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"Yes to a lifetime with you": Olympic champ's joyous news

<p>Stephanie Rice has announced her engagement to her boyfriend Mark Lassey after just seven months of dating </p> <p>The three-time Australian Olympic gold medallist took to Instagram on Thursday to confirm the news, just weeks after first going public with her relationship in July. </p> <p>She shared a series of photos of  the moment the father-of-three popped the question at  Dubai's luxury Atlantis The Royal hotel.</p> <p>"Here's to fresh starts and second chances," Rice said in the caption. </p> <p>"Yes to a lifetime with you," she continued, adding the bible verse Psalm 37:4 underneath it.</p> <p>In one photo the couple looked lovingly at each other as Rice showed off her diamond ring. </p> <p>The former Olympic swimmer looked glamorous in a white floral dress and strappy heels during the picture-perfect outdoor hotel proposal. </p> <p>Lassey looked dapper in a white shirt, cream trousers and a black blazer. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C_iCsFBpmrP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C_iCsFBpmrP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by STEPHANIE RICE (@itsstephrice)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The pair first met through a mutual friend and were initially hesitant about each other, but it didn't take long for them to forge a close bond. </p> <p>While their relationship had its challenges, mainly being long-distance, with Rice living in her current home of Dubai, they are very excited for their future together. </p> <p>"Living halfway across the world from each other in different time zones has had its challenges (thank god for Zoom) but God has been so good and so present in every step of our journey, which gives us an unwavering faith that our future will be even more extraordinary through Him," Rice wrote.</p> <p>The pair kept their relationship under wraps for five months before debuting it on social media in July. </p> <p>In another social media post, Lassey gushed about Rice, saying that "she is the most encouraging person". </p> <p>"Never cynical, never sarcastic, always thinking the best of people and speaking it out."</p> <p>The pair are yet to announce when and where their wedding will take place. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Relationships

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Is white rice bad for me? Can I make it lower GI or healthier?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-beckett-22673">Emma Beckett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Rice is a <a href="http://www.ipni.net/publication/bci.nsf/0/42A2EA40E95CBD1385257BBA006531E9/$FILE/Better%20Crops%20International%202002-3%20p03.pdf">culinary staple</a> in Australia and around the world.</p> <p>It might seem like a given that brown rice is healthier than white and official <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/eating-well/healthy-recipes/recipe-modification-tips">public health resources</a> often recommend brown rice instead of white as a “healthy swap”.</p> <p>But <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34441728/">Australians definitely prefer white rice</a> over brown. So, what’s the difference, and what do we need to know when choosing rice?</p> <h2>What makes rice white or brown?</h2> <p>Rice “grains” are technically seeds. A complete, whole rice seed is called a “paddy”, which has <a href="https://www.fao.org/4/t0567e/t0567e07.htm">multiple parts</a>:</p> <ol> <li>the “hull” is the hard outer layer which protects the seed</li> <li>the “bran”, which is a softer protective layer containing the seed coat</li> <li>the “germ” or the embryo, which is the part of the seed that would develop into a new plant if was germinated</li> <li>the “endosperm”, which makes up most of the seed and is essentially the store of nutrients that feeds the developing plant as a seed grows into a plant.</li> </ol> <p>Rice needs to be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/87559128509540778">processed</a> for humans to eat it.</p> <p>Along with cleaning and drying, the hard hulls are removed since we can’t digest them. This is how <a href="https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1541-4337.12449">brown rice is made</a>, with the other three parts of the rice remaining intact. This means brown rice is regarded as a “wholegrain”.</p> <p>White rice, however, is a “refined” grain, as it is <a href="https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1541-4337.12449">further polished</a> to remove the bran and germ, leaving just the endosperm. This is a mechanical and not a chemical process.</p> <h2>What’s the difference, nutritionally?</h2> <p>Keeping the bran and the germ means <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cche.10322">brown rice has more</a> magnesium, phosphorus, potassium B vitamins (niacin, folate, riboflavin and pyridoxine), iron, zinc and fibre.</p> <p>The germ and the bran also contain more bioactives (compounds in foods that aren’t essential nutrients but have health benefits), like <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/2/532#:%7E:text=Brown%20rice%20(BR)%20is%20obtained,and%20phenolic%20compounds%20%5B3%5D.">oryzanols and phenolic compounds</a> which have antioxidant effects.</p> <p>But that doesn’t mean white rice is just empty calories. It <a href="https://www.glnc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/GLNC_Rice-factsheet_WEB.pdf">still contains</a> vitamins, minerals and some fibre, and is low in fat and salt, and is naturally gluten-free.</p> <p>White and brown rice actually have <a href="https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1541-4337.12449">similar</a> amounts of calories (or kilojoules) and total carbohydrates.</p> <p>There are studies that show eating more white rice is linked to <a href="https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/43/11/2625/35820/A-Global-Perspective-on-White-Rice-Consumption-and">a higher risk</a> of type 2 diabetes. But it is difficult to know if this is down to the rice itself, or other related factors such as socioeconomic variables or other dietary patterns.</p> <h2>What about the glycaemic index?</h2> <p>The higher fibre means brown rice has a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523314862">lower glycaemic index</a> (GI), meaning it raises blood sugar levels more slowly. But this is highly variable between different rices within the white and brown categories.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/carbohydrates-and-the-glycaemic-index#:%7E:text=The%20glycaemic%20index%20(GI)%20is,simple'%20or%20'complex'.">GI system</a> uses low (less than 55), medium (55–70) and high (above 70) categories. <a href="https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/?food_name=rice&amp;product_category=&amp;country=&amp;gi=&amp;gi_filter=&amp;serving_size_(g)=&amp;serving_size_(g)_filter=&amp;carbs_per_serve_(g)=&amp;carbs_per_serve_(g)_filter=&amp;gl=&amp;gl_filter=">Brown rices</a> fall into the low and medium categories. <a href="https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/?food_name=rice&amp;product_category=&amp;country=&amp;gi=&amp;gi_filter=&amp;serving_size_(g)=&amp;serving_size_(g)_filter=&amp;carbs_per_serve_(g)=&amp;carbs_per_serve_(g)_filter=&amp;gl=&amp;gl_filter=">White rices</a> fall in the medium and high.</p> <p>There are specific <a href="https://www.gisymbol.com/low-gi-products/sunrice-doongara-low-gi-white-clever-rice-1kg/">low-GI types available</a> for both white and brown types. You can also lower the GI of rice by <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf503203r">heating and then cooling it</a>. This process converts some of the “available carbohydrates” into “resistant starch”, which then functions like dietary fibre.</p> <h2>Are there any benefits to white rice?</h2> <p>The <a href="https://www.realsimple.com/brown-rice-vs-white-rice-8417468#:%7E:text=The%20eating%20experience%20between%20these,chewier%20texture%20and%20nuttier%20flavor.">taste and textural qualities</a> of white and brown rices differ. White rice tends to have a softer texture and more mild or neutral flavour. Brown rice has a chewier texture and nuttier flavour.</p> <p>So, while you can technically substitute brown rice into most recipes, the experience will be different. Or other ingredients may need to be added or changed to create the desired texture.</p> <p>Removing more of the outer layers may also reduce the levels of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10375490/">contaminants</a> such as pesticides.</p> <h2>We don’t just eat rice</h2> <p>Comparing white and brown rice seems like an easy way to boost nutritional value. But just because one food (brown rice) is more nutrient-dense doesn’t make the other food (white rice) “bad”.</p> <p>Ultimately, it’s not often that we eat just rice, so we don’t need the rice we choose to be the perfect one. Rice is typically the staple base of a more complex dish. So, it’s probably more important to think about what we eat with rice.</p> <p>Adding vegetables and lean proteins to rice-based dishes can easily add the micronutrients, bioactives and fibre that white rice is comparatively lacking, and this can likely do more to contribute to diet quality than eating brown rice instead.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/236767/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-beckett-22673">Emma Beckett</a>, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Dietetics &amp; Food Innovation - School of Health Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-white-rice-bad-for-me-can-i-make-it-lower-gi-or-healthier-236767">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Food & Wine

