Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 4 Sep 2017

1. South Korea simulates attack on North

South Korea has responded to yesterday's nuclear test by its northern neighbour with a huge show of force, simulating an attack on North Korea with ballistic missiles. Tremors detected by seismologists yesterday were a successful hydrogen bomb test, state media in North Korea claimed. The US threatened indirect sanctions.

2. 'Perfect storm' for policing, chief warns

Staff shortages and rising crime are creating a "perfect storm" for police in England and Wales, the president of the Police Superintendent's Association of England and Wales will say today. Policing is now based on fewer officers working longer hours, Gavin Thomas will warn. He will say that model is "fundamentally flawed".

3. First strike by UK McDonald's workers

McDonald's staff in Cambridge and south-east London are on strike today in the first industrial action the burger giant has ever faced in the UK. About 40 workers are walking out, with Jeremy Corbyn's backing, demanding better pay, more secure contracts and union recognition. They are asking to be paid at least £10 an hour.

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4. No interest rate rise 'until 2019'

A survey of economists conducted by the BBC found most do not expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates until 2019 at the earliest, even though inflation is above the Bank's target. The experts believe the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee will be unwilling to raise the rate during the uncertain period of Brexit negotiations.

5. Malala tells Suu Kyi to act on Rohingya

The youngest-ever Nobel laureate, Malala Yousafzai, has urged her fellow peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to end the "shameful" treatment of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic group in Myanmar. Writing on Twitter, Yousafzai told Suu Kyi the "world is waiting" for her to intervene after mass killings and other atrocities.

6. Stand-off ends at Birmingham prison

Unrest at a privately-run Midlands prison has come to an end, staff say. A stand-off involving a "small number of prisoners" in one wing of HMP Birmingham, operated by G4S, was "successfully resolve[d]" without any injuries to prisoners or guards, the firm says. In December, the jail saw the worst riot at a UK prison since 1990.

7. Prince George 'not ready for school'

Prince George has no "idea what's going to hit him" when he starts school this week, his mother has joked. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are sending their four-year-old to a school in Battersea, central London, where fees are nearly £18,000 a year. A significant security operation has been planned to keep him safe.

8. TV architect seeks £50m for housing

Architect Kevin McCloud, presenter of Channel 4's Grand Designs, is seeking £50m from investors to build 600 houses a year. The schemes are to include social housing and the idea is to build "beautiful and sustainable" homes which The Guardian says will "challenge the soulless, identikit estates built by conventional developers".

9. Japanese princess announces engagement

Japan's Princess Mako has formally announced she is engaged to marry a commoner, after being given the go-ahead by her grandfather, Emperor Akihito. The 25-year-old is marrying Kei Komuro, a law student she met when they studied together. Female members of the royal family forfeit their status if they marry a commoner.

10. Briefing: How subsidised insurance leads to unsafe homes

As one of the most vulnerable US states, Texas should expect to get hit by a hurricane about once every nine to 16 years, according to climatecentral.org.

Houston, in the southeast corner of the state, is one of the top five US cities most at risk, perched as it is on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, directly in the path of oncoming storms. But despite the well-documented risk of coastal flooding, about 40,000 people live below the 100-year flood level in Houston.

As a result, when category four Hurricane Harvey blew through Texas this week, it killed at least 39 people, caused an estimated $90bn (£70bn) in damage, triggered chemical fires, shut down oil refineries and left at least 30,000 homeless in its wake.

Hurricane Harvey: How subsidised insurance leads to unsafe homes