Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 17 Jan 2019

1. May turns to party leaders after confidence vote

Theresa May yesterday survived a motion of no confidence in her government brought by Labour by a margin of just 19 votes, thanks to the support of the DUP. Had the Northern Irish party voted against the Government, it would have lost by one vote. May then invited party leaders to talks, an offer that was rejected by Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn.

2. Kenya to pursue attack planners ‘relentlessly’

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed to “relentlessly” pursue “every person who was involved in the funding, planning and execution” of this week’s terror attack on a Nairobi hotel and office complex. Somali Islamists al-Shabaab have claimed responsibility for the attack, which left 21 people dead and more than 50 unaccounted for.

3. House prices fall as buyers wait for Brexit

UK house prices are falling at the fastest rate in six years on the back of Brexit – and sales expectations are weaker now than they have been for two decades, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Separate government figures show house prices dropped in November for the third month in a row. The average price fell by 0.1% from the previous month.

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4. First plant on moon dies as night falls

The first seed to sprout on the Moon has died after only a few Earth days. The cotton sprout had been delivered by China’s Chang’e-4 lunar lander and was in a sealed cannister to prevent contamination, but withered when lunar night fell, sending temperatures down to -170C.

5. Woman lived with plastic packet in throat for weeks

A Northern Irish woman walked around with a plastic pill packet lodged in her throat for 17 days before it was detected following four visits to hospital, the BMJ reports. The unnamed patient, in her 40s, had unwittingly swallowed the packet of painkillers in the middle of the night in November. She suffered discomfort and difficulty swallowing but was able to breathe, swallow and move her neck.

6. Plans for £20bn ‘theory of everything’ collider

Scientists at Cern have announced plans for the successor to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the underground particle accelerator that detected the Higgs boson in 2012. The Future Circular Collider would have a circumference of 100km (62 miles), compared with the LHC’s 17km (10.5 miles). But some critics say the £20bn cost could be better spent.

7. UK motorists warned over no-deal Brexit

The Association of British Insurers is warning UK drivers they may have problems abroad if Britain leaves the EU without a deal. Motorists could be required to produce a car insurance “Green Card”, which must be applied for one month in advance. EU insurers have offered to waive the requirement but the European Commission has not agreed yet.

8. Woman killed by boss’s pet crocodile

A scientist working at a laboratory on a pearl farm in Indonesia has been killed by a 110-stone crocodile owned by her boss, according to reports. Deasy Tuwo, 44, is thought to have been attacked while feeding the animal, known as Merry, which was being kept as a pet illegally in an enclosure at the farm, in Sulawesi. The reptile is said to have bitten off her arm and most of her abdomen.

9. London state school wins 41 Oxbridge places

A state school in one of London’s poorest boroughs have received 41 offers for students to study at Oxford or Cambridge this year. Nearly all of the successful students at Brampton Manor in Newham are from ethnic minority backgrounds. Half of them are on free school meals, and two-thirds will be the first in their family to go to university.

10. Briefing: who are al-Shabaab?

The death toll from Tuesday’s terrorist attack on a hotel and office complex in Nairobi has reached 15, according to authorities.

Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by Somalia-based Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, which continues to pose a significant threat in east Africa. So what does the militant organisation want and how did they become such a prominent force in the region?

Who are al-Shabaab and what do they want?