sign up for our latest report releases and our newsletter straight to your inbox Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" and practical policy research in Australia Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative 12,000 tons of food waste and 28 years later ecologists Daniel Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs approached an orange juice company in Costa Rica with an off-the-wall idea In exchange for donating a portion of unspoiled forested land to the Área de Conservación Guanacaste — a nature preserve in the country's northwest — the park would allow the company to dump its discarded orange peels and pulp one thousand trucks poured into the national park offloading over 12,000 metric tons of sticky The site was left untouched and largely unexamined for over a decade A sign was placed to ensure future researchers could locate and study it Treuer initially set out to locate the large placard that marked the plot — and failed The first deposit of orange peels in 1996.Photo by Dan Janzen. We should have been able to see it," Treuer says After wandering around for half an hour with no luck who gave him more detailed instructions on how to find the plot When he returned a week later and confirmed he was in the right place Compared to the adjacent barren former pastureland the site of the food waste deposit was "like night and day." The site of the orange peel deposit (L) and adjacent pastureland (R).Photo by Leland Werden. "It was just hard to believe that the only difference between the two areas was a bunch of orange peels They look like completely different ecosystems," he explains The area was so thick with vegetation he still could not find the sign The results, published in the journal "Restoration Ecology," highlight just how completely the discarded fruit parts assisted the area's turnaround According to the Princeton School of International Public Affairs, the experiment resulted in a "176 percent increase in aboveground biomass — or the wood in the trees — within the 3-hectare area (7 acres) studied." The ecologists measured various qualities of the site against an area of former pastureland immediately across the access road used to dump the orange peels two decades prior which was dominated by a single species of tree the site of the orange peel deposit featured two dozen species of vegetation Lab technician Erik Schilling explores the newly overgrown orange peel plot.Photo by Tim Treuer. researchers discovered a tayra (a dog-sized weasel) and a giant fig tree three feet in diameter "You could have had 20 people climbing in that tree at once and it would have supported the weight no problem," says Jon Choi - YouTubewww.youtube.com In a 2016 study published in Nature, researchers found that such forests absorb and store atmospheric carbon at roughly 11 times the rate of old-growth forests In many parts of the world, rates of deforestation are increasing dramatically sapping local soil of much-needed nutrients and the ability of ecosystems to restore themselves Meanwhile, much of the world is awash in nutrient-rich food waste. In the United States, up to half of all produce in the United States is discarded The site after a deposit of orange peels in 1998.Photo by Dan Janzen. "We don't want companies to go out there will-nilly just dumping their waste all over the place but if it's scientifically driven and restorationists are involved in addition to companies this is something I think has really high potential," Treuer says is to examine whether other ecosystems — dry forests tropical savannas — react the same way to similar deposits Treuer had visited the plot more than 15 times with the help of the paper's senior author the scope of the area's transformation became truly clear The sign after clearing away the vines.Photo by Tim Treuer. "It's a big honking sign," Choi emphasizes 19 years of waiting with crossed fingers had buried it This article originally appeared eight years ago Pura’s inaugural impact collection honors both sacred traditions and sustainable futures it’s easy to forget that lasting change is built on trust Real impact doesn’t come from rushing toward an end goal or measuring success through lofty metrics It comes from falling in love with the problem and sharing a vision for lasting transformation Pura, the smart home fragrance company that marries premium fragrance with innovative technology, recently launched its inaugural impact collection with K Farmer Dutjahn Foundation (KFDF) and Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils (DSO) The Pura x Dutjahn partnership began with a clear purpose: to source a sacred ingredient directly from its origin while honoring the land and the people who’ve cared for it Our goal wasn’t simply to find sandalwood — it was to find a community and an ingredient that embody exceptional land stewardship After careful research and over three years of development luxurious ingredient while supporting a regenerative supply chain that invests in Indigenous-led education an Indigenous tribe from the vast Western Australian desert Martu are one of the oldest living cultures in the world they have unparalleled ecological knowledge making them the traditional custodians of the land Their approach to sandalwood harvesting isn’t driven by market demand but by a deep respect for seasonal rhythms Their work adapts to the environment—whether it’s “sorry time,” when mourning pauses activities or the harsh desert conditions that make travel and communication difficult a deliberate rhythm shaped by millennia of experience Martu’s ecological knowledge isn’t documented in baseline reports and practiced with rigor and respect for the changing needs of the ecosystems True partnership means unlearning the typical approach It means standing beside—not in front—and recognizing that the wisdom and leadership we need already exist within these communities as I spoke with Chairman Clinton Farmer and the KFDF team about our focus for this piece I learned that Clinton’s truck had broken down (again) leaving him to “limp” back to town from the desert at low speeds for hours and hours and brings real financial and emotional strain These barriers are relentless and persistent part of the harsh reality Clinton and his community face daily we need to truly partner with communities — equipping them with the resources to operate sustainably and protect the very land they love and care for All while they endeavor to share these incredible sacred ingredients with the world and build an economic engine for their people The future we need will not be built in quarterly cycles To learn more about the partnership and fragrances, visit Pura x Dutjahn Christine Kesteloo has become popular on TikTok with over 680,000 followers because she shares what living on a cruise ship is really like. Kesteloo is the wife of the ship’s Staff Chief Engineer, so she gets to live on the boat for free. She only has to pay for alcohol and soda, which she gets for half off according to Business Insider. “I live on a cruise ship for half the year with my husband and it's often as glamorous as it sounds,” she told Insider she's basically on a permanent vacation even though she lives on a cruise ship as a “wife on board,” there are a few things she either can’t or shouldn’t do She shared these four things in a TikTok video with nearly 10 million views media0.giphy.com Kesteloo says she cannot sit at a slot machine and “play my heart out until I win.” She believes it would “look a little weird if I media0.giphy.com When the ship arrives at a destination, she can't get off with the guests. She must wait about an hour and exit the vessel with the crew. When returning to the ship, she also has to be on time. “No, they will not wait for us,” she says. And the same goes for her husband media1.giphy.com she’s cautious not to interfere with the guests' good time She’ll exit the pool if it’s busy because “it’s just the right thing to do.” media1.giphy.com She must have insurance in case of a misfortune on the ship they already have coverage and just have to pay a few extra dollars a month Though folks generally welcomed Kesteloo's advice some of the most popular commenters on the video were from women regretting that they married men who aren’t chief engineers on cruise ships or those who want to know where to find a single one can you explain how to marry a cruise ship engineer?" one female commentator wrote H E double hockey sticks do I become the wife of a cruise ship engineer??? I don’t have to work AND cruise for free!" another added "Does he have any single friends with same job?? For even more tips on living this charmed life, follow Kesteloo on TikTok by now she might evne have some advice for landing your own cruise ship engineer spouse This article originally appeared last year "I thought the Southern accent was made up/exaggerated for TV." They think Americans are confident and optimistic but disinterested in the world outside of their borders Critics of America have problems with its guns People also see stereotypical images of America in countries that seem too fantastical to be true. Do kids really go to school in big yellow buses? Does everyone have a garbage disposal? What’s up with those huge red cups everyone has at parties in college movies but you won’t believe it ‘til you come to the States and see the magic of America yourself A Redditor asked non-Americans to share their misconceptions about America that they believed until they visited the country many people were blown away by how kind Americans were when they met them They were also impressed that Americans are much more cultured than they thought beforehand the one drawback is that the visible poverty in the land of opportunity was distressing to many people Here are 15 “misconceptions” people have about the U.S before they visited America and saw it for themselves "It wasn't a misconception - I just didn't believe everything you see in the movies is real and especially in Christmas movies I didn't believe people really had THAT crazy of Christmas lights in suburbs America is crazy for their Christmas lights." "I thought the Southern accent was made up/exaggerated for TV until I heard it come out of Some Guy." and I’m even shocked at some Southern accents." I'm walking here.' Or 'What are you Some kinda mook?' This was disappointing." "I feel like NYC is one of the most helpful places when you really need help No one has the time or energy to be polite and helpful in every situation I’m a Midwesterner who LOVES NYC and visits often and I’ve found that as long as you have your shit together and don’t waste their time New Yorkers are the most helpful and stand-up people in the U.S "F**k me I've rarely been treated better in another country "As per a saying I once heard: 'I can't stand Americans but I never met one I didn't like.'" "That Americans don't understand dry humour thinking our deadpan wit is superior to in-your-face US sitcom humour The Americans in my company that I'd met in online calls were super upbeat and cheerful with cheesy jokes Meeting them in person and seeing actual dry American humour was devastating "I feel like our dry humor is just really