Morning briefing Thursday 15th January

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 15th of January. American plans to attack the Iranian regime appear to be on hold after President Trump said he'd been assured that the killing of protesters had stopped.

0:49But he also told reporters he would be very upset if it proved false. Trump, however, did not rule out military action against Tehran. David Hale is a former US Special Envoy for Middle East peace. No one wants to see an escalation, but the Iranian regime needs, I think, to never feel comfortable that the United States doesn't retain the real live option of military action against them. They crave stability. They want to avoid that kind of escalation. So that's, as I said, a considerable point of advantage for us. The chief constable of West Midlands Police says he feels unfairly treated and is resisting pressure to resign, despite having lost the confidence of the Home Secretary.

1:31Shabana Mahmoud is calling for Craig Guildford to step down over his force's decision to ban fans of the Israeli football club Maccabee Tel Aviv from attending a match against Aston Villa last November. The Conservative MP Nick Timothy has campaigned to expose the truth over the decision. They claimed they had intelligence from the Dutch police about a match that was played between Ajax and Maccabee Tel Aviv in 2024. They claimed that the visiting Israeli supporters went into Muslim areas to beat up civilians. They dragged people out of taxes. The Dutch authorities have said that that isn't what happened at all.

2:10The social media platform X is to block its AI tool from creating images of real people digitally undressed. A company statement said Grok will no longer be able to edit images to show people in revealing clothing, including bikinis. The restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers. The Chancellor says she wants people in the north of England to feel the benefits of a major scheme to enhance transport connections by the early 2030s. Rachel Reeves, who is the Labour MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, has described the decision to build Northern Powerhouse Rail as personal. A funding cap of£45 billion would apply, with an initial£1.1 billion for development and design.

2:54Henry Murison is the chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. He says the government must be transparent with its ambition. What does the government get for a billion pounds in terms of early stage rail investment? Some planning permissions and some land. And I think we just need to be really honest with the public because I think sometimes governments have claimed that you can just click your fingers and suddenly a rail line appears. and actually the fiction of that is the most damaging thing of all. And the government has announced plans for robust reforms to help employers recruit more people with disabilities.

3:31It wants to overhaul the Disability Confidence Scheme which currently works with around 19 ,000 employers but has been criticised for a lack of teeth. There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

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