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Passengers on cancelled flights to be compensated under new reforms

<p>Plane passengers could soon be entitled to compensation or refunds for delayed or cancelled flights in Australia. </p> <p>The long-awaited Aviation White Paper will be handed down this morning, as part of the federal government's crackdown on the aviation sector. </p> <p>The white paper makes 56 recommendations, including the the establishment of an Aviation Industry Ombudsman Scheme, which will have the authority to make it compulsory for airlines to provide support to passengers and give travellers more rights. </p> <p>The Aviation Industry Ombudsman Scheme will also be able to refer to allegations of misconduct for investigation and enforcement. </p> <p>It will also introduce a new "Charter of Rights" entitling airline customers to refunds for flights that are disrupted, cancelled, or unreasonably delayed. </p> <p>Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the changes were critical to ensure that passenger had better experiences in the air, and will provide them with a baseline for the services they can expect on flights. </p> <p>"The aviation customer experience has deteriorated post-COVID, with an urgent need to better protect the rights of the travelling public," she said.</p> <p>She added that Australians were often not being dealt with fairly by airlines. </p> <p>"The bottom line is if people don't get the service that they are expecting, then customers deserve to get their money back or they deserve to get an equivalent service," she said. </p> <p>"And that's really not what's been happening when it comes to the consumer space."</p> <p>Under the Aviation Industry Ombuds Scheme, airlines will also have to "show cause" and provide a valid reason why a flight has been delayed or cancelled, and the ombudsperson has the right to request additional information. </p> <p>Airlines will also be required to provide support to people to make alternative travel arrangements. </p> <p>As part of its white paper, the government will also establish new minimum standards for airlines to make their services more accessible to those with disabilities. </p> <p>Legislation to establish the aviation ombuds office will be introduced next year, but the government plans to appoint an interim ombudsperson. </p> <p>The scheme is expected to be fully implemented in 2026. </p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p> <p> </p>

Legal

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Teen athlete's tragic death just weeks before Paris Games

<p>A young Olympic hopeful has tragically died just weeks out from making his debut at the Paris Games. </p> <p>Jackson James Rice, 18, was found dead after a diving accident in Faleloa, Tonga on Saturday from a “suspected shallow water blackout”.</p> <p>The teenager had been set to become the first caucasian to represent Tonga at an Olympic Games, having qualified for the new kite-foiling event.</p> <p>He had been free diving from a boat when the tragedy unfolded. </p> <p>His body was found beneath the boat and despite several resuscitation attempts, he could not be revived. </p> <p>Rice's heartbroken father confirmed the news of the teenager's death to the Matangi Tonga newspaper, as tributes flowed for the young athlete.</p> <p>Rice’s sister Lily paid an emotional tribute to her brother on social media on Sunday, as she wrote on Facebook, “I was blessed with the most amazing brother in the whole world and it pains me to say that he’s passed away."</p> <p>“He was an amazing kitefoiler and he would have made it to the Olympics and come out with a big shiny medal … he made so many amazing friends all over the world.”</p> <p>Other friends paid tribute to the teenager on social media, with one writing, “I can’t begin to put into words what I’m feeling right now. I still cannot believe it, when I woke up to this news I thought you were playing around. You’re the most amazing friend anyone could ask for and anyone who has spent time with you would agree.”</p> <p>Rice was originally born in the US but moved to Tonga at a young age with his British-born parents. </p> <p>He grew up in Haʻapai, where his parents run a tourist lodge, and always viewed himself as Tongan.</p> <p>The talented athlete qualified for what had been due to be his first Olympic Games last December, after placing eighth at a Sail Sydney event.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

Caring

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Sam Kerr's alleged racial comments revealed by UK paper

<p>The legal controversy surrounding <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Matildas star Sam Kerr </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">following allegations of racially charged remarks directed towards a police officer in London continues to unfold, after a UK newspaper published those alleged remarks. </span></p> <p>According to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/26401266/sam-kerr-football-charge-crime-police-fifa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a>, Kerr allegedly called a police officer a "stupid white bastard" during a dispute over a taxi fare. The details emerged as Kerr faced charges for using insulting, threatening or abusive words towards the officer, causing alarm or distress. The seriousness of the allegations is underscored by the potential consequences, with Kerr facing a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment if convicted.</p> <p>The incident is said to have taken place in January 2023 shortly after Kerr's remarkable performance in a Chelsea FA Cup victory, and Kerr has maintained her innocence, pleading not guilty to the charges brought against her.</p> <p>The delayed prosecution in Kerr's case has sparked speculation, with reports suggesting that determining the appropriate charge was a complex process for the Crown Prosecution Service. However, as the trial approaches, the focus shifts towards the legal proceedings and the evidence that will be presented in court.</p> <p>Throughout her career, Kerr has been a prominent figure in the fight against racism in sport. Her past actions, including posing with an Aboriginal flag alongside her Matildas teammates, reflect a commitment to promoting inclusivity and unity. Kerr's accolades both on and off the field have solidified her iconic status, making the allegations against her all the more surprising.</p> <p>In response to the controversy, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson and Football Australia CEO James Johnson expressed their lack of prior knowledge regarding the incident. </p> <p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declined to comment directly on the matter, but said that Kerr's actions during her tenure as the national flag bearer exemplified pride and dignity. </p> <p>“I don’t comment on legal matters before Australian courts, let alone other ones,” Albanese said. “I will say this about my contact with Sam Kerr, she was our flag bearer at the coronation. My contact with her was exemplary. She did Australia proud at that time and I think that my contact with her has been nothing but delightful.”</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Legal

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Flight attendant reveals why you should never use the toilet paper on a plane

<p dir="ltr">A flight attendant has revealed the gross reason why you should never use the toilet paper on a plane journey. </p> <p dir="ltr">The seasoned cabin crew member, an American woman named Cheryl, shared the three things she would never do on a plane after seeing what really goes on behind closed doors on an aircraft. </p> <p dir="ltr">Her first tip for any traveller was not to use the toilet paper in a plane bathroom. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sharing her tips in a TikTok video, she wrote, "If you examine the toilet paper, I promise you're going to see water droplets on it, or what you think are water droplets."</p> <p dir="ltr">"I don't think we can trust most men to make it in the toilet on a normal day, let alone flying at 36,000 feet with turbulence."</p> <p dir="ltr">To combat this, the flight attendant recommends bringing a travel pack of tissues in your hand luggage to use instead. </p> <p dir="ltr">She also warned her viewers against wearing shorts on their next flight.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I would never wear shorts on a plane. You're going to freeze to death," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cheryl pointed out another valid reason to opt for long pants on a flight, stating, "Say we have an evacuation. You have to go down the slide. Your butt cheeks are going to be sizzled off.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Lastly, Cheryl urged travellers to never book less than a three-hour connection between flights.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Delays can happen for a million and one reasons. The likelihood that you're going to miss your connection is pretty high if you're booking shorter than three hours," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Travel Tips

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Why are people putting toilet paper in the fridge?

