Independent journalist at The Counterspin, Kelvyn Alp, has been arrested outside the Wellington High Court today.
Video footage of the arrest has emerged on Rumble.
At this stage the exact charges cannot be confirmed.
More to follow.
Lucrative week: Police seize $3.5 million in assets in Operation Chestnut
It’s been a lucrative week for the New Zealand Police, with $3.5 million in assets seized following execution of several search warrants in the central regions of the country.
Operation Chestnut targeted meth supply and manufacturing, and associated offending. It began on Wednesday with the arrest of a 44 year old man with extensive gang connections from Horowhenua. He is facing a total of 12 charges, including possession of methamphetamine for supply, conspiring to deal methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a restricted weapon and money laundering.
On Thursday further search warrants were executed at properties in Horowhenua, Himatangi, Horopito, Marlborough Sounds and Wellington. As a result six more arrests were made, of a 53 year old woman, and the rest males, aged 36, 44, 50, 53 and 54.
The seized assets included a catamaran, yacht, leisure boat, jet ski, motorbike and classic cars, as well as 19 firearms, methamphetamine and about $500,000 cash (portion pictured above).
129 community cases of COVID-19 today
There are 129 new community cases today; 120 are in Auckland and nine are in the Waikato.
As at 9am today, 64 of these cases are linked, of whom 25 are household contacts, and 65 remain unlinked with investigations continuing to help determine their connection to the current outbreak.
Here’s a breakdown of the numbers:
- Number of new community cases: 129
- Number of new cases identified at the border: Five
- Location of new community cases: Auckland (120) Waikato (9)
- Location of community cases (total): Auckland 2,299 (1,366 of whom have recovered); Waikato 73 (12 of whom have recovered); Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered)
Number of community cases (total): 2,389 (in current community outbreak) - Cases infectious in the community 48 of yesterday’s 102 cases have exposure events
- Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious 54 of yesterday’s 102 cases
- Cases epidemiologically linked: 64 of today’s 129 cases
- Cases to be epidemiologically linked: 65 of today’s 129 cases
- Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 2,115 (in the current cluster) (195 unlinked from the past 14 days)
- Cases in hospital: 51 (total): North Shore (8); Middlemore (18); Auckland (24); Waikato (1)
- Cases in ICU or HDU: Five
- Confirmed cases (total): 5090 since pandemic began
- Historical cases, since 1 Jan 2021 (total)*: 173 out of 3,275 since 1 Jan 2021
Trump’s ‘TRUTH Social’ App expected to gain popularity, face censorship issues, experts say
Former President Donald Trump’s new social media platform TRUTH Social is expected to gain some popularity after its full launch early next year but it may spur infrastructure and content moderation issues that could jeopardize its success, experts told Sputnik.
Trump, who is the company chairman of the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) that created the platform, said the new social network will stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech and to serve as an alternative to liberal media.
“As soon as Donald Trump attaches his name to a platform what you’re suddenly talking about is a social media platform that is known around the world almost instantaneously, everyone is going to take an interest in it and that’s going to make it very difficult because of all the issues that arise from the infrastructure,” University of Florida social media professor Andrew Selepak said on Thursday.
Selepak stressed the difficulty of starting a social media company from scratch, pointing out Google’s failed attempt with Google Plus despite all the money and resources it had available.
“Creating one of these platforms is difficult and what Apple, Google and Amazon had an issue with was the content moderation,” Selepak said. “While algorithms and AI can play a role in content moderation, a lot of it requires literally humans to do that, having a tremendously large staff, which means you have to have the money, the profits and the capital to be able to hire that large staff.”
Former merchant banker and financial analyst Martin Hutchinson told Sputnik Trump has an extremely strong brand that he wants to maintain using the social media network, and although making some profit off the project would not hurt, it’s not the main objective.
“They better make sure that they control their net infrastructure, otherwise service providers will do their censorship for them, the worst of all worlds,” Hutchinson said. “Trump’s entry will gather lots of support, but it will be bedeviled by the censorship question.”
