Afternoon Briefing Monday 13th October

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. This is your Times Afternoon Briefing for Monday 13th October. The Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has addressed the Israeli parliament, saying the hostages have got home with the indispensable help of Donald Trump.

0:47Mr President, today we welcome you here to thank you for your pivotal leadership in putting forward a proposal that got the backing of almost the entire world. A proposal, a proposal that brings all our hostages home. After addressing the parliament himself, Donald Trump will travel to Egypt to meet world leaders. The Times' World Affairs editor Catherine Philp explains its purpose. The second phase is the tricky one, of course. What we will see in Sharm el-Sheikh later today is it's not going to produce any massive concrete. I think that we have to be realistic about what can be done there. Some of the hardest issues in this, including the issue of Hamas being disarmed, those are still on the table.

1:38Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer has told Times Radio that China can be a threat. That's despite the Times' discovery that China was given assurances that Labour would progress its application to build a super embassy near the Tower of London. A final decision should be made by next Tuesday. Mr Falconer said the government is cautious. There are clearly areas where we are going to compete with China. They do pose national security threats to the UK, whether that's in relation to cyber security, transnational repression, their relationship with Russia in relation to the conflict in Ukraine.

2:11But there are also, of course, areas where we have to cooperate. Nigel Farage has blamed Sir Keir Starmer's rhetoric for an assault on a 19-year-old Reform UK council leader, George Finch. Mr Farage says it's a result of the Prime Minister's conference speech, which he called disgraceful. graceful. Sir Keir referred to Mr Farage and others, sowing fear and discord, implying they were the enemy. Two men have been charged with the murder of Ian Watkins, the former Lost Prophets frontman who was killed on Saturday in prison. 25-year-old Rashid Gadel and 43-year-old Samuel Doddsworth are inmates at HMP Wakefield.

2:44Watkins was in prison for child sexual offences. Woody Allen's written an emotional tribute to his former on - and off-screen partner Diane Keaton, who died on Saturday. He starred opposite her in the film Annie Hall. In an essay published by the Free Press, Alan says her face and laugh illuminated any space she entered. For more stories like this, listen throughout the day to Times Radio.

3:23AI 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. Discover more at pwc.co.uk Healthcare can feel complicated. That's why Optum uses technology to connect the people and processes that make healthcare easier, more affordable and more effective.

4:10We're making it clearer for you to know exactly what your benefits cover. And to help you better manage your health, we're coordinating care between your doctors and your technology. We believe better, simpler health care is always possible. That's healthy optimism. That's Optum. Visit Optum.com to learn more.