Daily briefing Saturday 23rd May

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 Radio Daily Briefing on Saturday 23rd May. The government's job czar is warning young people are being rewired by smartphones and that a rising tide of mental ill health and anxiety is keeping them out of work.

0:47The former new Labour Health Secretary Alan Milburn is looking into why nearly a million 16-24 year olds aren't in education, employment or training. He says businesses need to offer greater flexibility and mental health support. Gary Oldham from the youth finance charity The Share Foundation says government policy isn't helping. There's so many benefits pouring into the older generation at the moment and nothing is going into the younger generation. And we need to move that completely. It doesn't mean tinkering with the welfare system. It needs actually going right through to the economics of what it means to grow up without any resources and, I have to say, not enough life skills either.

1:24The government says it's guaranteeing tens of thousands of jobs for young people. Amber heat health alerts are covering the Midlands and the south-east of England. It's expected to hit 30 degrees Celsius in London, and the Met Office says it's likely we'll see record bank holiday temperatures this weekend. The Times has been told the police are struggling to build a case against Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Thames Valley Police is leading the investigation into whether the former prince passed classified information to Geoffrey Epstein. However, it's thought officers are struggling to build a case which meets the high bar or acted with reckless indifference.

2:00Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing. Chinese state media says at least 82 people have been killed in an explosion in a coal mine in the Shanxi province. Times Radio's Daryl Jackson has more. The incident happened late last night and it's believed 247 workers were underground at the time. Reports suggest that carbon monoxide levels had exceeded safe limits at the site. It's believed that some of those who remain trapped are in a critical condition. The cause of the accident is under further investigation. The London Assembly Standards Commissioner is considering whether to investigate Zach Polanski over his council tax.

2:37Green Party leader has admitted he may have made an unintentional error and underpaid council tax while living on a houseboat, but he denies any wrongdoing. Sources in Washington suggest Donald Trump's intelligence chief has been forced out of her job after her resignation. Tulsi Gabbard will leave at the end of June, citing her husband's recent cancer diagnosis. However, insiders say her anti-war views have put her at odds with the president over Iran. He defended the war to his supporters last night. They said, why? I said, because Iran is going to have a nuclear weapon if we don't stop them.

3:07And I said, we're going to have to do it. And we have stopped them. They're not going to ever have a nuclear weapon. And we'll have that over with soon. It'll be over with soon. And you're going to see numbers like you've never seen, both on the upside and also in terms of cost. You're going to see cost go down. And the Red Arrows will fly with fewer jets for most of their displays to make their aging planes last longer. They will use seven jets rather than nine, except for major events like the King's birthday. Don't forget to subscribe to the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

3:54hands, 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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