Evening briefing Wednesday 29th April

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 Radio evening briefing on Wednesday 29th April. Two Jewish men have been stabbed in an anti-Semitic terror attack in North London.

0:42They were taken to hospital and are in a stable condition. This is the moment a 45-year-old man was arrested.

0:52It happened in Golders Green, an area with a large Jewish population. It's near the site of five separate arson attacks on synagogues and Jewish charities within the last month. The Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and the local MP Sarah Sackman were heckled when they gave an update this afternoon. Save on you! Save on you! Save on you! Shame on you! Shame on you! The Prime Minister has called it an utterly appalling attack and has chaired a meeting of COBRA, but the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mervis, says words of condemnation are not enough. We also need zero tolerance of anti-Semitism with regard to hate marches, with regard to anti-Semitism in all its forms on university campuses, within the NHS, together with the purposeful anti-Israel demonisation which sometimes takes place, which contributes to a tone of anti-Semitism.

1:46An Iranian-linked Islamist group has claimed a responsibility, but without providing evidence. Jonathan Hall KC, the government's independent reviewer on terror legislation, thinks politicians need to call out anti-Semitism from some Muslim communities. We occasionally hear the odd word about Islamist anti-Semitism, which is a reference to this political ideology that drives certain terrorist organisations. But there is also, I regret to say, some ambient anti-Semitism that exists in some parts of the Muslim community. I have not seen our political leaders talk about that. And if you don't talk about it, if you don't name it, I don't know how you're going to be able to tackle it.

2:23Buckingham Palace says the king is deeply concerned about the attack. He and the queen are in New York City for the next stage of their state visit to New York, where they visited the 9-11 memorial. The Conservatives have referred Nigel Farage to Parliament's Standards Commissioner over a£5 million gift from a crypto-billionaire in 2024. Christopher Harbourn gave it to the Reform UK leader before he became an MP, meaning it's not counted as a political donation, but MPs are meant to register any gifts they receive in the 12 months before they're elected. The University of Sussex has won an appeal and overturned a record fine for breaching free speech.

2:57Our reporter in the Times newsroom, Olly Cole, has more. The Office for Students investigated Sussex University after the departure of Professor Kathleen Stock in 2021, with claims she'd been hounded out of her posts by trans activists. The university was fined£585 ,000 by the OFS for failing to uphold free speech, a sanction they challenged, claiming the regulator did not have the authority to impose it. The ruling today said the OFS had misunderstood the meaning of freedom of speech within the law, acted with bias and unlawfully predetermined the decision. And FIFA's considering a radical plan which would require all clubs to have at least one homegrown player under 21 on the pitch at all times.

3:36It's expected to be discussed by several bodies before being submitted to FIFA's council next year. Don't forget to subscribe to the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

3:52This 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. PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale. Discover more at pwc.co.uk Quick question. When was the last time a display ad changed your mind?

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