Will Estonian Election Results Benefit Ukraine?, Boris Johnson be kicked out of parliament, Bangladesh Refugee Camp Fire, Alcohol Ban in Iraq

Will Estonian Election Results Benefit Ukraine?

Estonia's prime minister, Kaja Kallas, is set to remain the country's prime minister after her liberal centre right Reform Party won Sunday's parliamentary election. The victory for Kallas, who will need to put together a governing coalition with other parties, means Estonia will continue to have one of Europe's most staunchly pro-Ukraine governments. Kallas Reform Party secured 31% of the vote, which translates into 37 seats, an improvement of three seats on their 2019 result. Meanwhile, the far right Conservative People's Party, or EKRE, placed second with 16% and 17 seats. The Centre Party, traditionally popular with the Russian speaking minority but has supported the government line on Ukraine, fell nearly eight points to 15.3% and ten seats. The Liberal Estonia 200 party will enter Parliament for the first time after winning 14 seats. The Social Democrats and right wing Fatherland Party were nine and eight seats respectively. They are both members of the current coalition. Key issues at the election were the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the cost of living crisis and energy, among other things.

Boris Johnson be kicked out of parliament

Last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was brought down at least partly by the Partygate scandal. In this, the Prime Minister was accused of having attended or having knowledge of lockdown parties. For his part, Johnson denied knowledge of these, telling the House of Commons on one occasion that all guidance was followed completely in number ten. However, following the publication of accounts and photographs from Number ten, questions began to be raised about whether what Johnson had said could be true. As such, a House of Commons Privileges Committee investigation was started in order to try to get to the bottom of this. The committee, which is composed of MPs from both the Conservative and Labour Party, have been going through evidence for a few months now and on Friday released one of their first reports outlining what they are aiming to achieve when they interview a number of key figures in public hearings next month. In it, they argue that there are four occasions where they believe that Boris Johnson misled the House of Commons on Partygate.

Number one, when Johnson said that no rules had been broken on the 8th of December 2021. Number two, when Johnson failed to tell the House of Commons about his knowledge of the parties that he himself had been in attendance of. Number three. When Johnson told the Commons that he had been repeatedly assured that all guidance had been followed, as there is some evidence that he was assured only that the rules were followed, not the guidance. And number four, when Johnson claimed that there needed to be an investigation by the second Permanent Secretary to establish whether guidance had been broken before he could answer questions in the House, as he may have already known that guidance had been broken. Once the committee has decided whether Johnson did mislead the House, it will then decide on whether a sanction is necessary. One of the most likely sanctions is a suspension from the House, although for this to take place, MPs would have to vote on it if a suspension of more than ten days is recommended and then sanctioned by MPs, then a recall petition would be triggered if more than 10% of his constituents sign this, then a by election would be called and Johnson could very well be unseated. The committee is still going through evidence and will likely interview Johnson in a few weeks. It's been confirmed that this will be televised. The final decision, though, is likely to be a few months away still.

Bangladesh Refugee Camp Fire

A huge fire broke out on Sunday at one of the world's largest refugee camps, leaving 12,000 people without shelter. Camp 11 at Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh is home to more than a million Rohingya muslim refugees who have fled persecution from neighbouring Myanmar. Officials say the blaze, which is now under control, burned some 2000 shelters, as well as 35 mosques and 21 learning centres and health centres. Fortunately, no injuries or deaths have been reported. Local media reports that one man has been detained while police investigate whether or not the fire was an act of sabotage.

Alcohol Ban in Iraq

In other news, Christian politicians in Iraq are trying to overturn a 2016 ban on the import and sale of alcohol with them, calling the legislation undemocratic despite their opposition. Customs officials were told on Saturday to begin enforcing the law. The law was passed by parliament in 2016, but only came into effect a few weeks ago. This is why customs officials have been given instructions to start enforcing it. For their part, Christian lawmakers have consistently opposed it, starting when it went through parliament in 2016. The law itself carries a penalty of between 10 million and 25 million dinars, or $7700 to $19,000 for violations. The law also appears to go against government guidance from a few weeks ago, which stated that alcohol imports would carry a 200% duty for the next four years.

Will Estonian Election Results Benefit Ukraine?, Boris Johnson be kicked out of parliament, Bangladesh Refugee Camp Fire, Alcohol Ban in Iraq