By Nelson Acosta HAVANA, March 23 (Reuters) – Cuba’s government said on Wednesday a spike in demand for fuel, caused in part by the failure of the country’s largest power plant last week, had led to fuel shortfalls at service stations nationwide, prompting hours-long queues for gasoline. Lines of cars, buses, trucks and motorcycles as […]
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One person has reportedly died following a serious crash on Auckland’s Southern Motorway near Gillies Ave in Epsom, central Auckland.Police were alerted to the multi-vechicle crash at about 8.10pm.Several people have suffered…
NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS— Preparations for the Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Agriculture Open Day at the Elquemedo T. Willett Park on March 24-25 are nearing completion, and Mr. Randy Elliott, Director of Agriculture is urging the public to support the event. Mr. Elliott said on March 23, 2022 that the public can expect to be entertained at the […]
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A Sydney cleaner who was hired to help and care for her elderly client is before a court, accused of fleecing almost $40,000 from the 86-year-old grandmother.
Police claim Betty Sadia, 32, stole precious jewellery and cash from the woman's Milsons Point home over a six-week period last year.
Today, Ms Sadia faced court for the first of a two-day hearing, where police alleged she stole a white gold bracelet with 180 aquamarine stones worth $20,000, a gold chain worth $1800, and $16,380 in cash.
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The prosecution in the case admitted the evidence pointing to Ms Sadia is "circumstantial" but said Ms Sadia has faced similar charges before.
The court heard that five years ago in 2017, Ms Sadia allegedly stole cash from the handbag of her then client, a 73-year-old woman.
Security vision of that 2017 offence was played to the court.
It showed Ms Sadia taking money from a wallet and placing it up her shirt.
Upon viewing the vision, the magistrate remarked that it had "a significant similarity" to the current allegation.
Ms Sadia's lawyer Ian Byrne told the magistrate "there's no fingerprints, no DNA and no photographs of assistance to the court".
Ms Sadia denied the charges when she took the stand this afternoon.
"I did not steal from her," she said.
"I didn't do it. I never saw any jewellery and I never took any jewellery."
Ms Sadia will return to court tomorrow, where the magistrate will hand down a decision on the case.
The main suspect in the murder of an Argentine former rugby player in Paris has been arrested on the Hungarian border with Ukraine, authorities said. Loïk Le Priol, a former soldier who reportedly has links to the far right, told Hungarian police in Záhony he was going to Ukraine to fight. Three combat knives were […]
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A general practitioner is calling on Australians to double-down on their vaccination efforts and to receive a flu shot when they go for their COVID-19 booster.
It comes as experts warn a "super cold" breakout is underway, with symptoms of the virus almost entirely the same to that of COVID-19.
Dr Charlotte Hespe, Director of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), said there has been an increase in respiratory infections as the country opens up.
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"We are definitely seeing an increased number of respiratory tract infections, both lower respiratory infections or pneumonias, and upper respiratory track infection colds," Dr Hespe said.
Health experts are claiming the increase in illness is directly related to being locked down during the past two flu seasons.
People's immunity is at an all-time low upon emerging from nearly two years of isolation.
The return to normality is seeing thousands of people contract infections, reporting symptoms of body aches, general fatigue, sore throat, cough and runny nose – each in line COVID-19 but without the positive test results.
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First appearing in the United Kingdom around November last year, the new super flu has made its way to our sunny shores at a time when experts fear people may becoming complacent.
"Often we forget about the seriousness of the flu because we have a good vaccine program," Dr Hespe said.
Experts are concerned Australians are experiencing "vaccine fatigue", with only 59 per cent of those eligible having had their third COVID-19 vaccine dose.
With flu season approaching, it is imperative Australians are up to date with vaccinations.
The RACGP is encouraging cautionary COVID-19 practices to remain in action, including wearing masks, social distancing and good hand hygiene.
