Morning briefing Thursday 31st July

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 the Times Morning Briefing on Thursday 31st July. More than 30 members of the House of Lords have written to the Attorney General warning the recognition of a Palestinian state could breach international law.

0:46They say they're not convinced the territory meets the criteria for statehood. The Prime Minister says it'll happen in September unless Israel agrees to a number of conditions, including a ceasefire in Gaza. Well, Canada's announced it too will recognise a Palestinian state, provided there's a commitment to a general election in 2026 without Hamas. Alistair Burt is a former Conservative Middle East minister. Certainly the pressure has been increased to try and resolve this because states like the United Kingdom and those who have signed a major declaration in New York in the last 24, 48 hours are effectively saying to all the parties in the region, this can't go on.

1:26If we want the Middle East we really want, this has got to stop now. Israel says the recognition of a Palestinian state is a reward for Hamas. Airlines say they want answers after a technical glitch at air traffic control yesterday afternoon saw around 150 flights into and out of the UK cancelled. Provider Nats has apologised for the disruption. The government says it's working with officials to understand what went wrong. Travel journalist Neil Lansfield told Times Radio, we last saw something like this two years ago. More than 700 ,000 passengers were disrupted when Nats had a massive technical glitch whilst processing a flight plan.

2:02So this is not on the same scale as that, but it does bring back bad memories. And yes, we are in the school holidays. This is about the worst time of year for this to happen. The Kremlin says its alert systems worked well and that there were no casualties in yesterday's 8.8 magnitude earthquake in eastern Russia. Tsunami warnings were subsequently put in place in Japan, the west coast of the US and South America. Laurie Dengler is from the Humboldt Earthquake Education Centre. She says there are a number of reasons why such a big quake caused relatively little damage. Location is important, but also the actual mechanics of rupture.

2:39And a lot of those questions we can't answer right now. Tsunamis are tricky and complicated and the orientation of the rupture, the amount of slip, how that energy is focused into the Pacific are really important. Ministers say they're giving small businesses the stability they need to thrive. Under new plans, firms who constantly pay their suppliers late could face big fines. The Conservatives say it won't help the thousands of firms that have closed under Labour. Democratic former US Vice President Kamala Harris has left the door open for a possible presidential bid in 2028. She says after deep reflection, she won't be running for Governor of California.

3:20Don't forget you can follow the Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

3:28This 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