Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 17 Dec 2018

1. May: second Brexit vote would ‘break faith’

Theresa May will tell MPs today that a second EU referendum would “break faith with the British people” and do “irreparable damage to the integrity of our politics”. Former prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair are both calling for a second national vote, with Blair saying it is the “logical” answer to May’s failure to unite her party.

2. HS2 rail project: MPs ‘were misinformed’

A former boss of the planned HS2 rail link is claiming that MPs were given an “enormously wrong” estimate of the cost when they were approving the project. Doug Thornton - who was dismissed over whistle-blowing - said the cost of purchasing property on the route from London to the North was underestimated by hundreds of millions of pounds.

3. Workers’ rights review will keep zero-hours

Zero-hours contracts will not be outlawed in what the Government says is the biggest package of workers’ rights reforms for 20 years. The reforms, unveiled by Business Secretary Greg Clark, will prevent businesses from opting out of equal pay arrangements for agency employees and will ensure that seasonal workers get paid time off.

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4. Vine co-founder Colin Kroll dead at 35

The co-founder of short video app Vine and online quiz HQ Trivia has died of an apparent drug overdose at the age of 35. Colin Kroll was discovered unconscious in his Manhattan apartment by police early on Sunday after his girlfriend raised concerns. Gossip site TMZ says there was “drug paraphernalia nearby”.

5. Saudi Arabia condemns US Senate resolutions

Saudi Arabia has reacted angrily to resolutions passed by the US Senate to end support for its proxy war with Iran in Yemen and to blame de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Riyadh said the resolutions, which are unlikely to become law, were “interference” based on lies.

6. Thailand set to legalise same-sex civil partnerships

Thailand may become the first Southeast Asian country to recognise same-sex relationships in law, if the government approves a bill this month creating civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples. The new laws would also give same-sex couples property rights – but would not allow them to adopt children together or to get married.

7. Travellers warned of Christmas delays this week

Travellers are being warned that congestion on Britain’s road networks, and strikes on rail services, will make Christmas get-aways difficult this week. The RAC predicts that as many as 20 million leisure trips will be made on UK roads this week, with traffic levels peaking on Thursday. Meanwhile, rail staff and Virgin Atlantic pilots are striking.

8. Geraint Thomas wins Sports Personality award

Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas, the third Briton to win the Tour de France, won the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award last night. Second place went to F1 star Lewis Hamilton, with England footballer Harry Kane at No. 3. Thomas said he took “great pride in representing Britain and Wales” and added: “It’s just insane… when I went up on stage, I was shaking...”

9. Robbie Williams to advertise Weight Watchers

Robbie Williams has signed a deal to represent dieting club Weight Watchers, now rebranded as WW, alongside Oprah Winfrey and Kate Hudson. Williams was once dubbed “the fat dancer from Take That” and last year joked that he was piling on the pounds because he had replaced casual sex with “cake and carbohydrates”.

10. Briefing: why is China detaining Canadian citizens?

A businessman has become the second Canadian within days to be detained in China on suspicion of harming national security, Chinese state media is reporting.

Michael Spavor is director of the Paektu Cultural Exchange, a company “that runs cultural and business exchanges with North Korea”, says Washington DC-based news site NPR. He is perhaps best-known for facilitating the visits of former basketball star Dennis Rodman to Pyongyang.

China: 13 Canadians held in ‘tit-for-tat’ detentions