British anti-Islam activist and ex-English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson has been arrested at a London rally held in breach of Covid-19 regulations, sparking a skirmish between a crowd of his supporters and the police.
Videos circulating on social media show the controversial right-wing activist being detained at the Speakers Corner in London’s Hyde Park and taken away by a large group of police officers.
A crowd of his supporters gathered at the scene can be seen clashing with police officers, according to footage obtained by RT’s Ruptly video news agency. While police push the activists away, cannot be seen using any riot control weapons to disperse the group.
The event was reportedly aimed at demonstrating solidarity with another activist, Hatun Tash, who was previously attacked at the Speaker’s Corner while showing an image of Prophet Muhammed. Footage published on social media show the activist being punched in the face by a black-clad man.
There have been no reports about anyone else being arrested at the event except for Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – himself. Police later confirmed they had detained “a man aged in his 30s” over violating coronavirus regulations by holding an illegal gathering at the park.
Under the existing rules aimed at stemming the spread of Covid-19, no more than six people can come together in public in London, including in parks. The videos show that there were dozens of supporters, who attended Robinson’s gathering.
However, any gatherings will soon be out of place in London altogether since the UK is heading into a new national lockdown starting Thursday. The new measure was announced on Saturday as the number of new cases registered every day over the past week remain well over 20,000 on average. More than 23,000 were tested positive in the UK on Sunday.
A furious firefight broke out in the streets of the southern French city of Montpellier on Sunday as two “rival gangs” armed with pistols and rifles clashed with each other. Police said at least one person was injured.
The loud sounds of shooting rocked the north-western La Paillade district of Montpellier on Sunday afternoon as the two gangs seemingly unloaded volleys of handgun and automatic rounds at each other. A dramatic video published on the social media site zooms in on masked gunmen as deafening shots ring out near the Assas Tower – a residential building described as the tallest in the southern French region of Languedoc-Roussillon.
Another video that has surfaced on social media shows a man who had apparently been injured in the gun fight.
A large police force supported by riot control units, paramilitaries, and army units have been deployed to the scene, according to the French media. They secured the area, while the injured person was sent to a hospital under police escort.
The shootout arose from a conflict between two gangs, a police source told local media, with some witnesses claiming the dispute was over a drug deal.
Responding to the incident, the mayor of Montpellier denounced the “unspeakable acts” and “incredible violence” in a Twitter post. The French police union also issued a statement, in which it said that only “substantial police reinforcements” could help law enforcement to stem an “incredible rise in violence and delinquency” in the area.
“Montpellier is on its way to becoming the one of the most crime-ridden cities in France,” the union said.
A conservative group's new documentary on Antifa – the group called just “an idea” by Joe Biden and defended by the media for its “mostly peaceful” protests – has been suppressed by Big Tech for various terms-of-service violations
The documentary, called “Antifa: Rise of the Black Flags,” was blocked within a few hours on YouTube and Vimeo after being released Saturday night. The video was taken down for violations of the video-sharing sites' guidelines.
While on YouTube the original version was apparently blocked due to copyright claims, Vimeo reportedly told the video's uploader:
You cannot upload videos that depict extreme violence.
Vimeo users trying to access the film got a message saying the page doesn't exist. One user who paused the documentary and came back to it hours later got a message saying: "Sorry, we couldn't find that page."
Journalist Jack Posobiec, one of the documentary's creators, said he expected Big Tech censorship and reuploaded the film in other places, such as Bitchute, Rumble and PureSocialTV, to ensure that people could see it.
While the original upload was wiped from YouTube, multiple age-restricted and demonetized copies of the film were stillavailable on Sunday night.
They tried to ban @AntifaMovie and people had already uploaded it to sites all over the world. Can't stop us.
The film details the rise of Antifa, its increased prominence in the Trump era, and the transnational group's revolutionary aspirations in the US and Europe. It features interviews with such experts as UK political activist Raheem Kassam and national-security consultant David Reaboi.
Ironically, one of the reasons given for censoring the film contradicts the mainstream-media narrative on Antifa. Biden, the Democrat presidential candidate, tried to downplay the group as “an idea” in his Oct. 22 debate with President Donald Trump.
CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets – along with Democrat political figures such as Michelle Obama – have tried to dismiss Antifa and riots during Black Lives Matter rallies as “mostly peaceful” protests. CNN went so far as to describe an August riot in Wisconsin, where a fire could clearly be seen burning over the on-scene reporter's shoulder, as “fiery but mostly peaceful.”