Hutchinson predicts that if TRUTH Social exerts tight censorship, it won’t take off, and if it allows every racist anti-Semite person to expound their views, the views so expounded will be used against them.
However, Hutchinson does not expect Trump to run for re-election and instead thinks it will be time for a new leader to lead the movement.
“I think Trumpism is here to stay, but will need a new leader by 2024,” Hutchinson said. “In an ideal world, a strong Trump social media presence will make money for Trump, burnish his image and support that new leader.”
Power of Social Media in Politics
Trump needs to have a social media presence if he decides to run for re-election in 2024, Selepak said.
“I think it would be next to impossible to run a national campaign and be de-platformed from all the social media that people are going to turn to get information about your campaign, for you to be able to talk about your campaign, for you to be able to promote your campaign, to talk about the issues, and you could easily see where that would be a concern if any politician was running for some kind of state-wide or national office,” Selepak said.
University of California professor of politics Beau Grosscup agreed it will be important for Trump to establish a social media presence since he has either no or limited access on other platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
“He’s tried this before and failed, but maybe because there is institutional support it might give his prospects more of a chance,” Grosscup told Sputnik. “It’s clear that ruling class corporate media has turned against him for now.”
Grosscup said Trump’s consistent personality will make his social media network standout from other right wing media outlets.
TRUTH Social is available for Pre-Order in the Apple App store and there will be a Beta Launch for invited guests in November 2021. A nationwide rollout is expected in the first quarter of 2022 for those who sign up at www.truthsocial.com.
TMTG said it intends to launch a subscription video on demand service (TMTG+). TMTG+ will also feature “non-woke” entertainment programming, news, and podcasts, according to the release.
Ex-Trump aide Steve Bannon found in contempt of congress over Capitol Riot probe
The former Donald Trump aide defied a subpoena from a committee investigating the events of 6 January 2021, when crowds stormed the Capitol building in a bid to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.
Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has been found in contempt of Congress following a Thursday vote in the House of Representatives for defying a subpoena to testify before a panel investigating the 6 January Capitol riot.
The House voted 229-202 for the resolution, essentially falling along party lines, aside from nine Republicans who sided with the Democratic majority. They have now referred the issue to the US Department of Justice. If found guilty by the DOJ, he could face a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Bannon was just one of many subpoenaed by the US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, a group set up to gather files and testimony about the insurrection launched by supporters of Trump. Earlier this week, Trump filed a lawsuit against the committee and the National Archives in an attempt to block the transfer of records under the aegis of executive privilege.
A former senior adviser to Trump, the far-right ideologue was fired in August 2017 after publicly contradicting Trump’s policies toward China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However, he continued to be a strong supporter of Trump and played a major role in constructing the media effort pushing the “Stop the Steal” campaign.
“It’s not going to happen like you think it’s going to happen,” Bannon told listeners of his radio show on January 5, the day before the riot, referring to the White House rally scheduled for the following day. “It’s going to be extraordinarily different. And all I can say is: Strap in.”
Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the national legislative building on the afternoon of January 6, 2021, following a rally by Trump outside the White House at which he encouraged them to “stop the steal,” alleging now-US President Joe Biden had won the November 2020 election fraudulently. While they temporarily succeeded at dispersing Congress, which was then in the middle of certifying the election results, they failed at the goal of stopping the certification outright, and were soon cleared from the building by thousands of US National Guardsmen deployed to garrison the capital city.
Five people died in the assault, including a US Capitol Police officer and a rioter who was shot outside the House chamber by a USCP officer. Trump was impeached on charges of inciting acts of insurrection, but was acquitted in a trial weeks after he left office.
New COVID-19 protection framework announced
Vaccinated New Zealanders will regain everyday freedoms when the country moves to a new simplified COVID-19 Protection Framework that doesn’t rely on nationwide lockdowns as the main measure to stop the virus spreading.
In a suite of announcements that establish a pathway out of restrictions the Government is also providing up to $940 million per fortnight to support businesses through the challenging period, particularly those in Auckland. $120 million is also being provided to accelerate Māori vaccination rates in the coming weeks.
