Morning briefing Thursday 2nd 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. Good morning. Donald Trump has been addressing the American people from the Oval Office. Iraq went on for eight years, eight months and 28 days.

0:42We are in this military operation, so powerful, so brilliant against one of the most powerful countries for 32 days. And the country has been eviscerated. And essentially, he's really no longer a threat. They were the bully of the Middle East, but they're the bully no longer. This is a true investment in your children and your grandchildren's future. He says the mission is near completion and destroying the regime is vital for US security. Yesterday, he threatened to pull out of NATO, describing the military alliance as a paper tiger. The PM says Britain's future requires an even closer relationship with the EU.

1:22Sir Keir Starmer said it is clear the UK needs to build an ambitious new partnership with Europe in the UK's long-term national interest. The government will host a meeting of more than 30 European and other foreign ministers, excluding the United States, to discuss diplomatic and military options for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Mike Martin is Lib Dem MP and a former British Army officer. This is about pacifying Trump or trying to get Trump in the right place where he can de-escalate and step back and hopefully that will cause the Iranians to reopen the Straits, there'll be obviously some kind of negotiation.

1:58Because if the US can't open the Strait of Hormuz, there's no way that Britain, which basically has no military capability at the moment anyway, with all these other nations can do anything either. So I think this is about pacifying Trump rather than actually some sort of military operation. The Chancellor has given support to two new energy drilling sites in the North Sea. It's as the Energy Secretary weighs up whether to grant the licences. Rachel Reeves said that she was very happy to back exploration at Rosebank Oilfield and Jackdaw Gasfield. The Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, has cautioned against over-reliance on new fossil fuel extraction, but is expected to make a decision on whether to grant the licences.

2:38Resident doctors in England are to press ahead with a planned walkout next week. That's after crunch talks failed to avert the strike action. The Department of Health and Social Care said an offer of 1 ,000 extra training places, which was part of the government deal on pay and jobs, will no longer be financially or operationally possible as the NHS prepares to deal with the fallout from the strike. Scott Mills says he's fully cooperated with a police investigation relating to an allegation about sexual offence. The radio presenter made his first public statement since he was sacked by the BBC.

3:13The corporation said he was dismissed over a separate new information. Mills says he's been subject to rumour and speculation. And four astronauts have embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon. Artemis 2 is humanity's first lunar voyage in more than half a century. It's hoped the mission will be a stepping stone to landing humans on Mars. The crew on board will fly further into space than any other human before them over the next 10 days. Don't forget you can set the Times Radio News Briefing as your flash briefing on Alexa.

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