committing to the bit that it’s hard to tell we are in on the joke." "I used to work with guys from Africa They were shocked that all Americans aren’t millionaires I ask why they thought everyone was a millionaire and they said in the movies everyone is held for ransom and it is a million dollars There aren’t poor or homeless people in movies I'm French and I thought everything would be awful but i didcoverd the south US version of BBQ and I miss it since I also discovered sweet potatoes there and I eat it all the time now." A plate of American bar-b-que.via Canva/Photos "I didn't see a single person on a mobility scooter I was led to believe they were everywhere." "I was told that Americans were superficial and that their interest wasn’t genuine I’ve realized that Americans are actually kind and genuinely interested in talking to you." "I expected to see people walking around carrying guns like it’s a Rambo cosplay." "That surprises me bc I'm from Texas too and I have seen a ton of people open carrying Maybe you're from a different part than me they are wearing their holsters to the gas station." "I genuinely believed everyone ate fast food for every meal Then I visited and realized there are tons of people who are super into cooking "My friend from France recently asked me if I eat burgers and fries for every meal because I'm American and that's what we eat in shows." "It’s not really a misconception but I was taken aback by the scale of everything the height and size of the buildings downtown of a few major cities the variety of products in supermarkets and the packaging sizes….the list goes on and on but seeing it with my own eyes was truly fascinating and in some ways it made me understand the American way of thinking and living a little bit more." "I thought US people all lived in good conditions But the levels of poverty in cities like Portland "And then there's the poverty in poor and rural areas The UN about a decade ago sent observers to study parts of Alabama because conditions there were akin to what's seen in third world countries." "I was just taken aback by how much influence the media has here "The 24-hour 'news' stations (i.e Fox and CNN) are just mouthpieces for their respective political parties and their viewers just believe almost everything they say Social Media is even worse as so much misinformation is spread through there with little to no fact-checking." "There is just so much pressure on social media to be perfect." Stephanie Murphy shares her "average" home in viral TikTok video Lets normalize “average” because there is nothing wrong with it Everywhere you look on social media you see big gorgeous houses in perfect condition and its hard not to compare yours to them But its not the norm and half the time its staged and its filled with love and tons of memories and at the end of the day thats all that matters This article originally appeared two years ago He even followed up with a heartwarming e-mail Saying "I love you!" by accident is one of life's most cringe moments That's all well and good until that sweetly ingrained habit spills over into your work life Especially when you're talking to an important client where the boundaries of professional conduct are particularly important to uphold I Love You Elf GIF by MOODMANGiphy A woman shared an oh-so-human story about absent-mindedly telling a client she loved him and his thoughtful response has people cheering "Accidentally said 'Love you!' at the end of a call with an important client yesterday," wrote a Reddit user "Hey—Just wanted to say that I didn't mean to laugh at you when you accidentally signed off on our call with a 'love you.' I just found it funny because I've definitely done that before he understood that the laughing was mortifying and he wasn't bothered by the "love you." But then he added the absolute best thing he could have said about the situation: "I'm glad you have enough love in your life that that response comes naturally Then he mercifully resumed their professional conversation We'll follow up about my call with Chris on Wednesday "Love you!" Oops.Photo credit: Canva He didn't just ignore the elephant in the room and let it hang over her like an awkward cloud letting her know he's done it before and it happens and is no big deal adding a deeper human layer to the moment by acknowledging the fact that the words flowing so automatically and easily for her meant she was surrounded by love The client's emotional intelligence and thoughtful response warmed people's hearts "What a great and respectful response it’s such a beautiful thing to have that much love in your life that it comes out naturally." this made my day 😂 It's so wholesome how they responded Shows that a little kindness (even accidental) always leaves a good impression!" Made you feel at ease while staying professional and moving the conversation forward." Green Flag GIF by The Last Talk ShowGiphy People also shared their own similar experiences with blurting out accidental "love you"s and it was a veritable love-fest: "I told my supervisor I loved her at the end of our weekly touch point call - she chuckled and said she loved me too I am happy to see empathy from a random human "I said 'love you' to my new boss at labcorp when she called me to tell me I passed my drug test she gave me my results and my start date to come in for orientation and I ended the call with 'bye love you!'" "Back in the day I straight up called one of my bosses mom It was so embarrassing I almost died." "A surprising number of people have done this at least once My ex husband (a prosecutor) accidentally ended a phone call with 'I love you' when talking to a rural county sheriff in the middle of the night." Embarrassed Hide GIF by florGiphy "I had a coworker say 'love you,' just as we were about to hang up 'Don’t tell my wife.' We both laughed and finally disconnected." "I did that with my ex husband last Thursday Happily we get along great and he and his fiancée are attending my wedding next week." "Was on phone with my boss right after he had called his wife He ended the call with "love you." Had so much fun telling him that while I cared for him Embarrassing moments don't have to ruin your day—in fact they can turn into beautiful moments of human connection and emotional intelligence makes us all feel better about our shared humanity A woman has to go to the bathroom really badly You’ve probably heard of the mind-body connection but did you know it also extends to the brain-bladder connection there is an ongoing dialogue where the brain tells the bladder whether it’s okay to go to the bathroom A man has to go to the bathroom really badly.via Canva/Photos the inhibitory signals from the brain become less and less as the thought of urinating becomes stronger and stronger,” Dr a professor of urology and obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California The more you wait to use the restroom until you get home the more your mind will associate coming home with having to go to the bathroom until it becomes habitual “The more you go to this place where you’re arriving at home and having to go to the bathroom immediately the more that pattern is going to start to develop,” Stern said A woman on the toilet.via Canva/Photos now that we know there’s a brain-bladder relationship happening Because it seems like the closer we get to home Interestingly, our mind works overtime, communicating with our bladder and bowels without us knowing it, so we have a safe and comfortable place to go to the bathroom. Still, it would be cooler if the brain tols us we have to go pee or poop after we opened the front door instead of a mile from home. All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueAndrew William Whitmore was filmed on the victim's CCTV breaking into the property with a co-accused and stealing a Yamaha YZ450 and a Husqvarna 250 The victim was not at their home in Orange on September 26 when 28-year-old Whitmore and the co-offender arrived at 11.12am Whitmore and the co-offender were captured on CCTV jumping over the fence to enter the backyard where the motorbikes valued at $4500 and $2000 A padlock was cut to gain entrance to the shed and Whitmore and the co-accused were filmed walking the motorbikes through the now-opened gates from the address at 11.23am Whitmore then ran back through the gates to collect an item that was believed to be used to help break the padlock the victim was notified by a friend that the shed and gate were open and the victim returned and found the bikes had been stolen Whitmore went to the witnesses' house and woke them about 1am on September 27 He asked to store something in the witness's backyard the witness later discovered the item was the victim's missing Husqvarna to inform them that the motorbike was in their backyard Police were also contacted and seized the bike for forensic examination Whitmore was found in possession of drugs and a knife police were patrolling in the Algona Crescent area when they saw Whitmore and a friend walking at 4am The friend was seen putting an item down the front of his pants Whitmore produced a 14-centimetre blade with a small handle wrapped in black duct tape He handed the knife to the police and said he had it to protect himself Police seized the knife and told Whitmore he would be searched Whitmore then told the police he had a bag of cannabis on him and he produced it from a small satchel he was carrying over his shoulder The cannabis was wrapped in a delivery bag and in black duct tape Inside was a sandwich bag containing cannabis leaf and a small resealable bag containing eight cannabis seeds It weighed 4.3 grams and Whitmore said he intended to smoke the cannabis was also charged with other offences he committed in Orange in January and February 2025 He was listed as living at a different Orange address for each set of offences One of those offences was offensive behaviour on January 23 Whitmore was walking along a Glenroi Avenue footpath with his dog about 7pm when he saw a woman driving nearby A male passenger jumped out of the woman's car and ran towards Whitmore Whitmore and the other male began yelling at each other and calling out to engage in a physical altercation before removing their shirts and engaging in a physical confrontation Whitmore attended Orange Police Station at 6.55pm where he was arrested on a warrant and searched He told the police he had "some deal bags" in his wallet and was found with five bags containing 1.9 grams of methamphetamine He was back in the community by February 26 when he was found in possession of 0.1 grams of heroin between 3.30pm and 3.40pm Whitmore has been in custody since February 27, 2025, and was sentenced in Orange Local Court where he appeared via an audio-visual link from jail Solicitor Mason Manwaring said Whitmore would be able to work when he gets out of jail and the pre-sentence report was "reasonably positive." Mr Manwaring argued that the case didn't cross the custody threshold Magistrate Gary Wilson determined that the break and enter did cross the custody threshold Mr Wilson sentenced Whitmore to six months of full-time jail for breaking into his relative's shed and stealing the motorbikes The jail sentence was back-dated to February 27 Mr Wilson also gave Whitmore a concurrent three-month jail sentence for possessing the knife He was also convicted without further penalty for possessing heroin Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, when the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces. But millions of people still face daily battles with its chemical legacy. FILE- Armored personnel carriers with tank support move through dense underbrush with a payload of South Vietnamese infantrymen and U.S. cavalrymen during patrol through jungle 40 miles northeast of Saigon on June 5, 1969. (AP Photo/Rick Merron, File) FILE- Infantryman points out a suspicious shadow in a tree to his machine gunner as they move on patrol near the Cambodian Border west of Pleiku in Vietnam on Nov. 26, 1966. Troops of the 25th Infantry Division (1st Battn. 