<p>Recently, people on social media have been advising you to replace that box of bi-carbonate of soda (baking soda) in the back of your fridge with a roll of toilet paper.</p> <p>Does this weird trick work? We asked kitchen and appliance experts to see what the pros had to say!</p> <h4>Why put toilet paper in the fridge?</h4> <p>Ruiz Asri, editor of Honest Food Talks, says toilet paper’s absorbency is behind this hack. “Moisture in the refrigerator often contributes to mildew and unpleasant odour,” Asri says. The toilet paper absorbs excess moisture, along with foul smells. References to toilet paper in the fridge can be found as far back as 2015. But its dedicated use of it as an odour absorber seems to be more recent, with videos appearing on TikTok and Facebook.</p> <p><strong>Does it work?</strong></p> <p>Yes, to a point. While TP will absorb odours, other options are more efficient, take up less space and generate fewer odd looks from houseguests. Amy, from the parenting blog Amy & Rose, has tried the TP technique. She had some fishy smells in the fridge, and her daughter suggested that she try the toilet paper hack. So did it work?</p> <p>“In my experience, somewhat,” she says. But here’s the catch: It’s just a temporary fix.</p> <h4>Alternative fridge odour busters</h4> <p>So if you want something longer lasting that takes up less space, read on for some alternate odour-fighting strategies.</p> <p><strong>Bi-carbonate of soda</strong></p> <p>Bi-carbonate of soda (also known as bi-carb and baking soda) is the go-to solution for many households. It caught on in the 1970s, when one manufacturer promoted it as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical cleaning. By 1994, a US newspaper reported “more refrigerators are likely to have bi-carb than working light bulbs.”</p> <p>Bi-carb is a base material, which means it neutralises acids. Because most odours are acidic, it can cut off the smell at the source. (Side note: After deodorising a fridge with bi-carb, don’t use the contents of that box for baking. Cooking can reactivate those acids and contaminate your cake.) As the bi-carb interacts with more acids, it becomes less effective. Most people will need to replace it every three months.</p> <p><strong>Black cumin seed oil</strong></p> <p>Corinne Segura, a building biologist practitioner and founder of My Chemical-Free House, has first-hand experience with fridge odours. “When food went bad in my fridge, it left a lingering foul odour,” she says. “I used black cumin seed oil, which has a deodorising effect, to clean up the smell.”</p> <p>Segura credits this to the essential oil’s ability to deodorise methyl mercaptan, a chemical that produces a rotten scent. “I mixed five drops of black cumin essential oil with 1 tablespoon of dish soap and applied it in a thick layer to all the plastic components inside the fridge,” she says. “I let it sit for two hours before washing it off. This worked well to get rid of foul odours in the fridge.”</p> <p><strong>Activated charcoal </strong></p> <p>Activated charcoal captures the particles that cause bad smells, just like toilet paper. It’s available as a powder, in pre-cut filters or as fabric you can cut to size. It functions by collecting the volatile compounds given off by smelly items, reducing odour. Swap out the charcoal every month or so to keep it effective.</p> <p><strong>Vanilla extract</strong></p> <p>For those who prefer a more pleasant scent, especially around their food, Asri offers a particularly sweet recommendation. “Soak a cotton wool ball in vanilla extract and place it in the refrigerator,” he says. “This combats bad odours and leaves your fridge smelling like a bakery.”</p> <p><strong>Crumpled newspaper and charcoal </strong></p> <p>If you want a deep-clean on your fridge or freezer at minimal expense, go with one paper product that’s even cheaper than toilet paper. Fill up a particularly stinky fridge with crushed charcoal and crumpled newspaper (you can buy unprinted newsprint paper).</p> <p>You’ll need to replace the newspaper every day for about a week, but it’s a low-cost way to deal with a foul-smelling situation.</p> <h4>UV light purifier</h4> <p>If you gravitate towards high-tech solutions, consider a fridge with a UV light filter. “Ultraviolet light can destroy bacteria, mould and other pathogens,” says Alexander Hill, a sales rep for UK-based Appliance Depot. “Some fridge purifiers use UV light to sanitise the air and surfaces inside the fridge, thus reducing the source of many odours.”</p> <p>Take that, toilet paper.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/diy-tips/why-are-people-putting-toilet-paper-in-the-fridge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Home & Garden

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“I can imagine the divorce papers”: Ben Fordham's marriage deal-breaker

<p>Ben Fordham has revealed his marriage deal-breaker during a chat about tracking devices for<em> 9Honey’s</em> “He Se She Said” with Shelly Horton.</p> <p>The radio giant, who hosts <em>Ben Fordham Live on 2GB</em>, shared that while he and his wife Jodie Speers track their children’s whereabouts via tracking apps on their smartwatches, they would never do that to each other.</p> <p>"If I said to Jodie, 'Hey, I'm going to start tracking your whereabouts,' I can imagine the look that I'd get, first of all, from Jodie, then I can imagine the conversation that I'd be having with Jodie, and then I can imagine the divorce papers that would be filed by Jodie," Fordham joked.</p> <p>"I can imagine Jodie just getting a hammer and smashing her watch," Horton remarked.</p> <p>Horton discussed how the desire to track speaks of a "lack of trust," and at the worst of times, it could suggest “coercive control” seen in domestic violence relationships.</p> <p>Fordham agreed, adding he and his wife of over a decade have no desire to track each other.</p> <p>"We've got it for the kids. But I don't know where Jodie, is and she doesn't know where I am, apart from our diaries, because we've got a diary where we kind of let each other know where we're going to be and what we're doing," he said.</p> <p>In terms of the idea of “coercive control” Fordham said, "And you might have people who feel like, 'Alright, if I've got nothing to hide, OK, I'll agree to this arrangement,” adding that this arrangement can be exploited.</p> <p>Horton then spoke about refuges and “safe” spaces that have been implemented in shopping centres to help people, primarily women, who are being tracked so closely by their partners that they are unable to seek assistance.</p> <p>"They can go to a shopping centre and get counselling there, and actually talk to people about how to exit the relationship, and the partner just sees them at the shopping centre," she said.</p> <p>Fordham highlighted that once couples have agreed to track each other’s whereabouts, stopping it “becomes a problem” so it is best to avoid it from the start.</p> <p>"Because the moment you say to the other person , 'Hey, look, I don't like this thing anymore, I don't want to be tracked anymore, then they'll be thinking, 'Oooh, what have you got to hide?”</p> <p>Fordham also suggested setting up boundaries at the beginning of a relationship.</p> <p>Image credit: Getty / Instagram</p>

Relationships

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Tangy apricot Bavarian whip, fried rice medley and bombe Alaska: what Australia’s first food influencer had us cooking

