Cheers Mate ! China abolishes heavy tariffs on Australian wine:

 And about bloody time to - China's government has officially abolished heavy 'Covid revenge' tariffs on Australian wine, offering a potential lifeline to an industry struggling with low prices and global oversupply. 

Beijing agreed to review the tariffs five months ago as it gradually unwinds the trade barriers it placed on around $20 billion of Australian exports in 2020 and 2021, when the bilateral relationship was at its nadir.

Earlier this month, China's Commerce Ministry handed down an interim decision all but confirming that the tariffs of up to 220% on Australian wine would be dropped.\

Now, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing has announced it is "No longer necessary to impose anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties on the imports of the relevant wines originating in Australia."

'Very important':

Australian Grape and Wine chief executive Lee McLean said the decision from China was "Very important" for the industry and "reflected the positive outcome of diplomatic efforts by the Albanese government to stabilise relations with China."

"We look forward to seeing Australian wines back on Chinese dining tables and rejuvenating our relationship with customers and business partners in that market," Mr McLean said. 

NT children's commissioner raise concerns over police powers in Alice Springs curfew

Australia's largest Aboriginal legal service is pushing for more detail on exactly how much power the police have in removing children from the streets of Alice Springs.

It comes at the end of a dramatic week in the Central Australian town, when riots outside the Todd Tavern and at an Aboriginal town camp led to the NT government triggering a youth curfew.

The curfew means children aren't allowed on the streets between 6pm and 6am without a valid reason for the next fortnight, as the NT government bids to curb youth crime over the Easter break.

Chief Minister Eva Lawler said police will take people under the age of 18 — who are seen out in the town centre during curfew — "home or to a safe place".

The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) has voiced its concerns that children will be returned to unsafe homes, or forced into wandering around the town's outer suburbs.

Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years

District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence in New York on Thursday, saying Bankman-Fried knew he was defrauding customers. 

"He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right," Judge Kaplan said. 

A jury found 32-year-old Bankman-Fried guilty in November on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from FTX's 2022 collapse

Prosecutors had described the fraud as one of the biggest in US history in seeking a prison sentence of between 40 and 50 years.

Bankman-Fried has vowed to appeal his conviction and sentence.

During the hearing, Bankman-Fried apologised for not having acknowledged the pain caused to FTX customers during previous court proceedings. 

"Customers have been suffering ... I didn't at all mean to minimise that," he said.

"I also think that's something that was missing from what I've said over the course of this process, and I'm sorry for that."

Several FTX customers had written to judge Kaplan expressing dismay that they would be compensated based on the value of their cryptocurrency at the time of FTX's bankruptcy, rather than the higher levels at which those assets currently trade.

Easter chocolate prices continue to rise amid worldwide cocoa shortage:

 Chocolate prices have shot up over the past year because of a worldwide cocoa shortage but Lisa Ruffell, a chocolate shop owner in the South Australian town of Robe, says it has not affected sales ahead of Easter.

 "I think if you love chocolate, the price doesn't really matter," she said. 

"It goes back to the quality of the chocolate."

Easter is the busiest time for chocolate-makers.

Figures from global agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank show Australian chocolate prices have increased by 8.8% over the past year — more than double the general inflation rate — on the back of a 200% increase in cocoa prices over the same period.

Disease and drought in Africa

More than two-thirds of the world's cocoa supply comes from West Africa, where there have been considerable climatic challenges for growers. 

University of Sydney horticulture chair David Guest has studied global cocoa farming for 40 years.

"The straw that broke the camel's back was very wet weather in West Africa … that caused an epidemic of black pod disease, which sounds terrible, and it is, but it was followed by a drought, and now they've got El Niño," Professor Guest said.

"The predictions for production this year in West Africa are pretty dire."

It is a forecast that has sent cocoa futures nearly four times higher than where they have hovered for decades.

Putin says Russia will not attack NATO, but F-16 fighter jets will be shot down:

 Russia has no plans to attack a NATO state, but if the West supplies F-16 fighters to Ukraine they will be shot down, President Vladimir Putin says.

 Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Speaking to Russian air force pilots on Wednesday, Mr Putin said the US-led military alliance had expanded eastwards towards Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union but that Moscow had no plans to attack a NATO state.

"We have no aggressive intentions towards these states," Mr Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript released on Thursday.

"The idea that we will attack some other country — Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs are also being scared — is complete nonsense. It's just drivel."

The Kremlin, which accuses the US of fighting against Russia by supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence, says relations with Washington have probably never been worse.

What it means for Ukraine to receive Western jets:

The US finally opens pathways for Ukraine to receive F-16 fighter jets, but they are unlikely to have an impact on the conflict anytime soon. 

Asked about F-16 fighters which the West has promised to send to Ukraine, Mr Putin said such aircraft would not change the situation in Ukraine.

"If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield," Mr Putin said.

"And we will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy today tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers."

Philippines tells China it won't 'be cowed into silence' over sea dispute:

 The president of the Philippines has sent a strong message to China, warning his country would take action in the face of what he called were "dangerous attacks" in the disputed South China Sea. 

In a post on X, Ferdinand Marcos Junior did not provide details of the actions his government would take but said his country would not yield.

"We seek no conflict with any nation...but we will not be cowed into silence, submission or subservience," he wrote. 

"Over the succeeding weeks there shall be...a response and countermeasure package that is proportionate, deliberate, and reasonable in the face of the open, unabating, and illegal...attacks by agents of the China Coast Guard."

His warning is the latest sign of the escalating disputes between China and the Philippines in the contested waters. 

The Chinese coastguard has hit Philippine supply boats with water cannons twice this month.

In the latest hostilities on Saturday, several Philippine navy crewmen were injured and their boat heavily damaged. 

China's defence spokesperson Wu Qian on Thursday accused the Philippines of peddling misinformation. 

"China firmly opposes the Philippine side's treachery and provocation, as well as its fabrication of lies to mislead international public opinion," he said. 

"It is straying down a dangerous path."