Morning briefing Wednesday 9th September

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 9th September. US observers say Britain's decision to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank could play into the hands of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of elections at the end of October.

0:51Israel has accused the Labour government of outrageous lies after the Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the Israeli government was turning a blind eye to what he said was the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Joel Rubin, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, says the UK sanctions are an opportunity for Netanyahu to rally his base amid dwindling support. I do hope the British planners and others are thinking about the Israeli elections. It is a democracy. There will be elections. There will be changes in the structure of that government. That's where the strategy should be. Just pure sanctions now disconnected from that, it would be really short-sighted.

1:29As a countermeasure, Israel has closed the British consulate in Jerusalem. Sir Vincent Fien is a former British consul general in the city. Speaking to Times Radio, he said Israel's response was disproportionate. Jerusalem is a tinderbox at the moment because of the activities of Mr Ben-Gavir, the national security minister, who has been flouting what's called the status quo, the rather delicate balance between Jews, Christians and Muslims, all of whom regard Jerusalem as sacred. The US military says it's destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers after one of its warships was twice targeted by ballistic missiles in as many days.

2:09State media in Tehran is reporting one of its tankers was attacked on Karg Island, a major oil terminal off Iran's Gulf Coast. Oil prices increased in early trading in Asia. The chief executive of Nats, the air traffic control provider at 15 UK airports, will speak to the Transport Secretary later amid ongoing disruption. A system issue has led to more than 1 ,000 flights being cancelled and some passengers were left trapped on planes on runways for hours. Nat's CEO Martin Rolfe said last night that he takes full responsibility while Ryanair is calling for him to resign. Speaking to Times Radio, Brian Roach, a former air traffic controller, said Rolfe is facing accusations of repeated mismanagement.

2:52This is about the fifth or sixth occasion. in three years and give or take each one has a massive effect not just on the country but on the financial impact of the company. Guestimates, because again they don't really solve the figures, are north of 100 million pounds each time. So where's it getting the money from? There's an argument that says that the airlines are actually paying for it. The National Farmers Union claims Britain has become less self-sufficient in eggs, fresh vegetables, beef and seven other staple commodities than it was just 30 years ago. Analyzing government data, the industry group says extreme weather as well as soaring fuel and fertiliser costs have combined with planning barriers to drive the decline.

3:36Farming leaders warned the decline risked eroding the ability to sustain an efficient food supply chain. There's more on all of these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

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