“Our current alert level framework and elimination strategy kept us safe and the economy functioning while we vaccinated but now as more Kiwis are protected by the vaccine we need a new plan to that moves away from lockdowns as our primary defence against the virus,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
“The new COVID-19 Protection Framework sets a pathway forward that rewards the rapidly growing number of vaccinated New Zealanders with more freedoms to go about their lives safely.
“The simplified framework has three levels: green, orange and red. Vaccine certificates will provide greater freedoms at each level, and there will be extra public health precautions built in at higher levels to minimise the impact of COVID-19 and suppress the spread of the virus,” Jacinda Ardern said.
The new traffic light framework will allow businesses previously considered high-risk to fully open to vaccinated customers at green and orange and continue to operate with some restrictions at red. Businesses that choose to open to the unvaccinated will face restrictions in order to suppress the virus amongst those most likely to have it.
“Fully vaccinated people will be able to reconnect with family and friends, go to bars and restaurants and do the things they love with greater certainty and confidence. The framework also provides businesses greater certainty to plan and grow,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“If you are still unvaccinated, not only will you be more at risk of catching COVID-19, but many of the freedoms others enjoy will be out of reach. No-one wants that to happen but we need to minimise the threat of the virus, which is now mainly spreading amongst unvaccinated people.
“These new requirements are a strong incentive for those who still haven’t had their first dose to do so quickly. The choice is clear for anyone who wants to go to a bar, restaurant, gym or to attend gatherings.
“The framework maintains the ability to move up levels when needed to control an outbreak, but is more flexible than the current alert level system.
“That is because there is clear evidence the virus finds it harder to spread in vaccinated environments which is why businesses that provide services only to vaccinated people can operate at every level of the new framework and without any restrictions at green and orange.
“Testing, contact tracing and isolation will continue as key tools to minimise any spread of the virus. And localised lockdowns will still be an option if we see a rapid growth in cases in areas with high levels of unvaccinated people.
“A target of 90 percent fully vaccinated across each DHB region has been set as the milestone to trigger moving the country into the new system. This target ensures good regional spread across the country and will also help address equity issues within each region.
“Modelling shows having 90 percent of eligible people fully vaccinated provides a high level of coverage, keeping most New Zealanders safe and helping slow and control outbreaks, assisting public health authorities to do their job.
“Auckland will be able to move sooner. This plan provides a clear path for Auckland to move out of lockdown as soon as 90 percent fully vaccinated is reached in each of the city’s three DHBs.
“Ultimately we have balanced the desire to re-open quickly while continuing to keep people safe. This plan is unique to New Zealand and rewards New Zealanders who have chosen to be vaccinated, while also giving us the flexibility to step up our response if needed.
“High vaccination rates is also an important step to allow us to reconnect New Zealanders to the world.
“As we move through the most challenging part of the vaccination campaign this is the clearest incentive we can offer to people to get vaccinated. If you want to do the things you love then you need to get vaccinated.
“If you haven’t booked a first dose – do it today. It’s how we win our freedoms and do the things we love doing. It’s our ticket to summer,” Jacinda Ardern said.
Watch: Malaysian mum of 9 to be executed for drug dealing
A single mother of nine children has been sentenced to death in Malaysia after being convicted of drug possession and distribution charges.
Hairun JalmanI, 55, was given the death sentence last week at the Tawau High Court in Sabah, after being caught with 113.9g of meth in 2018.
Her case has received global attention after a video of her was shared on social media. The video captures the moment after JalmanI had been given the news that she will be sentenced to death for drug-related offences.
She can be seen in the video crying and appearing to beg for her life as an officer escorts her from the courtroom.
She was just 25, and murdered by her boyfriend
Twenty-five year old Lebogang Matlou has been brutally murdered by her boyfriend in Limpopo, South Africa.
The 30-year-old suspect and a female suspect alleged to be his ex-girlfriend, were scheduled to appear before the Mokerong Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, October 20, after they were arrested for allegedly killing Lebogang.
