Thai prime minister declares end to military rule
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday formally resigned as the head of the military government after seizing power in coup in 2014.
This occurs after five-years of military rule and Prayuth stated in a televised address to the nation that the military rule brought success in many areas from fixing the problem of illegal fishing to human trafficking.
He further stated that Thailand will now function as a fully democratic country with a constitutional monarchy and an elected parliament.
8AM ZEDLINES
[Image: Graeme Bartlett]
Climate change protesters arrested
Climate change protesters have been arrested after attempting to block traffic in a protest of the recent approval of the Adani Coal Mine.
The extinction rebellion group still have plans to disrupt traffic in the CBD tomorrow and were also responsible for the previous Victoria Bridge protest.
There were 25 activists involved in the protest with 7 being arrested, the protest took place yesterday morning at roughly 7:45am.
Councillor conduct complaints jump 460 per cent in one year
Nearly a thousand complaints were filed to Queensland’s new councillor conduct watchdog in the last financial year.
Brisbane City Council is not currently in the department’s jurisdiction, however in the last quarter, 34 complaints were received about Gold Coast City Council, eight about Moreton Bay Regional Council and eight about Logan City Council.
A spokesperson for the department revealed more than 60 per cent of complaints came from the public, with conflict of interest being one of the biggest issues raised.
AFP requested fingerprints of journalists in special forces investigation
The AFP requested the fingerprints of two journalists involved in the reporting of Australian special forces allegedly carrying out unlawful killings in Afghanistan.
ABC journalists Dan Oakes and Sam Clarke received a letter from the AFP on April 1, two months prior to the Federal police raids on the Sydney headquarters.
The letter specifically stated both Oakes and Clarke were suspects in relation to three offences, and requested their consent to a forensic procedure copying their finger and palm prints.
Australian universities linked to Chinese surveillance company
Two Australian Universities are conducting a review after Australian television program ‘Four Corners’ reported their links to a Chinese surveillance technology company also responsible for ‘racially profiling’ Uyghurs in Western China.
University of Technology Sydney is reportedly in a research cooperation with Chinese tech company, CETC and a Curtin University academic has also worked with the company to develop better identification of ethnic minorities using artificial intelligence.
India aborts Moon mission launch less than an hour before lift off
India called off the launch of a spacecraft intended to land on the far side of the moon less than an hour before lift off.
The Chandrayaan-2’s mission was to explore the lunar south pole and send a rover to inspect water deposits, however the mission was called off due to a ‘technical snag’.
A spokesperson for the Indian Space Research Organisation said the agency will announce a revised launch date soon.
Italian forces seize missile in raids on far right
Anti-terrorism police in Northern Italy have siezed a ‘combat ready’ missile, sophisticated weapons and neo-nazi propaganda during raids on far-right extremist groups.
The raids were led by Digos, the Turin special police force and were part of an investigation into Italian far-right help for Russian-backed separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine.
Three people were arrested including Fabio Del Bergiolo an Italian ex-customs officer and far-right Forza Nuova party activist.
Skipism // The Little Hand Of The Faithful: Quiet // Disquiet
- Since their early collaborations under the umbrella of pioneering prat culture label cum home recording studio M-Squared, Dru Johnson-Jones and Mitch Jones have had a blurred hand throughout each other’s creative and personal lives, for nearly forty years.
Uboa And Solus Varak: The Absolute
- I love the duality of Australian music. We champion sunny, indie pop acts as international exports whilst quietly nurturing a culture of fringe experimentalists. As you can probably guess, Melbourne based Uboa is one of the latter. Better known as Xandra Meltcalfe, she's quite literally been making noise in the alt-electronic scene for almost a decade now. New Releases Show mastermind Chris Cobcroft previously praised her stomach-churning collaboration with Melbourne rockers Bolt Gun, and now she's at it again with The Absolute.