Evening briefing on Monday 7th 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 your Times evening briefing on Monday the 7th of July. 52 ,000 petals fell from the ceiling of St Paul's Cathedral during a service to remember the 7-7 London bombing victims.

0:4520 years ago today, 52 people died when suicide bombers attacked the capital's transport network during the morning rush hour. Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Sarah Mullally, spoke at the service. The descriptions we heard of the historic and present-day richness, the four locations where life was decimated, culminated in the reminder that the good which is in Londoners is not erased by hatred or threat, but rather it's fostered to produce a harvest of hope for each generation. The Israeli Prime Minister is in Washington for talks with Donald Trump. The US president is looking to secure a peace deal to end the war in Gaza.

1:30It's after indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and Hamas ended without any resolution. R.A. Kobler is an Israeli-based journalist. He told Times Radio he might not make any progress. What Hamas is saying is they're not willing to sign any kind of a deal that doesn't ultimately lead to a longer-term ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. They're not interested in short-term ceasefires. So what's happening is that Trump is pushing Netanyahu to find some way to agree that this will be the end of the war. Netanyahu is unlikely to be able to directly say that. Authorities in Texas say the US state is grieving and experiencing every parent's nightmare after devastating flash floods.

2:10At least 82 people have died, including 27 girls and staff at a summer camp. Senator Ted Cruz has been speaking to the press. A week ago, this was a time of great celebration. You're dropping your little girl off at camp, your little boy off at camp. You're celebrating Independence Day. You know that your child is going to be swimming and canoes and horseback riding and doing archery and making lifetime friends. And then suddenly it turns to tragedy. The trial of two men accused of assaulting three police officers at Manchester Airport has been shown footage of the incident. The brothers were arrested last July after a video of the part of the incident went viral on social media.

2:53Russia's former transport minister Roman Starovoyt has been found dead hours after being sacked by Vladimir Putin. He was discovered with a gunshot wound in his car. Sigur Starmer is facing another rebellion. Last week it was on welfare. This week it's reforms to special needs education. Ministers have refused to guarantee that the 600 ,000 CEN children will retain the legal right to extra support. The white paper with full details of the reforms is not due until October. Munira Wilson is education spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats. And told Times Radio there are other options. We would create a national body for SEND which would deal with some of the very, very high needs which result in a postcode lottery across the country and also would develop and recommend best practice, a bit like setting national standards for what should be delivered at a local level because again there's a lot of variability.

3:43And you can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online. That's your Times Evening Briefing on Monday the 7th of July.

4:13and 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. Hi, I'm Katie Prescott from the Times Tech Podcast. AI is already changing business and medicine, but could it also change the way we look after our own health? In a special episode in Paid Partnership with Vitality, we look at how AI, wearables and everyday health data could help shift healthcare from treating illness to preventing it.

4:59Listen to the Times Tech Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.