Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 29 Sep 2018

1. Conservatives 'will never allow Boris to lead'

Tory MPs will never allow Boris Johnson to lead the party, says his former deputy Sir Alan Duncan. "He’s an enormous character but not a team player, not intellectually focused," Sir Alan told The Times. Meanwhile, ministers say Johnson’s plans, including reneging on Irish border agreements, are not workable. The Department for Exiting the European Union says Johnson’s suggestion is "not a negotiable plan".

2. Trump orders FBI probe into Kavanaugh allegations

President Donald Trump has ordered an FBI investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh - his nominee for the US Supreme Court. Although a Senate committee had voted to approve Kavanaugh's nomination to the top US court, a Republican member backed the move on the condition that such an inquiry would be held.

3. Bullying is 'thriving' a British universities

The Guardian reports concerns that a "culture of harassment and intimidation" is "thriving" in Britain’s top universities, after news that hundreds of academics have been accused of bullying students and colleagues in the past five years. Nearly 300 academics, including senior professors and laboratory directors, were accused of bullying.

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4. Dozens dead amid quake and tsunami in Indonesia

At least 48 people have been killed after a strong 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Indonesia, according to reports. After the quake brought down several buildings and sent people fleeing from their homes, waves as high as 2m (6.6ft) swept through the city of Palu on Sulawesi island. It is not clear whether the deaths came in the quake or the subsequent tsunami.

5. Facebook says 50m users hit by recent hack

Facebook has admitted that almost 50m of its users were left exposed by a security flaw. The social network giant said attackers were able to exploit a vulnerability in a feature known as "view as" to gain control of people's accounts. The company said it has informed police. Users that are thought to have been affected were prompted to re-log-in on Friday.

6. Home Secretary to say violence is a 'disease'

Violence should be treated like an infectious disease to address the surge in knife and gun crime, Home Secretary Sajid Javid is to announce. Meanwhile, a Home Office report will reveal that school exclusions are powering gang violence, with criminals preying on units for excluded pupils and targeting the most vulnerable youngsters. Growing numbers of children are wearing stab-proof vests.

7. US donors funnelling millions to UK Brexit groups

Anonymous US donors have raised millions of dollars to support British rightwing thinktanks involved in the Brexit debate. Revealing that the American donors are funnelling the donations to four thinktanks in Britain, The Guardian says that at least $5.6m (£4.3m) has been donated to these entities since 2008. Among the UK groups to benefit is the Adam Smith Institute.

8. Toyota warns of months of disruption under no-deal

Toyota UK has warned that a no-deal Brexit would temporarily halt output at its plant in Burnaston, near Derby. The Japanese carmaker produced nearly 150,000 cars last year, 90% for export to the European Union but its production system relies on components imported from the bloc. Asked how long disruption could continue, a spokesman said: "We can't predict - it could be hours, days, weeks - even months."

9. Trains to skip stations in autumn leaves plan

Trains are to skip stations to combat leaves on line, reports The Times. Starting next week, new timetables will be introduced to allow drivers more time to reach their destination. Some trains will set off three minutes early and quiet stations on busy routes will be skipped during off-peak times. Network Rail spends £50m a year on measures to deal with autumn conditions.

10. Posthumous Leonard Cohen album in the making

A posthumous Leonard Cohen album is in the making, his son has announced. Adam Cohen says: "I was tasked with finishing a few more songs of his that we started together on the last album." He describes the process as a "bizarre and delicious entanglement". The Canadian singer-songwriter died in his sleep in 2016, aged 82, after falling in his Los Angeles home.