<p>Our food choices are being influenced every day. On social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, food and eating consistently appear on lists of trending topics. </p> <p>Food has eye-catching appeal and is a universal experience. Everyone has to eat. In recent years, viral recipes like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/02/11/baked-feta-pasta-recipe-tiktok/">feta pasta</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dalgona-coffee-the-whipped-coffee-trend-taking-over-the-internet-during-coronavirus-isolation-137068">dalgona coffee</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-butter-boards-bad-for-you-an-expert-view-on-the-latest-food-trend-192260">butter boards</a> have taken the world by storm. </p> <p>Yet food influencing is not a new trend. </p> <p>Australia’s first food influencer appeared in the pages of Australia’s most popular women’s magazine nearly 70 years ago. Just like today’s creators on Instagram and TikTok, this teenage cook advised her audience what was good to eat and how to make it.</p> <h2>Meet Debbie, our teenage chef</h2> <p>Debbie commenced her decade-long tenure at the Australian Women’s Weekly in <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4814245">July 1954</a>. We don’t know exactly who played the role of Debbie, which was a pseudonym. Readers were never shown her full face or body – just a set of disembodied hands making various recipes and, eventually, a cartoon portrait.</p> <p>Like many food influencers today, Debbie was not an “expert” – she was a teenager herself. She taught teenage girls simple yet fashionable recipes they could cook to impress their family and friends, especially boys. </p> <p>She shared recipes for <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4925379">tangy apricot Bavarian whip</a>, <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4819441">fried rice medley</a> and <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4807813">bombe Alaska</a>. Debbie also often taught her readers the basics, like <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52249448">how to boil an egg</a>.</p> <p>Just like today, many of her recipes showed the readers step-by-step instructions through images.</p> <h2>Teaching girls to cook (and be ‘good’ women)</h2> <p>Debbie’s recipes first appeared in the For Teenagers section, which would go on to become the Teenagers Weekly lift-out in 1959. </p> <p>These lift-outs reflected a major change taking place in wider society: the idea of “teenagers” being their own group with specific interests and behaviours had entered the popular imagination.</p> <p>Debbie was speaking directly to teenage girls. Adolescents are still forming both their culinary and cultural tastes. They are forming their identities.</p> <p>For the Women’s Weekly, and for Debbie, cooking was deemed an essential attribute for women. Girls were seen to be “<a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4818166">failures</a>” if they couldn’t at least “cook a baked dinner”, “make real coffee”, “grill a steak to perfection”, “scramble and fry eggs” and “make a salad (with dressing)”. </p> <p>In addition to teaching girls how to cook, Debbie also taught girls how to catch a husband and become a good wife, a reflection of cultural expectations for women at the time. </p> <p>Her <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4920059">macaroon trifle</a>, the Women’s Weekly said, was sure to place girls at the top of their male friends’ “matrimony prospect” list!</p> <h2>Food fads and fashions</h2> <p>Food fads usually reflect something important about the world around us. During global COVID lockdowns, we saw a rise in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-historical-roots-of-your-lockdown-sourdough-obsession-137528">sourdough bread-making</a> as people embraced carbohydrate-driven nostalgia in the face of anxiety.</p> <p>A peek at Debbie’s culinary repertoire can reveal some of the cultural phenomena that impacted Australian teenagers in the 1950s and ‘60s. </p> <p>Debbie embraced teenage interest in rock'n'roll culture from the early 1960s, the pinnacle of which came at the height of Beatlemania. </p> <p>The Beatles toured Australia in June 1964. To help her teenage readers celebrate their visit, Debbie wrote an editorial on how to host a <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48077701">Beatles party</a>. </p> <p>She suggested the party host impress their friends by making “Beatle lollipops”, “Ringo Starrs” (decorated biscuits) and terrifying-looking “Beatle mop-heads” (cakes with chocolate hair).</p> <p><a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55185376">A few months later</a>, she also shared recipes for “jam butties” (or sandwiches, apparently a “<a href="https://slate.com/culture/2013/03/the-beatles-and-the-mersey-beat-in-the-latest-blogging-the-beatles-how-the-beatles-popularized-the-sound-of-liverpool.html">Mersey</a> food with a Mersey name”) and a “Beatle burger”. </p> <p>We can also see the introduction of one of <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/italian/en/article/spag-bol-how-australians-adopted-a-classic-italian-recipe-and-made-it-their-own/9ogvr96ea">Australia’s most beloved dishes</a> in Debbie’s recipes. </p> <p>In 1957, she showed her teen readers how to make a new dish – <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48076527">spaghetti bolognaise</a> – which had first appeared in the magazine <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46465023">five years prior</a>. </p> <p>Debbie was influencing the youth of Australia to enthusiastically adopt (and adapt) Italian-style cuisine. It stuck. While the recipe may have evolved, in 2012, Meat and Livestock Australia <a href="https://www.mla.com.au/globalassets/mla-corporate/marketing-beef-and-lamb/last-nights-dinner.pdf">reported</a> that 38% of Australian homes ate “spag bol” at least once a week.</p> <p>Our food influences today may come from social media, but we shouldn’t forget the impact early influencers such as Debbie had on young people in the past.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://theconversation.com/tangy-apricot-bavarian-whip-fried-rice-medley-and-bombe-alaska-what-australias-first-food-influencer-had-us-cooking-199987" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Food & Wine

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7 things you didn’t know your rice cooker could do

<p>You’d be forgiven for thinking that the humble rice cooker is a one trick pony. After all, the name implies that it performs a highly specific function with no mention of anything else. Interestingly, though, the rice cooker can be used for a whole range of culinary tasks far above and beyond booking your long grain. Here are seven of our favourite dishes to cook in the rice cooker.</p> <ol> <li><strong>Frittata</strong> – Perfect frittata by simply switching to the cook setting, heat olive oil, add veggies followed by beaten eggs, cover and reset to let the cycle run through.</li> <li><strong>Macaroni and cheese</strong> – Super simple with minimal mess. Add all the ingredients and set to cook. Perfect mac and cheese with no washing up!</li> <li><strong>Rice pudding</strong> – Cook in the same way you’d usually cook your rice, just make sure to stir every 15 minutes or so.</li> <li><strong>Cheesecake and banana bread</strong> – Prepare your recipe as you usually would and then pour the batter into the lined rice cooker insert.</li> <li><strong>Porridge</strong> – Wake up to perfect porridge every time! Presoak steel cut oats overnight in the rice cooker then run the cook cycle in the morning for creamy, delicious porridge.</li> <li><strong>Quinoa</strong> – If you fancy jumping on the quinoa train, try cooking it in your rice cooker. It cooks at the same rate as long grain white rice so makes the perfect substitute that doesn’t require any fiddly programming changes.</li> <li><strong>Polenta</strong> – Create creamy polenta by adding one cup of polenta to three cups of liquid and set to cook. Add cheese or butter at the end and you’re done.</li> </ol> <p>Have you ever used your rice cooker to cook something other than rice? Share your experience with us in the comments below.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

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Wrapping presents leads to mother's cheeky Christmas discovery

<p>Queensland mother of four Nicole, was wrapping her Christmas presents early this year, when she had to take a second glance at a few images on what she thought was fairly innocent and cute wrapping paper.</p> <p>What she didn’t realise, was that after wrapping a few presents she accidentally selected something a little too inappropriate.</p> <p>The paper, innocently named "Christmas Wrapping Paper Roll" online actually contained X-rated cartoon images. One of an aroused snowman and another of a randy reindeer mounting another.</p> <p>I purchased them online and only noticed when I was wrapping my third present - thankfully the first two were for me and my partner!" she laughed.</p> <p>"When I first saw it I had to send photos to my friend and mother to see if they noticed anything off while wiping laughing tears from my face."</p> <p>Nicole said she wasn't planning on ditching the paper from Typo completely, but with her younger children, she wasn't keen on her kids asking about the birds and the bees over Christmas lunch.</p> <p>"I have only wrapped small presents in it now with strategically placed name labels," she said of her work-around.</p> <p>"I find it hilarious and have showed everyone. I put the post up on social media in case someone hadn’t noticed or may have left it too late to buy more paper ... and to give people a laugh!"</p> <p>Feeling the need to share, Nicole posted snaps of the paper in the Christmas Mums Australia Facebook group, and wasn't the only one to find it funny. Over 340 members of the group commented on Nicole's post.</p> <p>“This is the best!” one person commented.</p> <p>“That’s gold! I love it,” added another.</p> <p>As the laughter and jokes kept coming, many shoppers said that others shouldn’t be so surprised by the images, given Type, the store Nicole purchased from is known for selling cheeky items like this.</p> <p><em>Images: Typo</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Whether in war-torn Ukraine, Laos or Spain, kids have felt compelled to pick up crayons and put their experiences to paper

