Evening Briefing Wednesday 8th 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 Hello, this is your Times Radio evening briefing for Wednesday 8th July with me, James Kitchen. Donald Trump says the Iran war has been a tremendous success, adding the country is never going to have a nuclear weapon.

0:47Iranian state media is reporting Tehran may close the Strait of Hormuz after the US president warned the regime to expect further US strikes, branding it the bully of the Middle East. Ben Hodges is the former commander of the US Army in Europe. They still cling to this notion that, hey, we destroyed all their ships, their whole navy's at the bottom. It doesn't matter. The fact is, the Iranians are still able to disrupt or stop traffic in the strait if ship captains and insurance companies don't have confidence. So it doesn't matter how many boats we have sunk of the Iranian navy. Mr Trump hailed a very successful NATO summit in Ankara, calling the alliance stronger than ever.

1:27The US president said NATO members were making great progress towards the target of spending 5 % of GDP on defense. If you could have seen the respect and the love in the room, and it's love really for the country, for our country. I don't want to say me because you'll say, oh, he's so conceited. He's such a conceited person. But they do. I mean, you know, they like the job I'm doing. They said, we love, sir, we love you. These are grown people saying that. Isn't that nice? Maybe, I don't know, maybe they're trying to get to me. Sakhir Starmers accused Nigel Farage of being up to his neck and sleaze following his resignation from the Commons.

2:05The reform leader has formally stepped down as the MP for Clacton, triggering what he's calling a people versus the establishment by-election. He's facing two investigations over gifts from wealthy donors and insists he's done nothing wrong. The Prime Minister called the situation a farce. Nigel Farage has been utterly exposed. in this complete stunt that he was trying to set up. He's run himself into a cul-de-sac. But it was a stunt, and everybody can see that. And there's a reason for that, and that's because he's up to his neck in sleaze, and he doesn't want to answer questions about it. Reform has proposed holding the by-election on 6th August.

2:43The Metropolitan Police Firearms Officer acquitted of murdering Chris Cabber is unlikely to face further disciplinary action following a change to the law. Martin Blake fired a single shot at the 24-year-old in South London in September 2022 after he tried to ram his way past police cars. It's understood the Kaba family have three weeks to appeal. Police have released details of a man suspected of murdering his wife and two daughters in Bedfordshire. Mark Schumer flew out of the UK on Saturday and is now believed to be in Zimbabwe. The bodies of 42-year-old Zandile and their children Natalia Nala, who were 15 and 5, were found dead at a house in Great Denham on Monday.

3:25In tennis, the British wildcard Arthur Ferry has beaten Italy's Flavio Caballi in straight sets to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon. The 23-year-old, who entered the tournament, ranked 114th, beat ninth seed Caballi 6-4, 7-6, 6-love on centre court. Remember, you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

3:55This 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. Hey everybody, this is Knox from the Popcast with Knox and Jamie.

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