Posobiec pointed out that all the footage shown in the film was from news broadcasts or other verified sources. None of the scenes was extreme, he said, and most could already be found on YouTube.
A fire broke out at the Istanbul University's Medical Facility Hospital on Sunday, triggering a major response from the city's firefighters. Thankfully, the blaze occurred in a building that is not currently in use.
Istanbul residents were disturbed on Sunday by the sight of a big plume of black smoke rising from the Fatih district. It emanated from a huge fire that was engulfing a building under construction, owned by the Medical Faculty Hospital of the Istanbul University.
According to Turkish media, the smoke could be seen as far away as the Zeytinburnu neighborhood – a distance of some five kilometers. There were also reports of small explosions heard at the scene. Multiple fire brigades were dispatched to deal with the blaze.
Çapa Tıp Fakültesi inşaatında yangın
Çapa'daki İstanbul Tıp Fakültesi içinde inşaat halindeki binada henüz bilinmeyen bir nedenle yangın çıktı. Ekiplerin yangına müdahalesi sürüyor.https://t.co/x2eugRObDjpic.twitter.com/TdddLj70qK
According to preliminary reports, the heavy smoke was caused by burning insulation material, which caught fire during work carried out on the roof of the seven-story building. Workers were evacuated in time so nobody was hurt in the incident, but concerns remain about the damage that air pollution may have caused in the area.
İstanbul Üniversitesi Çapa Hastanesi inşaatında yangın çıktı | İstanbul Çapa Tıp Fakültesi Fatih yerleşkesinde yeni yapılan ek hizmet binasının çatısında yangın çıktı. Yangında oksijen tüplerinin de patladığı bildirildi. pic.twitter.com/yW0II0Pl1x
Exiled US whistleblower Edward Snowden has announced his decision to apply for Russian citizenship so that his son doesn’t have to share his fate, living separated from family and without a place to call home.
“After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son,” former CIA and NSA contractor turned-whistleblower wrote in a series of Tweets on Saturday.
That's why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we're applying for dual US-Russian citizenship.
After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That's why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we're applying for dual US-Russian citizenship. https://t.co/cCgT0rr37e
“Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love—including the freedom to speak his mind,” Snowden added. “Our greatest wish is that, wherever our son lives, he feels at home.”
And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited.
The surprise announcement, which is poised to galvanize critics demanding he be tried for "treason," comes days after Edward Snowden and his wife Lindsay revealed they are expecting their first child – who will receive Russian citizenship when born.
Last week – seven years after he had stuck in Moscow and eventually received sanctuary from Washington's attempts to silence him – US National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted a Russian permanent residency permit.
Snowden has been living in exile ever since he blew the lid off unprecedented mass surveillance operations conducted by US intelligence and its allies – including leaking a massive trove of documents proving the warrantless collection of Americans’ telephone records. Seven years later, a federal appeals court finally ruled that the bulk collection of data to spy on Americans was indeed illegal.
The Americans have demanded his extradition to face charges for violating the Espionage Act, and 37-year-old whistleblower faces the prospect of up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Snowden repeatedly voiced his desire to come back to the United States if pardoned, or if at least there was any chance of getting a fair trial. President Trump, who once labelled the whistleblower a “traitor,” seemingly softened his stance recently. But while the push for Snowden to be pardoned gained momentum, the outcome of the US election is unpredictable and there is no consensus within the American public and political establishment on the matter.
A team of “very excited” astronomers have discovered activity around a rare type of space object that’s rocky like an asteroid but also clouded in dust and gas, like a comet.
These unusual celestial bodies are known as Centaurs, like the half-man and half-horse creature from Greek mythology. They are actually minor planets and originated way out in the icy Kuiper Belt, on the edge of our solar system.
The objects are incredibly rare – in fact, despite astronomers relentlessly scanning the skies, only 18 active Centaurs have been discovered since 1927. They are also immensely difficult to observe because they are faint, very far away, and move in unusual ways. Because of this they are poorly understood.
Despite these obstacles, the team of scientists from Northern Arizona University developed a novel technique to monitor a Centaur called 2014 OG392 and made a significant discovery.
The team created an algorithm to scan for activity traces in existing images from space. This enabled them to observe 2014 OG392 converting solids into gases – a process known as sublimation – and leaving behind a long, comet-like halo.
The next step in the process involved using computer modeling to figure out what types of ice could be burning off the rock to create the halo. The investigation identified carbon dioxide and ammonia as the most likely candidates.
