Evening briefing Wednesday 10th December

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 Wednesday 10th December. Justice ministers say the European Convention on Human Rights should not stop their countries entering into third-party asylum deals like the Rwanda scheme.

0:46Half of the Council of Europe says the convention must be constrained around protections from inhuman and degrading treatment and there needs to be a better balance to the right to a family life. But former Supreme Court Justice Lord Sumption told Times Radio change is unlikely. If you were to amend the convention so as to require it to be dealt, to be interpreted in a rather more responsible way than Strasbourg has been doing for the last 50 years, then that might well make a very significant difference. The problem is that that requires the consent of all 46 members of the Council of Europe, and that just isn't going to happen.

1:23Influential countries like France and Germany have not signed the joint statement. The British Medical Association says it will consult its members on a government offer to try to stop next week's junior doctor strike. The offer doesn't address pay but would create more training roles and prioritise medical graduates from the UK. The British soldier killed on duty in Ukraine has been named as 28-year-old Lance Corporal George Hooley. He was part of the Parachute Regiment and was killed away from the front line whilst testing a new air defence system. The Prime Minister paid tribute to him in Parliament.

1:55His life was full of courage and determination. He served our country with honour and distinction around the world in the cause of freedom and democracy. Mr Speaker, I place his name on record today to express our gratitude and respect and to affirm that his service will never be forgotten. The Ministry of Defence has never previously disclosed the presence of paratroopers in Ukraine, raising questions about the extent of British operations. British tourists may have to submit their social media history for the past five years to get a visa in the United States Proposals from the Trump administration also suggest people should hand over their phone numbers Their families dates and places of birth and any business emails from the last 10 years The Conservatives have nominated former Olympic swimmer Sharon Davies for the House of Lords She's become a prominent campaigner to define women's sport on the basis of sex and exclude transgender women Labour, meanwhile, nominated 25 people, including the Iceland chairman Richard Walker.

3:00The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Venezuelan opposition leader in her absence. Maria Carina Machado lives in hiding in her own country. Her daughter, Anna, collected the award on her behalf. This prize carries profound meaning. It reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace. and more than anything that to have democracy we must be willing to fight for freedom. And Sophie Kinsella, the author of Confessions of a Shopaholic, has died aged 55. The novelist, who also wrote under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, three years ago.

3:44Her novels have sold 45 million copies worldwide. Don't forget you can subscribe to The Times News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

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