Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 15 Jan 2019

1. May braced for historic defeat in Brexit vote

MPs will vote today on Theresa May’s proposed terms of exit from the EU – and are expected to reject the deal, in what The Times predicts will be “the heaviest defeat suffered by a government in modern politics”. The prime minister warned rebels last night that defeat could lead to a no-confidence vote and a Labour government.

2. Warning of new ‘gay purge’ in Chechnya

Human rights activists are warning that a new purge has been mounted in Chechnya against gay people. The Russian LGBT Network says 40 people have been imprisoned since December, of whom two died under torture. The Chechen government insists the claims are “complete lies”. It has previously said there are no gay people in the mainly Muslim Russian republic.

3. Iran told imprisoned woman: ‘Spy for us’

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe says the Iranian regime told her on 29 December that she would be released from prison if she agreed to spy on the UK for Iran. The British-Iranian charity worker has been jailed in Tehran since April 2016, accused of espionage. The revelation by husband Richard Ratcliffe came as she began a hunger strike in protest at allegedly being denied access to medical attention.

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4. Britons lose virginity ‘too soon’, says study

A new study by the London School Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that more than half of British women – and two in five men – lost their virginity before they really felt ready. Study co-author Kay Wellings said some people felt pressured to have sex when they reached the legal age of consent of 16.

5. US judge blocks Trump birth control laws

A federal judge in Philadelphia has temporarily blocked new Trump administration rules on birth control from applying anywhere in the US. The regulations, due to come into force yesterday, allow employers and insurers to refuse to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives to women if they feel it violates their “religious beliefs” or “moral convictions”.

6. Government ‘failing to learn Carillion lessons’

The British government has been accused by unions of failing to learn its lesson following the collapse of contracting firm Carillion. The GMB says that instead of reining in investment, the Government has pumped even more money into outsourcing companies. The lifetime value of contracts awarded in 2018 was £95bn, up 53% on the previous year.

7. Machete-wielding man tasered in London

Panic erupted at a south London train station yesterday when a man threatened rush-hour commuters with a machete. Witnesses described “chaos” at Tulse Hill station as the man chased people with the “massive” blade, the BBC reports. Police tasered the 59-year-old on the station platform before he could injure anybody, and then arrested him.

8. Thousands gather to mourn Gdansk mayor

Thousands gathered in cities across Poland last night to mourn the mayor of port city Gdansk, Pawel Adamowicz, who died in hospital yesterday after being stabbed at a charity concert. One of the loudest liberal voices in the country, Adamowicz had been mayor since 1998. His alleged assailant has a record of violent crime.

9. Trump orders burgers as shutdown continues

US President Donald Trump yesterday posed for photographs in the White House alongside a pile of fast food, which he said was “paid for by me” to feed visitors. The longest-running budget dispute in US history meant there were no catering staff available when Trump hosted national champion college football team the Clemson Tigers. Asked to name his favourite food, Trump said: “If it’s American, I like it.”

10. Briefing: who is Carrie Symonds?

Boris Johnson and former Tory PR chief Carrie Symonds are preparing to go public with their relationship, according to reports.

With Johnson widely expected to run for prime minister if Theresa May is ousted, Symonds has already been nicknamed ‘Flotus’. So who is Symonds and how did she meet Johnson?

Where is Boris Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds?