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18 July 2019updated 07 Jun 2021 2:45pm

Five things you need to know today: Corbyn sacks shadow minister over Hitler comments

By New Statesman

“The last days of Hitler” 

A Labour peer has been sacked as a shadow Brexit minister after she likened a “bunker mentality” around Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership to “the last days of Hitler”. Dianne Hayter was reported by HuffPost to have told a meeting of the group Labour First on Tuesday: “Those of you who haven’t [read the book] will have watched the film ­Bunker, about the last days of ­Hitler, of how you stop receiving into the inner group any information which suggests that things are not going the way you want.”  A Labour spokesman said of Hayter’s comments: “To compare the Labour leader and Labour party staff working to elect a Labour government to the Nazi regime is truly contemptible, and grossly insensitive to Jewish staff in particular.” Hayter remains the party’s deputy Lords leader as the post is an elected one. 

Trump crowd chant “send her back” at Democrat Ilhan Omar

A crowd at a Donald Trump rally in North Carolina on Wednesday night chanted “send her back! send her back!” in reference to Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Trump used the appearance to denounce Omar, who arrived in the US as a child refugee from Somalia, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib as “hate-filled extremists”. The House of Representatives earlier passed a motion condemning Trump for racist comments after he tweeted that the congresswomen, three of whom were born in the US, should  “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”. 

New drivers could face night ban

New drivers could be banned from travelling at night under plans to improve road safety in England. Ministers are considering introducing a graduated licence system to restrict novice drivers, the Department for Transport announced. The move follows figures suggesting that one in five drivers are involved in a crash within a year of passing their test.

Fire at Japanaese anime studio kills 12

Twelve people are presumed dead and 35 have been injured following a suspected arson attack at an animation studio in Kyoto, Japan, local fire officials have said. Police said the fire broke out on Thursday at the Kyoto Animation building after a man burst in and spread an unidentified flammable liquid that set off the blaze. The company is globally celebrated for anime productions such as A Silent Voice and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

A more likeable approach?

Instagram has given more people the option to hide the like count on their photos  in order to “remove the pressure” on users. An experiment which was launched in Canada in May will be extended to Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. The feature hides users’ public like counts on videos and photos, although users will still be able to see the number of likes their own posts receive.

For coverage of the day’s politics follow The Staggers blog

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