Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 6 Aug 2019

1. Johnson ‘would defy any no-confidence vote’

Boris Johnson would simply refuse to step down if he lost a no-confidence vote in Parliament before the 31 October Brexit deadline, in order to force through a no-deal exit, according to The Times. The newspaper says that under plans shared with colleagues by prime minister’s most senior aide, Dominic Cummings, Johnson would ignore the result and set a general election to be held after the UK left the EU.

2. Teenager charged over boy thrown off Tate balcony

A 17-year-old male has been charged with attempted murder and will appear in court today after allegedly throwing a six-year-old boy off a balcony at London’s Tate Modern gallery. The child, a French national on holiday in the UK with his parents, is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after falling five floors onto a terrace.

3. EU rules out renegotiating Brexit deal

EU diplomats have warned there is no basis for further Brexit talks while the UK pushes for changes to the exit terms negotiated by Theresa May, and have emphasised that scrapping the Irish backstop would not be acceptable. The Guardian reports that a senior EU diplomat believes a no-deal Brexit is now the UK government’s “central scenario”.

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4. Man jailed for 20 years for sending bombs to Trump critics

A former male exotic dancer was sentenced to 20 years in jail yesterday for sending crude pipe bombs to 13 prominent critics of Donald Trump across the US before the 2018 midterm elections. Lawyers for Cesar Sayoc told the New York court that the fanatical Trump supporter had untreated mental health issues and steroid addiction, and that the president’s hate-filled rhetoric had “contributed” to his behaviour. Sayoc’s targets included Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.

5. Far-right message board 8chan offline following shooting

Controversial internet message board 8chan was struggling to get back online yesterday after internet security providers pulled the plug over the site’s alleged use by the man suspected of shooting dead 22 people on Saturday in El Paso, Texas. After Cloudflare stopped providing support for 8chan early on Monday morning, the platform found a new online host, Epik - but that service relies on infrastructure from tech firm Voxility, which has vetoed the move.

6. Obama tells Americans to reject leaders who stoke hatred

Donald Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama yesterday urged Americans to reject language from their leaders that “feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalises racist sentiments”. Obama, who did not mention Trump by name, made the pointed remarks in a rare statement hours after the mass shooting in El Paso.

7. North Korea fires more test missiles ahead of US-South Korea drills

North Korea today fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and threatened to seek a “new road” if the US and South Korea do not change their positions on holding their annual joint military exercises. The North, which has conducted four rounds of ballistic missile tests in two weeks, says the drills are an “invasion rehearsal”.

8. Brazil’s Bolsonaro: I hope criminals ‘die like cockroaches’

Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro says he wants criminals to “die in the streets like cockroaches” as a result of controversial legislation that he is trying to drive through parliament. The proposed laws would protect security forces and private citizens from prosecution if they kill alleged offenders. Opponents say it would cause a bloodbath.

9. Passengers told to ‘run’ as BA plane fills with smoke

Passengers on a packed British Airline flight from Heathrow were ordered to flee the plane after landing and to get as far away as possible after the cabin filled with thick grey smoke as the aircraft approached the Spanish airport, witnesses say. Some passengers said they had been forced to leave the Airbus A321 via the emergency slides, and three people were taken to hospital following the incident, on Monday, but were later discharged. BA said the flight had “experienced a technical issue”.

10. Why everyone’s talking about 8chan

No-holds-barred message board in the spotlight after El Paso shooter’s manifesto surfaces.

Why everyone’s talking about 8chan