Morning briefing Monday 7th September

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

0:35This is Times Radio's morning briefing on Monday 7th September. Germany's far-right AFD has taken 44 % of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt exit polls, comfortably beating Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Conservatives. Lead candidate Ulrich Ziegmann says the party has made history. Oliver Moody is the Berlin correspondent for the Times and Sunday Times, and told us that the expected final result is significant. The mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union, the CDU of the Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has collapsed. It's lost more than half of its vote. It's down to, I mean, it keeps falling every time I look at my screen and refresh it.

1:15It's down to something like 17.6 % of the vote now, which is absolutely catastrophic. And so we're now in a position where the state is effectively ungovernable, unless the AFD can form an alliance with, or at least some kind of understanding with a slightly smaller anti-establishment party. Donald Trump's envoys, including Jared Kushner, have wrapped up their first visit to Kyiv as part of a renewed peace initiative. Kushner insists Washington is determined to find a resolution. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William B. Taylor told us that there are some positive signs for a three-way negotiation between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S.

1:52Zelensky says fine. It's a Zelensky idea. Kushner and Witkoff are now saying that President Trump is there. That's fine too. Zelensky, Trump, fine. the question is Putin. Is there any indication, does Witkoff have any indication that Putin is ready to come to a trial? If so, tell us. But so far we haven't heard. Jamaica is filing a landmark petition with King Charles to advance its case for slavery reparations. Representatives in London are asking the monarch to refer three legal questions on transatlantic slavery to the Privy Council. It marks the first time a Commonwealth nation has taken this legal route.

2:29Speaking to reporters, Jamaican minister Olivia Grange, challenged critics by noting Britain only finished paying off slaveholder compensation. The delegation is also meeting British museum officials to discuss returning indigenous artifacts to Jamaica. A major security response was triggered in Portsmouth yesterday after a small boat carrying over 100 migrants reached the Hampshire coast. HM Coast Guard sent lifeboats and aircraft to bring the group ashore to be processed. Reports say that around 500 protesters gathered at the scene, with some wearing black face coverings to block nearby roads, drawing comparisons to similar anti-immigration protests at the port of Dover over the weekend.

3:11At least five people have been killed and five others injured after an Amazon cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport. The aircraft hit multiple vehicles before catching fire. More than 60 firefighters battled the flames as paramedics worked to freeze seriously injured drivers from the wreckage. And there's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:40This 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. Hi, I'm Katie Prescott from the Times Tech Podcast.

4:24AI is already changing business and medicine, but could it also change the way we look after our own health? In a special episode in Paid Partnership with Vitality, we look at how AI, wearables and everyday health data could help shift healthcare from treating illness to preventing it. Listen to the Times Tech Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.