Morning Briefing Thursday 21st 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. Hello, this is your Times Morning Briefing for Thursday the 21st of August with me, James Kitchen. Labour councils are among dozens across Britain voiced to take legal action to shut down migrant hotels following a landmark High Court ruling Ministers are scrambling to draw up contingency plans to house asylum seekers after a judge ordered their removal from a hotel in Essex Epping Forest District Council argued the owners of the Bell had failed to apply for planning permission for a material change in its use as asylum accommodation Times Radio's political correspondent Theo Usherwood says the government is running out of options.

1:09It doesn't want to go down the route of looking at large-scale detention camps. We saw what happened with the Bibby Stockholm, which was a boat off the south coast of this country where there was Legionnaires' disease which was contracted and they had to close the whole thing down. What happened at RAF Manston in Kenta a couple of years ago when the Tories were in power. So the only other option if they're not going to go down that route are houses of multiple occupancy, rented accommodation. Britain's biggest retailers are warning Labour's pledge to improve living standards will be put at risk if Rachel Reeves pushes ahead with further tax rises.

1:46Tesco, Sainsbury's and Boots claim food price inflation could hit 6 % this year. They're particularly concerned by proposals to increase business rates on large stores. In a letter to the Chancellor, they suggest they'll not be able to absorb further tax rises in the autumn budget and prices will have to rise. Tens of thousands of army reservists have been called up by Israel's military as it begins its new offensive in Gaza. An IDF spokesman says its forces already have a hold on the outskirts of Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling for the complete defeat of Hamas, but the decision to intensify the fighting has been condemned on an international level.

2:28Dinette Nusbacher is an IDF analyst and military historian. War is nothing more than a continuation of politics by other means. All war, all state application of force is political. The political aim that Netanyahu is trying to achieve here is to ensure that he is able to use Israeli combat power to bring about a satisfactory end to the war, a victory. It's understood European countries want Donald Trump to deploy U.S. fighter jets to Romania as part of security guarantees to end the war in Ukraine. Senior European military chiefs are discussing the deployment of American F-35s to the country, where NATO is building its largest air base in Europe.

3:14It's hoped the move will deter Russia from reinvading. President Trump has already ruled out American boots on the ground in Ukraine, but says he's willing to provide air support. And the former schools minister has warned the refusal of Britons to speak another language which damages the country's reputation as a global player. Nick Gibbs said the government should consider making languages compulsory at GCSE, reversing a decision taken two decades ago. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers will receive their GCSE results this morning. About a fifth are expected to achieve at least a grade 7 or A.

3:50The Times' education editor is Nicola Wolcott. This isn't just the current government, but the previous government has pushed and pushed and pushed kids towards STEM subjects, science and maths, and we've seen a corresponding boom in maths uptake, particularly at A-level. So where you see success in one area, there's always going to be other subjects that suffer. It's not that it's necessarily that neat a correlation. I think languages have always been perceived as very difficult, hard to get the higher grades, and just sometimes more hassle than they're worth. And remember, you can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

4:31This 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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