Morning briefing Wednesday 6th May

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 Times Radio's morning briefing on Wednesday the 6th of May. President Trump has suspended an operation to free ships stranded in the Straits of Hormuz.

0:44Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Project Freedom will be paused to see whether an agreement with Iran can be finalised. The announcement was made just hours after the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had emphasised the US naval blockade of Iran will remain in full force. The Iranian regime cannot be allowed to dictate who uses this vital waterway. International law on this is very clear. No country can control them. There is no international law that allows you to say, I'm going to put mines in an international body of water and I'm going to blow up ships that don't listen to us and try to go through.

1:17That's what Iran is doing. This is a criminal act. Secretary Rubio also said the initial US-Israeli offensive in Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, was over, saying it had achieved its objectives. Perpetrators of anti-Semitic attacks orchestrated from Iran will face 14 years in prison, even if they do not realise they are acting on behalf of Tehran's proxies. Legislation to be included in the King's speech will give the Home Secretary the power to designate proxy groups as a foreign intelligence service. The Times understands the legislation is designed to tackle the recruitment of petty criminals to carry out acts of terrorism.

1:56Roger Macmillan is a former head of security at Iran International UK. Speaking to Times Radio, he explained how one such proxy claimed responsibility for the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green last week. Harakat al-Ashab al-Yamina al-Samiya has claimed responsibility for a number of them. But the organisation, which looks very much like a franchise of some of the Iraqi Islamic resistance organisations linked with Hashtar Shabby and Qatayb Hezbollah, they are the sort of the Iranian proxies. So again, what we see is a proxy of a proxy with ultimately links back to Iran. And the Metropolitan Police has announced a protection team of 100 extra officers to help safeguard Jewish people, despite the force's chief previously saying 300 more officers were needed to combat the increase in anti-Semitism in the capital.

2:48Spain's health minister says it will host a Dutch cruise ship affected by a suspected outbreak of Hantavirus. The MV Hondias has been anchored near Cape Verde, off the west coast of mainland Africa, after the deaths of three passengers. The ship is now expected to arrive in the Canary Islands later this week. And Arsenal have reached the Champions League final for the first time since 2006. A 1-0 win for Mikel Arteta's side over Atletico Madrid in North London secured a 2-1 semi-final win on aggregate. I cannot be happier, proud for everybody that is involved in this football club. The atmosphere I support has created, the energy.

3:25It made it special and unique. I never felt that in the stadium. and after 20 years we are back in the Champions League final. Arsenal will face either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in Budapest on 30th May. There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

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