Monday briefing: Chinese space station falls into Pacific Ocean
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Version 0 of 1. Top story: Heavenly palace’s earthly demise Hello – Warren Murray delivering another short and sharp bank holiday briefing. Whatever was left of China’s defunct Tiangong-1 space station has crashed into the southern Pacific Ocean after it fell out of orbit. China’s space agency said the “Heavenly Palace” would have mostly burned up the atmosphere before any remnants hit the sea. The US military confirmed the space station’s demise. The orbiting laboratory – launched in 2011 and last visited by Chinese astronauts in 2013 – was known to have been out of control for about two years, though Beijing was reticent to admit it. #PayMeToo – A group of female MPs have joined forces to encourage women to demand action over the gender pay gap and hold their employers to account. Led by the Labour MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy, MPs will on Monday launch an online campaign called #PayMeToo. All private companies with more than 250 employees must by law reveal the difference in hourly rate paid to men and women before midnight on Wednesday 4 April. ‘NEED WALL!’ – Donald Trump has gone on an Easter tweet tirade, declaring a deal on protecting child migrants “DEAD!” and threatening once again to end free trade with Canada and Mexico. The president’s extreme frustration at being unable to get funding for the southern border wall was on show. “They [Mexico] must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!” Trump attended an Easter church service in Florida with his wife, Melania – their first joint appearance since CBS aired an interview with a porn star who told of an affair with him. Poverty in the schoolyard – Teachers have told of washing uniforms, buying shoes and providing tampons for students from households that are being hit by worsening poverty. A headteacher from Portsmouth kept his school open during snowstorms because “I was really worried about the number of children who wouldn’t get a hot meal that day”. Other teachers have told of having to fill in the gaps being left by councils and social services budget cuts, from paying for parents’ counselling to handing out food parcels. In a survey of 900 teachers, 60% said child poverty in schools had worsened since 2015, and one in three said it had got significantly worse. ‘We thrive on decency’ – The former Commons speaker, Michael Martin, has called for Labour to hold a special conference on tackling antisemitism in its ranks. “We need the membership to come together and say: ‘In no circumstances are we antisemitic. We are a democratic party and we thrive on decency,’” Martin said. A report in the Sunday Times said a two-month investigation into 20 of the biggest pro-Corbyn Facebook groups uncovered more than 2,000 racist, antisemitic, misogynist, violent and abusive messages. Let’s be careful out there – Steven Bochco, creator of the TV series Hill Street Blues, has died aged 74. During its seven-season run in the 1980s, the show won 26 Emmys and launched Bochco on a course that led to dozens of series and earned him 10 Emmys. Bochco’s other hit series included LA Law, NYPD Blue and Doogie Howser, MD. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1972 sci-fi film Silent Running. Bochco, who grew up in Manhattan, died of cancer. Lunchtime read: When 26 miles just isn’t enough They are an almost-impossible test of the human body and spirit, yet the number of ultramarathons has increased 1,000% over the last decade. Adharanand Finn asks what’s behind this rapid increase – and whether racing 100 miles or more is actually good for you. Sport Antonio Conte has insisted he has no concerns over his immediate future at Chelsea despite his team’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League having suffered a potentially critical blow with a 3-1 defeat to Tottenham. Spurs’ visit to Stamford Bridge began mundanely, writes Barney Ronay, but by the end the stage was set for Dele Alli to deliver two exhilarating goals brimming with imagination. England were left with 137 overs to dismiss New Zealand and win the second Test match in Christchurch after captain Joe Root declared with his side holding a lead of 381. Ian Poulter strode to victory at the Houston Open in a manner that summed up his ferociously competitive attitude and afforded him the 87th and final Masters spot. And Commonwealth Games officials have summoned a competing nation to a meeting over a “clear breach” of the Games’ no-needle policy following the weekend’s discovery of syringes at the Gold Coast athletes’ village. The papers The Mail rails about the £5.8m spent by NHS bosses on their taxpayer-funded credit cards: “Enough to make you sick”, reckons the paper. The Express has a different NHS story: “Scandal of NHS health tourism” as it argues the health service gets too little money from Brussels for treating EU citizens. “Teachers warn of growing poverty crisis”, says our headline in the Guardian, as we report how school staff are having to wash children’s clothes, buy them shoes and provide them with other essentials because of council and social services budget cuts. The Times reports that the Met has ditched the practice of automatically believing complainants in sex crime cases after several flawed investigations. The Telegraph splashes on the director of public prosecutions stepping down. “Tragic boxer saves 7 lives” says the Mirror – Scott Westgarth, who died after winning a fight, was an organ donor. “Dec: I was a wreck” is the Sun splash headline as it covers the Ant McPartlin saga. 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