MPs say UK can’t leave without deal

British MPs voted on Wednesday evening in favour of a motion that a no-deal Brexit should never happen. The Guardian has a good explainer. Theresa May warned the Commons that if they now don’t vote in favour of her deal, at the third attempt, the UK would face a “much longer extension” to Brexit, The Guardian also reported  The pound made significant gains following the rejection of no deal, Bloomberg reports. The BBC has a roundup of reaction from across Europe to a likely request from the UK to extend Article 50. But Euronews cites the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier as saying that there will be no more “clarification” on the Withdrawal Agreement.

US grounds Boeing Max planes

In what CNBC calls “a stunning turnaround for the U.S.”, the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday issued an order grounding all Boeing 737 Max planes. In comprehensive analysis of the story and its implications, Reuters says Boeing faces a crisis over the worldwide grounding of the aircraft. But Bloomberg says the aircraft manufacturer has “lost control of the narrative.”

Beto O’Rourke to launch presidential bid

Reuters reports that Texan Democrat Beto O’Rourke is preparing to enter the party’s race to be its nominee for the 2020 presidential election. At 46, O’Rourke is considered a rising star after he ran incumbent Republican Ted Cruz close in last year’s Texas Senate race, says The Guardian.

Manafort gets extras

Former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort was handed an additional 43 months of jail time on Wednesday after being found guilty of two conspiracy charges in relation to the Russian investigation, the BBC reports. Last week Manafort was sentenced to 47 months for fraud. To add to his woes, less than an hour after the latest sentence was passed, Manafort was charged with 16 felonies by the state of New York, The Guardian reports.

Chinese smartphone sales shrink

February was the worst month in years for mobile phone shipments in China, according to a report by CNBC. Apple and Xiaomi are likely to be the biggest losers, says one analyst, as shipments fell by 20% compared to February 2018.

Facebook outage

Social media users in parts of United States, Japan and some parts Europe had problems using the Facebook app as well as the company’s Instagram and WhatsApp apps, Reuters reports. Facebook said the outage was not due to a so-called Distributed Denial-of-Service hacker attack, CNBC reports.

Brent oil surge

Reuters reports that Brent crude oil prices on Thursday hit their highest so far this year, pushed up by ongoing supply cuts led by OPEC and by U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and Iran.

“Distracted boyfriend” plans family

The Hungarian government was the subject of ridicule on Wednesday when sharp-eyed observers noticed that the couple used in ads to promote its family protection action plan were the same as in the internet meme known as the “distracted boyfriend”. The BBC says both stock images were part of a series shot by photographer Antonio Guillem.

Today's breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts