Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 26 Mar 2019

1. MPs vote to take control of Brexit from May

Tory rebels yesterday helped pass a cross-party amendment which gives the Commons a series of ‘indicative votes’ on how Brexit should proceed, a move opposed by Theresa May and brought about by three ministers resigning. May has not promised she will abide by the result of the votes and could still try to get her deal through parliament.

2. Pentagon authorises $1bn for Trump’s wall

The US Pentagon has authorised the transfer of $1bn (£758m) to build 57 miles of President Donald Trump’s long-promised border “wall” with Mexico, the first instalment of funds moved under the national emergency he was forced to declare after Congress blocked his request for $5.7bn. The funds will be used for fencing, not a wall.

3. Coal use in power plants up a third in one year

Globally, the use of coal to generate electricity rose by one third in just 12 months last year, new figures from the International Energy Agency show. The demand for energy increased by 2.3% globally, with 70% of the extra power generated with fossil fuels. A large proportion of the increase was driven by new coal-fired plants in Asia.

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4. Israel bombs Gaza as Hamas fires rockets

Israeli forces bombed Gaza last night, saying they were striking “Hamas terror targets” after a rocket attack by Hamas destroyed a home in the north of Tel Aviv, wounding seven people. After the Israeli raids on Gaza City wounded five, Hamas fired another 10 rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, with no Israeli casualties reported.

5. Sitting down all day blamed for 1 in 9 deaths

One in nine deaths in the UK – tens of thousands every year – are caused by sitting down in an office all day, a study led by Queen’s University Belfast finds. Sitting for at least six hours a day costs the NHS £700m annually, researchers claim. They say office workers should be encouraged to stand up every hour and walk in breaks.

6. Schools ‘must be warned about breast ironing’

The BBC reports today that Conservative MP Nicky Morgan is supporting calls for schoolchildren to be taught about ‘breast ironing’, a practice which originated in West Africa and involves hot rocks being held to the chests of pubescent girls in an attempt to stop breasts developing. Some girls are also forced to wear tight chest straps.

7. Mexico calls for conquest apology from Spain

The president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has written to the king of Spain and the Pope, urging them to issue a formal apology to indigenous people in his nation for human rights abuses committed by the conquistadors from 1492 onwards. Spain said those events “cannot be judged in the light of contemporary considerations”.

8. First all-female spacewalk cancelled by Nasa

Nasa has been forced to cancel the first all-female spacewalk because it did not have enough suits in the correct size. Christina Koch and Anne McClain were to walk outside the International Space Station on 29 March to change some batteries, with Nasa insisting it was a coincidence that for the first time a team would have been all-female.

9. Conor McGregor to retire from MMA fighting

Irish Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Conor McGregor, former two-weight UFC champion, has announced he is retiring from the sport at the age of 30, to focus on the whiskey brand he has started. McGregor’s career has been marred by controversy over outbursts outside the ring. He previously announced his retirement in 2016.

10. Briefing: who is Mike Lynch?

A long-running legal battle described as the UK tech trial of the century has reached the High Court in London this week.

The dispute pitches American IT giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) against Mike Lynch, the British man who founded the software development company Autonomy.

Who is Mike Lynch?