14th Inf.) inches through the thick jungle from their base camp after being held up three days by snipers. AP Photo/Horst Faas, File) FILE- A yellow flag marks a field contaminated with dioxin near Danang airport, during a ceremony marking the start of a project to clean up dioxin left over from the Vietnam War, at a former U.S. military base in Danang, Vietnam Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Maika Elan, File) FILE- Maps of the area contaminated with dioxin around Danang airport are displayed during a ceremony marking the start of a project to clean up dioxin left over from the Vietnam War, at a former U.S. military base in Danang, Vietnam Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Maika Elan, File) FILE -A woman walks next to a highly contaminated pond around the grounds of the Danang airbase in Danang, Vietnam, May 21, 2007. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File) Truong Minh Phu, 20, centre, sits in a classroom with other students at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal) A boy smiles looking out of the window at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal) Nguyen Thanh Hai, 34, reacts after getting compliments on his work during class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) Nguyen Van Quoc Hung, 13, plays with building blocks at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) Students exercise and play with wooden blocks in physiotherapy class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) A student plays with a wooden shape sorter at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) A student sweeps the area in front of a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal) FILE- Attendants sit next to a field contaminated with dioxin before a ceremony marking the start of a project to clean up dioxin left over from the Vietnam War, at a former U.S. military base in Danang, Vietnam Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Maika Elan, File) FILE- A Vietnamese soldier stands guard in front of military aircraft near a dioxin contaminated area while U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visits Bien Hoa air base in Bien Hoa, outside Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Oct. 17, 2018. (Kham/Pool Photo via AP, File) FILE- A Vietnamese worker sprays water over stones to be used in the construction of a silo for storing soil contaminated with Agent Orange dioxide at the site of a former American airbase in Danang, Vietnam on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh, File) Students put on uniforms at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) A girl who has health problems because of exposure to Agent Orange practices sewing at a special school In Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal) Students attend a physiotherapy class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) Truong Minh Phu, 20, practices with an arm pedal exerciser in physiotherapy class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) A student fills a colouring book at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal) Nguyen Thanh Hai, 34, centre, raises his hand to answer question during class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) Nguyen Khanh Vy, 19, smiles while writing in her book at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal) Nguyen Ba Quy Phuoc, 14, attends a physiotherapy class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) Nguyen Thanh Hai, 34, is one of millions with disabilities linked to Agent Orange. Born with severe developmental challenges, it’s a struggle for him to complete tasks others take for granted: buttoning the blue shirt he wears to a special school in Da Nang, practicing the alphabet, drawing shapes or forming simple sentences. Hai grew up in Da Nang, the site of a U.S. air base where departing troops left behind huge amounts of Agent Orange that have lingered for decades, leaching into food and water supplies in areas like Hai’s village and affecting generations of residents. Across Vietnam, U.S. forces sprayed 72 million liters (19 million gallons) of defoliants during the war to strip the enemy’s cover. More than half was Agent Orange, a blend of herbicides. Agent Orange was laced with dioxin, a type of chemical linked to cancer, birth defects and lasting environmental damage. Today, 3 million people, including many children, still suffer serious health issues associated with exposure to it. Vietnam has spent decades cleaning up the toxic legacy of the war, in part funded by belated U.S. assistance, but the work is far from complete. Now, millions in Vietnam are worried that the U.S. may abandon Agent Orange clean up as President Donald Trump slashes foreign aid. When the war ended, the U.S. turned its back on Vietnam, eager to turn the page on a painful chapter in its history. But Vietnam was left with dozens of dioxin hotspots spread across 58 of its 63 provinces. Vietnam says the health impacts last generations, threatening the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren of people exposed to the chemicals with health complications ranging from cancer to birth defects that affects the spine and nervous system. But the science about the human health impact — both to those exposed to Agent Orange and the generations that follow — remains unsettled. This is partly because when the two countries finally started working together in 2006, they focused on finding dioxin in the environment and clearing it instead of studying the still-contentious topic of its impact on human health, said Charles Bailey, co-author of the book “From Enemies to Partners: Vietnam, the U.S. and Agent Orange.” “The science of causality is still incomplete,” said Bailey. Vietnam identifies Agent Orange victims by checking family history, where they lived, and a list of health problems linked to the poison. And Hai’s disabilities were very likely linked to the spraying of the defoliant, added Bailey. The 34-year-old dreams of becoming a soldier like his grandfather, was unable to leave home for years, waiting alone while his family went out to work. It was only five years ago that he began attending a special school. “I am happy here because I have many friends,” he said. Other students at the school hope to become tailors or makers of incense sticks. The contamination also denuded Vietnam’s natural defenses. Nearly half of its mangrove trees, which shield shores from strong storms, were destroyed. Much of its tropical forest was irrevocably damaged, while the herbicide also leached the soil of nutrients in some of Vietnam’s most climate-vulnerable areas. In the decades after the war ended, the recovering country fenced off heavily contaminated sites like Da Nang airport and began providing support to impacted families. But the U.S. largely ignored growing evidence of health impacts — including on its own veterans — until the mid-2000s, when it began funding clean up operations in Vietnam. In 1991, the U.S. recognized that certain diseases could be related to exposure to Agent Orange and made veterans who had them eligible for benefits. Cleaning Agent Orange is expensive and often dangerous. Heavily polluted soil needs to be unearthed and heated in large ovens to very high temperatures, while less contaminated soil can be buried in secure landfills. Despite years of work, large sites still need to cleared. In Da Nang, where an air base was contaminated during storage and transportation of Agent Orange, the U.S. completed a $110 million clean up in 2018, but an area the size of 10 soccer fields still remains heavily contaminated. Vietnam now has to negotiate a new reality where the U.S. president says the country can no longer afford to help other countries. The country can’t handle the toxic chemicals that still persist without help, said Nguyen Van An, the chairman of Association for Victims of Agent Orange in Danang. “We always believe that the U.S. government and the manufacturers of this toxic chemical must have the responsibility to support the victims,” he said. He said he hoped that any stoppages to ongoing projects due to shifting politics in Washington would be temporary. Insufficient data means that experts can’t definitely say when the risk to human health will end. But the more urgent problem is that if the clean up efforts are interrupted the now-exposed contaminated soil could get into waterways and harm more people. But Bailey, who worked on issues related to the Agent Orange in Vietnam for years, said future USAID funding for the clean up operation and a $30 million program for people with disabilities was uncertain. With federal cuts to USAID, most staffers in Vietnam are expected to be gone by later this year, leaving nobody to administer funding for remediation programs, even if it is not cut itself. “This basically leaves a very large mountain of contaminated soil. Only 30% of which has been dealt with and that is less contaminated,” said Bailey. He added that less than half of the soil at Bien Hoa had been treated and much of the remaining soil was heavily contaminated and needed to be treated in an as-yet unbuilt incinerator. Tim Rieser, who was retired Sen. Patrick Leahy’s foreign policy aide when the Vermont Democrat secured the original funding for Vietnam War remediation projects and is now a senior advisor to Sen. Peter Welch, said Congress still supports the programs but it would be hard for them to continue without staff. “For more than 30 years, the U.S. and Vietnam have worked together to rebuild relations by dealing with the worst legacies of the war, like Agent Orange,” he said. “Now the Trump administration is mindlessly shutting everything down, with no concern for the impact of their actions on relations with an important partner in the Indo-Pacific.” The U.S. State Department said that war legacy projects like clearing dioxin at Bien Hoa or demining programs in central Vietnam remain “active and running,” adding that it would conduct assessments for the resources needed for their continuation. Chuck Searcy, an American Vietnam War veteran who has worked on humanitarian programs in the country since 1995, said he worries that trust built over years could erode very rapidly. He pointed out that those who benefit from U.S. funded projects to address war legacies are “innocent