Morning briefing Friday 8th August

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 Morning Briefing for Friday 8th August. Israel's security cabinets has approved a plan by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take full control of the entire Gaza Strip.

0:46A late-night meeting of ministers coincided with disturbances in Tel Aviv, where police clashed with demonstrators calling for an end to the war. They say the plan jeopardises the lives of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza, while the United Nations is warning there could be catastrophic consequences for Palestinians. Police used water cannons to disperse crowds in Tel Aviv last night as protesters chanted slogans criticizing Netanyahu.

1:21Netanyahu's proposal follows days of speculation that the move had divided Israel's government and it's amid suggestions that senior officials in the Israel Defense Forces, including the Chief of Staff, were opposed. Noga Tanopolsky is an Israeli-Palestinian journalist based in Jerusalem. Out loud in public, he said that the Israeli army, and I'm quoting now, will fearlessly continue to state its opinion. And he's not talking about fighting Hamas. He's talking about his arguments with the Israeli government. It is a difficult decision, I think, for anybody to know that they're embarking on a war when the army itself has said this is a terrible idea.

2:01And the Times has learned that Israel is considering withdrawing defence and security cooperation with the UK if Sakir Starmer goes ahead with recognising a state of Palestine. President Trump's deadline for his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine expires today, with Moscow still facing fresh US sanctions. But the ultimatum appears not to have halted progress towards face-to-face talks between the two leaders next week, Addressing reporters at the Oval Office last night, Trump said the talks are not conditional on the Russian president's meeting with Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

2:40The homelessness minister has become the sixth MP to have resigned from Sikir Starmer's government. Roshanara Ali has been accused by the conservatives of staggering hypocrisy after she increased the monthly rent on a property she owns by£700 just weeks after she'd given her previous tenants notice. Such a practice will soon be made illegal by her own departments. The government is planning to introduce restriction zones that will limit where serious sexual and violent offenders can go. Ministers say it will enable survivors to carry on with their daily lives without fear of seeing their offender.

3:16Anyone breaching the zone's boundaries could be recalled to prison. The Justice Minister is Alex Davies-Jones. We have currently got an epidemic of violence against women and girls in this country. No longer will victims and survivors have to look over their shoulder and worry about whether or not they're going to be bumping into their perpetrator in the street or the supermarket. The responsibility isn't on them to monitor where they go. Why should their liberty be curtailed? You can follow the Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

3:51This 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. Here's a tip for you. There's a podcast out there with fans waiting to be your next customer.

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