UK puts off EU nationals from applying for residency, N Korea live-fire drill, robot farmworkers

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“Don’t do anything.” This is the message that the UK is giving EU nationals panicking about their status when the UK leaves the bloc. The Home Office, which handles immigration, is trying to discourage tens of thousands of EU citizens from applying for permanent residence in Britain because it fears being deluged by applications. The status of EU citizens is set to become a key part of negotiations between the Brussels and London, with the EU demanding that its nationals enjoy their full rights, overseen by European institutions.

Citizens rights are already becoming an issue in the British election, which was called by Theresa May last week. The opposition Labour party has said that, if elected, it would guarantee the rights of EU citizens as soon as it took office to try to improve the tone of Brexit negotiations. (FT, Guardian)

In the news

Luxury comes together LVMH and Christian Dior are merging. Billionaire Bernard Arnault is simplifying the complex corporate structure between his family holding company Groupe Arnault, Christian Dior and LVMH. The family company is buying out the minority shareholders of Christian Dior for about €12.1bn. (FT)

Double execution Arkansas administered lethal injections to two men in back-to-back executions late on Monday. The US state is the first to put more than one inmate to death on the same day in nearly 17 years. Arkansas was planning to carry out eight executions in 10 days because its stockpile of midazolam, a drug used in lethal injections, is about to expire and drug companies have balked at selling the product for executions. (Reuters, NYT)

Campus purge in China Agents from the Communist party arrived on the campuses of the country’s 29 top universities in the middle of March. The teams are looking for examples of breaches of “political discipline”, including ideological problems and infiltration of “western values” such as democracy and freedom of speech. (FT)

There’s a wall between us US congressional leaders are scrambling to strike a deal to keep the US government funded beyond the end of the week as Donald Trump’s demands for money towards a border wall with Mexico complicate budget discussions. (FT)

North Korean live fire Pyongyang has conducted a live fire exercise to mark the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People’s Army. It came as a US submarine, the USS Michigan, docked in South Korea, soon to be joined in South Korean waters by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. A second aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, could technically join it by late May. The show of force came as senior envoys for North Korea policy from South Korea, Japan and the US met in Tokyo. (Reuters, NAR)

It’s a big day for

AT&T The second-largest US telecoms group by number of customers reports first-quarter results. They come after Wall Street analysts trimmed earnings expectations this year, fearing a price war will eat into profits at the company. (FT)

Food for thought

Ivanka Trump on female empowerment One of the most powerful ways to expand the global economy is to increase the role of women in business, write Ivanka Trump and Jim Yong Kim in the FT. “Yet despite overwhelming evidence of the benefits of investing in female entrepreneurs and women in the workplace, progress has stalled.” (FT)

Yeltsin’s legacy Russians may not love Boris Yeltsin, the flawed politician who preceded Vladimir Putin, but on his watch Russia’s democratic and economic institutions were reformed. Is it time for a reappraisal? (Carnegie.ru)

Beyond the pill Digital disruption in healthcare could revolutionise treatment for millions of patients. But it could also undermine big pharma’s decades-old business model. (FT)

The new farmworkers Meet Thorvald, who can work 24 hours a day and does not need a visa. He is one of a new generation of farm robots that could help solve labour shortages in the UK’s agricultural sector. (FT)

Killed for their bones In Malawi, adults and children with albinism are being killed for their bones. A disturbing investigation uncovers a tragic tale of witchcraft, poverty and desperation. (Al Jazeera)

Video of the day

Japan and the North Korea question How seriously should investors take a missile or nuclear attack on Japan from North Korea? The FT’s Leo Lewis looks at how Japanese markets are evaluating the risk. (FT)