Afternoon Briefing Monday 23rd March

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. Welcome to the Times Radio News Briefing for the afternoon of Monday 23rd March. Donald Trump says he's had good and productive conversations with Iran about the complete and total resolution of hostilities.

0:45In a post on Truth Social, he says he's postponed all military strikes against Iranian power stations and energy infrastructure for a five-day period. He had been threatening to attack those plants if Iran continued to block the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said it would hit water and power plants in the Gulf in retaliation. General Sir Richard Sheriff, a former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander has told Times Radio that America is losing the war. The Iranians, while they hold the Strait of Humburs, President Trump is losing this. And the Iranians are not going to surrender that advantage very quickly.

1:17The only way that Trump is going to achieve regime change, which is what he said, and unconditional surrender, which is another of his rather woolly aims, is frankly for the Americans to escalate and this turns into a grand war, which would be an absolute catastrophe. The MP for Golders Green says the overnight arson attack on four ambulances that belonged to a Jewish charity was a symbolic act of hatred. CCTV shows three hooded men approaching one of the vehicles and setting it alight. Police say the incident is being treated as a hate crime. Sarah Sackman, who is Jewish herself, has been speaking to reporters at the scene.

1:52Such anti-Semitism on our streets has no place. This is the beating heart of Golders Green, the beating heart of the British Jewish community. We're a stone's throw away from incredible organisations. like Jewish care, where I'll be doing my shopping ahead of Passover, which we're celebrating next week. This is a symbolic act of hatred, and it's why we must do everything in our power, working with government, working with law enforcement agencies, to ensure that the evil perpetrators of this incident feel the full force of the law. The government is to fund the replacement of the vehicles. The House Secretary West Streeting, whose constituency is not far away, has also been speaking at the scene.

2:29We have to confront and beat the evil ideas that are permeating in our society. Anti-Semitism is an old hatred, but it is alive and kicking in our country. And all of us, particularly those who are not Jewish, have to wake up, stand up and work with our Jewish friends and neighbours in confronting and defeating this despicable hatred. Britain faces a surge in migrants' crossings in the English Channel over the coming weeks. A deal to fund French beach patrols is due to run out within days. The three-year£475 million deal expires at the end of the month and the latest round of talks ended without agreement on Thursday.

3:09The Times' Home Affairs correspondent Matt Dathan says the work of the French authorities is crucial. France intercepts around about 37 % of all attempted crossings in the Channel, so stopping the boats before they get in the water because they are being seized by the French police. They cannot at the moment still intervene once the boats are seaborne. We're still awaiting that maritime law change on the French side. And you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online. This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere.

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