<p>“They still draw pictures!”</p> <p>So wrote the editors of an influential collection of children’s art that was <a href="https://www.afsc.org/document/they-still-draw-pictures-1938">compiled in 1938</a> during <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraines-foreign-fighters-have-little-in-common-with-those-who-signed-up-to-fight-in-the-spanish-civil-war-178976">the Spanish Civil War</a>. </p> <p>Eighty years later, war continues to upend children’s lives in Ukraine, Yemen and elsewhere. In January, UNICEF <a href="https://www.unicef.org/globalinsight/reports/prospects-children-2022-global-outlook">projected</a> that 177 million children worldwide would require assistance due to war and political instability in 2022. This included <a href="https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/yemen-crisis">12 million children in Yemen</a>, <a href="https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/syrian-crisis">6.5 million in Syria</a> and <a href="https://www.unicef.org/appeals/myanmar">5 million in Myanmar</a>.</p> <p>The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 added 7 million more children to this number. To date, more than half of Ukraine’s children <a href="https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/war-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children">have been internally or externally displaced</a>. Many more have faced disruptions to education, health care and home life.</p> <p>And yet they, too, still draw pictures. In March, a charity called <a href="https://www.uakids.today/en">UA Kids Today</a>launched, offering a digital platform for kids to respond with art to Russia’s invasion and raise money for aid to Ukrainian families with children.</p> <p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7bfZyk8AAAAJ&amp;hl=en">As a scholar who studies</a> the ways wars affect societies’ most vulnerable members, I see much that can be learned from the art created by kids living in war-torn regions across place and time.</p> <h2>A century of children’s art</h2> <p>During <a href="https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/boer-war">the Boer War</a> – a conflict waged from 1899 to 1902 between British troops and South African guerrilla forces – relief workers sought to teach orphaned girls the art of <a href="https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/archivesandmanuscripts/2017/08/24/the-archive-of-emily-hobhouse-now-available/">lace-making</a>. During World War I, displaced children in Greece and Turkey learned to weave textiles and decorate pottery <a href="https://neareastmuseum.com/2015/08/13/every-stitch-a-story-near-east-industries/">as a means of making a living</a>. </p> <p>Over time, expression has replaced subsistence as the driver of children’s wartime artwork. No longer pressed to sell their productions, children are instead urged to put their emotions and experiences on display for the world to see. </p> <p>Novelist <a href="https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/novemberdecember/feature/the-talented-mr-huxley">Aldous Huxley</a> hinted at this goal in his introduction to the 1938 collection of Spanish Civil War art. </p> <p>Whether showing “explosions, the panic rush to shelter, [or] the bodies of victims,” <a href="https://library.ucsd.edu/speccoll/tsdp/frame.html">Huxley wrote</a>, these drawings revealed “a power of expression that evokes our admiration for the childish artists and our horror at the elaborate bestiality of modern war.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/herbert-read">Herbert Read</a>, a World War I veteran and educational theorist, organized another show of children’s art during World War II. Unlike Huxley, Read found that scenes of war did not dominate the drawings he collected from British schoolchildren, even those exposed to the London Blitz. In a pamphlet for the exhibition, he highlighted “the sense of beauty and the enjoyment of life which they have expressed.”</p> <p>While the shows discussed by Read and Huxley differed in many ways, both men emphasized the form and composition of children’s artwork as much as their pictorial contents. Both also expressed the view that the creators of these drawings would play a critical role in the rebuilding of their war-torn communities. </p> <h2>A political tool</h2> <p>As with the children’s war art made during Huxley and Read’s time, the images coming out of Ukraine express a mix of horror, fear, hope and beauty.</p> <p>While planes, rockets and explosions appear in many of the pictures uploaded by <a href="https://www.uakids.today/en">UA Kids Today</a>, so do flowers, angels, Easter bunnies and peace signs.</p> <p>The managers of this platform – who are refugees themselves – have not been able to mount a physical exhibition of these works. But artists and curators elsewhere are beginning to do so.</p> <p>In Sarasota, Florida, artist Wojtek Sawa <a href="https://www.fox13news.com/news/new-sarasota-exhibit-features-artwork-of-ukrainian-children-coping-with-war">has opened a show</a> of Ukrainian children’s art that will be used to collect donations and messages from visitors. These will later be distributed to displaced children in Poland.</p> <p><a href="https://warchildhood.org/">The War Childhood Museum</a>, based in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, had recently concluded traveling exhibitions in Kyiv and Kherson when the Russian invasion started. The museum’s managing director, who has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crimes-schools-d1e52368aced8b3359f4436ca7180811">spoken</a> out strongly about the need for cultural heritage protection in war, was able to retrieve several dozen artifacts from these shows a few days before the fighting commenced. Those toys and drawings, which tell the story of children’s experience during Russia’s previous effort to gain control of the Donbas region in 2014, <a href="https://warchildhood.org/2022/02/24/updates-from-ukraine/">will be featured</a> in shows opening elsewhere in Europe in 2022.</p> <p>By capturing the attention of journalists and the public, these exhibitions have been used to raise awareness, solicit funds and inspire commentary.</p> <p>However, children’s art from Ukraine has not yet played a role in political deliberations, as it did when peace activist Fred Branfman shared his collection of drawings by Laotian children and adults <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/us/fred-branfman-laos-activist-dies-at-72.html">during his 1971 testimony</a> before Congress on the “<a href="https://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/secret-war-laos/">Secret War</a>” the U.S. had been conducting in Laos since 1964. </p> <p>Nor is it yet clear whether this art will play a part in future war crimes trials, as the art of Auschwitz-Birkenau internee Yahuda Bacon <a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/01/25/for-child-survivors-drawing-is-therapy-and-a-tool-of-justice">did during</a> the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann.</p> <h2>Windows into different worlds</h2> <p>Art historians <a href="https://www.massey.ac.nz/%7Ealock/hbook/bremner.htm">once thought</a> children’s drawings, no matter where they lived, revealed the world in a way that was unshaped by cultural conventions. </p> <p>But I don’t believe that children in all countries and conflicts represent their experiences in the same way. The drawings of children imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps during World War II are not formally or symbolically interchangeable with drawings made by children exposed to America’s bombing campaign in Laos. Nor can these be interpreted in the same way as images produced by Ukrainian, Yemeni, Syrian or Sudanese children today.</p> <p>To me, one of the most valuable features of children’s art is its power to highlight unique aspects of everyday life in distant places, while conveying a sense of what can be upended, lost or destroyed. </p> <p>A Laotian child’s <a href="https://legaciesofwar.org/programs/national-traveling-exhibition/illustrations-narratives/">drawing</a> of a horse that “ran back to the village” from the rice field after its owner was killed by a bomb offers a small window into the lives of subsistence rice farmers. The desert landscapes and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-30/yemen-s-historic-tower-houses-are-under-threat">urban architecture</a> of Yemen are equally distinctive, and Yemeni children’s drawings highlight those differences even as they express aspirations that viewers around the world may share.</p> <h2>The challenges of preservation</h2> <p>As an academic who has also worked in museums, I am always thinking about how artifacts from today’s conflicts will be preserved for exhibition in the future.</p> <p>There are significant challenges to preserving the drawings and paintings young people produce. </p> <p>First, children’s art is materially unstable. It is often made on paper, with crayons, markers and other ephemeral media. This makes it dangerous to display originals and demands care in the production of facsimiles. </p> <p>Second, children’s art is often hard to contextualize. The first-person commentaries that accompanied some of the Spanish Civil War drawings and most of the Laotian images <a href="https://library.ucsd.edu/speccoll/tsdp/frame.html">often provide</a> details about children’s localized experience but rarely about the timing of events, geographic locations or other crucial facts. </p> <p>Finally, much children’s war art suffers from uncertain authorship. With few full names recorded, it is hard to trace the fates of most child artists, nor is it generally possible to gather their adult reflections on their childhood creations. </p> <p>By noting these complications, I don’t want to detract from the remarkable fact that children still draw pictures during war. Their expressions are invaluable for documenting war and its impact, and it’s important to study them.</p> <p>Nevertheless, in researching children’s art, it is necessary to reflect that scholars and curators are – like the child artists themselves – often working at the limits of their knowledge.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/whether-in-war-torn-ukraine-laos-or-spain-kids-have-felt-compelled-to-pick-up-crayons-and-put-their-experiences-to-paper-181458" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Art

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How to tell if leftover rice is safe to eat