Matlou’s body found lying in her boyfriend’s home at Mosesetjane in Mahwelereng policing area on Sunday, with multiple stab wounds.
‘The police were called to the scene and on arrival, they found the body with visible injuries and immediately commenced with investigations,’ said Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo of the South African Police Service.
The boyfriend and the female suspect, 23, were arrested on Tuesday and charged with murder.
‘The provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has strongly condemned this incident of gender-based violence and has commended the police for apprehending the suspects a day [after] the brutal killing,’ said Mojapelo.
Martha Matlou, mother of the victim said, “Lebo was home the whole Saturday doing home chores. She went to bed, later she told me that her sister asked her to bring cash at a wedding just before 9pm. I slept hoping she will come back. In the morning our neighbor asked me to check if Lebo is home because he just heard that there are police vehicles at his boyfriend’s home and it seems like there was a fight between them.’
‘On my arrival there I was then told that this sad and tragic incident might have happened around three o’clock in the morning. My child was brutally killed and chances are that the suspect will not be locked in jail. Because of that family history of killing people and always getting away with murder I advised my child to end the relationship but she ignored me. It is unfortunate she had to die like that.’
Cardi B facing four years behind bars
Rapper Cardi B could face up to four years in prison following her alleged involvement in a strip club brawl in 2018.
She pleaded not guilty to 12 charges at her first court appearance in 2019. The charges included two counts of felony for attempted assault and a charge for reckless endangerment.
She is due to appear again at the Queens Criminal Court on 25 October, where a date for the criminal hearing will be set.
Cardi B is accused of attacking the Wattley sisters, who were bartending at the strip club. The sisters said the Grammy-award-winning artist and two of her associates allegedly threw glass bottles and drinks at them during their scuffle. One sister claims her head was slammed into the bar during the fight.
The alleged motive for the attack was the belief one of the sisters had slept with Cardi’s husband at the time, Offset.
The rapper and her co-accused Tawana Jackson-Morel and Jeffrey Bush all face up to four years in prison if found guilty.
Watch: Colombians take to the streets again in new day of protests
Among other demands, protesters demanded the Congress approve ten bills submitted by the National Strike Committee.
The Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) of Colombia, the country’s largest union, is leading the national mobilization that takes place this Wednesday in that South American country, demanding decent working conditions for the health sector and the approval in Congress of ten legislative proposals presented last July by the National Strike Committee.
In messages disseminated by the CUT through social networks, it calls for a peaceful march for life, peace, democracy and against corruption.
The Colombian Federation of Educators (Fecode), which demands the materialization of the agreements reached with the national government, also sponsors the day of struggle.
It also demands the payment of the retroactive salary to which the Colombian teachers are entitled and rejects the threats against the Executive Committee of the union and the teachers.
Both unions remind their affiliates that taking to the streets is the only alternative to claim their rights from the government of President Iván Duque, who neither dialogs nor negotiates, they affirm.
The director of the CUT, Jairo Arenas, told the media that indigenous communities are also participating, demanding the defense of their territories and protecting natural resources.
He added that the international trade union movement would support the protests with mobilizations in Spain, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Holland.
In his opinion, another purpose of the marches is “to make known at international level the serious situation regarding violence, non-compliance with labor and peace agreements and the worsening of economic policies in the country.”
The ten legislative initiatives presented to Congress include fundamental demands of the popular sectors and the National Strike Committee, given the economic situation of the country and the neoliberal measures of the Duque Government.
According to the call, the parade in Bogota (capital) started at 09:30 local time, from the National Park to Plaza Bolivar.
Meanwhile, in Cali (department of Valle del Cauca), a meeting was called for in the sector of Puerto Rellena (east) and the local headquarters of the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA), located in the Salomia neighborhood (north).
The mobilization in Cartagena (Bolivar) started at 10:00 local time and covered the route between the Departmental Assembly and the District Council and the Mayor’s Office of the city.
In another large city, Medellin (Antioquia), demonstrators marched from the headquarters of the Association of Teachers of Antioquia to the park of Las Luces.