SYDNEY: Hard-drinking Australians were told Tuesday to limit themselves to buying just 12 bottles of wine and two cases of beer a day as a coronavirus lockdown saw panic buying of alcohol.
Major retailers agreed to enforce new rules limiting individual purchases as Australians went on a booze-buying spree amid a shutdown of non-essential services — including pubs and bars. “It was clear that uncertainty on the impact of supply... caused some people to purchase differently,” Retail Drinks chief executive Julie Ryan said in a statement launching the restrictions. Australian social media has been awash with video and pictures of shoppers loading supermarket trolleys with alcohol in the face of lockdowns that could last weeks. According to the World Health Organisation, Australians aged over 15 consume an average 12.6 litres of alcohol a year — second only to the Czech Republic. The restrictions come as data from the Commonwealth Bank showed spending on alcohol at bottle shops jumped 86 percent last week as drinkers migrated from bars to backyards.
Harvey Weinstein. — AFP FileNEW YORK: Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape was...
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan on Sept. 13, 2016. — Slate website WASHINGTON: U.S. Supreme Court justices, wading back...
A representational image of inmates behind jail bars. — Unsplash/FileMOSCOW: A Russian court on Wednesday ordered...
Sudanese soldiers guard the surrounding area of the UNMIS compound in El-Fasher, the administrative capital of North...
US quietly shipped ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. — Report news agencyWASHINGTON: The United States in recent weeks...
US President Joe Biden during his address in California. — AFP FileWASHINGTON: President Joe Biden signed a...