Lime scooters appear in Brisbane

Last  Friday morning, hundreds of Lime scooters appeared in the Brisbane CBD, South Bank, West End and Fortitude Valley after transport authorities issued a temporary permit.

The Lime scooters can travel at the speed up to 27km/h and can be found and hired by the app.

Locals were divided by the introduction, with some supporting the increase in accessibility.

Bombino @ The Foundry

Niger's Tuareg rockstar Omara "Bombino" Moctar is in Australia for the third time on the back of this year's album Deran.

I like that the Brisbane show took place at The Foundry in Fortitude Valley. So often, artists from non-English speaking countries are treated as cultural experiences to be had for expensive prices at fancy concert halls. But the music of Bombino is at its core rock music, and I think it belongs in the sticky carpet dancefloors where rock music is best experienced.

The Smashing Pumpkins: Shiny & Oh So Bright, Vol 1. / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.

- It's probably going to be useful for this review to define what sort of Smashing Pumpkins fan I am. I'm the sort of fan who, nearly two decades after the end of the initial iteration of the band ceased, will still get the urge every year or so to listen to all of their albums over the span of a week or two. The sort of fan who enjoyed virtually everything they released in that initial run, even the 28 B-sides from the already overblown Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness double album.

Olga Solar: Antilullaby

- I’ve always thought there’s a lot to be said for a solid grounding in all the fundamentals of music if you want to go ahead and try to rock. Olga Solar clearly got that message, better than most. Her training at the Sydney Con and subsequent experience in penning musicals -amongst, apparently, many other things- her most recent being The Detective’s Handbook,  has allowed her to crouch and spring, fully-formed and with incredible confidence out of the orchestra pit and on to the proscenium, guitar in hand.

Denmark withholds aid to Tanzania following homophobic comments

Denmark is withholding US$9.8 million in aid to Tanzania after "unacceptable homophobic comments" from a senior politician.

Last month, the Commissioner for Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda, urged the public to report suspected gay men to the police.

Denmark Development Minister Ulla Tornaes, said she was "very concerned" by the comments.

 

Garima Arora becomes the first Indian woman to win Michelin star

Chef Garima Arora, has become the first Indian woman to win a Michelin star for her restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand. 

After leaving her job as a pharmaceutical journalist to pursue her dream of being a chef, Arora has worked with celebrated names such as René Redzepi and Gordon Ramsay.

Her restaurants offer an eclectic mix of Punjabi and international cuisines. 

Federal Government plans to force India to end subsidies for its sugar exporters

The Federal Government will move on with plans to force India to end subsidies for its sugar exporters.

The Commonwealth has lodged a counter notification with the World Trade Organisation whereby a member details subsidies of a foreign nation, outlining the extent of government interventions.

The move represents the first step in the process of seeking to overturn a fellow WTO member's subsidy policy.

 

Labor vows to provide free female sanitary products in school toilets

The Victorian Government has pledged to provide free tampons and pads in Victorian state schools if it wins the next election. 

Health Minister Jill Hennessy, said this is about giving female students the dignity they deserve, whilst also helping families with the financial cost. 

Ms Henessy also compared pads and tampons to hand soap and toilet paper as basic bathroom necessities.