Morning briefing Friday 24th 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 Good morning. Donald Trump says a key shipping route for oil and gas supplies remains closed by his own making and not Iran's.

0:42The US president claims the clock is ticking for Tehran to reach a peace deal to end the war. Only then can the Strait of Hormuz reopen. Jamil Jaffa is founder and executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University. We know that they still have military capability. They still have kept the strait closed, even though, by the way, the deal on the ceasefire was we'll stop bombing you. You open the strait. Well, we've stopped bombing them. They have not opened the strait. Now, we've then blockaded their ports and that's causing them some economic harm. But the real truth of the matter is that Iran has not held up its end of the ceasefire bargain.

1:22A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's been extended by three weeks, agreed yesterday after talks at the White House. Ministers face calls to ban the sharing of British citizens' personal data with China. It's after a huge breach. The health data of half a million volunteers involved in a major UK study has been listed for sale online. Information like names and addresses weren't affected, but things like lifestyle habits were. It's thought Chinese researchers legitimately downloaded the biobank material before it was made commercially available. Brian Lord is former Deputy Director of Intelligence and Cybersecurity Operations at GCHQ.

2:03He suggested that controls should be introduced to protect data. It would be extremely easy to put controls on quantitative data, types of data, categories of data that individual research institutions need so that it limits the amount of data they can and there can be a clear audit trail around it. And I think that's what's been missing in this biobank element is data has been taken out from their system with no controls. The listings have been removed. The Prime Minister's former Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, has appeared at the Kiev Security Conference and was asked about the Mandelson scandal.

2:43He's been summoned to go before MPs next week. McSweeney said reports about his behaviour, including the suggestion that he pressured officials at the Foreign Office to wave through Peter Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to the US, were not accurate. I don't recognise that description of me. I'm not going to say too much about right now. I'm seeing the MPs next week and I don't want to in any way disrespect their process. but I don't, I find it strange reading about a character, I hope with the same name as mine sometimes, but yeah, I don't recognise that character. Three migrants who illegally entered Britain on small boats have been convicted of gang-raping a woman on Brighton Beach.

3:28Two men have been convicted of repeatedly attacking a woman while a third who filmed the assault was found guilty of secondary party. Prosecutors allege the latter, a 20-year-old Egyptian national, Karin al-Dhanasert, was convicted of murder in his home country. Don't forget, you can set the Times Radio News Briefing as your flash briefing on Alexa. 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?

4:08Strong 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? Now think about the last time a friend told you about something they loved. Different feeling, right? That's how podcast advertising works. A host who's built real trust with their audience talks about your brand in their own words, in their own voice.

4:50It doesn't interrupt the experience. It's part of it. With Acast, you can access the world's largest podcast marketplace. Choose the right shows, the right audiences, the right format. Then watch the data tell you it worked. You're not buying impressions. You're buying influence. Learn more by visiting acast.com slash advertise.