1. MPs reject amendments to Brexit bill
MPs yesterday voted to reject amendments to the Brexit bill proposed by the Lords, which would have guaranteed the rights of EU citizens living in the UK, by 335 votes to 287. A second amendment which would have granted Parliament a "meaningful" vote on the terms of Brexit was also rejected, by 331 votes to 286.
Brexit: Lords force Theresa May to give MPs single market vote
2. Bank of England deputy governor quits
Newly appointed Bank of England deputy governor Charlotte Hogg has resigned after she was heavily criticised by MPs for failing to disclose that her brother had a senior role at Barclays. Hogg's departure came 25 minutes after the Treasury Select Committee said her professional competence fell short of the required standard.
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3. May 'unnerved' by Sturgeon's referendum call
Nicola Sturgeon's call for a second Scottish independence referendum is said to have "unnerved" Theresa May, who was expected to trigger Article 50, starting Brexit, this week, says The Guardian. The Prime Minister accused the Scottish First Minister of having "tunnel vision" on the subject and rejected her timetable of a referendum between autumn 2018 and spring 2019.
Scottish independence: Is IndyRef2 'dead' after election losses?
4. Anger after cruise ship damages pristine reef
Indonesians are calling on a British cruise ship company to pay up to £1.6m in compensation for damaging a pristine coral reef. The Caledonian Sky accidentally ran aground on the Raja Ampat reef on 4 March, during a bird-watching tour. Initial surveys suggest it caused 17,000sq-ft of damage, which could take 100 years to recover.
5. Spicer: Donald Trump didn't mean wiretaps in tweets
Donald Trump's press spokesman Sean Spicer said yesterday that the US President's tweets accusing his predecessor Barack Obama of ordering a wiretap on his phones during the 2016 election should not be taken literally. "The President used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities," he said.
Donald Trump sued by two states over business links
6. Children's exercise levels 'fall from age of seven'
Children begin to exercise less from the age of seven, according to researchers from Glasgow and Newcastle, who found sitting starts replacing physical activity when children start school. Adolescence had been thought to be the watershed when young people stop exercising, but the new findings suggest it happens earlier.
7. Russian whistleblower 'given poisoned soup'
A Russian millionaire who collapsed and died while running near his £3m estate in Surrey in 2012 could have been given poisoned sorrel soup, a court was told yesterday. A pre-inquest hearing at the Old Bailey heard Alexander Perepilichnyy, 44, had been threatened after helping uncover a money-laundering operation.
8. Disney pulls film from Malaysia over 'gay scene'
Disney has indefinitely postponed the release of its new live action version of Beauty and the Beast in Malaysia after censors insisted on the removal of a "gay moment". The film includes the film studio's first openly gay character. Homosexuality can be punished in Malaysia by whipping and up to 20 years in prison.
Beauty and the Beast pulled in Malaysia after 'gay moment' is cut
9. Skinny jeans 'can cause a bad back'
Wearing skinny jeans or carrying a crossbody bag can give you a bad back, while heavy hoods can cause neck strain, says the British Chiropractic Association. Warning that tight jeans "restrict free movement in areas such as the hips and knees, affecting the way we hold our bodies", it called on people to try and wear clothes that allow them to move more freely.
10. Briefing: Six years of war in Syria
This week the Syrian Civil War – one of the bloodiest wars of the last 70 years – will enter its seventh year. The war, a power struggle between President Bashar al-Assad, Sunni rebel groups and other militant factions, has given rise to the extremist Islamic State group (IS), which routinely recruits children to fight and has claimed responsibility for numerous atrocities across the region.
Syrian Civil War: Six years on