This was a significant breakthrough, and it resulted in 2014 OG392 shedding its Centaur status to be elevated to a fully fledged comet. It even has a new name and will now go by the snappy moniker C/2014 OG392 (PANSTARRS).
“I’m very excited that the Minor Planet Center awarded a new comet designation befitting the activity we discovered on this unusual object,” lead researcher Colin Chandler said.
Celestial bodies such as this are believed to date back to the dawn of the solar system, and are thought to have barely changed in the billions of years since. The experts hope that studying them will help shed light on how planets, including Earth, were formed and evolved.
A bizarre video captured during protests in Chile shows riot police wrestling with activist Giovanna Grandon, who is famous for attending anti-government rallies dressed as the Pokemon Pikachu.
The clip posted on social media shows Grandon, known as ‘Aunt Pikachu’, dancing on the street in Santiago along with several other activists, one of whom is wearing a green dinosaur suit. The group was interrupted by a police truck firing its water cannon as it slowly drove past them.
The activists were then approached by officers in full riot gear who immediately began surrounding Grandon and pushing her to the side. The woman, still in her Pokemon costume, fell to the ground, losing the costume’s large head in the process.
Several people were detained and put in a police van. Grandon was pepper-sprayed in the face when she tried to argue with the officers.
Grandon wrote on social media after the altercation that her fellow activist Oscar Brenet Arias, who often attends street protests dressed as the Joker, was detained for carrying a native Mapuche flag. Grandon blasted police for using violence, saying that “our demonstration was peaceful, with music and dancing.”
The protests in Chile began more than a year ago. Having been originally sparked by a planned subway fare hike last fall, the rallies continued throughout the year, as people denounced income inequality and marched for better living standards.
Grandon told La Tercera newspaper that she began showing up at protests as a yellow Pokemon last month. “Young people have always liked anime, and they see a friend in Pikachu,” she said.
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The Berlin branch of the world’s most famous wax museum has placed its figurine of US President Donald Trump in a garbage-filled dumpster, sparking verbal fisticuffs online.
Madame Tussauds in Berlin, an outpost of the legendary London wax museum, placed its lifelike replica statue of Trump in a dumpster on Friday, apparently in anticipation of the Republican incumbent being defeated by Democratic rival Joe Biden in the November 3 election.
Orkide Yalcindag, the museum’s marketing director, described the unorthodox curation as “symbolic” and “a preparatory measure.”
The museum appears to have taken pains to publicize the move, with a Reuters photographer snapping photographs of staff members placing the smiling Trump figurine in a garbage-bag-filled dumpster. A red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap was also tossed in the trash can.
The museum doesn’t typically ‘throw away’ wax models of US presidents, even after they leave office. Their statue of former president Barack Obama, for example, has been left untouched.
The politically-tinged stunt received wide applause on social media. Numerous commenters hailed the move as “perfect” and “where Trump belongs.”
Others suggested that the “whole Trump family” was heading for the dumpster after the presidential election.
I would have put it in the toilet but I guess the dumpster will do. Will they set it on fire now?
Similarly unimpressed commenters theorized that Germans were just angry at Trump for demanding that it pay its fair share for military defense from NATO, and condemned the dumpster exhibit as tasteless.
The Daily Beast pounced on comedian John Mulaney for ‘inexplicably’ and ‘irresponsibly’ joking that a Biden win won’t change much in America. Apparently even comedy now has to toe the party line and speak no ill about Joe.
Mulaney, who hosted this week’s Saturday Night Live episode, drew an angry rebuke from the Daily Beast for his opening monologue, or rather the specific part that compared the upcoming presidential election to an elderly man contest. Depending on the results, he said, “we might have the same elderly man or we might have a new elderly man.”
John Mulaney’s monologue tonight on SNL: “On November 3rd there is an elderly man contest...But just rest assured, no matter what happens, nothing much will change in the United States.”
“But just rest assured, no matter what happens, nothing much will change in the United States,” he added. “The rich will continue to prosper while the poor languish. Families will be upended by mental illness and drug addiction. Jane Lynch will continue to book lots of projects.”
The punchline, according to the DB, is “inexplicable” and “can only be described as deeply irresponsible,” coming just three days before the vote.
