Evening briefing Wednesday 17th 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 the 17th of December. The government's threatening Roman Abramovich with legal action to use the funds from selling Chelsea Football Club to help humanitarian groups in Ukraine.

0:47The sanctioned Russian billionaire was allowed to sell the club in 2022, providing the funds went towards victims of Russia's full-scale invasion. Zakir Starmer told MPs during Prime Minister's questions the government has now issued a licence to transfer the money. My message to Abramovich is this, the clock is ticking. Honour the commitment that you made and pay up now. And if you don't, we're prepared to go to court so every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin's illegal war. Mr Abramovich is understood to want some of the funds to go to Russia, arguing that would benefit who he sees as all victims of the war.

1:30Sir Keir Starmer has called resident doctor strikes in England dangerous and utterly irresponsible. The walkout began this morning, with the BMA calling for a bigger pay rise. Police in London and Manchester will arrest people who chant Globalize the Intifada at pro-Palestinian marches. Some campaigners argue the phrase is a call to violence against Jewish people, but police have previously said it has not met prosecuting thresholds. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says that has changed in light of anti-Semitic attacks like at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester and on Bondi Beach in Sydney.

2:10Where the threat context has changed, that means the impact of some phrases that haven't been prosecuted in the past we think have greater impact today. They have greater impact on communities when we see escalating threats and more terrorist attacks. That's why we're going to be more assertive. The Chief Rabbi has welcomed the move. Labour will allow six wealthy councils in the south of England to raise council tax beyond the legal limit to redistribute funding to poorer northern areas. Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, Westminster, Winter and Maidenhead and the City of London will be able to raise council tax by more than 5%.

2:45A 15-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 9-year-old girl in Somerset. On Monday evening, Aria Thorpe was found dead at a property in Weston-Super-Mare with a single stab wound. Superintendent Jen Appleford has asked the public not to speculate about the killing. This remains an incredibly difficult time for Aria's family. It is impossible to adequately describe how traumatic the past 36 hours have been for them. At the Ashes, the company behind Australia's video review system says operator error was why an Australian batsman wasn't given out when he should have been.

3:25Alex Carey was allowed to carry on despite being caught by England because the video and sound replay on Snicko was out of sync. Australia were 245 for 6 at the time but finished the day 326 for 8. England have to win the third test to keep the series alive. Don't forget to subscribe to The Times News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

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