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Times Radio News Briefing

11 Jun 2026 · 3m · 4 chapters

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Afternoon briefing Thursday 11th June

In short

This Times Radio News Briefing (11 June) covers: violence in Belfast, where Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn calls it “racist thuggery” after police were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs; Royal College of Nursing Northern Ireland Executive Director Rita Devlin says masked men blocked nurses’ access to hospitals, sometimes checking credentials. The US and Iran escalate: US Central Command says it targeted Iranian surveillance, communications and air defence; Iran targets the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Analyst Arya Kovla (Jerusalem) argues the standoff must be resolved soon due to dwindling oil stocks. The Met Police says it reached an agreement with Apple to disable stolen iPhones, disrupting criminals’ factory-reset trade. Ryanair is investigated by the CMA over charging parents £8 for mandatory family seats (ages 2–11), potentially an unfair contract.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

0:39

Violence in Northern Ireland

Discussion on the violent disorder in Belfast and its impact on healthcare workers.

“The Northern Ireland's Secretary, Hilary Benn, has described violence disorder in Belfast as racist thuggery.”
1:24

US Action Against Iran

Overview of recent US military actions in Iran and implications for oil supply.

“The United States has carried out what it calls self-defence action against Iran.”
2:06

Apple's Agreement with Police

Details on Apple's new security measures to prevent mobile phone theft.

“The Metropolitan Police says it's reached an agreement with Apple which makes stolen mobile phones unusable.”
2:53

Ryanair's Family Seat Investigation

Discussion on Ryanair's policies and the investigation by competition watchdogs.

“for charging parents to sit with their children.”
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Transcript

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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 afternoon briefing for Thursday 11th June. The Northern Ireland's Secretary, Hilary Benn, has described violence disorder in Belfast as racist thuggery.

0:45Police were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs during a second night of violence in the city. Rita Devlin is Executive Director of the Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland. She's told Times Radio her colleagues have been targeted by men wearing masks. We had reports of, on Tuesday night, nurses being unable to get to work. There were masked men with barricades in some of the roads where the hospitals are and the nurses were unable to get to work. And in some cases they were told to show their credentials, their passes, hospital passes before they could pass through the barricades. Some were allowed in and some weren't.

1:24The United States has carried out what it calls self-defence action against Iran. US Central Command says Iranian surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defence sites were targeted. In response, Iran has targeted the US Navy's fifth fleet in Bahrain. The political analyst Arya Kovla, based in Jerusalem, says this stalemate will have to be resolved sooner rather than later because of energy supplies. There was enormous stocks of oil in case something like this happened. But those stocks are beginning to run out. And, you know, in four weeks, six weeks, however long it takes, and as we're talking weeks, not months, then we'll really start to see that there just isn't enough oil in the world anymore and then something's going to have to give.

2:06The Metropolitan Police says it's reached an agreement with Apple which makes stolen mobile phones unusable. The force says the tech giant has made a global change to its security system disrupting organised crime. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley's told Times Radio what happens if your device is nicked. Your phone gets stolen, it's locked, so you think it's secure but criminals have illicit software where they can get into the phone, not to get to your data, but sufficiently to do a factory reset so then they can sell it on as nearly new. And that security vulnerability drives this business. And we've seen 80-90 % of phones that are stolen in London reactivated many times in China and Africa.

2:48He says the number of phones being reactivated has now dropped substantially. Ryanair is being investigated by the competition watchdog for charging parents to sit with their children. The Competition and Markets Authority is looking into the Budget Airlines' mandatory family seats policy, which means parents have to reserve a seat. Here's Times Radio's business correspondent, Dominic O 'Connell. So mandatory family seat means that Ryanair requires you, as a parent, to sit with your kid if they're aged between 2 and 11. But they charge you£8 for the privilege of having the seat, having those two seats together or three seats, whatever it turns out to be.

3:26And it costs£8. And the CMA says that this could be an unfair contract under the rules. You can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

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From the publisher
The Times Radio news briefing for the afternoon of Thursday 11th June. For more on these stories throughout the day tune into Times Radio - on DAB, online, through your smart speaker or on the Times Radio app.

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