An outback Australian town has re-imposed a controversial policy directed at Aboriginal communities that restricts the sale of alcohol. Under the new restrictions, no takeaway alcohol will be sold in Alice Springs – about 450km northeast of Uluru – on Mondays or Tuesdays. Alcohol can also only be sold between 15:00 and 19:00 on all days except Saturdays. A previous ban ended in mid-2022 after it was deemed as racial discrimination. The leader of the Northern Territory, Natasha Fyles, said the measures were imposed to protect families and children across the town as the town experiences a significant increase in violence. Ms Fyles said data showed alcohol-related harms had risen since the last alcohol ban ended in July 2022.  In the 12 months to November 2022, there were 2,653 assaults in a town of roughly 25,000 people, the Northern Territory government’s crime statistics found. Alongside the restrictions on alcohol, more than 25m Australian dollars (£14.2m) for community services – including women’s services, police funding and CCTV safety lighting – was announced.(BBC)…[+]

At least 124 people died in freezing temperatures in Afghanistan in the past fortnight, Taliban officials say. About 70,000 livestock had also perished in what is the coldest winter in a decade, a State Ministry for Disaster Management spokesman said. Many aid agencies suspended operations in recent weeks after the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for non-governmental organisations. A Taliban minister said despite the deaths, the edict would not be changed. Acting Minister of Disaster Management Mullah Mohammad Abbas Akhund told the BBC that many areas of Afghanistan were now completely cut off by snow; military helicopters had been sent to the rescue, but they couldn’t land in the most mountainous regions. The acting minister said the forecast for the next 10 days indicated temperatures would warm. But he was still worried about a rising death toll – of Afghans, and their livestock.(BBC)…[+]

Germany will only send battle tanks to Ukraine if the US does the same, multiple reports suggest. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under increasing international and domestic pressure to supply German-built Leopard 2 tanks or at least approve their delivery by third countries. Poland and Finland have both promised to send their Leopards – but need Germany’s permission to do so. But Berlin is still in talks with the US about its official position. Many expect an announcement to follow a meeting of Ukraine’s Western allies at the American military base of Ramstein in southwestern Germany tomorrow. Reports suggest that Mr Scholz will only give the green light to the Leopards if the US President Joe Biden agrees to supply American Abrams tanks. However, the Pentagon’s top security adviser, Colin Kahl, said late on Thursday that the US wasn’t prepared to meet Kyiv’s demands for the tanks.

“The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It’s expensive. It’s hard to train on. It has a jet engine,” Mr Kahl said.(BBC)…[+]

A San Francisco art gallery owner who sprayed a homeless woman with a hose has been arrested, police have said. Collier Gwin, 71, has been charged with misdemeanour battery, after a video of him spraying the woman outside his gallery on 9 January caused outrage. He faces up to six months in prison and a $2,000 (£1,600) fine, the city’s district attorney said. Mr Gwin has since apologised for his actions, describing them as indefensible.

President Macron’s reform programme faces a make-or-break moment, as French unions stage a day of mass strikes and protests against his plans to push back the age of retirement. A new bill due to go through parliament will raise the official age at which people can stop work from 62 to 64. Public transport has been badly hit and many schools are closed. Turnout was significant at some of the 200-plus protests across France. The biggest is due to take place in Paris. The big unions were set to march from the Place de la République across the city during the afternoon. Tens of thousands of protesters marched during the morning in cities including Nantes, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille and Toulouse, as train drivers, public sector workers and refinery staff walked out. On some rail lines, as few as one in 10 services were operating, while the Paris metro was running a skeleton service. The main secondary education union said 65% of teachers were on strike, although the education ministry said it was 35%.(BBC)…[+]

A man has been arrested on live TV in the US state of Indiana after his four-year-old son, appearing to wear a nappy, was seen waving a gun. Shane Osborne, 45, was charged with neglect after neighbours reported a child in a hallway carrying what they believed to be a handgun, police said. The arrest was filmed on the TV show On Patrol: Live. The show aired surveillance video allegedly showing the boy playing with a weapon and even pulling the trigger. Mr Osborne initially told police there were no weapons in the house, claiming to have been been feeling ill all day and sleeping, Beech Grove Police told the BBC. “I don’t have a gun,” he tells police on the show, where Beech Grove officers are followed on shift. “I have never brought a gun into this house, if there is, it’s my cousin’s.” He added that he did not realise that his son had been outside in the hallway of the apartments. While the officers were still on the scene, a neighbour came forward to the officers with surveillance video. The video showed the young child in the hallway with what appeared to be a real firearm. Police then found the firearm in Mr Osborne’s apartment and he was arrested.(BBC)…[+]

Actor Kevin Spacey has received a lifetime achievement award in Italy. His award comes days after he appeared in a UK court to face seven charges of sexual assault against a man in the early 2000s. He denies the allegations. The Museum of Cinema in Turin said it handed the prize in recognition of Mr Spacey’s “personal aesthetic and authorial contribution to the development of the art of drama”. He thanked the museum for having the “balls” to present him with the award. Mr Spacey won Oscars for performances in American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, but has barely worked since being accused of sexual misconduct. He did not directly address the allegations at the ceremony, but delivered a speech saying he was “surely blessed and grateful and humbled”. “My heart is very full tonight toward the Museum of Cinema for having had le palle [the balls] to invite me tonight,” he said. The 63-year-old’s appearance at Southwark Crown Court in London on Friday was via video link for the plea and trial preparation hearing. The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2001 and 2005.(BBC)…[+]

The funeral of Kenyan LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba, who was smothered to death in a killing that caused outrage, is taking place at his family village. Hundreds are paying their last respects to him in Sergoit village on land he was supposed to inherit. Family spokesperson Gaudencia Tanui told the BBC the family was shocked by the social media vitriol directed at Chiloba’s relatives over his sexuality. It had left the family deeply hurt, she added. Ms Tanui said all the hate should not take away from the fact that a crime had been committed and justice must be served. Chiloba’s body was found earlier this month in a metal box dumped on the roadside near the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, where he was a student. Police have detained five suspects, including Chiloba’s partner, but none have been as yet charged. The murder drew global condemnation, with human rights groups linking it to his sexuality. But police have not done so, and have not yet given a motive for the killing.(BBC)…[+]

As the sun set in the Brazilian capital Brasília on Wednesday, hundreds of police officers were on alert, riot shields and weapons at the ready. Overhead, low-flying helicopters were hovering, with riflemen hanging from the doors, scanning for targets. The potential threat: three soft-spoken protesters. The trio were the only sign of an expected rally from supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro that failed to materialise. “I came to represent the right-wing,” Gustavo, a young Bolsonaro supporter, told the BBC, standing near a long row of police officers several hundred metres from the Congress building. “I didn’t expect a lot of people to come [protest] in Brasília after what the government did,” he added, referring to the crackdown against people suspected of involvement in the riots on 8 January.(BBC)…[+]

President Vladimir Putin has removed Russia’s top commander in Ukraine, just three months after he was installed. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will now lead what Mr Putin terms a “special military operation”. Gen  Gerasimov replaces Sergei Surovikin who has overseen recent brutal attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The reshuffle comes as Russians claim they are making progress in eastern Ukraine after suffering a series of military defeats in recent months. Russia launched its invasion into Ukraine on 24 February. Gen Gerasimov, who has been in post since 2012, is the longest-serving Russian chief of general staff of the post-Soviet era. Gen Surovikin – now his deputy – has been dubbed “General Armageddon” for his brutal tactics in previous wars, including Russia’s operations in Syria and the heavy bombardment of the city of Aleppo in particular.(BBC)…[+]