Morning briefing Tuesday 16th December

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 a Times Morning Briefing on Tuesday the 16th of December. I'm Daryl Jackson. Authorities in Australia have been giving an update on the shootings on Bondi Beach on Sunday, in which 15 people were killed.

0:45The New South Wales Police Commissioner, Mal Lanyon, says the vehicle registered to the youngest suspected gunman contained improvised explosive devices and two homemade Islamic state flags. He also confirmed the suspects travelled to the Philippines last month. The reasons why they went to the Philippines and the purpose of that and where they went when they were there is under investigation at the moment. We continue to work through the motive of this tragedy and we'll continue to do so. And I think it's really important that our investigators continue to be given time to do that. This is a very complex investigation and important that we do it thoroughly.

1:22It happened as crowds gathered to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Sunday. The head of the armed forces has said Russia could launch a significant direct attack on the UK and more British citizens need to be ready to fight. Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton has said that although the chance of such an attack was remote, that doesn't mean the chances are zero. In a lecture at the Royal United Services Institute, he said Russia's arsenal of weapons was something to fear and the threat posed by President Putin is growing. The war in Ukraine and Russia's track record shows Putin's willingness to target neighbouring states, including their children and civilian populations.

2:02The Russian leadership has made clear that it wishes to challenge, limit, divide and ultimately destroy NATO. A new era for defence doesn't just mean our military and government stepping up. It means our whole nation stepping up. Meanwhile, the Defence Secretary will meet counterparts later after an apparent breakthrough in talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine. John Healy will chair the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group alongside the German Defence Minister. The group brings together around 50 nations who are committed to providing military support for Kyiv. The US President Donald Trump's filed a defamation lawsuit against the BBC, alleging the corruption's Panorama documentary portrayed him in a false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory and malicious manner.

2:49The complaint relates to the broadcaster's editing of a speech he made in 2021, on the day his supporters overran the Capitol building. Clips were spliced together from sections of the US president's speech. To make it appear, he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell. Donald Trump spoke from the White House overnight. They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with January 6th that I didn't say. And the beautiful words that I said, right? The beautiful words, talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said they didn't say that.

3:28And they got caught because I believe somebody at BBC said this is so bad it has to be reported. It's called fake news. And Sir Keir Starmer said he thinks resident doctors have lost the sympathy of the public and fellow NHS staff for their strike action in England. The Prime Minister has condemned the action as irresponsible. Their walkout is planned from tomorrow morning after the British Medical Association rejected a new offer from the government. And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day over on Times Radio. This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC.

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