Satellite Images of North Korea Show Landslides at Nuclear Test Site

Analysts peering at satellite images of North Korea after the latest nuclear test reported Tuesday that they had spotted many landslides and wide disturbances at the country’s test site, in the North’s mountainous wilds. Tunnels for the nuclear blasts are deep inside Mount Mantap, a mile-high peak.

“These disturbances are more numerous and widespread than what we have seen from any of the five tests North Korea previously conducted,” three experts wrote in an analysis for 38 North, a website run by the U.S.-Korea Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Early readings from global networks that monitor shock waves suggest that the nuclear blast on Sunday had a destructive power equal to 120,000 tons of high explosives. If correct, that is roughly six times more powerful than the North’s test of September 2016, and eight times larger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

QLD Mother of three arrested over child sexual abuse

A 27-year-old northern Queensland woman has been arrested and charged with child abuse offences following months of police investigations into the abuse of her three young children.

It comes after her 32-year-old husband was arrested earlier this year in Charters Towers after he allegedly shared images of himself engaging in sexual acts with the children.

The three children were under five during the alleged offences and are no longer in their mother’s care.

Senior Sergeant Dave Miles from the Townsville Child Protection Unit said police believed a child was forced to watch a sexual act.

“The charge is in relation to the ongoing investigation, where we have imagery available to us which has identified a child being present while the parents engaged in sexual activity,” he said.

“We are still going through the material that has been made available to us through our investigation and through other policing agencies…. We will allege it demonstrates that the children were exposed to adult behaviours that is potentially damaging to their development.”

Sergeant Miles said police were now attempting to track down where the images were sent across the world.

The woman has been charged with one count of expose to a child under 12 to an indecent act.

Her husband has been charged with three counts of making child exploitation material, one count of distributing child exploitation material, five counts of indecent dealing with a child, three counts of indecent acts and two counts of rape.

Source: Mother of three arrested over child sexual abuse

Dean Smith releases marriage equality bill as Liberals prepare for showdown

Liberal senator, who wants to see a free vote, warns colleagues a future Labor bill will not protect religious freedoms

As the Liberal party prepares for a showdown on the issue, Smith called for the party to allow a free vote, just as John Howard did when dealing with contentious issues including abortion drug RU486 and euthanasia.

Though a senator, Smith said it was important to the moral authority of the marriage bill that it was introduced into the lower house first…

Source: Dean Smith releases marriage equality bill as Liberals prepare for showdown | Australia news | The Guardian

Greens senator Scott Ludlam resigns from Parliament. Discovering he was ineligible to stand

The co-deputy of the Greens, Scott Ludlam, has resigned from Parliament after discovering he was ineligible to stand at last year’s federal election.

Senator Ludlam, who was first elected to the Senate a decade ago, made the bombshell announcement in Perth on Friday afternoon.

The Western Australian, who was born in New Zealand but left when he was a child, recently discovered he remains a dual citizen with that country, meaning he was actually disqualified from running for office at the 2007, 2013 and 2016 elections.

“I apologise unreservedly for this mistake,” the outgoing senator said…

Source: Greens senator Scott Ludlam resigns from Parliament after discovering he was ineligible to stand

China’s CNPC suspends fuel sales to North Korea as risks mount – sources | Reuters

China National Petroleum Corp has suspended sales of fuel to North Korea over concerns the state-owned oil company won’t get paid, as pressure mounts on Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programmes, three sources told Reuters.

It’s unclear how long the suspension will last. A prolonged cut would threaten critical supplies of fuel and force North Korea to find alternatives to its main supplier of diesel and gasoline, as scrutiny of China’s close commercial ties with its increasingly isolated neighbour intensifies.

CNPC and the Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment. China’s Foreign Ministry declined immediate comment. North Korea’s embassy in Beijing declined to comment.

A source with direct knowledge of the matter said CNPC decided to put fuel sales on hold “over the last month or two” and described it as a “commercial decision”.

“It’s no longer worth the risks,” said the source. Chinese and international banks are stepping up compliance checks on companies dealing with countries on the U.S. sanctions list, such as North Korea, he said.

The North Korean agents who mostly buy the diesel and gasoline have been unable recently to pay for the supplies — CNPC normally requires upfront payments, the source said.

Reuters was unable to determine if the agents have started facing credit problems with Chinese and international banks worried about sanctions compliance issues.

Two other sources briefed about CNPC’s decision confirmed the suspension of diesel sales, but did not know directly about the gasoline move. The three people declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter and are not authorised to speak to the media…

Source: Exclusive: China’s CNPC suspends fuel sales to North Korea as risks mount – sources | Reuters

How the Turnbull government plans to access encrypted messages

“Within a short number of years, effectively, 100 percent of communications are going to use encryption.”

The rapid proliferation of encrypted messaging by terrorist networks has prompted the Turnbull government to look at changing laws to force telecommunications and technology firms to help authorities decrypt suspect messages.

Attorney-General George Brandis said the government will not pursue the controversial “backdoor” access option by forcing firms to plant flaws in their encryption software that would allow it to be cracked by police or security agencies.

Senator Brandis also said the mechanisms for warrant exchanges between Australian agencies and counterparts in the US and other partners were “more limited than they should be”.

ASIO should for instance be able to provide US counterparts with a warrant signed by the Attorney-General to access data that related to an Australian investigation but “that arrangement does not exist as simply as that at the moment”…

Source: How the Turnbull government plans to access encrypted messages

Quick explanation as to why we have had such smokey conditons today. #Perth

Quick explanation as to why we have had such smokey conditons today. #Perth #PerthWeather https://t.co/Q5MzMzIyF0—
BOM WA (@BOM_WA) June 01, 2017

Quick explanation as to why we have had such smokey conditons today. #Perth #PerthWeather http://pic.twitter.com/Q5MzMzIyF0

— BOM WA (@BOM_WA) June 1, 2017

 

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