Morning briefing Friday 16th January

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 Times Radio's morning briefing on Friday the 16th of January. The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenok, is expected to face further questions on the defection of Robert Jenrick to Reform UK when she speaks to reporters in Aberdeen later.

0:50Her allies believe they have limited the impact of Jenrick's departure, accusing him of defecting because he had given up hope of replacing Badenok as the Conservative leader. Simon Hart is a former Tory chief whip. Speaking to Times Radio, he said Jenrick's ambition could soon be a problem for the reform leader Nigel Farage. I don't know where this weird conversion to sort of foaming at the mouth right-wing-ly came from. Other than he's just decided that, you know, this is the point I want to reach in my career and how do I best get there? So he's traded the principles and the values he adopted when he came into Parliament for a different set of principles and values in order to try and climb the greasy pole.

1:29Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, says she presented President Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal following a private meeting at the White House. But it's not clear whether Trump accepted it. Since the US-enforced regime change in Venezuela, Trump has declined to endorse Machado, who claimed victory in the elections of 2024. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly asked President Trump to delay any military strikes on Iran following Tehran's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests. The White House says the prospect of US intervention has diminished but insists the president is keeping all options on the table.

2:09Officials claim Trump's intervention has helped to suspend the executions, with around 800 protesters said to have been spared. Foreign correspondent Lizzie Porter is in the Turkish city of Van, close to the Iranian border, she says Trump would have been keen to seize the moment to reduce tensions. I think him being able to say that the killing has stopped was a good way for him to be able to sidestep the pledges that he was making to hit Iran very hard and to not have to use military strikes against Iran. Social media companies have collectively deactivated nearly 5 million accounts held by under-16s in Australia, less than 40 days after the introduction of a ban.

2:54The implementation of the measure is being closely watched by regulators worldwide. Australia's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, says it's a clear sign that the legislation has had a swift impact. This is working. 4.7 million accounts gone. Meaning that young people, instead of being on their devices during these school holidays, have been cycling around, have been reading books, have been engaging with their friends and family, interacting. And MPs say vulnerable children in care are being regularly put at risk after hundreds were placed in unregistered homes four months at a time. The Commons Spending Watchdog says nearly 800 children are living in such accommodation, often with little oversight of their safety or well-being.

3:41A separate report by Ofsted found some providers are charging up to£30 ,000 a week driven by a shortage of suitable registered homes. There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

4:17That'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. You've got social dialed in. Search is doing its thing. So why do your marketing results look the same as six months ago? That's because you're fishing in the same pond as everyone else. Podcast listeners are a different audience entirely, more engaged, harder to reach through traditional channels, and ready to act when someone they trust makes a recommendation.

4:58We're Acast, and we put them right in front of you. Browse thousands of the world's leading podcasts, book host reads or run your own ads, and track every conversion in real time. Same skills you already have, brand new results. Acast. Acast.com slash advertise.