Private Caribbean islands owned by the deceased sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein have been put up for sale and could fetch as much as $125m. A lawyer for Epstein’s estate confirmed to the BBC that the two islands – Little St James and Great St James – have been listed. Lawyer Daniel Weiner said […]
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Covid: Spring booster jab launches for over-75s and high risk in England Image source, Getty Images People aged 75 and over, residents in care homes and those with weakened immune systems can now book an extra booster jab against Covid in England. It comes as official figures show infection rates are rising in all age […]
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Billions of taxpayer dollars are potentially being wasted by the Australian Government's system for encouraging organisations to reduce their emissions, an environmental market expert has warned.
The Australian National University's Professor Andrew Macintosh and his colleagues have published a series of papers outlining what they say are systemic flaws in the Federal Government's Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) and the way it issues Australian carbon credits (ACCUs).
They have dubbed the ERF an "environmental and taxpayer fraud", saying it is riddled with governance flaws.
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"Unfortunately, Australia's carbon market currently suffers from a distinct lack of environmental integrity," Professor Macintosh said.
He said the ERF scheme was dominated by three types of projects: avoided deforestation in western New South Wales; human-induced regeneration of native forests in the dry rangelands of Queensland, NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory; and the combustion of methane from landfills.
These three projects account for about 75 per cent of ACCUs issued.
Professor Macintosh said data suggested suggests 70 to 80 per cent of the ACCUs issued to these projects did not represent "real and additional abatement".
"All of the major emission reduction methods have serious integrity issues, either in their design or the way they are being administered," he said.
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"People are getting ACCUs for not clearing forests that were never going to be cleared; they are getting credits for growing trees that are already there; they are getting credits for growing forests in places that will never sustain permanent forests; and they are getting credits for operating electricity generators at large landfills that would have operated anyway.
"What is occurring is a fraud on the environment, a fraud on taxpayers and a fraud on unwitting private buyers of ACCUs, including private households who purchase ACCUs to offset their personal emissions."
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The ERF is administered by the Clean Energy Regulator, which has $4.5 billion to spend on ACCUs.
"The Clean Energy Regulator has already spent $1 billion on purchasing ACCUs and has contracts to purchase a further $1.6 billion," Professor Macintosh said.
"By issuing ACCUs for these low integrity abatement projects, the regulator is throwing good money after bad and undermining Australia's ability to meet its long-term emission reduction targets."
Professor Macintosh and his co-authors have called for the Clean Energy Regulator to be broken up to work towards solving the issue.
The researched are also calling for "the offending low integrity methods" under the ERF to immediately end and for reforms to stop the methods from receiving any further credits.
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"We are also calling for a full and independent inquiry into what has happened," Professor Macintosh said.
"The public deserves an explanation for what has occurred and what can be done to ensure this does not happen again."
Professor Andrew Macintosh is an expert on environmental markets who has also sat on the bushfire royal commission, chaired the Integrity Committee of the ERF for six-and-a-half years and was a member of the King Review of Low-cost Sources of Abatement.
Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie was the star witness at the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial today.
Mr Hastie, a former soldier turned politician, recounted his time in the Special Air Service Regiment.
Mr Hastie told the Federal Court of a catch-and-kill mission in 2012 in Syahchow, Afghanistan, where it is alleged Mr Roberts-Smith ordered a junior trooper to execute an Afghan detainee.
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Mr Hastie claimed he saw the prisoner's body and then saw the junior trooper who looked nervous and unlike his usual self.
"I just thought that's not the person I know, the happy-go-lucky, classic, country Aussie," Mr Hastie told the court.
Mr Hastie testified he later ran into Mr Roberts-Smith who, "looked me in the eye and said 'just a couple more dead c—-'".
Mr Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2011 and went on to support several mental health charities.
Mr Hastie recalled a time he and other comrades were watching the VC recipient on TV when a colleague said, "Roberts-Smith gave Person 1 depression and now he's going to help him fight it".
"Laughter was the only response, but not at Person 1's expense," Mr Hastie told the court.
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Mr Hastie also testified that he was once proud of Mr Roberts-Smith's achievements and reputation, but he now joins a list of former and serving soldiers giving evidence against the war hero.
The Liberal MP will return to the witness box tomorrow.
Mr Roberts-Smith denies bullying, war crime and domestic violence allegations and is suing Nine Newspapers for defamation.
