News In Brief

Australian police charge two Sydney women over toilet paper feud
Reuters, Sydney
Australian state police on Sunday charged two Sydney women involved in a violent brawl over toilet rolls as major grocers in the country restrict supplies to one pack per person amid panic buying by residents.
New South Wales police said two women, aged 23 and 60, were issued court attendance notices for affray “following an altercation at a supermarket”. They are due to appear at a local court on April 28.

Tornado clobbers African American North Nashville
AP, Nashville
On a frigid Friday morning in North Nashville, Ishvicka Howell stood in her driveway and peered down the street at several utility trucks. “When I saw those blinking lights, it was like Christmas,” she said.
Howell has been without electricity since a tornado tore through her neighborhood shortly after midnight on Tuesday.

UN Afghan mission calls for including women in peace talks
Xinhua,, Kabul
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called for inclusion of women in peace talks, the mission said on Sunday, the International Women’s Day.
The UNAMA said in a statement that with anticipation building that the door for intra-Afghan peace talks will open, women’s advocacy groups and activists across Afghanistan have focused on developing strategies to protect and advance the gains they have made in social, political, civic and economic life.

18th century Chinese gourd sells for $4.6m at France auction
AFP, Bourges
A Chinese porcelain gourd which once belonged to the 18th century Chinese Emperor Qianlong sold for 4.1 million euros ($4.6 million) at auction on Saturday.
The cobalt blue and white gourd, which represents an imperial dragon with five claws in search of the sacred pearl, went to a Chinese buyer by telephone. Auctioneer Olivier Clair, who found the object while executing a will in a Parisian apartment, told AFP that with fees, the sale amounted to more than 4.9 million euros.