Morning briefing Thursday 16th April

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 16th of April. Secret contingency plans are being drawn up by government officials to cope with food shortages if the war in Iran continues.

0:47The Times has learned that senior figures within No. 10 and the Treasury have rehearsed scenarios to determine the worst-case impact on British industry. It's amid fears that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will lead to shortages of carbon dioxide or CO2, which is critical to the food industry. The Times' chief political correspondent is Aubrey Allegretti. They are talking about drafting emergency legislation, potentially requiring factories to mass-produce CO2 in the UK at a cost of tens of millions of pounds to the taxpayer, or activating things like the Civil Contingencies Act. Now, obviously, people I've spoken to as part of this story say this is a normal part of government planning, but it is clear that the government is concerned about what would happen if it didn't intervene.

1:30Oil prices have fallen in early trading in the Far East amid reports that Iran could allow ships to pass through the Straits of Hormuz. Brent crude dropped to$94 a barrel overnight after the White House expressed optimism about reaching a deal to end the war. Reports in Israeli media say a security cabinet meeting to discuss a potential ceasefire in Lebanon has ended without a decision being reached. But the United Nations says it welcomes this week's ceasefire talks in Washington, describing them as a first step to end hostilities. Dr. H.A. Hellyer is a senior associate fellow at the defense and security think tank RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute.

2:10He says there are few grounds for optimism. I would agree with the skepticism that there's going to be any meaningful pressure from Washington on the Israelis. It's not that there isn't the existence of actual leverage, but there's no political will in Washington, D.C. to do that, and unfortunately that's one of the reasons why we are where we are. Sakia Starmer will welcome senior figures from TikTok, X, Meta and other social media giants to Downing Street later in an attempt to push them to go further on protecting children as the government assesses new restrictions. MPs yesterday voted with a majority of 106 to side with the government on its plan to tackle social media linked harms affecting youngsters.

2:55And Arsenal are through to the last four of the Champions League after a 10 second leg of their quarterfinal against Sporting Lisbon. A goalless draw in North London was enough to secure a 1-0 win over two legs for Mikel Arteta's side who've reached successive semi-finals in European football's Premier Club competition. We've done something that has never been done in the history of our club. We have to do it as well in a very special way, missing a lot of important players. Big credit to that and I'm especially happy to our supporters. And we're going to have two magical nights, one in Madrid and another here in London against Atletico.

3:30So very proud of that. Bayern Munich will play Paris Saint-Germain in the other semi-final. There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:43This 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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