Everything you need to know about the world today, curated by 95bFM and VICE NZ.New Zealand’s Largest Retailers Underpaid Staff
Tens of thousands of minimum wage workers could collectively be owed millions of dollars in unpaid wages. Sixteen of New Zealand's largest retailers have been accused of forcing employees to work without pay, by either forcing staff to attend daily morning meetings or cash up stores, all unpaid. Last week it was found out, Smiths City has been forcing employees to attend a morning meeting unpaid for the past 15 years. Labour Inspectorate national manager, Stu Lumsden said they will be going out to employers and get them to rectify the issue. A former Bunnings Warehouse employee was fired for speaking out against unpaid morning meetings. First Union said they will continue to name and shame more retailers over the next few days.Studylink Cuts Benefits For Enrolling in Classes
An unemployed man taking a free night business classes at Te Wananga O Aotearoa has been told to quit or his benefit will be cut. The man currently has depression and anxiety and has not been seeking work. He enrolled in the night classes as he thought it would give him confidence and help set him up for work. The man used up his student allowance quota years ago and has been told getting a sickness benefit would affect his partner's benefit, which would leave them both struggling. Studylink has informed the couple that if they want access to full benefits, one of them will have to give up their studies. Auckland Action Against Poverty advocate Alastair Russell, said Work and Income was not putting people first.Immigration New Zealand Targets Immigrant Sex Workers
Immigration New Zealand is cracking down on immigrant sex workers. Sex work was decriminalised in 2003, but it is still illegal for immigrants to do sex work in New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand investigators are trying to locate where the immigrants work and prove they have provided a sexual service. The Prostitutes Collective says because it is illegal for immigrants, they are bullied and forced into this work. Immigration New Zealand are working closely with the police to find the illegal sex workers. Last year, 312 suspected sex workers were barred from entering the country.Samurai Sword Attack in Indo
Four men who attacked an Indonesian police station armed with Samurai swords have been shot dead, authorities say. Their deaths came only hours after the group killed a police officer during a ram raid of a local police station. The attack occurred during the 'four days of horror', which has seen three churches, two police stations and an apartment block targeted in separate Islamic State-related assaults. Between Sunday and Wednesday, around 21 people were killed, and 40 more were injured. Police are blaming Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, a local ISIS-inspired group, for the attacks.Facebook Evidence Indicates Brexit Aided By Fraud
Facebook has released evidence casting doubt over the validity of the Brexit referendum. The evidence was released after ex-Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie accused Vote Leave of fraud. Britain has strict electoral regulations, which limit the amount a party can spend on its campaign to £7 million. Wylie claimed that Vote Leave had 'cheated' this rule by donating large amounts of money to an independent party, BeLeave. BeLeave then spent this money buying and creating Vote Leave ads from AggregateIQ, one of Cambridge Analytica's subcontractors. Facebook has supported the claims by providing evidence that BeLeave and Vote Leave shared the same dataset. They also gave evidence that BeLeave had gathered information on customers from Vote Leave websites. Finally, Facebook noted that, while BeLeave had spent money creating ads, it had not actually run any of these ads—at least, not through the BeLeave account. The Electoral Commission has declined to comment, on the grounds that it is currently investigating the issue. The investigation began in March, after an ex-staffer of Vote Leave claimed that the party had breached electoral spending rules. The ex-staffer claimed that Vote Leave had donated BeLeave £625,000 on the understanding that Vote Leave would control how the money was spent.UN Holds Special Session on Violence in Gaza
The UN's top human rights body has announced plans to hold a special session to discuss the situation in Palestine. The announcement was made shortly after 60 Palestinian protesters were shot dead by Israeli military. The protesters, who gathered along the Israel-Palestine border, had arrived to protest the construction of a US embassy in Jerusalem. A statement released by the UN expressed "grave concern" over Israel's excessive use of force along the border. It was announced that a legal team would be investigating "the events of 14 May 2018", as well as any future crimes the country may commit.North Korea Suspends Discussion with South Korea
North Korea is threatening to suspend its talks with the US after it announced that it suspended talks with South Korea. The US has recently been engaging in air combat drills with South Korea, which is said to be causing friction between North and South. The Pentagon played down ongoing military exercises with South Korea saying they were routine and defensive in nature. The US said it hasn't as yet received any official indication from Pyongyang that the talks would be suspended. The presidents of the two countries are due to meet in Singapore in June.Ecuador Spent Millions Protecting Julian Assange
Ecuador spent $5 million on a spy operation to protect and support Julian Assange at their London embassy. Ecuador employed an international security company and undercover agents to monitor his visitors, embassy staff, and the British police. One of the intelligence programmes, Operation Hotel, had expenses totalling $66,000 a month on security, intelligence gathering and counter-intelligence. An investigation by the Guardian and Focus Ecuador revealed the operation had the approval of former Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa and former foreign minister, Ricardo Patino. During Assange's first two months at the embassy, Ecuador's intelligence agency, Senain, spent $22.5 million on 38 other operations. In March, Senain was shut down by the current President, Lenin Moreno. Moreno is keen for Assange to leave the embassy in order to improve links with the United States of America.Additional reporting: Darashpreet Johal, Daniel Meech and Leah Garcia-Purves
LOCAL NEWS
Tens of thousands of minimum wage workers could collectively be owed millions of dollars in unpaid wages. Sixteen of New Zealand's largest retailers have been accused of forcing employees to work without pay, by either forcing staff to attend daily morning meetings or cash up stores, all unpaid. Last week it was found out, Smiths City has been forcing employees to attend a morning meeting unpaid for the past 15 years. Labour Inspectorate national manager, Stu Lumsden said they will be going out to employers and get them to rectify the issue. A former Bunnings Warehouse employee was fired for speaking out against unpaid morning meetings. First Union said they will continue to name and shame more retailers over the next few days.Studylink Cuts Benefits For Enrolling in Classes
An unemployed man taking a free night business classes at Te Wananga O Aotearoa has been told to quit or his benefit will be cut. The man currently has depression and anxiety and has not been seeking work. He enrolled in the night classes as he thought it would give him confidence and help set him up for work. The man used up his student allowance quota years ago and has been told getting a sickness benefit would affect his partner's benefit, which would leave them both struggling. Studylink has informed the couple that if they want access to full benefits, one of them will have to give up their studies. Auckland Action Against Poverty advocate Alastair Russell, said Work and Income was not putting people first.
