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The British government will today table its Great Repeal Bill, transferring EU legislation into the UK’s law books. The bill comes a day after Theresa May triggered a two-year countdown to Britain’s break from Europe with her Article 50 letter. Brexit Minister David Davis has played down the difficulty of repealing existing regulations, saying that the bill will essentially cut and paste EU law on to the British statutes book. But legal experts have warned that parliament could be overwhelmed by the scale of the task.

The action will now move to Brussels, where, according to the FT’s Philip Stephens, the conversation has become about “what the EU 27 are willing to offer” rather than what the UK wants. The EU’s chief negotiator has set out a three-phase approach to Brexit talks, which must be concluded within two years. Meanwhile, David Cameron — the man who started the process — has defended his decision to hold the Brexit referendum in the first place. (FT, Guardian)

In the news

Lloyds of Brussels After scouring Europe in search of a new European home to allow it to continue serving EU customers after Brexit, Lloyd's of London has chosen the Belgian capital. The company said it expected its new subsidiary to be up and running in time for the January 2019 insurance renewal season. (FT)

The art of the deal Europe became the main target for cross-border dealmaking in the first quarter of 2017, with mergers and acquisitions in Europe hitting $215.3bn in the quarter, up 16 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. The sharp rise in transactions involving European targets came on the back of an all-time record of overseas acquisitions by US companies. (FT)

Trump travel ban indefinitely suspended A federal judge in Hawaii has indefinitely suspended Donald Trump’s travel ban on citizens from a number of Middle Eastern countries, which the court was told discriminated against Muslims and hurt the state’s tourist-dependent economy. (Reuters)

Not made in the USA The head of Uniqlo says he would stop selling in the US altogether if forced to heed Donald Trump’s call for foreign companies to manufacture goods there. (NAR)

And the Oscar goes to . . . PwC PwC has retained its position overseeing prizegiving at the Oscars despite its blunder over the best picture award at this year’s ceremony. The employees will be changed and there will be a ban on using electronic devices backstage. (FT)

It’s a big day for

US-Turkey relations Secretary of state Rex Tillerson will visit Turkey, where he’s sure to hear a lot about Kurdish militias and the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. Critics of the Erdogan regime will be watching to see if Mr Tillerson — whose boss has expressed admiration for strongmen including Vladimir Putin in Russia — will comment on the Turkish leader’s press crackdown. (FT)

South Africa Investors are bracing for potentially the first cut in interest rates in more than four years when the country’s central bank decides on policy. The rand and government bonds continued their slide this week after President Jacob Zuma ordered finance minister Pravin Gordhan to return home from an investor roadshow, prompting speculation of a cabinet reshuffle. (FT)

Food for thought

Trump is starving Africa and feeding Isis Ed Luce on how the Trump administration has not given a dollar to fight the biggest famine in 70 years — and why that indifference is fuelling Isis. (FT)

US coal jobs are not coming back Donald Trump promised during his campaign to give coal miners their jobs back, but even after dismantling Barack Obama’s climate change regulations, this is unlikely to happen. Since 2010, 251 coal-fired power stations have closed in the US with a glut of gas released from shale making gas-fired generation more competitive than coal-fired plants. (FT)

Revenge is sweet The most popular video game in Bangladesh is set during the 1971 war of independence — when the country broke away from Pakistan — and the aim is to kill as many Pakistani soldiers as possible. It was funded by the Bangladeshi government as the ruling Awami League tries to keep memories of the war alive to shore up support. (Economist)

The trauma of deportation Hundreds of refugee children in Sweden have fallen unconscious — sometimes for years — when told their families are to be expelled from the country. Doctors and scientists are at a loss about the medical causes for the condition, or why it is confined to Sweden. (New Yorker)

Russia’s Northern Sea Route is losing its shine Vladimir Putin’s plan to use the Northern Sea Route through the Arctic has failed to catch on with international shippers amid low oil and freight prices. (Bloomberg)

Video of the day

Mosul air strikes kill civilians The FT’s Erika Solomon looks at questions over precautions taken by the US-led coalition to protect civilian lives. (FT)


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