Morning briefing Tuesday 16th June

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0:35This is your Times Radio Morning Briefing for Tuesday 16th June. Tech giants Apple and Google will be forced to carry out age checks on children using their phones as part of plans to ban under-16s from social media. The Prime Minister said the ban, which will be implemented early next year, would make children happier and safer, although ministers have admitted the finer details will be worked out in the coming months. Dame Chi Onwura chairs the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee in Parliament. I understand why the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State have been driven to this on the basis that we've got to change things for the better.

1:17But I would like to see, not a ban, but to see the content being better regulated, and particularly the business models. Social workers and medical staff were accused of having missed signs of abuse suffered by a baby murdered by his adoptive father. Preston Davie was 13 months old when he died in the care of Jamie Varley and his partner John McGowan-Fazakali. During his four months with the couple he was sexually, physically and psychologically abused before being suffocated by an object stuffed into his mouth. Some of the world's most powerful democracies are meeting to discuss wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, just as Donald Trump has teased the formal signing of an Iran peace deal.

2:07The US president arrived at the G7 in France a day after celebrating his 80th birthday. He insists the Strait of Hormuz will be completely open on Friday when a peace deal with Iran is formally signed. Arriving at the summit, the US president says ships are starting to go through the vital trading route, which has largely been blocked during the war. But military analyst Sean Bell says there's a lot of work still to be done. It feels like Iran's got exactly the Americans, exactly where it wants them. I mean, the straightforward moves I've no doubt will open despite the risks. But of course, the big issue at the moment is actually where Netanyahu sits.

2:46He's been absolutely insistent that his fight against Hezbollah falls outside this main deal, whereas Iran has been very clear it falls within it. And therefore, it's going to be a real test, I think, of the relationship between Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Officials confirmed eight people have been killed after a US Air Force bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an American base. The B-52 came down shortly after taking off in California yesterday. Potential Labour leadership challenger Wes Streeting will pledge to fast-track new infrastructure schemes in a speech later. The former health secretary says he will push through emergency law changes so new power plants, wind farms and data centres can be built.

3:33He says the move will help to boost economic growth. Don't forget you can set the Times Radio News Briefing as your flash briefing on Alexa. This 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.

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