Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 3 Sep 2017

North Korea has carried out its sixth nuclear test, Japan says.
“The government confirms that North Korea conducted a nuclear test
after examining information from the weather agency and other
information,” foreign minister Taro Kono told the press. The move
is seen as a direct challenge to Donald Trump. South Korean media
said the blast was 9.8 times the strength of Pyongyang’s test last
September.

Theresa May has secretly agreed a “politically explosive” Brexit
bill of up to £50bn, reports The Sunday Times. Brussels is
demanding a Brexit bill of €100bn (£92bn). Meanwhile, the Prime
Minister has appealed for unity from pro-EU Tory MPs as the Commons
prepares to debate the government’s Brexit repeal bill on Thursday.
The bill transfers EU law into UK legislation.

Hospital bosses say the NHS could suffer its worst winter in
recent history if it does not receive an emergency bailout.
Although the government has given councils an extra £1bn for social
care services, new data shows A&E waits and bed shortages
remain “stubbornly” bad. NHS Providers is calling for a sum between
£200m and £350m to be made available immediately.

Twelve people from Britain have been arrested in the Spanish
holiday resort of Magaluf after police smashed an alleged
drug-dealing ring. Officers say they have seized three kilograms of
high-purity cocaine and €103,000 (about £100,000) in cash. The
suspects were part of a criminal organisation selling drugs to
tourists in nightclubs in the party town of Magaluf, said a police
spokesman.

More than 1,200 people have died and 40m more are at risk in
flooding across India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Although flooding is
common during the monsoon season, this year’s have been “much
worse,” said Hari Balaji, a disaster management consultant.
Torrential downpours have caused landslides, damaged roads and
washed away tens of thousands of homes.

The government is preparing to clamp down on fixed odds betting
terminals, according to a letter seen by The Observer. The letter
was sent by the chancellor, Philip Hammond, to the Bishop of St
Albans, who has been leading Church of England criticism of the
betting industry’s use of the machines. The gambling machines have
previously been described as the “crack cocaine” of the betting
world. 

Palestinian journalists are enduring a crackdown from President
Mahmoud Abbas. Five journalists were arrested on a single day last
month, while others have been called in for questioning as part of
a clampdown on both the media and expressions of dissent on social
media. In June, the Palestinian Authority shut down roughly 30
critical websites.

At least 15 people have been injured by lightning at a music
festival in the north-east of France. A woman in her sixties and a
44-year-old man are in a serious condition. Authorities say the
lightning struck in several areas of the Vieux Canal festival in
the town of Azerailles. Victims were “directly hit by the lightning
and suffered burns”, the regional council said. 

Astronaut Peggy Whitson returned to Earth last night, bringing
to a close a record-breaking flight. Her 665 days off the planet
exceeds that of any other American and any other woman worldwide.
She became the world’s oldest spacewoman, at 57, and became the
first woman to command the space station twice following her launch
last November.

A five-year-old girl was killed after being shot by Indian
troops on the Pakistani border, according to reports. The child had
been walking outside her home in Polas village in the disputed
region of Kashmir when a stray bullet hit her in the head. The
United Nations fears nuclear war could break out between India and
Pakistan amid on-going tension.