victims.” “They’ve been victimized twice, once by the war and the consequences that they’ve suffered. And now by having the rug pulled out from under them,” he said. Associated Press journalist David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report. ABC News News HomeScience There are only a little over 90 orange-bellied parrots left in the wild today and the species has lost 62 per cent of its genetic diversity in less than 200 years (Supplied: Mark Holdsworth and Friends of the OBP) A new study suggests the orange-bellied parrot has lost 62 per cent of its genetic diversity in the past 200 years Scientists say to save the critically endangered species we must consider hybridising it or editing its genes Genetics specialists are investigating the viability of breeding the bird with a related species Link copiedShareShare articleOrange-bellied parrots (Neophema chrysogaster) are one of Australia's most imperilled species, with an estimated 25 per cent chance of extinction by 2041 The situation is so dire that some researchers think we now need to edit the bird's genes or start cross-breeding with other species to conserve it The species is one of the few long-distance migratory parrots in the world and flies between Tasmania and mainland Australia annually The wild population got as low as 19 just eight years ago, although it climbed to 90 birds that returned to Tasmanian breeding grounds last year Despite the small recent increase in numbers, a new study in Molecular Ecology has revealed the extent of the hidden threat to the parrot's ongoing viability Analysis of historical and contemporary parrot genomes found the bird lost 62 per cent of its genetic diversity between 1829 and 2020 Genetic diversity of the species has risen and fallen with population size over the centuries with an unexplained dramatic collapse in numbers during the 1970s Modelling back in time suggested that during the 1600s the population was as high as 20,000 birds Lead author and bioinformatician Luke Silver said rebuilding bird numbers was only half the battle with conservation "The other part of it is being able to maintain as much genetic diversity … as possible," he said Senior study author and conservation biologist Carolyn Hogg said low genetic diversity hindered the ability of the species to respond to illness from bacterial Now, as the threat of H5N1 avian influenza gets closer to Australia the researchers argue for radical measures to save the species If you left the current group of orange-bellied parrots alone it would take hundreds of generations before they had the same genetic diversity that existed in the species 200 years ago A much faster way to bring back genetic diversity is to breed individuals from different populations of the same species But sometimes the severity of the situation has led to more controversial "genetic rescues" involving hybridising subspecies — animals or plants from different locations that are genetically different but can still interbreed Mixing different subspecies is controversial with concerns it may lead to a loss of fitness and unique genetic diversity a subspecies that diverged from the yellow-tufted honeyeater about 56,000 years ago was reduced to less than 200 birds a few years ago With no other big populations of the bird genetically different enough to mix with researchers instead turned to another subspecies called the Gippsland yellow-tufted honeyeater A paper published last year found mixed pairs of the helmeted honeyeater were breeding more readily and raising more nestlings in captivity But there is only one wild population of orange-bellied parrot and no subspecies to breed with The new study concluded that the only options to save the bird now were to hybridise it with another species from the same genus Neophema, or by editing its genes with technology known as CRISPR. But there are very few real-world examples of using hybridisation for conservation between full species. Neophama is made up of several species and there has been anecdotal evidence that hybridisation of orange-bellied parrots has occurred in the wild with blue-winged parrots and rock parrots. Professor Hogg said it was unclear whether viable offspring could be produced from an orange-bellied parrot and a related species. "If you mix a horse and a donkey [both from the Equus genus], you get a mule and they are infertile," she said. "We can try and predict whether or not we think we're going to produce viable offspring. "[But] if we're going to to hybridise between different species that actually requires some very serious thought and conversations and social licence to do it." A successful hybridisation would result in a bird with 50-50 orange-bellied parrot and blue-winged parrot genes. That progeny could then be bred with a different orange-bellied parrot for a 75 per cent to 25 per cent ratio in a process called back breeding. Several conservation scientists not involved with the study thought the controversial technique could be worth trying but also urged caution. University of Melbourne ecological geneticist Andrew Weeks said the evidence suggested the parrot was in an "extinction vortex". Dr Weeks said he thought hybridisation was the only realistic measure of the two options put forward by the study at this stage. "If that is successful, then [you] would need to trial reintroductions into the wild." However he said genetic rescue may not work as the reason for the decline was not fully understood. "Genetic rescue can only be successful if it can lead to demographic recovery [population increase]," he said. "Otherwise small populations will continue to inbreed and we will end up back where we started." A historical print of an orange-bellied, blue-wing, rock and Bourke's parrot from John Gould's 19th century book Birds of Australia. (Wikimedia: Gracius Broinowski) Monash University conservation geneticist Alexandra Pavlova, who works on conserving the yellow-tufted honeyeater, said there was a high chance interbreeding to create hybrids may bring some undesired consequences. "But the benefits of gene flow could still outweigh the costs," Dr Pavlova said. A spokesperson from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said using hybridisation or gene editing required extensive research and careful consideration. "And importantly, animal ethics committee approval — before applying such techniques," they said. Professor Hogg agreed the genetic rescue scenario was extreme. "You need to ask yourself the question, are you saving the species or are you saving the genes of that species?" she said. "And what lengths are we willing to go to to save a species from extinction? Or are we willing to let some species go extinct?" Zamanillo-Campos R, Chaplin A, Romaguera D, et al. Longitudinal association of dietary carbohydrate quality with visceral fat deposition and other adiposity indicators U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Oranges, raw, navels Barreca D, Gattuso G, Bellocco E, et al. Flavanones: Citrus phytochemical with health-promoting properties Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. How much water do you need? MedlinePlus. Water in diet Food and Drug Administration. Daily value on the new nutrition and supplement facts labels Barber TM, Kabisch S, Pfeiffer AFH, et al. The health benefits of dietary fibre National Institutes of Health. Health benefits of dietary fibers vary MedlinePlus. Dietary fiber Crudele L, Piccinin E, Moschetta A. Visceral adiposity and cancer: Role in pathogenesis and prognosis Jennings A, MacGregor A, Spector T, et al. Higher dietary flavonoid intakes are associated with lower objectively measured body composition in women: Evidence from discordant monozygotic twins National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin C - health professional fact sheet Miles EA, Calder PC. Effects of citrus fruit juices and their bioactive components on inflammation and immunity: A narrative review MedlinePlus. Iron in diet Chang SC, Cassidy A, Willett WC, et al. Dietary flavonoid intake and risk of incident depression in midlife and older women Amini MR, Sheikhhossein F, Bazshahi E, et al. Orange juice intake and lipid profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials National Institutes of Health. Benefits from lower cholesterol and blood pressure targets Sir Elkhatim KA, Elagib RAA, Hassan AB. Content of phenolic compounds and vitamin C and antioxidant activity in wasted parts of Sudanese citrus fruits Koolaji N, Shammugasamy B, Schindeler A, et al. Citrus peel flavonoids as potential cancer prevention agents Kean RJ, Lamport DJ, Dodd GF, et al. Chronic consumption of flavanone-rich orange juice is associated with cognitive benefits: An 8-wk, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in healthy older adults Lamport DJ, Pal D, Macready AL, et al. The effects of flavanone-rich citrus juice on cognitive function and cerebral blood flow: An acute, randomised, placebo-controlled cross-over trial in healthy, young adults National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements. Potassium - consumer National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements. Folate - consumer Adubofuor J, Akyereko YG, Batsa V, et al. Nutrient composition and physical properties of two orange seed varieties National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Eating diet, & nutrition for GER & GERD Inomata N, Miyakawa M, Ikeda N, Oda K, Aihara M. Identification of gibberellin-regulated protein as a new allergen in orange allergy Petric Z, Žuntar I, Putnik P, Bursać Kovačević D. Food–drug interactions with fruit juices Nguyen M, Jarvis SE, Chiavaroli L, et al. Consumption of 100% fruit juice and body weight in children and adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis © Copyright 2022 SNKRDUNK Magazine.All rights reserved Nike is building excitement for the fall season with a striking update to the Air Max 90 The upcoming release will showcase a bold black and orange color combination The design incorporates a blend of textures featuring a black mesh and soft nubuck construction for the upper while vibrant orange details accentuate the tongue label The Nike Air Max 90 “Black/Orange” is expected to drop in Fall 2025 through Nike brick-and-click stores In other news, check out the and wander x END. x Crocs Trailbreak 2 you can also head to the SNKRDUNK App via the banner below and browse the latest and greatest in sneakers During a recent interview with Nik Nocturnal Code Orange vocalist Jami Morgan addressed the band's current status the group have officially been placed "on the shelf." And I'm super stoked on the record ['The Above'] One that I am happy to speak about is my guitar player Dominic [Landolina] — he's one of my best friends in the world — was dealing with a really hard genetic condition that really started damaging his hand and that was the primary cause for us to have to cancel our first tour on the record it says a lot of what needed to be said about that beautiful way to have put that pause on it And it kind of says everything that I wanted to say It's almost like it feels a little bit like a death record in some ways So I feel really artistically