Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 23 Dec 2018

1. Deadly tsunami hits Indonesia after volcanic eruption

At least 168 people have died and 30 are still missing after Indonesia was struck by a tsunami which was believed to have been caused by a volcanic eruption. Indonesia’s disaster management agency says hundreds of buildings were damaged by Saturday's tsunami. Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics agency said the devastating wave may have been triggered by underwater landslides after the eruption of Anak Krakatoa.

2. May's aides plot to keep her as PM until 2021

As confidence grows that Theresa May can get her Brexit deal through parliament, her allies are plotting to keep her in Downing Street for at least another two years. The Sunday Times says the PM’s supporters in cabinet have been “buoyed” by what they believe to be a “substantial shift in political arithmetic in the Commons”. The new plan is for her to stay until 2021, then allow a new leader to prepare for the next general election, due in May 2022.

3. Police search Crawley home after Gatwick drone arrests

Police are searching a home in Crawley after two people were arrested over drone disruption which grounded flights at Gatwick Airport. A 47-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman were arrested late on Friday and are being questioned over “criminal use of drones” at the airport. Flights were grounded for more than 36 hours when drones were first spotted close to the runway on Wednesday night.

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4. Paddy Ashdown dies at 77 after cancer battle

The former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown, has died at the age of 77, the party has said. Lord Ashdown was diagnosed with bladder cancer in October. Speaking at the time of his diagnosis, he said: “I've fought a lot of battles in my life.” Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable said Lord Ashdown had “made a real mark” on Parliament and it was “a hugely sad day”.

5. 'Shock' over Donald Trump's withdrawal from Syria

Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, and slash the numbers deployed in Afghanistan, came as a “nasty shock” to Britain, Israel, and to many in his own administration and Republican party, says The Observer. The Sunday Times wonders what message the move sends to Syrian Kurds who helped fight Islamic State and now find themselves left to the mercy of Turkish troops waiting on the border.

6. Arron Banks faces questions over a valuable diamond

The Observer says that Arron Banks is under suspicion over a valuable uncut diamond from South Africa that he may have smuggled out of the country, evading significant taxes and flouting controls on the international movement of diamonds set up to prevent the sale of “conflict gems”. The campaign group Forensics for Justice is making the allegations based on an email from Banks to a business partner, which the organisation says it collected from the recipient.

7. Rough sleepers double as homelessness hits new high

Homelessness in Britain has reached a record high after the number of rough sleepers doubled in five years, says the charity Crisis. Its study found that some 12,300 people were sleeping rough in 2017 - a 98% increase on 2012 - while nearly 12,000 were staying in vehicles or tents. It says homelessness in the UK is at a record high with 170,000 families and individuals experiencing destitution.

8. Is Al-Qaeda planning a new aviation 'spectacular'?

Al-Qaeda is seeking to carry out new terrorist atrocities against airliners and airports, the security minister Ben Wallace has claimed. Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said the terror group’s growing threat is keeping ministers “awake at night”. However, a terror expert said “The al-Qaeda core in Pakistan has been hit hard in recent years and had not shown the capability to mount a terrorism spectacular in the West.”

9. Jeremy Corbyn under fire for his stance on Brexit

Jeremy Corbyn is under fire from Labour activists and MPs after suggesting he would press ahead with Brexit if the party won a snap general election. “Students and young people will not forget or forgive politicians who sell them down the river by backing a Brexit that limits our life opportunities and makes us poorer,” said Richard Brooks, co-founder of For our Future’s Sake.

10. Gambaccini wants former Met chief jailed over abuse case

Paul Gambaccini has called for Lord Hogan-Howe, the former Metropolitan police commissioner, to be jailed over his handling of disproved sex abuse allegations against him. The veteran BBC broadcaster claims that Scotland Yard was acting like a “third-rate Stasi” when officers raided his central London flat at dawn in October 2013. Gambaccini has received a five-figure payout from the Crown Prosecution Service.