Morning briefing Monday 3rd 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 Monday 3rd August. Greek police investigating the death of a British woman in Athens have arrested a 26-year-old Afghan said to have worked as a cleaner in the building where she was staying.

0:47The body of Elizabeth Jane Ross, who was 38, was found in a suitcase inside a derelict building on July 18th. Athens police said the man had been arrested for manslaughter and robbery and detectives believe he used the victim's bank cards to withdraw thousands of euros. Two firefighters have died after two helicopters collided while battling a huge wildfire northwest of Athens. The crew of one of the aircraft had been confirmed as safe, including a British pilot. Thousands of people have been evacuated as wildfires continue to rage across Greece, including parts of the mainland and tourist destinations like the island of Crete.

1:24Daphne Tollis is a journalist in Athens. The fire has torn through dense forests, forcing multiple evacuations across western Attica, while threatening residential areas and destroying several homes. Gale force winds and the intense heat generated by this mega-fire are severely hampering firefighting efforts. President Trump has announced that the perimeters of a deal with Iran have been reached and has called off fresh attacks. Posting on Truth Social, he said Washington had been asked by Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.

2:02Iranian military sources have accused Donald Trump of lying and have denied making the request. Sean Bell is a military analyst and former vice air marshal in the RAF. He's been speaking to Times Radio. I think what's most likely here is that President Trump's just getting frustrated. We are getting closer and closer to the midterms. when he first started the war, those midterm elections so vital for him and the Republican Party were hundreds of days away. They're now 93 days away and we don't seem any closer to a deal. In fact, it seems to be getting further away, becoming more a regional challenge.

2:36The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now spreading with an exceptional pace of transmission, according to the World Health Organization, with 296 people dying in the last week. The latest figures announced over the weekend showed that the outbreak was the largest recorded in the country. Poppy Aguandia is Tier Fund's country director for the Democratic Republic of Congo. People are afraid. People are seeing people dying. People are afraid to be going to their health centre for fear of contamination in the health centre where they are seeking support. And so it's a really challenging situation at the moment.

3:13Heat warnings come into effect across most of England today. Amber Alerts cover the East Midlands, the East, South East and London. There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

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