fulfilled in that way and [Code Orange] is just on the shelf and there's many circumstances That's not how we operate.' We're not gonna fight against the current here screaming and crying and kicking and moaning There was so much art and love put into the band maybe the trends and stuff will come around and swing to it Because I do think it's… I still hundred percent believe it's very forward thinking [via The PRP] Second seed Novak Palombo has added his name to the honour roll in the 12-and-under category at the Orange Bowl championships in Florida Plantation, USA, 20 December 2024 | tennis.com.au Novak Palombo has carved out a slice of Australian tennis history winning the Junior Orange Bowl championship in the 12-and-under category in Plantation denied American 32nd seed Max D Smith 6-3 3-6 6-4 for one of the most important global junior tournaments on the calendar the 12-year-old earned the chance to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy following his victory in his age group at the Rafa Nadal Tour Australian Masters event in Melbourne in January > READ MORE: Hewitt receives wildcard to join Tomic, Birrell in AO qualifying He now turns his focus to the Lexus International at Bolton Fellow Australians Taiki Takizawa and Har Abir Sekhon reached finals in the 14-and-under boys’ events Top seed Takizawa succumbed to injury when Chinese opponent Qi Hongjin led 7-6 1-0 ret. while Sekhon and British partner Ruben Stanmore fell to American Victor Pignaton and Gadin Arun in the boys’ doubles final 6-3 6-3 Sebastian Lavorato from New South Wales finished third in the 12-and-under boys singles competition and Queenslander Tori Russell scored fourth place in the 14-and-under girls singles The Orange Bowl boasts an impressive list of former champions including Grand Slam winners Roger Federer Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun Junior world No.1 Emerson Jones earns the position of Orange Girl for the Culture Amp Australian Billie Jean King Cup team gaining world-stage experience and training alongside top players in a cherished Aussie tradition 12 March 2025 | Tennis Australia Sixteen-year-old Emerson Jones has been named the Orange Girl for the Culture Amp Australian Billie Jean King Cup team joining Australia’s top ranked woman Kimberly Birrell as they prepare for their 2025 qualifying campaign in Brisbane The Orange Girl is a long-standing Australian team tradition offering a promising young player the chance to train alongside the team and gain invaluable experience on the world stage Jones made history by becoming the first Australian girl to top the ITF World Tennis Tour junior rankings in more than 25 years following in the footsteps of Jelena Dokic who achieved the same feat in 1998 several notable players who have taken on the Orange Girl role have gone on to become Billie Jean King Cup representatives including Ash Barty “It’s such an honour to be named the Orange Girl for Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup team,” Jones said “Getting the chance to be part of the team environment learn from our top women and experience what comes with representing Australia at this level is really exciting.” Team captain Sam Stosur said Jones’ selection reflects her potential and recent achievements “The Orange Girl tradition is something unique and special to Australian tennis It is an incredible opportunity for a young player to immerse themselves in the team culture,” Stosur said and we’re excited to have her join the team in Brisbane She’ll get to experience first-hand what it takes to compete at the top international level and see the passion and pride that comes with representing Australia in the green and gold Jones joins the team off the back of a standout summer of tennis pulling off a stunning upset in her Adelaide International debut against world No 37 Wang Xinyu before impressing at the Australian Open “It’s a great stepping stone for a young player and I have no doubt Emerson will make the most of this opportunity.” pulling off a stunning upset in her Adelaide International debut before impressing at the Australian Open The world No.1 junior reached the junior singles semifinals at Melbourne Park for a second straight year while also securing a doubles final appearance reinforcing her position as one of the most promising young players in the world > LISTEN: Emerson Jones joins the upcoming episode of The Tennis Jones was also awarded the Junior Athlete of the Year Award at the 2024 Newcombe Medal Australian Tennis Awards alongside fellow rising star and former Orange Girl Australia will face Kazakhstan and Colombia at Pat Rafter Arena from 10-12 April with each tie featuring two singles matches and one doubles match The winners of each group will advance to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen The remaining members of the Culture Amp Australian Billie Jean King Cup team will be confirmed later this week Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Qualifiers The singer-songwriter on breaking up his band and the chaos of recording with Mark E Smith why did you call the new record Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation smileywombatIt was Grace’s choice [Grace Maxwell Up in Helmsdale [in the Scottish Highlands] I have an art deco radiogram speaker which has a sort of sunburst thing with that phrase written on it When we were casting about for a title for the new record if you’re going to call it that you have to write a song with that title The Possibilities Are Endless [the documentary about Collins’s recovery from his stroke] is such a motivational and inspiring watch How easy was it for you to put it out there for all to see I express myself and sometimes I get it wrong – the words Did you plan to break up Orange Juice on the evening of the miners’ benefit show at Brixton Academy in January 1985 ChrisBartleyOrange Juice had come to an end Polydor were dropping me and Zeke [Manyika I might as well say this will be Orange Juice’s last gig It was Grace’s idea to play Rock and Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) by Kevin Johnson through a hundred hotel rooms / Through a hundred record companies who didn’t like my tunes.” There were people crying in the audience ‘Orange Juice came to its own conclusion Photograph: David Corio/RedfernsWould an Orange Juice reunion ever be on the cards I remember that you were quite caustic about other bands in interviews back in the 80s and 90s Most of the bands you slagged off deserved it every indie band was nasty about everybody Some of the people I’ve been horrible about are very Then you meet people and they’re really nice and you just feel like I said [to him]: “Aren’t you sort of like Abba?” And now we are good buddies I’m currently rereading Grace’s memoir Falling and Laughing It’s even more inspiring second time around There’s one called You’re Better Than You Know on Hope and Despair said that occasionally there’s a record you can bury under the Empire State Building that will still find a way out There was absolutely nothing you could do to that record to stop it I love the fact that Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols is the drummer on the Gorgeous George LP But a mate told me there were loads of other first-generation punks on that record And we have worked a lot with Dave Ruffy elsewhere who was a Rut: “Babylon’s burning!” But I’m not a punk any more Will you be making music with Vic Godard again So we’ll pin him down and see if we can get him to come up and do some recording in Helmsdale Read moreI can’t tell you how much I admire your strength determination and fortitude to recover from a stroke My question is: what inspires you to keep going sometimes it’s difficult for me to get about But I can walk to the tube with my son William; that’s joyful Edwyn Collins answered questions with Grace Maxwell Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation is released via AED Records on 14 March. Edwyn Collins’s last-ever tour starts in September – details In recognition of national Harmony Day this coming Friday (March 21st) PLHS students and staff are encouraged to wear something orange to show support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia Website Development by WebQuarters Thanks for visiting ! The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. Prep time: 5Cook time: 105Skill level: LowServes: 20Serve warm with yoghurt as a pudding or cut into slices for lunch boxes or snacks Comedian and satirist Mark Humphries joined Alice in the kitchen He shared that he's never understood beetroot Alice challenged herself to change his mind Dot the batter with extra chocolate and beetroot slices This recipe appears in A Bite to Eat with Alice, a new nightly cooking show on ABC iview and weeknights at 6pm on ABC TV Find the full list of recipe credits here. often the most efficient and carefree way to enjoy as much as possible is to join a tour With plenty of operators ferrying wine lovers about town it’s easy to find one to suit your style From airborne to open-air vehicles and long lunches to quick edits of the best Sip and savour both the wines and scenery of Orange with tours that tick off a hit-list of wineries Choose from a half-day morning or afternoon tour Full days are a marathon for the palate but well-paced with time for lunch amid the four wineries Embrace a marathon of winery visits with a full-day tour Half-day-trippers get to experience three stops over four well-spent hours Get the low down on the region with entertaining and informative guides as you’re bussed about in a comfortable van Our tip is to gather a group of friends and opt for the private tour for a fun day in the vines The tours will give you access to informative guides and hosts on the day Details: Private VIP tours from $145 for half-day; half-day tours from $125; full-day tours from $165 With more than 30 years of experience in hospitality and tourism, your vino adventures are in good hands with Winery Experiences Orange Hitch your wagon to theirs and choose from half- or full-day tours sipping the cool climate varietals Orange is renowned for your personalised tour may include a picnic lunch at one of the idyllic vineyards or lunch at a winery where you’ll also enjoy wine-tasting and pairing experiences From small boutique producers to the big names they’re able to curate an itinerary to suit your palate and even offer an Ultimate Wine and Food Flight where you ascend over Orange and Millthorpe in a helicopter for a bird’s-eye view Winery Experiences Orange caters for two to six guests on a personalised tour Details: Full- or half-day tours from $100 per person for a half-day The Ultimate Wine and Heli Tour starts from $450 per person Insider intel makes these laidback wine tours a truly pleasurable way for oenophiles to unravel Orange’s cool climate drops Whether you’re clued into the nuances of varietals or simply know what you like when you taste it you’ll have fun on this entirely unstuffy tour you can join a half-day morning or afternoon tour or a full-day exploration of the region commentary and three cellar doors for the half-days and four for the full-day Embrace a laidback wine tour with Uncork