These are the three things that will change the world today.
1. Lords will defy government over EU citizens’ rights in Brexit bill
The House of Lords is expected to hand the government its first defeat over the Brexit bill later today.
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Peers added an amendment to protect the rights of EU nationals to the Article 50 bill, which is backed by Labour, Lib Dem, cross-bench and rebel Tory peers in the upper chamber.
Home secretary Amber Rudd wrote to the upper chamber to say the UK cannot offer a unilateral guarantee on residency, but it will be a priority once the bill passes and talks begin.
“There is absolutely no question of treating EU citizens with anything other than the utmost respect. That’s why we will be making securing their status a priority as soon as we trigger Article 50 and the negotiations begin,” she wrote.
However, the Lords want the government to state that all EU nationals lawfully in the UK at the time of the referendum should be allowed to stay. Notably, the government does not have a majority in the upper chamber.
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By GlobalDataThe vote will be pushed in the current Committee stage of the Article 50 bill, set to take place this afternoon.
The government has vowed to resist any Lords amendments.
2. Snap Inc’s IPO valuation could be as high as $25bn
After news was announced earlier this year that Snap Inc, the parent company of popular social media platform Snapchat, would be going public, we’re almost at the stage for the startup to begin trading.
The company is expected to set the final price today before shares are scheduled to begin trading on Thursday.
Snap is offering the shares to investors at $14 to $16 apiece, however, the startup has reportedly received orders for 10 times as many share it has for sale. This means, it could raise the price to $17-$18 apiece, meaning the IPO would value the company at almost $25bn.
The $25bn figure is the valuation the company expected when it first considered an IPO. This would make Snap one of the largest tech debuts, since Alibaba’s in 2014.
Snap is off to a great start in 2017. Its first product, the Snap spectacles, were launched for sale online earlier this month. As well, it appears the company is working on a drone, according to three anonymous sources.
According to the New York Times, a drone could help Snap’s users take overhead videos and photos and feed the visual data to the company, presumably to share online.
3. Saudi king is visiting Indonesia – with 459 tonnes of luggage, including two limousines
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz is heading to Indonesia for nine-day visit.
He is reportedly bringing 459 tonnes of luggage with him, including two Mercedes-Benz S600 limousines and two electric elevators.
Talk about packing light.
The airfreight company PT Jasa Angkasa, who is handling the cargo, is said to have employed 572 workers to deal with the luggage.
Salman is known for causing a stir when he travels. According to the Washington Post, he once booked the entire Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown when he visited Washington in 2015. The hotel has a total of 222 rooms.
In addition, when visiting the French Riviera, a beach was closed due to privacy and security concerns for the King’s 1,000-person strong entourage.
This is the first time in 46 years that a Saudi king has visited the world’s largest Muslim nation. The trip also comes at a time of heightened attention on the economic links between the two nations.