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Immigration New Zealand is cracking down on immigrant sex workers. Sex work was decriminalised in 2003, but it is still illegal for immigrants to do sex work in New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand investigators are trying to locate where the immigrants work and prove they have provided a sexual service. The Prostitutes Collective says because it is illegal for immigrants, they are bullied and forced into this work. Immigration New Zealand are working closely with the police to find the illegal sex workers. Last year, 312 suspected sex workers were barred from entering the country.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Four men who attacked an Indonesian police station armed with Samurai swords have been shot dead, authorities say. Their deaths came only hours after the group killed a police officer during a ram raid of a local police station. The attack occurred during the 'four days of horror', which has seen three churches, two police stations and an apartment block targeted in separate Islamic State-related assaults. Between Sunday and Wednesday, around 21 people were killed, and 40 more were injured. Police are blaming Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, a local ISIS-inspired group, for the attacks.Facebook Evidence Indicates Brexit Aided By Fraud
Facebook has released evidence casting doubt over the validity of the Brexit referendum. The evidence was released after ex-Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie accused Vote Leave of fraud. Britain has strict electoral regulations, which limit the amount a party can spend on its campaign to £7 million. Wylie claimed that Vote Leave had 'cheated' this rule by donating large amounts of money to an independent party, BeLeave. BeLeave then spent this money buying and creating Vote Leave ads from AggregateIQ, one of Cambridge Analytica's subcontractors. Facebook has supported the claims by providing evidence that BeLeave and Vote Leave shared the same dataset. They also gave evidence that BeLeave had gathered information on customers from Vote Leave websites. Finally, Facebook noted that, while BeLeave had spent money creating ads, it had not actually run any of these ads—at least, not through the BeLeave account. The Electoral Commission has declined to comment, on the grounds that it is currently investigating the issue. The investigation began in March, after an ex-staffer of Vote Leave claimed that the party had breached electoral spending rules. The ex-staffer claimed that Vote Leave had donated BeLeave £625,000 on the understanding that Vote Leave would control how the money was spent.UN Holds Special Session on Violence in Gaza
The UN's top human rights body has announced plans to hold a special session to discuss the situation in Palestine. The announcement was made shortly after 60 Palestinian protesters were shot dead by Israeli military. The protesters, who gathered along the Israel-Palestine border, had arrived to protest the construction of a US embassy in Jerusalem. A statement released by the UN expressed "grave concern" over Israel's excessive use of force along the border. It was announced that a legal team would be investigating "the events of 14 May 2018", as well as any future crimes the country may commit.North Korea Suspends Discussion with South Korea
North Korea is threatening to suspend its talks with the US after it announced that it suspended talks with South Korea. The US has recently been engaging in air combat drills with South Korea, which is said to be causing friction between North and South. The Pentagon played down ongoing military exercises with South Korea saying they were routine and defensive in nature. The US said it hasn't as yet received any official indication from Pyongyang that the talks would be suspended. The presidents of the two countries are due to meet in Singapore in June.Ecuador Spent Millions Protecting Julian Assange
Ecuador spent $5 million on a spy operation to protect and support Julian Assange at their London embassy. Ecuador employed an international security company and undercover agents to monitor his visitors, embassy staff, and the British police. One of the intelligence programmes, Operation Hotel, had expenses totalling $66,000 a month on security, intelligence gathering and counter-intelligence. An investigation by the Guardian and Focus Ecuador revealed the operation had the approval of former Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa and former foreign minister, Ricardo Patino. During Assange's first two months at the embassy, Ecuador's intelligence agency, Senain, spent $22.5 million on 38 other operations. In March, Senain was shut down by the current President, Lenin Moreno. Moreno is keen for Assange to leave the embassy in order to improve links with the United States of America.Additional reporting: Darashpreet Johal, Daniel Meech and Leah Garcia-Purves