Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 16 Oct 2018

1. May to rally cabinet ahead of EU meeting

Theresa May is making a last-ditch bid to win over senior ministers to her version of Brexit, 24 hours before a crunch meeting with EU leaders in Brussels. A group of pro-Brexit ministers met last night over pizza in the House of Commons to discuss the way forward. They are calling for the prime minister to put a time limit on her “backstop” position on the Irish border, the BBC reports.

2. Saudis ‘to admit Khashoggi died in consulate’

Saudi Arabia is preparing to admit that journalist Jamal Khashoggi died under interrogation, according to The Times. The 59-year-old has not been seen since he entered the consulate on 28 September to finalise divorce proceedings so that he could marry his Turkish fiancee. Khashoggi had been publicly critical of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

3. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies at 65

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has died at 65, two weeks after revealing the return of the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for which he was first treated in 2009. Bill Gates, with whom Allen set up the technology firm in 1975, said: “I am heartbroken by the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends… Personal computing would not have existed without him.”

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4. Hatred of men may become criminal offence

The Law Commission is to consider designating offences driven by hatred of men as hate crimes, adding the suggestion to an existing debate about whether to criminalise misogyny. Home Office minister Baroness Williams said some members of the public wanted to criminalise the hatred of men, properly called “misandry”. Ageism and hatred of certain alternative cultures, such as goths, could also be included in future.

5. ‘Little doubt’ of life-threatening cyberattack

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is warning that there is “little doubt” the UK will face a major, life-threatening online attack in the near future. In its annual report, the NCSC says that it has handled more than ten attacks a week over the past two years and that most of them were mounted by nations “hostile to the UK”.

6. First female accountancy CEO to stand down

The first woman to run a major City accountancy firm in the UK is to leave her position at the end of the year, weeks after a leak accused her of pursuing a “socialist agenda” and ignoring profit. Sacha Romanovitch capped her own salary at 20 times the average wage at Grant Thorntonand brought in profit-sharing for all staff, not just partners.

7. Meghan and Harry given Ugg boots in Oz

The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge were presented this morning with the first gifts for their first child, due in the spring. The Australian governor-general, Sir Peter Cosgrove, presented them with a soft-toy kangaroo and joey – and a tiny pair of Ugg boots. The royal couple are touring Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.

8. Ecuador orders Assange to feed embassy cat

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been given a set of house rules by his hosts at the Ecuador Embassy in London, where he has been holed up in fear of extradition to the US since 2012. The Guardian reports that Assange has been told to avoid making political comments online, clean his bathroom and remember to feed his cat.

9. Youngest ever author tipped for Man Booker

The youngest author ever to make the Man Booker shortlist is now the bookies’ favourite to win the prestigious literary prize. Daisy Johnson is just 27 but has won praise for her mother-daughter novel Everything Under, which reimagines Greek myths in contemporary England. The winner of the £50,000 prize will be announced tonight in London.

10. Briefing: Brexit glossary

The language of Brexit has proven almost as complicated as the process itself, with the House of Commons library even seeking a specialist Brexit editor to make sense of it all.

Here is just some of the jargon the new Commons employee will have to get their head around and some concise definitions by The Week.

Brexit glossary: from max fac and Chequers to Norway and Canada +++