Daily briefing Saturday 19th July

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 the Times Daily Briefing on Saturday 19th June. The Wall Street Journal has stood by its reporting as Donald Trump sues the paper.

0:43The president's filed for libel against the paper and its publisher, which has the same parent company as The Times. The paper reported he sent a sexually suggestive letter with a birthday message to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The president has called that fake news. The paper's Washington bureau chief, Damien Pelletta, spoke to Times Radio. Obviously, with a story like this, or any story, the Wall Street Journal takes its credibility incredibly seriously. And before we would publish a story like this, We are meticulous in the way that we review all our sourcing, we review the content of any story we're going to publish, and so we firmly stand behind the reporting in this.

1:20The UK has announced its biggest set of sanctions against Russian spies, unmasking a number of Kremlin operatives. The GRU agents are accused of targeting the UK and its allies in assassination attempts, cyber hacking and sabotage. They include the people who planned the Salisbury poisonings and are thought to be crucial to Moscow's campaign of destabilisation and disinformation. Kieran Martin, former CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, told Times Radio it's useful even without them being dragged in front of a court. It's still worth doing. First of all, there's no real downside to doing this.

1:56Secondly, I think experience shows that spies don't like having their techniques exposed. It makes it less attractive for other people to do it because then it's a lifelong ban from travelling to the West. Moscow has previously claimed allegations of sabotage are politically motivated. The Times understands thousands of Afghans affected by a major government data breach but who aren't going to be evacuated will not receive compensation. The Ministry of Defence will fight any five-figure claims and will not be proactive in handing out smaller payments to people whose lives were put at risk. It argues a review has now found the risk to them has now been diminished.

2:35The US ambassador to Turkey says Israel and Syria have agreed a ceasefire. Over 300 people have been killed in the last few days in fighting about minority groups in Syria. A grandmother who ran a family cocaine network worth£80 million has been jailed for 20 years. 65 year old Debra Mason who was known as the Queen Bee spent some of her profits on a 400 pound Gucci collar and lead for her cat This is the moment she was arrested at her home in North London What is going on? Right, so the search warrant, the moment in time you're under arrest for concern and supply of class A You do not have to say anything but may harm you defence if you do not mention the wrong question Something which you may not rely on in court, anything you do say may be given any happens Six other members of Mason's family have also been jailed.

3:26And an amber weather warning is in place for thunderstorms in the south-east of England. Less severe warnings also cover most of England and the rest of Scotland. Don't forget to subscribe to The Times News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

3:46This 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

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