1. Brexit talks end as Labour accuses May of bad faith
Brexit talks between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have broken down and France has warned that Britain now risks crashing out of the European Union in a “disorderly manner”. Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said it was clear that May was “not countenancing any changes” to the political declaration that she negotiated with the EU in December.
2. Legislation will ban social media from promoting self-harm
Social media companies will be banned from promoting self-harm or suicide content to children under a legally-enforced code of conduct. Legislation will hand a new independent regulator powers to require firms to have processes to “stop algorithms promoting self harm or suicide content to users”. It follows the death of Molly Russell, 14, whose father blamed Instagram for contributing to her suicide.
3. Sellers tricked as estate agents overvalue properties
Estate agents are overvaluing properties by up to one-fifth, misleading sellers into paying higher rates of commission, claims The Times. According to its analysis of more than 200,000 properties listed online, overvaluations are widespread and the big chains the worst offenders, including Hamptons International and Chancellors. The National Association of Estate Agents said: “These figures do not put the industry in a good light.”
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4. World leaders plea for calm in Libya as civil war looms
World leaders have appealed for calm in Libya as the country teeters on the brink of another civil war. Eastern Libyan troops have headed west towards the country's capital of Tripoli in a challenge to the internationally-recognised National Accord government. The G7 group of rich countries urged all parties “to immediately halt all military activity”. The UN Security council issued a similar call.
5. May warned Euro elections ‘existential threat’ to Tories
Theresa May has been warned by her MPs that holding European elections will pose an “existential threat” to the Conservative Party. Senior MPs said the Tories would suffer “catastrophic” damage at both the local elections on May 2 and the EU elections, threatening the very “viability” of the party itself.
6. Joe Biden makes quip about physical contact complaints
Joe Biden has made a joking reference to complaints from at least seven women that his physical behavior towards them was inappropriate. After he was introduced by the president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Lonnie Stephenson, at an event, Biden said: “I just want you to know – I had permission to hug Lonnie.” The Guardian says the “mostly male” audience laughed.
7. UK passports issued without European Union on cover
British passports are being issued without the words “European Union” on the cover page, even though Brexit has yet to take place. The new burgundy passports were introduced from 30 March, the day after the UK was supposed to leave the European Union. Blue passports evoking the pre-EU British design are due to be issued from the end of 2019.
8. Boeing slows production of notorious 737 MAX jets
Boeing is slowing production of the 737 MAX so it can focus on fixing the flight-control software that was blamed for the two deadly crashes. The jet-maker said it is “making progress” on updated 737 MAX software which it hopes will prevent future disasters. An Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crashed in March, killing all 157 people on board. Five months earlier, a Lion Air crash claimed the lives of 157.
9. Sultan of Brunei faces business boycott over gay sex laws
Hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei have been hit by a wave of business boycotts as a campaign grows against the country’s new law making gay sex punishable by stoning. Lucrative high-profile events have been pulled from The Dorchester hotel on London’s Park Lane and ads for tourism to the Asian nation have been taken down on the London Underground.
10. Big cat ‘stalks’ sleepy Cornish village of Harrowbarrow
A big cat is stalking a “sleepy” village in Cornwall, reports The Sun. A five-inch paw print has been found, a dog has been mauled and its owner is chased away. After police in Harrowbarrow took a plaster cast of a paw print almost five inches wide, one officer remarked: “Something has been here which should not be.”
