Daily briefing Sunday 12th October

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

0:35This is the Times News Briefing for Sunday, the 12th of October. As Israel prepares for the return of hostages, hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Tel Aviv's hostage square. The US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told a rally that Arab nations had chosen reconciliation over resentment. We all owe a debt of deep gratitude to President Trump.

0:59To Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Oh. Arieh Kovla is a political analyst in Jerusalem. He told Times Radio that jeers at mention of Netanyahu were not a surprise. Crowds that attend the hostage protests are almost universally opponents of the government. And strategy, which has at least publicly and domestically to Israelis, been that the hostages are really a second and third priority in this war. So it doesn't surprise me at all to hear that Netanyahu and the government cast as the bad guys by the protesters. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Sarkir Starmer will travel to Egypt tomorrow to attend an international peace summit.

1:40A signing ceremony for the US plan to end two years of war in Gaza will take place in Shamil Shaikh. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death in prison of the former rock star Ian Watkins. The 48-year-old Lost Prophets singer was attacked with a knife at Wakefield Prison yesterday. He was serving a 29-year sentence for serious child sex crimes. Universities with a record of poor teaching could be forced to lower tuition fees The government's considering whether it will be hundreds or thousands of pounds below the current fee cap But some in the sector fear the financial implications could shut down some institutions Louise Eccles, the Sunday Times' education editor, says the government wants standards to improve They're just asking what many people have asked, which is how can you pay£9 ,535 for an excellent degree with a great student experience and graduate outcomes and then pay the exact same amount for a degree you sort of wish you hadn't done and that you are very dissatisfied with.

2:38There's more pressure on the Duke of York over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Messages published in The Sun cast further doubt on Andrew's claims to have cut contact with the disgraced financier. In one he says we're in this together the day after a photograph of him with Virginia Giffray was published. Traumatised Ukrainian soldiers are dealing with their mental and physical scars with baking therapy. Groups, including amputees and those with PTSD, are taught to make traditional bread or biscuits in classes at a bakery in Kyiv. The Sunday Times journalist Felicity Spector has been to meet them.

3:10They're with people who've been through the same as them because it's really difficult. People can't just come back from Russian captivity and slot back into their old lives or come back from a traumatic injury. they need a lot of support and there isn't a lot of money and resources available from the state. So these initiatives are all sort of privately run and they're just individuals with their own small charities saying what can we do to help. You can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio Online.

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