Morning briefing Friday 23 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, 23rd of January. President Trump has claimed that European troops stayed off the front lines in Afghanistan.

0:43He's been speaking to Fox News. We've never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, a little off the front lines. Lord Sedwell, former National Security Advisor and Cabinet Secretary, refuted Donald Trump's claim. NATO Article 5 has been invoked once in the entire history of the alliance, and that was in support of the United States after 9-11. And in Iraq and Afghanistan, yes, of course, some nations were not on the front line, the Americans took the burden, but the UK and Denmark had a higher rate of casualties than the Americans, and so he is completely wrong.

1:24Meanwhile, European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen says that the EU was successful in being firm but non-escalatory with the US, referring to President Donald Trump backing down on threats to acquire Greenland. She also said the European Commission has committed to invest more. We have collectively under-invested in the Arctic and Arctic security, so now it's high time to step up. Allies of Sir Keir Starmer are reportedly moving to block Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from standing in an upcoming by-election to prevent a potential leadership challenge and a by-election for Greater Manchester Mayor.

2:00The Labour MP for Ellsmeyerport and Bromborough, Justin Madders, told us he should not be blocked from standing for leader. If it's clear that he's got good reasons to represent that seat that don't all lead to a leadership bid, then I think he would be well placed to put himself forward. Any attempts to prevent that would look pretty poor on the Labour Party. U.S. President Donald Trump said there was a big force going toward Iran, and he was watching the country very closely. An aircraft carrier and several destroyers started moving from the Asia-Pacific region last week as tensions between Iran and the United States soared following a severe crackdown on protesters across Iran in recent months.

2:45The president explained his position. And I said, if you hang those people, you're going to be hit harder than you've ever been hit. It'll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts. And an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they cancelled it. Number 10 is reportedly considering diluting plans to overhaul the special educational needs system due to fears of a backbench rebellion and further government reversals, so that education, health and care plans, or EHCPs, are used only for the most severe and complex cases. Vladimir Zelensky says the first trilateral meeting between the US, Russia and Ukraine will take place today and on Saturday in the UAE.

3:27And there's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio. This 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.

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