58 Queensland arrests in international operation targeting online child exploitation

Queensland Police have removed 23 children from harm and arrested 58 people on 423 charges as part of an international operation targeting the production and distribution of online child exploitation material.

The 58 Queensland arrests relating to child sex abuse offences were among those charged worldwide in Operation Molto, an operation led by New Zealand authorities and coordinated by AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE).

Since the commencement of Operation Molto in 2019, Argos investigators in partnership with district police across the State, have identified and investigated Queensland user accounts linked to a cloud storage platform where child exploitation material was allegedly found.

As a result of investigations, Queensland Police executed a total of 71 search warrants across Queensland; from the Gold Coast to Cairns, from Toowoomba to Mount Isa.

Among those charged include:

A 30-year-old man from the Somerset Region charged with 50 offences following the execution of a search warrant on August 13 2020 where it is alleged the man was sexually exploiting two children under 10 over a period of time and using an online platform to access and transmit child exploitation material. The man has been charged with multiple counts of rape and indecent treatment of a child, using a carriage service to access and transmit child abuse material and weapon offences. He is remanded in custody and expected to appear at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on March 21.

A 26-year-old Kingaroy man charged with child exploitation material offences following the execution of a search warrant on October 23 2021. The man was charged with four counts of the possession of child exploitation material, five counts of making child exploitation material, three counts of using a carriage service to access child abuse material and three counts of using a carriage service to distribute child abuse material. It will be alleged that the man was found in possession of a large volume of child exploitation material depicting the sexual abuse of babies and toddlers. He is due to appear at Kingaroy Magistrates Court on March 3.

Crime and Intelligence Command Acting Assistant Commissioner Denzil Clark said “Queensland Police are committed to working collaboratively with national, interstate, and international counterparts to target those who pose a risk to children in the community”.

“These results highlight the tenacity and commitment of the Queensland Police in protecting our community,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Denzil Clark said.

“The possession of child exploitation material is not a victimless crime. Anyone involved in possessing or sharing these images continues the cycle of victimisation and abuse of the children depicted in this material,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Clark said

https://mypolice.qld.gov.au/news/2022/03/02/58-queensland-arrests-in-international-operation-targeting-online-child-exploitation/

Taiwan suffers widespread power outage

The blackout has affected multiple cities across the island, including the capital of Taipei

A massive power outage left thousands of people without electricity in Taiwan, with authorities blaming the grid malfunction on a sudden system failure at Hsinta Power Plant.

Taiwan Power Co. confirmed that the blackout was caused by “equipment failure” at the island’s second largest coal-fired power plant located in the port city of Kaohsiung.

Outages were reported well beyond Kaohsiung – Taiwan’s second largest city – across the island’s southern region, as well as far in the north in the capital of Taipei.

The Tainan Science Park also reported “sudden and abnormal voltage changes” in its power supply soon after the blackout, according to Nikkei. The industrial hub is located some 70 kilometers (43 miles) north of Kaohsiung and home to a major microchip production plant used for iPhone processors.

https://www.rt.com/news/551105-taiwan-power-outage-blackout/

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Taiwan hit by widespread power outages

Two biggest cities and iPhone processor production hub affected

Taiwan reported a massive blackout on Thursday that is affecting its two biggest cities as well as its most important iPhone processor production hub.

Government officials estimate about 5 million households are affected by the power outages, including in Taipei, the capital, and Kaohsiung, the second-biggest city.

Taiwan Power Co. said in a brief statement that its southern power grid system encountered a malfunction causing blackouts in southern Taiwan. Knock-on effects from the outage triggered power outages in some parts of northern and central Taiwan as well.

The malfunction took place at Kaohsiung's Hsinta Power Plant, the biggest power plant in southern Taiwan, according to the company. The iPhone processor production hub is in Tainan, in southern Taiwan.

Economic Minister Wang Mei-Hua said a government team is doing its best to restore power to northern Taiwan by noon. To deal with the malfunction, Hsinta Power Plant must be cut off from other power plants, she said, explaining that it will then take time to restore and restart those plants.

"Southern Taiwan will take more time to restore power," Wang said. "Restarting power plants takes some time, too."

President Tsai Ing-Wen, meanwhile, apologized for the massive power outage.

The large-scale power outage comes as former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Taiwan for his first-ever visit to the key Asia tech economy. Pompeo is set to meet Tsai on Thursday. Their meeting is expected to go ahead, but a live broadcast of the event has been cancelled.

Tainan Science Park the site of TSMC's most cutting-edge chip production plants for iPhone processors reported sudden and abnormal voltage changes to the site's power supply but said it is still determining whether those changes have had any impact on the park.

The science park is home to major tech plants for TSMC, United Microelectronics and Foxconn display affiliate Innolux.

Taiwan suffered its last massive power outage in 2021, which affected some 4 million households and was also caused by malfunctions at Hsinta Power Plant's power grids. The plant runs both coal-fired and natural gas-fired generators and is the third-largest power plant in Taiwan.