<p dir="ltr">Meal prepping for a busy week? Or keeping leftovers in the fridge? Here’s all you need to know about storing rice. </p> <h3 dir="ltr">How long does rice last in the fridge? </h3> <p dir="ltr">Cooked white rice lasts in the fridge upto four to seven days. If you stored your rice properly it will have a much longer shelf life. However, don’t completely rely on this general rule: use your sense of smell or the rice’s texture to help you judge if it’s still safe to eat.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Does rice go off?</h3> <p dir="ltr">Yes, your cooked rice can go off, and it goes off much faster depending on how it was stored. Here are a few signs that your rice is no longer safe to eat.</p> <ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">It has a strange smell. If your rice smells a bit funky and sour, that may be a sign that bacteria is already growing in your leftovers, so it’s best to throw it out.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Your rice is dry, crumbly, and tough. Rice that’s been in the fridge for too long will have lost a lot of its moisture content. Even if it doesn’t smell strange yet, it could be an indication that it has been sitting there for too long. </p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The rice is slimy. This is a sign that rice had too much moisture when it was refrigerated, essentially helping bacteria grow which then leads to the first stages of fermentation.</p> </li> </ol> <h3 dir="ltr">Why do I feel sick?</h3> <p dir="ltr">CSIRO food microbiologist Cathy Moir, says the Bacillus cereus, a spore forming bacterium that produces toxins that cause vomiting or diarrhoea, is what makes you sick.</p> <p dir="ltr">Have you experienced food poisoning after eating a bad batch of rice? Sometimes it only takes 30 minutes for the nasty bacteria to produce toxins that make you feel ill.</p> <p dir="ltr">The classic symptoms of food poisoning are diarrhea, vomiting, and can upset the stomach. If you have food poisoning from your expired rice, drink plenty of water, avoid food for a few hours, then slowly ease your stomach back into gear by eating bland food like bananas and saltines.</p> <p dir="ltr">But it’s not just rice. Bacillus cereus is commonly found in soil and sometimes in plant foods that are grown close to the ground, like legumes, cereals and spices.</p> <p dir="ltr">When food is cooked and handled properly, Bacillus cereus is not a problem. The major issue at hand is dry conditions - think rice packets or spice containers.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Can you cook the rice to kill the spores?</h3> <p dir="ltr">Unfortunately not, the cooking process doesn't kill the heat-resistant spores or the toxin the bacteria produces. Cooked rice is a breeding ground for bacteria, as it loves moist and warm environments. If anything, the spores will thrive especially when other bacteria are already present in the initial stages of cooking. </p> <p dir="ltr">It’s good practice to store your rice in the fridge, preferably within an hour of cooking it, but definitely within four hours.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, keep in mind that refrigeration won't kill the bacteria but it will slow down their growth.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Does the rice variety make a difference?</h3> <p dir="ltr">White rice generally lasts a bit longer than other rice from between five to seven days in the fridge. Brown rice on the other hand lasts only four to five days in the fridge. This is because <a href="https://www.bhg.com.au/how-to-cook-brown-rice">brown rice</a> is less processed than white rice, and the oils that make it <a href="https://www.womenshealth.com.au/27-kilogram-weight-loss">healthier</a> are also the reason why it expires faster.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wild rice also has the same expiry period as white rice. </p> <h3 dir="ltr">Can you eat cold rice?</h3> <p dir="ltr">If you are cooking rice to consume later, wait until the steam stops rising, then cover the rice and put it in the fridge.</p> <p dir="ltr">As a preventative measure, this will help it stay out of the food temperature danger zone which is 5-60 degrees.</p> <p dir="ltr">For large portions of hot rice, scoop the rice and place into shallow trays to get them to cool faster. But do not stack the containers until the rice is cool.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cold rice is just as safe to eat as hot rice, although you may have issues with the texture. Use the same tips as recommended above to know if it’s still okay to eat.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Can you freeze cooked rice?</h3> <p dir="ltr">Absolutely. Freezing your cooked rice is a great way to ensure that you don’t let any leftovers go rancid in your refrigerator, and you can conveniently defrost it any time for your meals. However, you should add a little bit more moisture into your leftover rice – perhaps some olive oil or butter – because it’s lost a bit of water through the freezing process.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cooked rice in the fridge will last less than a week, but frozen rice will have a shelf life anywhere from six to eight months in your freezer before it’s not okay to eat anymore. If you cook rice in large batches, storing it in airtight containers and freezing it is a good way to cut your meal prep time and eliminate food wastage.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Tips for storing cooked rice</h3> <ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Let your rice cool properly before you put it in the fridge. Putting your rice in the fridge while it’s still hot can allow moisture to pool and collect, which encourages bacterial growth and makes your rice spoil faster.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Use airtight containers. Keep unwanted moisture out of refrigerated rice by using resealable plastic bags, or airtight containers. The less exposure to bacteria, the safer it will be to eat the next day.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Only reheat what you’re going to eat. Reheating and cooling your rice multiple times creates opportunities for bacteria to grow, so just get the portion you want to eat and heat that. If you have too much leftover rice, freeze it.</p> </li> </ol> <h3 dir="ltr">When in doubt, throw it out</h3> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3607c154-7fff-5315-eef5-f4ce8a5adb3f"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Proper storage is the key to avoiding food poisoning. If you’re not sure if your cooked rice is still safe to eat, the smartest thing to do is to throw it in the bin. It may be wasteful, but it’s better than dealing with stomach cramps from spoiled leftovers. In the future, put your cooked rice in the freezer if you’re not going to eat it ASAP.</p> <p dir="ltr">Image: Getty</p>

Food & Wine

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Secret court papers revealed in Prince Andrew case

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A secret legal settlement between Virginia Giuffre and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/sunrise/on-the-show/giuffre-epstein-agreement-made-public-c-5175529" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">has been made public</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, as Prince Andrew attempts to dismiss Giuffre’s lawsuit against him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Court papers, which have been sealed since 2009, revealed that Giuffre received $USD 500,000 ($AUD 694,796) from Epstein, who she claims trafficked and abused her.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The royal filed the settlement as part of an attempt to dismiss Giuffre’s case against him, in which she alleged he sexually assaulted her three times when she was 17. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In her lawsuit, Giuffre accused Andrew of abusing her at two of his homes, as well as forcing her to have sex at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/30/ghislaine-maxwell-what-happens-next-charges-sentencing" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">recently convicted</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of five charges including recruiting and grooming teenage girls and sex trafficking a minor.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations, and has </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/prince-andrew-s-latest-claims-in-lawsuit" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">previously moved to dismiss the lawsuit</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by claiming it was “unconstitutional” under the Child Victims’ Act, since Giuffre was above New York’s age of consent at the time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He also attempted to block proceedings on the grounds that Giuffre was no longer a US citizen three days before the settlement was released. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, a federal judge rejected the claims and ordered his lawyers to turn over key legal documents.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the release of Giuffre’s settlement, the prince’s legal team argue that the agreement shields him from liability due to provisions that prevent her from taking legal action against “any other person or entity” who could have been a defendant.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">NEW: A 2009 settlement agreement between Epstein and <a href="https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VRSVirginia</a> for $500k has been unsealed. Prince Andrew's lawyer's hope a clause in it (which says "potential defendants" in lawsuits brought by Giuffre are protected from liability) will see her sexual abuse lawsuit dismissed. <a href="https://t.co/750Iv5q4vh">pic.twitter.com/750Iv5q4vh</a></p> — Omid Scobie (@scobie) <a href="https://twitter.com/scobie/status/1478052106061836288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The document states that once Giuffre, referred to by her maiden name, received the funds that she agreed to “remise, release, acquit, satisfy and forever discharge the said second parties and any other from all, and all manner of, action and actions of Virginia Roberts, including state or federal, cause and causes of action”. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though Andrew was not mentioned in the document, his attorneys said the settlement released him from liability.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Giuffre settled her sex-traffickinig and sexual-abuse claims against Epstein in 2009,” his lawyers said in a court filing on October 29. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In doing so, she provided Epstein with a general release of all claims against him and numerous other individuals and entities.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“To avoid being dragged into future legal disputes, Epstein negotiated for this broad release, insisting that it cover any and all persons who Giuffre identified as potential targets of future lawsuits, regardless of merit - or lack thereof - to any such claims.”</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrinceAndrew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrinceAndrew</a>'s legal team is arguing that bc <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JeffreyEpstein?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JeffreyEpstein</a> paid a settlement to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VirginiaGiuffre?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VirginiaGiuffre</a>, she can't pursue him for his alleged sexual assault crimes against her. That sounds like "Yes I did it, but my friend Jeffrey paid the girl."</p> — Peter Murphy (@PeterWMurphy1) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterWMurphy1/status/1478076434308427777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They argued that Andrew’s status as a “senior member of the British royal family” meant he belonged to “one of the expressly identified categories of persons” who were “released from liability under the release agreement”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As a third-party beneficiary of the release agreement, Prince Andrew is entitled to enforce the general release contained therein.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A representative for Giuffre’s lawyers said the document’s release was “irrelevant to Ms Giuffre’s claim against Prince Andrew” as it doesn’t mention him, as reported by </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/03/jeffrey-epstein-prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Guardian</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He did not even know about it. He could not have been a ‘potential defendant’ in the settled case against Jeffrey Epstein both because he was not subject to jurisdiction in Florida and because the Florida case involved federal claims to which he was not a part,” the representative said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The actual parties to the release have made clear that Prince Andrew was not covered by it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Lastly, the reason we sought to have the release made public was to refute the claims being made about it by Prince Andrew’s PR campaign.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Andrew’s legal team will argue for the dismissal on Tuesday in New York, where US District Judge Lewis Kaplan will decide whether Giuffre will be blocked from suing the prince.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Legal