Orange Details: Full-day (5 hours) $189 and half-day (3 hours) $149 Some enjoy the air-conditioned environment of a minibus, while others prefer the feeling of the wind in their hair. If you’re of the latter persuasion, you’d be best fit for a wine-tasting tour by trike You and your biker bestie will join an experienced guide for a half-day tasting tour for two sipping at three of Orange’s top vineyards and chatting to winemakers while being chauffeured around on a German-made Boom Mustang trike Experience the best wine in Orange by trike Bringing a food-lovers focus to their tours, Country Food Trails is all about local knowledge and hidden gems Join a small group of up to seven fellow sippers on the Wine Trail for tastings and one food pairing at three Orange vineyards where you’ll meet winemakers and be guided through their top drops Get your fill of local knowledge and hidden gems on a Country Food Trails tour Or cast your net a little wider and take the Millthorpe Village Tour which includes a wine-tasting at either Tamburlaine Organic Wines as well as a guided walk through the village Details: Wine Trail from $180 per person; Millthorpe Village Tour from $190 per person just be sure to allocate one to two hours and make a reservation While this tour is only at Swinging Bridge what it lacks in diversity it makes up for in immersion The experience begins with a guided walking tour of the beautiful Hill Park Vineyard before guests embark upon a deep dive into all the label’s wines The scenic grounds of Swinging Bridge Wines need to be experienced Following the tasting is a well-finessed four-course degustation lunch elegantly paired with wines by the in-house sommelier The beauty of a singular tour like this is the absence of any immediate hurry to get to the next cellar door Simply sit with the wine and enjoy your time with fellow oenophiles A deep dive into all the label’s wines and a four-course degustation awaits Take flight for this exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime experience at Printhie Wines which begins with a chauffeured transfer to the label’s cellar door before you’re whisked off to the winery in a helicopter the journey of the grape unravels on a tour that meanders through the details of picking there’ll be ferments to taste and samples to sip directly from the barrel After you’ve savoured the minutia of winemaking alight the chopper again for the 15-minute return journey to the cellar door where you’ll be guided through a tasting of Printhie’s flagship drops and seated for an incredible three-course lunch with matching wines Don’t miss the exceptional Ultimate Winery Experience at Printhie Wines Details: Thursday to Sunday from 10am; $1350 per person Working for many of Australia’s top publications Lara Picone has had the distinct pleasure of writing editing and curating content about the finer things in life for more than 15 years Graduating from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication her editorial foundation began at Qantas: The Australian Way magazine before moving on to learn the fast-paced ropes of a weekly magazine at Sunday Magazine and picking up the art of brand curation at donna hay magazine Pivoting a near-problematic travel lust into a career move by combining it with storytelling and a curious appetite her next role was as Deputy Editor of SBS Feast magazine and later Online Editor of SBS Food online She then stepped into her dream job as Editor of Australian Traveller before becoming Online Editor for both International Traveller and Australian Traveller Lara always has her passport at-the-ready to take flight on assignment for the Australian Traveller team as well as for publications such as Qantas Magazine and website in this browser for the next time I comment From the changing leaves of rare and beautiful trees to swimming with whale sharks or heading on a truffle hunt Australian Traveller Media acknowledges the traditional custodians of the Country on which we live and work From the rustic charms of a historic homestead and a cleverly-converted former sheep shearing shed to a night glamping under the stars or a room at a retro-style hotel, Orange truly does have it all when it comes to memorable places to stay Keep reading for our top picks for your next trip to Orange Hotels and motels | Luxury | Airbnbs | Farm stays | Caravan parks there are hotels and motels in Orange to suit all travellers Part of the Orange Ex-Services Club complex in the heart of town, Mercure Orange is in the ideal location, with inviting bars restaurants and shopping hot spots all nearby this 4.5-star hotel has four deluxe room options and two deluxe suites The deluxe room with two king single beds is the property’s only accessible room During your stay, dine onsite at The Greenhouse of Orange, which is also one of the best restaurants in Orange A must-try is the twice-cooked pork belly with Irish mash If you want self-catered convenience then the Quest Orange offers it via upscale serviced apartments Located within walking distance from the CBD Quest offers 77 rooms spread across three levels The one-bedroom accessible apartment option with a private balcony gives you the conveniences of a home away from home Apartments range in size from studios to one- tasteful decor and fully self-contained kitchens Quest Orange is also an accredited tier two accessible accommodation provider for independent wheelchair users and has two accessible room types available: the one-bedroom accessible apartment and the two-bedroom accessible apartment The rooftop terrace is a skyward al fresco paradise head up there for some fresh air and a barbecue The Oriana is a cool 1960s’ retro-style hotel that encompasses a laid-back holiday vibe Each room and suite feature its own vibrant colour scheme contemporary art and statement pillows are a concurrent theme Soak up laid-back holiday vibes at this 1960s retro-style hotel Downstairs, The Peacock Room is adorned with vintage chandeliers, velvet upholstery and an eclectic menu; think Dutch beef croquette with chive mayonnaise, swordfish with grilled artichoke hearts and marbled lamb backstrap. The Bela Vista Bar is a popular spot for a nightcap or pre-dinner cocktails Dine in the vintage-inspired Oriana Peacock Room Located close to some of Orange’s best wineries including Philip Shaw Wines and Ross Hill Wines, The Remington Orange is bringing ultramodern luxury to the regional hub This stunning hotel is made up of 82 rooms; stay in the impressive executive king suite for a treat Whitney’s Restaurant and Bar is where you’ll head for a fulfilling buffet breakfast before exploring the sights of Orange It also has an innovative dinner menu that features the likes of lobster raviolo with saffron beurre blanc an MB4+ 50-day grain-fed scotch fillet and spiced cauliflower steak with baba ghanoush and pomegranate Those looking for luxury accommodation in Orange are spoilt for choice Sitting pretty 1100 metres above sea level, Basalt Luxury Accommodation is home to three luxurious private studios Each studio sleeps two and is crafted with a distinct character in mind to allow guests to choose which one best aligns with their personal tastes Basalt offers a private oasis in the heart of NSW wine country Just 10 kilometres out of town in the shadows of Gaanha bula (Mount Canobolas) Basalt draws its name from the volcanic soil it resides on Relax and rejuvenate in the freestanding concrete bath and watch the kangaroos skipping by as the sun makes its descent each evening Expansive views can be enjoyed from the freestanding concrete bathtub Cosy up by the internal fireplace or outdoor fire pit and explore the night sky with the telescope in your room The studios come complete with a fireplace and cosy space to lounge of an evening Yallungah Boutique Hotel is design-focused The design-focused Yallungah Boutique Hotel truly epitomises the eclectic energy of the city The former historic homestead has been transformed into a boutique hotel with 22 guest rooms and suites – three of which are located in a heritage wing where design choices reflect the region’s rich history The heritage rooms feature floral upholstered bedheads in blue-painted rooms with white vintage furniture The remaining 19 rooms are part of the hotel’s modern wing which is reflected in the contemporary design details that are peppered throughout the light-filled rooms which feature local artworks and a pop artist’s palette You’ll be just as impressed by the food offering at the adjoining Yallungah Dining Room which was built by owner William Lamrock Dine on a two-course a la carte breakfast that showcases the best of the city’s local produce in the sun-clad space The luxurious bathrooms are the perfect place to unwind Just one block away from the main street, within walking distance to some of the best restaurants in Orange, you’ll find de Russie Boutique Hotel. European-style apartment hotel is popular with urbanites who flock here for its city-standard accommodation The hotel offers 25 rooms which each feature a kitchenette wi-fi and ensuite bathroom stocked with L’Occitane amenities Find sophisticated rooms with a European influence Studio suites come with a balcony and spa bath And the Blue Room ups the ante with a four-poster bed de Russie will also deliver a complementary light breakfast to your suite each morning Another luxury accommodation born from Orange shop owners, JUMBLED owner Pip Brett opened Sona Molong in 2024 and it’s a lesson in thoughtful design bring your nearest and dearest along to fully unwind in this cosy home Long lunches and evening entertaining are made easy with the showstopping kitchen Sona Molong offers several living spaces that perfectly accommodate a group getaway Cook up a feast in the modern kitchen; the details will blow you away spend a night at Sona and you won’t want to leave Design details give the space a welcoming and warm atmosphere Indulge in mansion luxury at Duntryleague Guest House This 19th-century home displays spectacular opulence at every turn The mansion’s 14 suites sleep between two and four people depending on the room named after original owners the Dalton family and has balcony access and views of the north and east The historical Duntryleague Guesthouse shares its land with the 18-hole golf course of the same name, so golf lovers will be at home at Duntryleague. The Golf Stay Package has everything you need Want a private stay for you and your loved ones? These Orange Airbnbs are for you The White Place is a familiar name in these parts, renowned for being one of the best shops in Orange The owners of the boutique store have capitalised on their finesse for interior decorating and used it to set up two stylish self-contained accommodation offerings in Orange – one on Byng Street and the other on Casey Street The Byng Street property is an expansive multiple fireplaces and lead-light windows It accommodates eight adults across four bedrooms and features an outside deck and underground pool to retreat to on the days when the mercury gets a little higher The whitewashed interior is accented with plenty of soft furnishings to warm the space The Casey Street property opened in early 2021 