Afternoon Briefing Thursday 20th November

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 News Briefing on Thursday 20th November. A government minister has told Times Radio that a report on trans rights is not being sat on and the issues remain complex.

0:44Figures in Whitehall have given The Times a copy of a document from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. It says transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like. It was passed to ministers three months ago, but they've still not published it. Times reporter Geraldine Scott received the document and says the advice has evolved. Comparing it to the previous document, which was last up late in 2011, the language is completely different. In that old document, it advised that transgender people should be treated as their gender identity. This completely reverses that and says that for the purposes of the Equality Act, sex is biological and should be treated as such.

1:24The Trump administration is proposing that Ukraine halves the size of its army, surrenders the eastern Donbass region and gives up its most powerful weapons. The proposals appear to reflect many demands made by the Kremlin. But Sir Ben Wallace, the former Conservative Defence Secretary, has told Times Radio that Russia is not in a particularly strong position at the moment. If we add up all the casualties and you look at the British Defence Intelligence's assessment, in this year alone, Russia has lost 350 ,000 casualties to this war for less than 1 % of Ukraine. In fact, 0.7 % of Ukraine is how much they've achieved.

2:04Donald Trump has signed a bill approving the release of files relating to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The U.S. Justice Department now has 30 days to publish the documents after both houses of Congress voted in favor of disclosing them. There are some exemptions, however, related to ongoing investigations. Trump knew Epstein, but earlier this week he insisted he's not the one who needs to be scrutinized. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. and I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert. But I guess I turned out to be right. Of all the money that he's given to Democrats, he gave me none, zero, no money to me.

2:41But he gave money to Democrats. A solar-powered webcam has been set up to livestream England's largest colony of grey seals and the birth of new pups. The National Trust says the camera first trialled last year. It has been discreetly installed in the dunes at Blakeney Point in Norfolk. It'll be filming until early January when the last pups are expected to be born. Edward Stubbings is the National Trust's area ranger for Blakeney Point. He's told Times Radio the camera is a vital resource. Well, it's really not possible to experience the heart of the colony from the ground because it's obviously dangerous.

3:20They're large animals with big teeth. The mothers are very protective of their pups. so it's not safe for people to witness it on the ground. And you can follow The Times 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. 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.

4:07PwC turns innovation into implementation, so you can accelerate from experiment to scale. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. Hey everybody, it's Farnoosh Tarabi, host of the So Money podcast. This episode is sponsored by Smart Travel, a new podcast from NerdWallet. You know that one friend who always finds the best travel deals, picks the right cards, and somehow ends up in first class for the price of coach? Smart Travel is like that friend, but in podcast form. They cover things like which travel cards earn their keep, and which are just heavy, shiny metal. And the smartest ways to book flights without playing guess the cheapest day.

4:46Travel smarter and spend less with help from NerdWallet. Follow Smart Travel wherever you get your podcasts.