Tory MPs will have whip removed for voting against no-deal Brexit
Conservative MPs have been warned that they will have the whip withdrawn and be deselected as Tory candidates if they vote in favour of moves to thwart a no-deal Brexit. In advance of the return of parliament from the summer recess tomorrow, Boris Johnson cancelled a scheduled meeting with former cabinet ministers, including Philip Hammond and David Gauke, who have been critical of his approach. Hammond said on Saturday that it would be “staggeringly hypocritical” for the government to punish Tory MPs for rebelling, noting that eight current cabinet ministers voted against Theresa May’s Brexit deal earlier this year. The withdrawal of the whip from MPs would wipe out the government’s working majority of one seat, likely paving the way for an early general election.
Hurricane Dorian: category five storm hits Bahamas
The most powerful storm to hit the Bahamas since records began has torn roofs off buildings and led to severe flooding. Hurricane Dorian, a category five storm, has triggered winds of more than 220mph, and has forced Georgia and Carolina to issue evacuation orders for their coastal communities. “This will put us to a test that we’ve never confronted before,” Bahamian prime minister Hubert Minnis said in a nationally televised news conference. “This is probably the most sad and worst day of my life to address the Bahamian people.”
Argentina imposes currency controls to stem economic crisis
Argentina has imposed currency controls in a bid to stabilise its crisis-strewn economy. Firms will now need central bank permission to sell pesos in order to buy foreign currency and to make transfers abroad. The country, Latin America’s third largest economy, is also seeking to restructure its debt with the IMF by extending its maturity. Argentina’s economy contracted 5.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, after shrinking 2.5 per cent last year, and three million people have fallen into poverty.
Far-right AfD makes gains in German state elections
The far-right Alternative für Deutschland made significant gains in two crucial German state elections but fell short of ousting the incumbent parties. In Saxony and Brandenburg, the AfD finished second with 28.1 per cent of the vote and 24.5 per cent, but it trailed Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats in the former and the Social Democratic Party in the latter. The results will help stabilise the grand coalition between the two parties which some believe will collapse in advance of the next federal election in 2021.
Johnson veil comments led to surge in anti-Muslim attacks
Boris Johnson’s mockery of women wearing the niqab led to a surge in anti-Muslim attacks and abuse, the monitoring group Tell Mama has warned. In its annual report, the organisation said that a spike occurred last August spike occurred in August after Johnson wrote a Daily Telegraph column referring to veiled Muslim women as “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”. In the week following the article, anti-Muslim incidents increased by 375 per cent – from eight incidents the previous week, to 38, with 22 directed at Muslim women wearing the niqab.
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