Tuesday’s top story: Brexit chaos after official thwarts May’s plans for third vote. Plus, why Israel is making friends with Gulf monarchies

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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.

Commons Speaker blocks new votes on May’s Brexit deal

With just 10 days until Britain is due to leave the EU, the Brexit process has been thrown into further chaos by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who blocked a repeat vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal on Monday, saying it would violate parliamentary convention to vote on the same bill twice without substantial alterations. Bercow’s decision blindsided the prime minister, who must now look to the EU to offer an extension to the Brexit deadline.

Speaker’s choice. Bercow’s decision was praised by some MPs and criticised by others. Peter Walker explains his reasoning and its implications.

Britons abroad. Meanwhile in Brussels, a dwindling group of UK civil servants are preparing to remain in their EU jobs after Britain leaves the bloc.

Ardern says Christchurch killer should remain ‘nameless’

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jacinda Ardern meets with Muslim community leaders. Photograph: Dave Lintott/AFP/Getty Images

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has vowed never to speak the name of the suspect in the Christchurch massacre, and instead urged the public to remember the names of his victims. Ardern, who has been widely praised for her strong and sensitive leadership in the aftermath of the attacks, began her address to the country’s parliament on Tuesday with the Arabic greeting “as-salaam Alaikum”, and said the killer “sought notoriety but we, in New Zealand, will give nothing – not even his name”.

Presidential response. Donald Trump on Monday complained that the media were blaming him for the attacks, shortly before he described immigration in the US as an “invasion” – a term used by the Christchurch suspect, Brenton Tarrant, in his manifesto.

Liberians in the US facing possible deportation

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nyensuahtee Fofana, 23, came to the US aged six and considers himself an American. Photograph: Jared Goyette

An estimated 4,000 Liberians, who fled to the US in the 1990s during the civil war, are awaiting possible deportation by the Trump administration. Most arrived in the US after 1991 through deferred enforced departure, a temporary status that provides a work permit but no pathway to citizenship. Every administration since then has allowed them to remain, but last March they were told they had a year to “get their affairs in order” before leaving the US.

Legal immigration. Trump-era policies such as extra in-person interviews and travel bans have made legal immigration to the US more difficult, as Alexandra Villareal reports.

Yemen deaths continue despite ceasefire agreement

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yemeni mourners at a funeral in Sana’a. Photograph: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images

At least three people are dying in Yemen every day as a result of continuing violence in the war-torn country, despite the ceasefire deal struck between Houthi rebels and the official Yemeni government in Stockholm in December. More than 231 civilians have been killed by airstrikes, shelling, snipers or landmines since the agreement was signed, many of them children.

Rising violence. While the number of deaths has reduced in Hodeidah governorate since the ceasefire, in other regions casualty numbers have gone up, more than doubling in the cities of Hajjah and Taiz, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Crib sheet

More than 1,000 people are feared dead after a catastrophic cyclone struck Mozambique last Friday. The country’s environment minister said Tropical Cyclone Idai was “the biggest natural disaster Mozambique has ever faced”.

Kevin Tsujihara, the chairman and CEO of Warner Bros , has resigned amid reports that he promised movie roles to a British actor with whom he was having an extramarital affair.

Beto O’Rourke raised $6.1m in contributions in the first 24 hours of his 2020 presidential campaign, smashing a record set by Bernie Sanders to reach a higher first-day total than any other Democratic contender.

The California town of Lake Elsinore has been so overrun by Instagrammers visiting its stunning annual poppy bloom that officials were forced temporarily to bar access to Walker Canyon, one of its most popular sites for poppy seekers.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The British designer Thomas Heatherwick poses in front of Vessel before it opened to the public on Friday. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP

Thomas Heatherwick’s $200m staircase to nowhere

The British designer Thomas Heatherwick has at last unveiled “Vessel”, a $200m, 150ft-tall structure comprising 2,500 steps on 159 interconnecting flights of stairs in the heart of Manhattan’s Hudson Yards. Nadja Sayej joins him as his “giant shawarma” opens to the public.

Why Israel is quietly cosying up to Gulf monarchies

A resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict seems as distant as ever, yet Israel has somehow grown close to longstanding enemies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It comes down to a shared animosity for Iran and the disruptive influence of Donald Trump, as Ian Black explains.

The progressive 2020 hopeful backed by Steve Bannon

Tulsi Gabbard seemed like a rising progressive star when she was elected to Congress in 2012. But as Tom McCarthy reports, her positions on issues such as Syria – not to mention her fans, who include Steve Bannon – have put her at odds with fellow Democrats as she pursues a 2020 presidential bid.

Coyote fur is fashionable, but is it ethical?

The trade in coyote pelts is booming, thanks to the fad for expensive Canada Goose parkas. But animal protection advocates say coyote trapping is inhumane and unnecessary. Daniel McGraw talks to trappers in Ohio, while Dream McClinton tracks fashion victims in New York.

Opinion

Nine months after the radical Five Star Movement and the far-right League formed a governing coalition, Italy is in a democratic emergency, says Roberto Saviano. Amid a climate of racist aggression and with journalists under threat, progressive politicians are too focused on their own differences to offer an alternative.

When people speak in general terms of populism in relation to this government, they risk obscuring truly alarming facts on the ground with abstract political labels.

Sport

Chattanooga FC sold more than $500,000 in shares in a month to more than 2,000 “owners” around the world. Dave Caldwell asks whether the Tennessee soccer club has found a new way to build a fanbase.

More than 60,000 supporters saw Atlético Madrid take on their title rivals Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday, a record for women’s soccer. English clubs should take note of Spanish tactics, says Suzanne Wrack.

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