Evening briefing Friday 08 August

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 Evening Briefing on Friday the 8th of August. I'm Mike Powell. Germany, traditionally one of Israel's strongest international backers, says it won't authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza until further notice.

0:50It follows Israel's controversial military takeover plan of Gaza City, which was reached early this morning after six hours of talks. Keir Starmer called the escalation wrong. Shana Lowe from the Norwegian Refugee Council told Times Radio people in Gaza have suffered enough already. They are simply trying to live. The conditions on the ground are by far the worst that we've seen after 22 months of hostilities. Tremendous amounts of devastation, destruction, over 60 ,000 people being killed. We're seeing mass starvation as a result of Israel intentionally restricting the amount of aid entering Gaza.

1:30The Prime Minister and European leaders are urging Israel to reconsider plans to take control of Gaza City. They say that Daniel Lifshed's grandparents were kidnapped by Hamas. Only his grandmother returned. He told Times Radio what she revealed. She told the story again and she said, you know, Hamas starved us from day one. It's a terror organization that their power is to terrorize and their power is to make propaganda in the international media and everywhere to get some more results on the table, to back off, to divide Israel. A senior White House official says a summit between the presidents of the US and Russia is tentatively scheduled for the end of next week.

2:18The location is still being discussed, but possibilities include the UAE, Hungary, Switzerland and Rome. Donald Trump's deadline, by which Russia should agree to a ceasefire, was today. Mikhail Kasyanov is a former prime minister of Russia. He told Times Radio he's not hopeful of a breakthrough. I don't believe that it will take next week, maybe in a couple, three weeks, but it's clear that Mr Putin is already just coming closer to the position to have some kind of concessions. But these concessions will be with terms and conditions which not necessarily will be acceptable for Ukraine. Let's believe just some kind of progress will be.

2:56The Metropolitan Police are currently gearing up for a mass protest in London tomorrow, which will call for the reversal of the proscription of Palestine action, now classed as a terror group. Meanwhile, officers across the country will cover a number of demos outside hotels used to house migrants across the weekend. The former assistant commissioner and head of counter-terrorism at the Met, Neil Basu, told Times Radio that diverting so many police could have an impact on fighting crime elsewhere. Metropolitan Police have taken steps to reassure local communities that policing these protests doesn't detract from their local community policing.

3:31But long term, it can't help but have an effect. There's been several years of this now, and officers will be reaching the limit of what they can do. You can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online. This 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.

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