Scandi-inspired details can be found throughout the modern light-filled sanctuary which sleeps eight adults Key features include an impressive marble bench a stone-clad fireplace and ducted gas heating for use on those chilly winter nights The light-filled property is the perfect retreat This gorgeous Airbnb is exactly what it says it is, in the heart of Orange. On the top floor of a stunning heritage-listed building, The Heart of Orange is sun-soaked and spacious with a gas log fireplace to keep the place cosy in the crisp winter months The Heart of Orange is the perfect romantic escape The heritage-listed building is a real treat to stay in Gather up the troops, because Kangaroobie Cabin is the perfect country escape and sleeps six Kangaroobie Cabin is exceptional from every angle Step into a world of awe-inspiring beauty with 270-degree views that stretch from the lush Borenore to the commanding heights of Gaanha bula The expansive space boasts some sensational design details Don’t miss the sunrise and sunset here Watch from the hot tub with a glass of local wine for ultimate relaxation Fully embrace a country escape with these rustic farm stays Not far from Kangaroobie in Borenore, Dragonfly Cottages is a peaceful spot where your only neighbours are native wildlife and farm animals The cottages are also connected to rainwater Each cottage comes with a private deck and a gas log fireplace Dragonfly Cottages is in a great spot for bushwalking and cycling, plus it’s near some of Orange’s brilliant wineries so base yourself here if you want to go on an Orange winery tour Native wildlife and farm animals can be admired from your accommodation Located on a working sheep and cattle farm near Mandurama (just under an hour from Orange) it doesn’t get more authentic than Dairy Park This farm stay has three accommodation types on the massive 1100-hectare property: the farm stay cabin (sleeps nine) Thummy Jacks (sleeps five) and The Hut (sleeps four) The accommodation is all self-contained and in a great spot to explore the Central West Just seven kilometres from the Orange CBD, Rosedale Farm is a restored 19th-century estate. The old workers’ quarters have been transformed into two luxury farm stays that sleep two to four, while the homestead has been restored into Rosedale Residence which sleeps 12 The self-contained farm stay options are the one-bedroom suite and the grand one-bedroom suite Dyson Supersonic hair dryers and Airwraps and a bar cart with Maybe Sammy cocktails The one-bedroom suite and grand one-bedroom suite both embody an Italian country farm style The 19-room Rosedale Residence allows you to live the luxury life of your dreams There are six incredible bedrooms; the king bedroom includes a spacious marble ensuite while the upstairs master bathroom has marble tile floors and a luxurious freestanding bath Rosedale Residence features a modern kitchen There’s both an informal and formal dining room Those staying in the Rosedale Residence have access to the outdoor pool Get a taste of the great outdoors at these caravan parks, camping spots and glamping sites in Orange Another winery accommodation offering – this time with a little bit of a twist. Nashdale Lane’s glampsite (and cellar door) is a proud fixture of the local community retreat back to one of two luxury glamping cabins Rustig (meaning quiet/calm in Dutch) and Kalmte (serenity/calm) Completely secluded from each other – and the rest of the property – both cabins are decked out with a four-poster queen-sized bed hardwood floors and a bathroom with a monsoon shower There are two luxury glampsites to choose from a built-in deck and barbeque provide a touch of regional charm a wood fire will warm you up after a long day of exploring the best of the Central Tablelands For an easy stay in town, you can set up camp at the Colour City Caravan Park right in the centre of things self-contained heritage cottage if you’d prefer a softer entry to a budget escape Settle in for a self-catered stay in the tidy park Set up camp at the Colour City Caravan Park for an easy stay in town This article was originally written by Eliza Sholly with updates by Emily Murphy Emily Murphy is Australian Traveller's Social Media Manager and Writer and in her three years at the company she has been instrumental in shaping its social media presence and crafting compelling narratives that inspire others to explore Australia's vast landscapes Her previous role was a journalist at Prime Creative Media and before that she was freelancing in publishing content creation and digital marketing – equipping her with a diverse skill set that enhances her storytelling and audience engagement Emily holds a Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies (Journalism and Professional Writing) and a Bachelor of International Studies (Global Media and Communication) from the University of Wollongong When she's not creating scroll-stopping social media posts Em is a devoted 'bun mum' and enjoys spending her spare time by the sea binge-watching a good TV show and exploring Sydney's vibrant dining scene cool-climate wine and vineyard views for days: there’s luxury aplenty to be had in Orange and a range of accommodations to suit the mood... Metrics details An Author Correction to this article was published on 25 March 2025 This article has been updated Sweet orange is cultivated worldwide but suffers from various devastating diseases because of its monogenetic background The elucidation of the origin of a crop facilitates the domestication of new crops that may better cope with new challenges Here we collected and sequenced 226 citrus accessions and assembled telomere-to-telomere phased diploid genomes of sweet orange and sour orange On the basis of a high-resolution haplotype-resolved genome analysis we inferred that sweet orange originated from a sour orange × mandarin cross and confirmed this model using artificial hybridization experiments We identified defense-related metabolites that potently inhibited the growth of multiple industrially important pathogenic bacteria which showed wide segregation in fruit flavor and disease resistance and produced canker-resistant sweet orange by selecting defense-related metabolites Our findings elucidate the origin of sweet orange and de novo domesticated disease-resistant sweet oranges illuminating a strategy for the rapid domestication of perennial crops the citrus industry has neglected the disease-resistance traits available from wild citrus because fruit flavor has been the pre-eminent breeding goal during the past decades Large amounts of bactericide and copper-related chemicals are used annually to control this disease become less efficacious over time and lead to ecological problems We therefore have a critical need for the de novo domestication of canker-resistant cultivars to counteract these problems A fast and promising de novo domestication strategy for breeding new disease-resistant cultivars of citrus involves focusing on specialized metabolites from wild citrus that contribute to disease resistance both models are limited because they rely on only one haplotype genome to infer evolutionary history although sweet orange is highly heterozygous The geographical distribution of sweet oranges The geographical map was generated manually using the freeform shape function of Microsoft PowerPoint software Phenotypic variation among different sweet oranges mandarins and pummelos in the sympatric region The red five-pointed star represents sweet oranges red circles represent mandarins and yellowish green circles represent pummelos The π values were calculated with 1 Mb sliding windows with 500 kb steps for sour oranges The number of genomic statistical windows is 545 Each box represents the median and interquartile range Coefficients of metabolite variation for sour oranges Source data. using synthesized telomeric probes (5′-TTTAGGG-3′)7 attached to FAM) A diagram illustrating the contributions of the mandarin (M) and pummelo (P) derived genome segments to the two haplotypes of sweet orange Source data. the new genome assembly had no gaps along all chromosomes fineSTRUCTURE analysis using copying vectors generated from chromosome painting Each row of the heat map is a recipient copying vector showing the number of fragments shared between the recipient and each individual as a donor (columns) such that block-like patterns are observed on the heat map Blue represents less haplotype sharing and red indicates more haplotype sharing cultivars derived from sweet orange (n = 5) other mandarins (n = 35) and pummelos (n = 169) Hybrids of sour orange refer to the hybrids obtained from a cross between sour orange and Ponkan mandarin The coincidence probability refers to the probability of a genome landscape that matches the genetic relationships between the parents and hybrids Source data. Genomic variations for chromosome 2 in SWO artificial SWO and artificial mandarin (Md) The number of accessions for each variety is indicated Source data. our hybridization experiments support the model that sweet orange was derived from a sour orange × mandarin cross Heat map for the levels of 215 metabolites that accumulate to higher levels in the leaves of Xcc-resistant accessions compared with Xcc-susceptible accessions (P < 0.05): 1 Blue represents low levels and red represents high levels The content of metabolites were transformed by log2 and the normalized output of each row ranges from 0 to 1 Inhibitory effect of disease resistance-related metabolites (100 μg ml−1) on the growth of Xcc Data are presented as mean values ± s.d.; n = 3 independent replicates Disk diffusion assay showing the antibacterial activity of daphnetin and esculetin (50 mg ml−1 dissolved in DMSO) on the growth of 6 species of pathogenic bacteria Kanamycin (25 mg ml−1 dissolved in pure water) and the solvent DMSO were used as positive and negative controls Larger diameters for the inhibition zones around the paper disks indicate more antibacterial activity The inhibition zones are indicated with dashed circles The diameter of the round white filter paper was 6 mm The appearance of fruits from sweet orange and artificial sweet orange Leaves from sweet orange and artificial sweet orange were inoculated with Xcc (108 CFU ml−1) The photographs were taken 12 days after inoculation Source data. We further designed hybridization experiment by using sour orange and Ponkan mandarin as parents and created artificial sweet oranges that are very close to commercial sweet oranges which provides strong evidence for our origin model of sweet orange The existence of all parental species in the same sympatric region in the NYW region of southern China provides more support for our model for the origin of sweet orange These metabolites are promising candidates and should be tested with field experiments that aim to identify green pesticides with antibactericidal activities breeding programs that aim to develop disease-resistant hybrids can use bactericidal metabolites as effective markers for disease-resistant hybrids This study developed a strategy that uses sour orange (a kind of wild citrus) for de novo domestication of sweet oranges By choosing highly heterozygous parents