Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 23 Dec 2015

1. Syria: Russian air strikes 'killed 200 civilians'

Amnesty International says air strikes carried out in Syria by Russia have killed at least 200 civilians and represent "serious failures to respect international humanitarian law". The rights group says it has "researched remotely" 25 attacks between 30 September and 29 October. Russia insists the claims are "information warfare".

Syria: Russian air strikes 'killed 200 civilians'


2. Afghan reinforcements 'reaching Sangin'

The Afghan army says it is managing to get reinforcements through to help hold back a Taliban assault on the town of Sangin. The Taliban was said to have almost taken control of the town in Helmand province, prompting the UK and US to deploy a small number of troops to the area, insisting that they would take up support roles.

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Reinforcements arrive to relieve Taliban siege of Sangin

3. Cumbria: now region braced for Storm Eva

After parts of Cumbria were hit by floods for the third time in a month after heavy rains and high winds yesterday, there are fears the region could be hit yet again, this time by Storm Eva which is sweeping in from the Atlantic over Christmas. Eva is not expected to be as bad as Desmond, but rain will be falling on saturated ground increasing the chances of more flooding.

Third round of flooding hits parts of Cumbria

4. Royal murder plot: man detained indefinitely

A man who fantasised about killing Prince Charles with a sniper rifle so that Prince Harry could become king has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act. Mark Colborne, 37, wrote in his diary he wanted to "transition from poor red-haired victimised minority that is constantly walked over to a … military terrorist".

'Ginger extremist' who plotted to kill royals detained indefinitely

5. Traffic returns to Forth Road Bridge after weeks

Cars are crossing the Forth Road Bridge again this morning for the first time since 4 December. The crossing, on an arterial route for Scotland, was shut down when engineers discovered a crack in a truss. A splint has been welded onto damaged steelwork and the bridge has been re-opened with HGVs banned until February.

6. Beatles songs available for internet streaming

Music by The Beatles is to be made available on internet streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Prime Music for the first time. The deal involves rights to stream 224 songs that will be made available across nine sites on Christmas Eve. Music streaming is growing in popularity but artists including Prince, Adele, Neil Young and Thom Yorke or Radiohead remain sceptics.

7. Hague: leaving the EU would break up the UK

Former foreign secretary Lord Hague has warned that Britain leaving the EU could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom, as well as weakening Europe at a time of political volatility. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Hague said that "even as a long-standing critic" of the EU he would be "unlikely" to vote to leave it in 2016.

Remain-voting City lobby group calls for 'dramatic Brexit U-turn'

8. Five investment banks paid no corporation tax

Five of the biggest investment banks in the City of London - JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Nomura Holdings and Morgan Stanley - paid no corporation tax in the UK last year according to new research. The banks offset past losses against their taxable income for 2013-14, reports Reuters. Goldman Sachs and UBS also paid little tax last year.

9. Police arrest man on terror charges

Armed police have arrested a man in a south London shop on suspicion of terror offences. He was held by armed police at 5pm on Tuesday and Scotland Yard confirmed that the arrest was being linked to Islamist terrorism. The 31-year-old is being held in custody at a central London police station on Wednesday, while officers search a residential address in south London.

10. Briefing: What are the predictions for house prices in 2016?

The past year has seen sharp price rises in the UK property market, exacerbating an affordability crisis as more and more people struggle to save enough for sky-high deposits. Looking ahead, analysts at HSBC told Business Insider that the affordability crisis should actually ease in the coming 12 months – but not a lot. "We do not expect prices to fall in 2016 - just for inflation to slow a bit."

London house prices: study predicts a 2.5% rise for 2020, but a 1% fall in 2021