#SNL host John Mulaney actually said in his monologue that “nothing much will change” if Joe Biden beats Donald Trump https://t.co/3RdwrDtPrf
People with cursory knowledge of the Joe Biden campaign may find the reaction baffling. The candidate is on the record telling rich donors that “nothing will fundamentally change” under his presidency, and he ran on a promise to return to civility. And US comedians didn’t think mocking this uninspiring message was irresponsible when the remark was made public last year.
Of course, much has changed since then. Today, anything potentially damaging to Biden is presumed by virtually the entire coastal elite, the media included, to be Russian disinformation even if there is not a shred of evidence to back such a claim. Journalists who refuse to put the goal of defeating Trump above all else get tarred and feathered.
Mulaney’s little outburst probably won’t result in him being canceled. The DB acknowledges, after wagging its gatekeeper finger, that he “redeemed himself somewhat” by implying that President Donald Trump was a neo-Nazi. But when even comedians – “last responders” as Mulaney calls members of his profession – don’t get a free pass to break partisanship, it speaks volumes.
South Korea has reported that 83 people have died after receiving flu shots, a week after Seoul said it would probe its mass vaccination program. The government continues to insist the deaths aren’t linked to the jab.
The country’s public health agency, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), announced on Saturday that 83 people in total have died after participating in a free vaccination initiative billed as a way to offset potential complications from Covid-19.
Most of the deaths involved the elderly, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing figures provided by the KDCA. Of the total number of fatalities, 37 people were in their 70s, followed by 34 people aged 80 or older. Four deaths involved people in their 60s, while eight individuals who passed away were under 60.
Health officials have repeatedly insisted that there is no evidence pointing to a direct link between the flu shots and the deaths. However, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun called for an investigation into potential safety issues last week, when the number of people who died shortly after receiving flu shots reached 30. Earlier, the Korean Medical Association had called on Seoul to halt the program pending a full review.
Concerns about the vaccination drive first emerged after it was revealed that some of the doses were exposed to room temperature while being administered to the public. However, the vaccines in question have not been linked to any of the deaths.
To date, more than 11.5 million South Koreans have received a free jab under the program.
Gold lost its shine for investors and central banks in the third quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in its latest report, as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on global interest in the precious metal.
Demand for gold slipped by 10 percent from the beginning of the year and plunged to 892.3 tons in the period July-September, according to the WGC data. This is the lowest quarterly total since 2009, the report states, explaining the decline by the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on investors and consumers.
Meanwhile, central banks have started to tap their gold stockpiles as governments are trying to offset the impact of the virus. Net sales, primarily driven by Uzbekistan and Turkey, amounted to 12 tons over the third quarter, marking the first such move since 2010, according to the WGC. The banks are still expected to resume gold buying before the end of the year, but at a slower pace than in 2018 and 2019.
“Uncertainty has been elevated by the pandemic, motivating many investors – including central banks – to seek assets that will diversify and protect the value of their portfolios in times of crisis,” the report says. According to a leading analyst at the WGC, Louise Street, the selling came from banks attempting to benefit from the high gold price “at a time when they are fiscally stretched.”
However, investment demand helped to outweigh weakness elsewhere, she noted, adding that this helped to push gold prices to record highs earlier this year. In August, gold bullion hit its historic high of above $2,075 an ounce. It subsequently lost some of the gains, slipping to the current levels of below $1,900 per ounce on Comex.
Bar and coin investment demand jumped by nearly 50 percent year-on-year to 222.1 tons in the third quarter. Another investment instrument, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), also saw a quarterly inflow. They took global holdings of gold-backed ETFs to a new record of 3,880 tons.
“It was equally encouraging to see gold’s role as a safe-haven for retail investors shine through this quarter, as people continue to seek stability in volatile markets,” Street said.
A third individual has been taken into custody amid an ongoing investigation into a deadly knife attack at a church in Nice, France, according to multiple outlets citing police sources.
The 33-year-old man was present during a police search on Friday at the home of another individual who was suspected of having been in contact with the alleged attacker, the AFP news agency reported.
The second person of interest, identified by police sources to the media as a 47-year-old male, is said to have been in communication with the alleged knifeman, a Tunisian migrant, a day before he carried out his rampage. The suspect was shot by police after he killed three people at the church. His condition is listed as serious. French officials are investigating the attack as a terrorist act.
Tunisian authorities have launched a separate probe into the existence of an alleged terror cell that reportedly took credit for the attack on social media. The suspect’s family in Tunisia have insisted that the 21-year-old man showed no signs of extremism and had told them earlier that he planned to sleep in a building opposite the church.
