Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 19 Oct 2019

1. Cross-party group plan plot twist as MPs vote on deal

MPs will vote on Boris Johnson's Brexit deal today as Parliament sits on a Saturday for the first time in 37 years. It is expected to be a knife-edge vote after the prime minister frantically tried to convince MPs to support the agreement he secured with the EU. However, a cross-party group will table an amendment, allowing parliament to withhold its approval until the legislation to implement Brexit has passed.

2. Senate Republican slams Donald Trump's policy in Syria

The US Senate majority leader has slammed Donald Trump's policy in Syria. Writing in the Washington Post, Mitch McConnell says the US president’s troop withdrawal order, combined with Turkey's Syria assault, was a “strategic nightmare”. Driving home his point, the Republican described the US troop withdrawal as a “grave strategic mistake”. Sporadic fighting continues in the region despite a supposed ceasefire.

3. Probe finds no deliberate mishandling of Clinton emails

The state department has found “no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information” as it completed its years-long internal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email. The investigation considered 33,000 emails that Clinton handed over after her use of the private email account became public. Clinton has often joked about the Republicans’ ongoing obsession with the matter.

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4. Extinction Rebellion protests finish atop Big Ben

A fortnight of Extinction Rebellion protests has ended with an activist scaling Big Ben’s tower and unfurling banners demanding urgent action on the climate emergency. Ben Atkinson, a 43-year-old tree surgeon from Rydal in Cumbria, wore a jacket and tie and hung two large banners, reading: “No pride on a dead planet” and “Citizens Assembly”.

5. State of emergency in Chilean capital after violent protests

A state of emergency has been declared in the capital of Chile, after violent protests. Angered by increased metro ticket prices, the demonstrators in Santiago leapt over turnstiles, attacked underground stations, started fires and blocked traffic. Declaring the state of emergency, President Sebastián Piñera he would “call for a dialogue... to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the increase in fares”.

6. Public opinion turns against fireworks after supermarket ban

Public opinion is turning against fireworks as the industry comes under pressure from pet owners, those concerned about antisocial behaviour and military veterans battling post-traumatic stress. Sainsbury’s announced this week that it would no longer sell fireworks at its 2,300 supermarkets. Tom Smith, secretary of the British Pyrotechnists Association, said: “It is undoubtedly more difficult than it used to be.”

7. More BAME will be targeted under stop-and-search rules

More innocent people from BAME backgrounds will be targeted under relaxed stop-and-search rules, according to an official report published by the Home Office. The study suggested “changes in the level of stop and search have, at best, only minimal effects on violent crime,” after the Home Office relaxed restrictions on the tactic as part of an effort to address violence, including stabbings.

8. Fifth night of rioting in Catalonia after jail sentences

There was a fifth consecutive night of rioting in Catalonia on Friday after violence erupted in Barcelona. Earlier, a peaceful demonstration had been attended by more than half a million people, who protested at the heavy sentences handed down to Catalan politicians and activists. Protesters set fire to bins and chanted “The streets will always be ours”.

9. Mark Carney welcomes the government's new Brexit deal

Mark Carney has told the BBC that the new Brexit deal struck by the government is “welcome” and a “net economic positive”. The governor of the Bank of England governor said the agreement “takes away the tail risk of a disorderly Brexit” in the short term but added that it “remains to be seen” if overall the deal would be as positive for the economy as the one put forward by Theresa May.

10. New book claims West and Hindley had an affair in prison

Rose West and Myra Hindley had an affair in prison, according to West’s former solicitor. A new book claims that West was “quite taken” with the Moors Murderer and was “impressed by her knowledge and ability”. However, it is also claimed that the relationship ended after a only a matter of months when West concluded that Hindley was “very manipulative” and “dangerous”.