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5 clever uses for Christmas wrapping paper and cards

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After opening presents and reading cards from our loved ones and friends, we’re often left with piles of wrapping paper that need to be dealt with.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rather than throwing it straight into the bin, some can be recycled or repurposed into items that have that little bit of sentimental value.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://pop.inquirer.net/117417/10-diy-tips-for-recycling-your-christmas-gift-wrappers-and-cards" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">five</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> clever and crafty uses for your wrapping paper and cards this Christmas.</span></p> <p><strong>Confetti</strong></p> <p><strong><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846531/wrapping-paper1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/d993d6a78ab74456ac1a7f3e6e5ad702" /></strong></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: One Good Thing by Jillee / onegoodthingbyjillee.com</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An easy and cost-effective way to recycle wrapping paper, you can make the confetti just in time for any New Year’s parties or events you’ve planned. Just run the paper through a shredder or take to it with scissors and it’s ready to be used.</span></p> <p><strong>Drawer liners</strong></p> <p><strong><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846530/wrapping-paper2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/aeb39c63c2ef4199af0cadba93257641" /></strong></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Making Home Base / makinghomebase.com</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re someone who meticulously unwraps your gifts or you have some spare paper lying around, this hack could be perfect for you. Simply follow </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.makinghomebase.com/how-to-make-drawer-liners/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">this tutorial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to line your drawers with the paper and give them a bright, new look with minimal effort.</span></p> <p><strong>Book wrappers</strong></p> <p><strong><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846529/wrapping-paper3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b2c873ce9d28408aa95a3aef003f5dce" /></strong></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Eighteen25 / eighteen25.com</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a similar vein to drawer liners, wrapping paper can also be used to brighten up your stationery. Follow this easy </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://eighteen25.com/wrapping-paper-book-covers/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">tutorial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to give your planners, notebooks, and journals that extra bit of colour and personality.</span></p> <p><strong>Bookmarks</strong></p> <p><strong><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846527/wrapping-paper4.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b064416ccfc045b99b1769b262e9f01d" /></strong></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: The Frugal Girls / thefrugalgirls.com</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With this DIY project, you can turn your Christmas cards and discarded wrapping paper into a bookmark you can gift or keep for yourself. To make them, gather up your cards, a hole punch, and some ribbon, and follow this six-step </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://thefrugalgirls.com/2010/01/how-to-make-homemade-bookmarks-from-cards.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">tutorial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. As for the wrapping paper, you can use it to add some extra decorations to your bookmarks.</span></p> <p><strong>Homemade envelopes</strong></p> <p><strong><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846528/wrapping-paper5.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/234a72cc71a24fed8cf1701e7abe9b7e" /></strong></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Creative Green Living / creativegreenliving.com</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wrapping paper can also be repurposed to make envelopes. Whether you want to send friends letters or save them for birthday and Christmas cards, follow this </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.creativegreenliving.com/2012/12/how-to-make-envelopes-from-magazine.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">tutorial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to make envelopes that are even more personalised.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

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Lindsey Buckingham claims Fleetwood Mac didn’t work “on paper”

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fleetwood Mac guitarist and songwriter Lindsey Buckingham has admitted that the band’s unique characters didn’t necessarily fit together. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reflecting on the band’s success and longevity, the 72-year-old believes that their “synergy” was greater than their individual parts. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said, "Early on, soon after joining Fleetwood Mac, I realised that we were the kind of group who didn’t – on paper – belong in the same group together.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"But yet that was the very thing that made us so effective.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"There was a synergy there, where the whole became more than the sum of its parts. What happens is that you begin to understand that, and accept it as a gift."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lindsey was ousted from Fleetwood Mac in 2018 due to a </span><a href="https://www.smoothradio.com/artists/fleetwood-mac/stevie-nicks-lindsey-buckinghams-quit-split/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">reported</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “disagreement over the band’s upcoming tour,” and was replaced by Crowded House’s Neil Finn.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lindsey, who released his seventh solo album in September, also claimed that “inside politics” is the reason why Fleetwood Mac haven’t released a studio album since the 2003 release of </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Say You Will</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite receiving international success and recognition during his time in Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey said that losing fans while he pursues his solo project was bound to happen. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said, “Fleetwood Mac is this big machine, and my solo endeavours are this smaller machine.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’ve always done what I’ve wanted to do, basically, and I think the realisation I had to come to was being willing to lose some of the huge audience Fleetwood Mac have in order to pursue that.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s just a trade-off you have to be willing to make in order to do things on your own terms."</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Music

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Will you learn better from reading on screen or paper?