and designing a liquid gene chip with high selection efficiency we obtained diverse sweet oranges with broad variations in their genome sequences This study also provides a proof-of-concept for metabolite selection in perennials A total of 226 citrus cultivars and landraces (99 sour oranges, 13 sweet oranges, 15 mandarins, 43 pummelos, 19 citrus hybrids, 32 hybrids of sour orange and 5 others citrus accessions) were sequenced in this study (Supplementary Table 1) At least 10 µg of genomic DNA from each accession was used to construct a sequencing library Paired-end sequencing libraries with an insert size of approximately 200–500 bp were constructed and sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform We assembled six genomes including: Citrus sinensis ‘Valencia’ Citrus reticulata ‘Ponkan’ and the natural hybrid sweet orange ‘TJH2’ found in southern China PacBio HiFi reads and Nanopore ultralong reads were generated for the haplotype-resolved telomere-to-telomere genomes assemblies of Citrus sinensis ‘Valencia’ and Citrus aurantium ‘ZGSC’ Nanopore ultralong reads were generated for the chromosome-level assemblies of Citrus reticulata ‘Mangshan’ Citrus reticulata ‘Ponkan’ and the natural hybrid sweet orange ‘TJH2’ Another round of gap filling was performed using corrected Nanopore reads generating a sweet orange assembly without gaps The plant telomeric sequences (CCCTAAA) were used to identify telomeres in the assembled genome The next two rounds of polishing were performed using Nextpolish (v.1.4.0) with Illumina reads Citrus reticulata ‘Pokan’ and a natural hybrid sweet orange named ‘TJH2’ found in southern China we generated Hi-C reads to anchor contigs using the 3d-dna pipeline (v180922) the contigs were anchored based on collinearity with the chromosome-level genome of Citrus maxima ‘Wanbai’ was labeled with biotin-16-dUTP (Roche) and was subsequently detected with Cy3-conjugated streptavidin (Sigma) Telomeric probes were synthesized (Sango Biotech) and attached to carboxyfluorescein (FAM) Dual-color FISH was conducted with these two probes The slides were counterstained with 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI Invitrogen) and observed with an Axio imager and an M2 fluorescence microscope (Zeiss) The images were processed and adjusted using ZEN 2 (blue edition) and the Adobe Photoshop 2023 software and a sliding-window approach (1 Mb windows sliding in 500 kb steps) was employed to quantify nucleotide diversity (π) for each pair of citrus populations using the VCFtools software Fully expanded leaves were inoculated with Xcc (108 colony-forming units (CFU) per milliliter) with an inoculating needle (0.5 mm in diameter) Each inoculation spot consisted of seven pricks with the inoculation needle as recommended by previous reports with minor modifications A bacterial suspension was dropped into each inoculation spot The disease lesion area was measured (36 punctures on average) with ImageJ 2.0 Total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acid (TA) was determined using a PAL-BX/ACID sugar and acid integrated machine The data collection was repeated three times A single fruit weight was determined using an electronic balance with a sensitivity of 0.01 to measure the weight of the fruit The masses of three fruits were quantified for each genotype The fruit shape index is the longitudinal diameter value/transverse diameter value A vernier caliper was used to measure the distance from the top of the fruit to the pedicle as the value for the longitudinal diameter (mm) and the cross-sectional diameter of the fruit was used as the value of the transverse meridian (mm) Three fruits were measured from each fruit tree The freeze-dried leaf and fruit samples were powdered using a mixer mill (MM 400 Retsch) with a zirconia bead for 1.5 min at 30 Hz 100 mg powder was weighed and extracted overnight at 4 °C with 1.0 ml 70% aqueous methanol Following centrifugation at 10,000 g for 10 min the extracts were absorbed (CNWBOND Carbon-GCB SPE Cartridge 0.22 μm pore size; ANPEL) before liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis The sample extracts were analyzed using an LC–ESI–MS/MS system (HPLC The effluent was alternatively connected to an ESI-triple quadrupole-linear ion trap (QTRAP)–MS LIT and triple quadrupole (QQQ) scans were acquired on a triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer (Q TRAP) equipped with an ESI Turbo Ion-Spray interface operating in a positive ion mode and controlled by Analyst 1.6 software (AB Sciex) Orthogonal projections to latent structures–discriminant analysis was applied to identify altered metabolites The coefficient of variation was calculated for each metabolite on the basis of the following formula: δ/μ where δ and μ are the standard deviation and mean of each metabolite in the population Pc and Xoo) were plated on Luria-Bertani (LB) solid medium separately and incubated at 28 °C for 14 h Individual colonies were cultured separately in LB liquid medium at 28 °C on an orbital shaker at 200 rpm for 18 h To test the 16 metabolites for antibacterial activity the Xcc bacterial cells were resuspended in sterile water at a concentration of 106 CFU ml−1 and 0.1 ml of the suspension was added to 5 ml of LB liquid medium containing different metabolites at a concentration of 100 μg ml−1 Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) without metabolites (0 mg ml−1) served as a control All cultures were shaken (200 rpm) at 28 °C in the dark and the OD600 was measured every 6 h until the bacterial culture reached the stationary phase The OD600 values of all the cultures at 36 h were used to calculate the bacteriostasis rate which is expressed as (OD600 of DMSO culture − OD600 of metabolite culture)/OD600 of DMSO culture × 100% melted LB solid medium cooled down to about 45 °C was mixed with different bacteria and spread evenly on Petri dishes in sterile conditions The bacterial suspension concentration of LB solid medium was about 106 CFU ml−1 Filter paper disks (6 mm diameter) were soaked with different metabolites at a concentration of 50 mg ml−1 The impregnated disks were symmetrically placed onto the medium using sterile tweezers Filter paper disks separately soaked with DMSO and 25 mg ml−1 kanamycin were used as negative and positive controls The Petri dishes were incubated at 28 °C for 36 h Antibacterial activity was evaluated by measuring the diameter of the inhibition zone the area around the disks with no bacterial growth A two-tailed Student’s t-test was used to compare the relative differences in gene expression the ratio of TSS to TA and the antimicrobial activity of metabolites between two groups of samples A two-tailed adjusted Fisher’s exact test was used to conduct the Gene Ontology enrichment analysis of the target genes relative to the background All experiments were replicated with at least three biological replicates Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02165-7 Resequencing of 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Code for the study of origin and de novo domestication of sweet orange. figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.26053999.v2 (2024) Download references Buckler from the Institute for Genomic Diversity Xie from the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement Huazhong Agricultural University for their advice on our bioinformatic analysis Hunan Agricultural University for providing us with Xcc Zhong for the support of plant growth and metabolic platform from National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Horticultural Crops This project was financially supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China to Q.X the National Key Research and Development Program of China to Q.X the Key Research and Development Program of Hubei to X.W the Foundation of Hubei Hongshan Laboratory to Q.X Key Project of Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation to Q.X Postdoctoral Innovation Research Post in Hubei Province to Y.X and the National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (grant number BX20200146) to Y.X These authors contributed equally: Shengjun Liu National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Horticultural Crops Qinghai–Tibet Plateau Fruit Trees Scientific Observation Test Station conceived and designed the project and the strategy collected and created the samples with contributions from L.C. identified the phenotype of disease resistance and antibacterial metabolites with help from K.Y. coordinated the project with help from X.D. wrote the paper with contributions from Y.Z. The authors declare no competing interests Nature Genetics thanks Massimo Iorizzo and the other reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations (e) Titratable acids and (f) total soluble solids in mandarins sour oranges and sweet oranges from the NYW region Each point in the figure represents one accession and the value is the average of three biological replicates Source data (a) Fruit shapes and (b) leaf shapes from sour oranges and a sweet orange provide evidence that sour oranges are similar to sweet orange The numbers indicate different accessions of sour orange (b) Ratio of total soluble solid (TSS) to titratable acidity (TA) for ‘TJH2’ (n=3) and sweet orange (n=3) Each box represents the median and inter quartile range (IQR) The error bars represent standard error of the mean (c) Genomic composition of sweet orange (black arrow) and TJH2 (green arrow) homozygous segments with a mandarin origin; yellowish green homozygous segments with a pummelo origin; orange heterozygous segments with a mandarin/pummelo origin; gray Source data Diagram illustrating the contributions of the mandarin and pummelo genomes to the two haplotypes of sour orange (‘ZGSC’) Source data (a) Canker lesions on the leaves of different sour orange accessions The photographs were acquired 7 days after inoculation with Xcc Single inoculation sites are shown (bottom) (b) Pathogen titers in different sour orange accessions and sweet orange after inoculation with Xcc 4 and 7 days after inoculation with 5 μL of 108 CFU ml−1 Xcc as described previously (PLoS Genet Three independent samples were used for the analysis (c) DAB (3,3'-diaminobenzidine) staining of reactive oxygen species in infected leaves The leaves were stained at 4 days after infection the left side was inoculated with 5 μL of pure water as a control The right side was inoculated with 5 μL Xcc bacteria (108 CFU ml−1) Reddish-brown staining indicates the accumulation of H2O2 PSSC and XYSC are different sour orange accessions; SWO Source data Source data for diversity analysis in South China in Fig Source data for genetic diversity analysis in Fig Source data for metabolite analysis and antibacterial effect in Fig Source data for phenotypic statistical analysis in Extended Data Fig Source data for TSS/TA in Extended Data Fig Source data for genomic components in Extended Data Fig Source data for phenotypes of different sour orange accessions after inoculation with Xcc in Extended Data Fig Reprints and permissions Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02122-4 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science