Another massive power outage in Taiwan hit in 2017, when about 6.68 million households were affected.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Taiwan-hit-by-widespread-power-outages

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>>15768733

>Taiwan hit by widespread power outages

>

>Two biggest cities and iPhone processor production hub affected

Manchin calls on Biden to restore Keystone XL pipeline

https://youtu.be/tuV0iODlZ6c

Russia is now exclusively a ruble country

Neither citizens, nor companies will be able to pay in foreign currency

Russian citizens and companies will no longer be able to pay off their foreign debts with currencies other than the ruble, the country’s central bank announced on Wednesday.

Earlier reports also said the central bank had temporarily banned financial institutions from making money transfers from Russia abroad to non-residents, namely citizens of countries that have placed sanctions on Russia. According to business outlet RBC, the regulator sent a letter with the corresponding order to credit institutions on March 1. The ban is effective from March 1 to March 31, 2022, and applies to both individuals and legal entities. The list of countries whose citizens are affected by this ban includes 43 states.

In addition, the regulator said that Russian companies can no longer pay dividends to non-residents.

The measures come after a number of countries, including the US and EU, placed sanctions on the Russian financial sector in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. A number of Russia’s largest banks were cut off from SWIFT, while others, including the central bank itself, were subject to various restrictions and had their assets frozen.

https://www.rt.com/business/551079-foreign-loans-ruble-payments/

Arizona House, Senate Approve Measure Boosting Voter ID Requirements On November Ballots

The Republican-controlled Arizona House and GOP-led state Senate voted Monday to approve a measure on the November election ballot that would drastically increase the identification requirements needed for Arizonans who want to vote both in-person and by mail.

Gina Swoboda, third vice chairman of the Republican Party of Arizona, announced the measure had been approved in a video posted to Twitter on Monday.

“We are so proud to announce that the voter ID act has passed out of the house, it will be on the ballot in November,” Swoboda said. “Thank you to everyone for making this happen. This is going to be a great election cycle, the people will be heard.”

The SCR1012 bill (pdf) would require early voters to provide their date of birth and number along with their signature on their return ballots.

Currently, voters in Arizona just sign their names, which county officials then compare to signatures they have on file with verified voter registration documents.

The measure was approved after Republicans raised concerns that the state’s voter ID laws allow for fraud or illegal votes to take place, particularly in light of allegations of voter fraud in Arizona during the 2020 presidential election.

An independent Senate-sponsored forensic audit by Florida-based company Cyber Ninjas found numerous ballot discrepancies and potential issues involving a combined total of 53,305 ballots.

However, Democrats argue that the bill, along with a string of other election integrity bills being pushed through the Senate are aimed at voter suppression.

The bill would also limit the type of identification that is acceptable for in-person voters, removing their ability to provide two different forms of identification without a photograph in order to receive a ballot at a polling place, such as a water bill or tax bill.

The measure applies the voter identification requirements to elections beginning no later than the 2024 primary election.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/arizona-house-senate-approve-measure-boosting-voter-id-requirements-november-ballots

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/arizona-house-senate-approve-measure-boosting-voter-id-requirements-november-ballots

Jen Psaki Says the Quiet Part Out Loud: Joe Biden “was Vice President the Last Time Russia Invaded Ukraine”

Jen Psaki made a shocking admission on CNN earlier today.

Psaki told a stunned CNN host that Joe Biden “was the vice president the last time Russia invaded Ukraine.”

Jen Psaki: “You know, I was at the State Department, the president was the vice president, the last time Russia invaded Ukraine. This is a pattern of horror from this president, from President Putin and from the cronies around him.”

And, why is that, Jen?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/03/jen-psaki-says-quiet-part-loud-joe-biden-vice-president-last-time-russia-invaded-ukraine-video/

Former Top US Defense Officials Arrive in Taiwan Amid Russia-Ukraine War

As the Ukraine crisis escalates, Taipei welcomed a high-level visit by former top U.S. defense officials, which indicates “rock-solid relations” between Taiwan and the United States, a Taiwanese official said.

The unannounced delegation arrived in Taipei at 4:13 p.m. local time on March 1, according to Taiwan’s state-run Central News Agency (CNA). The group, led by retired Admiral Mike Mullen, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet President Tsai Ing-wen in the following morning, and attend a banquet later that day.

The two-day visit underscores bipartisan support from Washington and “will even more clearly highlight the rock-solid relations between Taiwan and the United States, especially at a time of the Ukraine crisis,” Taiwan’s presidential office spokesperson Chang Tun-han said a day earlier, CNA reported.

Mullen, a former top U.S. military officer, will be accompanied by Meghan O’Sullivan, a former deputy national security adviser, Michèle Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense, and Mike Green and Evan Medeiros, both of whom were senior directors for the Asia affairs office of the National Security Council.

A senior official of the Biden administration told Reuters that the selection of the five flagged “an important signal about the bipartisan U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.”

The two sides are also looking to exchange views on bilateral cooperation, Taiwan-U.S. relations, and regional peace and stability, said Chang.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/former-top-us-defense-officials-arrive-taiwan-amid-russia-ukraine-war