Morning briefing Thursday 13th 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 Times Radio's morning briefing on Thursday the 13th of August. I'm Daryl Jackson. The UK could see its hottest day of the year so far later as parts of England may hit 38 degrees Celsius.

0:47Rare amber extreme heat warnings have been issued by the Met Office from 9am to midnight. It comes after the Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the government's Emergency Cobra Committee on Wednesday in response to the prolonged spell of exceptionally hot and dry weather. The Prime Minister has been speaking and says we need to support vulnerable people. There have been a significant number of excess deaths from heat this summer already and we need to make sure that advice gets out to stay hydrated, to help people to be hydrated so that figure doesn't rise any further. We've all but confirmed or had it confirmed that this is the hottest summer on record.

1:28As we go through it, we need to realise that these conditions could be with us for some weeks yet. Donald Trump's confirmed White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt is leaving her post at the end of August to spend more time with her family. The 28-year-old, a mother of two and the youngest ever White House Press Secretary, gave birth to her second child in May and had officially just returned from maternity leave last month. The US president called her one of my most trusted aides. Former Voice of America White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman told Times Radio he's not surprised. I always would tell people that the worst job in Washington was to be White House press secretary.

2:11You're on call 24-7, 365. You're in the public eye. You're dealing with obnoxious reporters like me all the time. it's a very very tough job. Treasury officials have warned the Prime Minister that the UK economy will barely grow next year if disruption to the Strait of Hormuz linked to the Iran war continues until the end of the year. Internal modeling suggests UK GDP could see growth as low as 0.3 % next year. It comes amid a backdrop of modest growth in the UK economy although the Office for National Statistics is expected to reveal later that UK GDP saw no growth in June. The government admitted plans to restrict zero-hours contracts could impose eye-watering costs of up to£3 billion a year on business.

3:01An official impact statement has found the plans would have a negative impact on companies by forcing them to contend with new red tape, extra staffing costs and lost revenue. It says hospitality and retail, which have already borne the brunt of increases in national insurance and the minimum wage, would be worst affected. Millions of people have experienced the most significant solar eclipse in the UK in 27 years. Coverage of around 90 % was witnessed plunging some areas into near darkness last night. Crowds packed onto beaches and into parks wearing special sunglasses to watch the moon move in front of the sun.

3:39Dr Elizabeth Pearson, editor of Science Focus magazine, told Times Radio why this one was so special. Eclipses are quite common. They happen somewhere in the world multiple times a year. What's rare is having one where you are. And so having one that's passing across so much of Europe is really fascinating to be able to see and be able to watch. And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

4:12This 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.