Afternoon Briefing Friday 23rd January

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters. PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands, so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. Hello, this is your Times Radio afternoon briefing for Friday the 23rd of January with me, Jim's Kitchen. Officials from Kyiv, Moscow and Washington are meeting in Abu Dhabi in the first trilateral talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

0:47Donald Trump spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Davos yesterday with the US president insisting there'd soon be a settlement. This morning, the Ukrainian leader said the talks are a step, hopefully, towards ending the war, adding the meeting is focusing on the status of Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. The New York Times' chief diplomatic correspondent Stephen Erlinger says land remains the major sticking point. What Putin is insisting upon is that Ukraine give him the 30 % of Donetsk that he hasn't conquered yet as the means for getting to a peace treaty. And Zelensky says, you must be joking. But of course, Whitkoff and the Trump people think, oh, what a great idea.

1:28It's just a little piece of land. What's the difference? The conservative leader has criticized President Trump for claiming NATO troops failed to join US forces on the front line in Afghanistan. Kemi Bade not called the US leaders' remarks flat-out nonsense, while the Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Dame Emily Thornberry said they were an insult to the 457 British troops killed in the conflict. The former Royal Marines officer and Armed Forces Minister Al-Khan served in Afghanistan. He shared his response in a video on X. These are bonds, I think, forged in fire, protecting US or shared interests, but actually protecting democracy overall.

2:04And I'd suggest to whoever believes these comments, come have a whiskey with me, my colleagues, their families, and importantly, the families of those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. The care minister, Stephen Kinnock, has told Times Radio Andy Burnham can make up his own mind on returning to Westminster. It comes as Sikir Starmer's allies are preparing to block the Greater Manchester Mayor from rejoining the Commons in mounting a leadership challenge. The chair of the Red Wall Group of Labour MPs, Joe White, has warned of a London stitch-up to keep out Mr Burnham. Meanwhile, Manchester's first night-time economy advisor, Sasha Lord, told Times Radio recent headlines have come as a shock to his friend and former colleague.

2:42There are conspiracy theories out there that think this is some sort of traitor's game or Game of Thrones and this has been planned all along. This is not. And I know for a fact that Andy was as surprised yesterday as anybody else was. I don't know what Andy is thinking right now, but one thing I do know is He will not be thinking about how does this benefit Andy Burnham. He will be thinking, can I make a difference? And that is why Greater Manchester has succeeded. The Times has revealed a government environmental report was suppressed after intelligence chiefs warned climate change could drive mass migration to Britain and trigger a nuclear war in Asia.

3:20The paper was due to be published last autumn before being held back by Number 10 for being too negative. The report warns rainforest loss in the Congo and drying Himalayan rivers could push people towards Europe, stir more populist politics in the UK and strain national infrastructure. And pharmacies across the UK are reporting widespread shortages of aspirin, a vital drug used to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Industry bodies say manufacturing delays and rising costs mean some are rationing supplies for the most urgent cases. They're urging the government to reform medicine pricing and supply rules to protect patients.

3:56And remember, you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online. This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business. Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC takes you further with tech, strengthening the data quality, processes, and workflows that shape how well AI performs. PwC turns innovation into implementation, so you can accelerate from experiment to scale.

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