Daily Briefing Sunday 11th January

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. Hello, this is your Times Daily Briefing for Sunday 11th January with me, James Kitchen. Iran is warning Donald Trump that any attack on the regime would lead to retaliatory strikes on Israel and American bases in the Middle East.

0:45It comes as the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have reportedly discussed the possibility of intervention. The courage of anti-government protesters has been praised by the UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who says those exercising fundamental rights shouldn't face threats of violence. Tehran's Attorney General warns anyone taking to the streets will face the death penalty. Speaking to Times Radio, the host of Iran International, Naigah Mochahedi, described the situation as a bloodbath. The images that we are seeing are horrific. You know, in some hospitals we're seeing dozens and dozens of dead bodies.

1:25Now we're giving a conservative estimate here of at least 2 ,000 people dead in just 48 hours. In one hospital in a small town in northern Iran, Rashid. There were 70 dead bodies in just one hospital. Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines have all cancelled flights to the country. Meanwhile, the US has carried out multiple strikes in Syria targeting the Islamic State group. The operation was authorised by President Trump following a deadly ISIS attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra in December. Posting on X, the Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said we will never forget and never relent.

2:05A senior Labour MP has stepped up his attack on the government's planned jury reforms, threatening to trigger a by-election unless they're scrapped. Speaking to the Sunday Times, Carl Turner said he was ashamed of Sakhir Starmer. He's called plans to drop juries in Charles with a likely prison sentence of three years or less ludicrous. Yesterday, Mr. Turner told Times Radio he was confident backbenchers would vote down the proposals and defeat the government. But the Labour MP for Derby North and the former barrister, Catherine Atkinson, says the reforms are necessary. It was in our manifesto that we would put victims first.

2:39And at the moment, the backlog is getting higher. So we are seeing a 10 % increase in arrests. We're seeing a 20 % increase in the number of cases going to the Crown Court. And there are real people behind these statistics. There are victims and witnesses and defendants that are being left in limbo. Drivers across England will be able to see how effective their local authority is at tackling potholes. The Department for Transport is using a traffic light system to judge road conditions and where councils are spending government funds. Among those classified red are Cumberland, Bolton, Leicestershire, Suffolk and Kensington and Chelsea.

3:18And more snow is expected to blanket parts of central Scotland, which is covered by a fresh amber weather warning. New yellow alerts for rain, wind and ice across the UK could hamper clean-up efforts from Storm Goretti. Thousands are still without power, mostly in southwest England. And remember, you can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

3:45This 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 Do you keep hearing podcast ads, like this one for example, but always wonder how you actually get involved with them for your own brand or organization?

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