<p>Research now suggests that if you really need to learn something, you’re better off with print.</p> <p>Studies have shown that when people read on-screen, they don’t completely understand what they’ve read, as well as when they read it in print. Even worse, we don’t realize we’re not getting it. For example, researchers in Spain and Israel took a close look at 54 studies comparing digital and print reading. Their 2018 study involved more than 171,000 readers. Comprehension, they found, was better overall when people read print rather than digital texts. The researchers shared the results in <em>Educational Research Review</em>.</p> <p><strong>The question is, why?</strong></p> <p>Reading is reading, right? Not exactly. Reading is reading, right? Not exactly. Maryanne Wolf works at the University of California, Los Angeles. This neuroscientist specializes in how the brain reads. Reading is not natural, she explains. We learn to talk by listening to those around us. It’s pretty automatic. But learning to read takes real work. Wolf notes it’s because the brain has no special network of cells just for reading.</p> <p>To understand text, the brain borrows networks that evolved to do other things. For example, the part that evolved to recognise faces is called into action to recognise letters. This is similar to how you might adapt a tool for some new use. For example, a coat hanger is great for putting your clothes in the closet. But if a blueberry rolls under the refrigerator, you might straighten out the coat hanger and use it to reach under the fridge and pull out the fruit. You’ve taken a tool made for one thing and adapted it for something new. That’s what the brain does when you read.</p> <p>It’s great that the brain is so flexible. It’s one reason we can learn to do so many new things. But that flexibility can be a problem when it comes to reading different types of texts. When we read online, the brain creates a different set of connections between cells from the ones it uses for reading in print. It basically adapts the same tool again for the new task. This is like if you took a coat hanger and instead of straightening it out to fetch a blueberry, you twisted it into a hook to unclog a drain. Same original tool, two very different forms.</p> <p>As a result, the brain might slip into skim mode when you’re reading on a screen. It may switch to deep-reading mode when you turn to print.</p> <p>That doesn’t just depend on the device, however. It also depends on what you assume about the text. Naomi Baron calls this your mindset. Baron is a scientist who studies language and reading. She works at American University in Washington, D.C. Baron is the author of <em>How We Read Now</em>, a new book about digital reading and learning. She says one way mindset works is in anticipating how easy or hard we expect the reading to be. If we think it will be easy, we might not put in much effort.</p> <p>Much of what we read on-screen tends to be text messages and social-media posts. They’re usually easy to understand. So, “when people read on-screen, they read faster,” says Alexander at the University of Maryland. “Their eyes scan the pages and the words faster than if they’re reading on a piece of paper.”</p> <p>But when reading fast, we may not absorb all the ideas as well. That fast skimming, she says, can become a habit associated with reading on-screen. Imagine that you turn on your phone to read an assignment for school. Your brain might fire up the networks it uses for skimming quickly through TikTok posts.</p> <p><strong>Where was I?</strong></p> <p>Speed isn’t the only problem with reading on screens. There’s scrolling, too. When reading a printed page or even a whole book, you tend to know where you are. Not just where you are on some particular page, but which page — potentially out of many. You might, for instance, remember that the part in the story where the dog died was near the top of the page on the left side. You don’t have that sense of place when some enormously long page just scrolls past you. (Though some e-reading devices and apps do a pretty good job of simulating page turns.)</p> <p>Why is a sense of page important? Researchers have shown that we tend to make mental maps when we learn something. Being able to “place” a fact somewhere on a mental map of the page helps us remember it.</p> <p>It’s also a matter of mental effort. Scrolling down a page takes a lot more mental work than reading a page that’s not moving. Your eyes don’t just focus on the words. They also have to keep chasing the words as you scroll them down the page.</p> <p>Mary Helen Immordino-Yang is a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She studies how we read. When your mind has to keep up with scrolling down a page, she says, it doesn’t have a lot of resources left for understanding what you’re reading. This can be especially true if the passage you’re reading is long or complicated. While scrolling down a page, your brain has to continually account for the placement of words in your view. And this can make it harder for you to simultaneously understand the ideas those words should convey.</p> <p>Another reseacher found that length matters, too. When passages are short, students understand just as much of what they read on-screen as do when reading in print. But once the passages are longer than 500 words, they learn more from print.</p> <p>Even genre matters. Genre refers to what type of book or article you’re reading. The articles here on <em>Science News for Students </em>are nonfiction. News stories and articles about history are nonfiction. Stories invented by an author are fiction.</p> <p>If you want to do better in school or even your career, it’s not quite as simple as turning off your tablet and picking up a book. There are plenty of good reasons to read on screens and as the pandemic taught us, sometimes we have no choice.</p>

Books

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Tax avoidance, evasion, and the Pandora Papers

<p>What’s the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?</p> <p>The difference used to matter. Evasion was illegal. It meant not paying tax that was due. Avoidance meant arranging your affairs so tax wasn’t due.</p> <p>Australian media mogul Kerry Packer used the distinction as a complete defence when he told a <a rel="noopener" href="https://youtu.be/LnwYoOeWZGA?t=312" target="_blank">parliamentary committee</a> in 1991 he was "not evading tax in any way, shape or form. Of course, I am minimising my tax. Anybody in this country who does not minimise his tax wants his head read".</p> <p>The Pandora Papers — the biggest-ever leak of records showing how the rich and powerful use the financial system to maximise their wealth — shows the distinction has lost its meaning.</p> <p>The dump of almost <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/" target="_blank">12 million documents</a> lays bare the ways in which 35 current or former leaders and 300 high-level public officials in more than 90 countries have used offshore companies and accounts to protect their wealth.</p> <p>Only in some of the cases could their activities be categorically declared illegal.</p> <p><strong>Tax havens are legal</strong></p> <p>Here’s how tax havens are used. Trusts and companies are set up in places with low tax rates and secrecy laws such as the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the US state of Delaware and the Republic or Ireland.</p> <p>If, for example, a wealthy celebrity or a politician wants to buy a new yacht or a luxury villa but doesn’t want to pay tax or stamp duty or expose their wealth to scrutiny they can get their lawyer or accountant to do it through such a trust.</p> <p>For somewhere between <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/global-investigation-tax-havens-offshore/" target="_blank">US$2,000 and US$20,000</a> to set up the trust, the name of the real owner or beneficiary can be hidden.</p> <p>It isn’t illegal for the celebrity or a politician to move their money (so long as it is theirs to begin with). Assets within the trust are subject to local tax laws (sometimes zero tax) and local secrecy laws (sometimes complete secrecy).</p> <p><strong>Legal, but used by criminals</strong></p> <p>These legal means of using complex networks of secret entities to move around money are the same as those used by criminals.</p> <p>Alongside the likes of India’s cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, Colombian pop singer Shakira and Elton John in the Panama Papers are Italian crime boss <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/global-investigation-tax-havens-offshore/" target="_blank">Raffaele Amato</a>, serving a 20-year jail sentence for weapons and drugs trafficking, and the deceased British art dealer <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/05/offshore-trusts-used-pass-on-looted-khmer-treasures-leak-shows-douglas-latchford" target="_blank">Douglas Latchford</a>, suspected of smuggling looted treasures and money laundering.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425189/original/file-20211007-13-1cp8an9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Colombian singer Shakira is one of the celebrities named in the Pandora Papers as using offshore companies. Others are Elton John, Ringo Starr, Julio Iglesias and Claudia Schiffer." /></p> <p><em> <span class="caption">Colombian singer Shakira is one of the celebrities named in the Pandora Papers as using offshore companies. Others are Elton John, Ringo Starr, Julio Iglesias and Claudia Schiffer.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gregory Payan/AP</span></span></em></p> <p><strong>It’s far from clear these arrangements should be legal</strong></p> <p>The big question raised by the Pandora Papers is why any hiding of private wealth from tax authorities ought to be legal.</p> <p>The International Monetary Fund estimated in 2019 that tax haven deprived governments globally of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2019/09/tackling-global-tax-havens-shaxon.htm" target="_blank">US$500 billion to US$600 billion</a> per year.</p> <p>To put that into perspective, the estimated cost of vaccinating the world against COVID-19 is <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/briefing/biden-g7-vaccine-donations.html" target="_blank">US$50-70 billion</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425571/original/file-20211009-23-13m746j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425571/original/file-20211009-23-13m746j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a></p> <p><em> <span class="caption">OECD chief Mathias Cormann has brokered a deal for a global minimum corporate tax rate.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">OECD (CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO)</span></span></em></p> <p>Some of what’s been uncovered in the Pandora Papers is illegal (“evasion”) but much might not be (“avoidance”, aided by anonimity).</p> <p>The effect is the same. Dollars that ought to have been paid in tax are withheld and used for the benefit of people who aren’t keen to admit to owning them.</p> <p>Over the weekend the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, now led by Australian Mathias Cormann, brokered a deal under which 136 countries agreed to charge multinational corporations a tax rate of at least <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/international-community-strikes-a-ground-breaking-tax-deal-for-the-digital-age.htm" target="_blank">15%</a>, making tax havens harder to find.</p> <p>Ireland, previously used as tax haven, signed up.</p> <p>The nations concerned did this because because, even where legal, the use of tax havens costs billions.</p> <p>We’ll soon have to consider removing a distinction in law that vanished in practice some time ago.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169353/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alex-simpson-225991" target="_blank">Alex Simpson</a>, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174" target="_blank">Macquarie University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/the-pandora-papers-show-the-line-between-tax-avoidance-and-tax-evasion-has-become-so-blurred-we-need-to-act-against-both-169353" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em> Image: <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aekawit Rammaket/Shutterstock</span></span></em></p>

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