Afternoon briefing Tuesday 30th September

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

0:36This is the Times afternoon briefing for Tuesday 30th September. Arab and Muslim nations are supporting a US-proposed peace plan for Gaza, which Hamas says it's reviewing in good faith. It has received Israel's backing and would see Sir Tony Blair play a role in an interim post-war government, with the US president's negotiator hopeful a deal will be done. Donald Trump thinks it will bring eternal peace in the Middle East. We're relying on the countries that I named and others to deal with Hamas and I'm hearing that Hamas wants to get this done too and it's a good thing The health secretary has told Times Radio if Nigel Farage's political tactics are not racist he doesn't know what is West Streeting has been warning that the anti-science reform UK poses a threat to the NHS as Labour ramps up its attacks on the party Later, Sir Keir Stamil will promise his party conference a land of dignity and respect.

1:31Streeting says there's a climate of racism at present. I don't have a window into Nigel Farage's heart and soul. I remember the leaflet that reform put out that said that Anasawa would prioritise the interests of the Pakistani community. If that leaflet, directed against a proud Scot of proud Pakistani heritage, was not racist, then I don't know what is. And if Nigel Farage allows that to go out, what does that make him? Police in Oxfordshire are warning against speculation over a rape involving a group of men. A woman in her 30s was attacked in a churchyard on Sunday. Officers say one of the suspects is a white man, and there's no information linking the investigation to migrant accommodation.

2:15The UK and Chinese governments are in intense negotiations over what could be the largest seizure of criminal assets in British history. Ximen Qian, known as the BitQueen, admitted laundering more than£5 billion worth of Bitcoin. Rachel Reeves hopes to use the money to plug holes in the budget, but Beijing says it should be returned to them. Qian fled to the UK after defrauding more than 100 ,000 investors in China. Afghanistan's internet is blacked out, and mobile phone networks have been almost entirely shut down, with fears it's part of a morality crackdown by the Taliban government. A local broadcaster says authorities ordered 3G and 4G mobile networks to close.

2:52And police in the city of London say they're adopting El Capone tactics to deal with phone theft. Targeting e-bike riders, they've seized 4 ,000 stolen phones in the last three months. But London is still Europe's phone theft capital, leading some to engage in vigilante tactics. Diego Galdino is a delivery rider in the city. He told Times Radio he splashes the thieves with red paint. I know his face, sometimes he changes the partner, you know, or I recognise his partner or I recognise him. I spot like hundreds of big pockets like this last three months. I know how they operate, I have like a good instinct for them and I just go for them, you know, like straight away.

3:32You can follow the Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

3:40This 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. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. Hi, I'm Katie Prescott from the Times Tech Podcast, which is currently sponsored by IBM.

4:27IBM has worked with Wimbledon for more than 30 years, helping the championships use data and AI to create more engaging digital experiences for fans. That includes tools like Match Chat, which can answer questions during play, and Likelihood to Win, which uses live match data to offer near real-time predictions. It's a practical example of AI in action, helping fans follow the tournament more closely while showing how organizations can turn data into useful insight. To learn more about how IBM helps create smarter business, visit ibm.com.