Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 22 Mar 2019

1. EU agrees Brexit delay plan

The EU took control of Brexit last night after Theresa May failed to impress at talks in Brussels, offering to delay the Article 50 process until 22 May provided MPs next week approve the withdrawal deal negotiated by the prime minister. If they do not, the EU will allow a shorter delay until 12 April for the UK to come up with a new plan or leave without a deal.

2. MPs revolt after May blames Commons

MPs are lining up to criticise Theresa May over her televised speech on Wednesday, in which the PM blamed the Commons for the delay to Brexit and set herself on the side of the public against them. May’s chief whip, Julian Smith, said her speech was “appalling”. The Daily Telegraph believes Michael Gove may be poised for a bid to replace May in the top job.

3. New Zealand holds silence for mosque dead

A two-minute silence was observed in New Zealand today to remember the 50 people shot dead in a terror attack one week ago. The Muslim call to prayer was also broadcast nationally and thousands of mourners including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gathered near the al-Noor mosque, one of the two mosques attacked in the city of Christchurch.

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4. Trump to recognise Golan Heights as Israeli

US President Donald Trump is to break with diplomatic tradition and recognise Israel as sovereign over the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967. The UN Security Council considers the area to be occupied territory, and subsequent US administrations have respected this. The change in stance has been welcomed by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

5. Iraq: almost 100 killed in ferry disaster

Almost 100 people have drowned after a ferry loaded with women and children celebrating the Kurdish New Year and Mother’s Day capsized in the Tigris river in the Iraqi city of Mosul. The city’s civil defence agency said a total of 55 people had been rescued. At least 19 children died in the disaster on Thursday.

6. London: youth clubs halved since 2011 riots

The number of youth clubs in London has almost halved since disaffected young people rioted in the city’s streets in 2011, The Guardian reports today. Government austerity policies have seen the number of youth centres in the English capital fall from 234 to just 130, according to data released by London boroughs in response to Freedom of Information requests.

7. Tate turns down donations from Sacklers

The Tate Galleries have joined other major art institutions in deciding not to take further donations from the Sackler family, whose fortune is allegedly founded on legal opioid drugs now blamed for addiction. A statement by the Tate group said: “In the present circumstances we do not think it right to seek or accept further donations from the Sacklers.”

8. Oil firms spend millions to block green plans

The largest five stock market-listed oil and gas companies spend a total of nearly $200m (£153m) every year lobbying to delay or scrap policies to tackle climate change, according to a new report by climate group InfluenceMap. Firms including Chevron, BP and ExxonMobil are increasingly using social media to push their agenda, the reports says.

9. Uber to launch on New York Stock Exchange

Ride-sharing app Uber is to list on the New York Stock Exchange next month, with its initial value set as high as $120bn (£91bn), according to Bloomberg. Other major tech firms including Google, Apple and Facebook trade on the Nasdaq, on which Uber’s rival Lyft also plans to list its shares.

10. Who’s the richest woman in the UK?

Online gambling mogul Denise Coates is the best-paid woman in the world and the sixth richest person in the UK, according to the latest issue of Forbes magazine.

Coates, who founded the gambling group Bet365 and is worth an estimated $6.5bn, is the only British woman to make Forbes’s richest people in the world list who isn’t ranked alongside a spouse or other family members.

Who’s the richest woman in the UK?