Newscast

An oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia has been temporarily shut down after it was badly damaged in a strike last week. The pipeline is key to minimising the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the world’s global oil supply. Combined with Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, experts are concerned the closure could force oil prices even higher. Adam breaks down what happened with diplomatic correspondent Caroline Hawley and what it means for the global economy with business editor Simon Jack.
Plus, Faisal and Adam look at the growing pushback against AI data centres which could pose a key issue at the US midterms. Could similar backlash come to the UK which has the third highest number of data centres in the world?
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Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Cordelia Hemming and Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The social producer was Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, new figures suggest the state pension will rise by 3.9% to up to £13,000 a year. The increase is based on earning figures as dictated by the triple lock, the policy the government uses to guarantee pension growth.
The rise has reignited debates about the long-term affordability and generational fairness of state pensions which have seen costs balloon in recent years.
Alex and James are joined by economics editor Faisal Islam who’s also been speaking to Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark about calls for greater AI safeguarding.
Plus, the Thirlwall inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to murder babies at the Countess of Chester hospital has delivered its findings, describing a "complete failure" to protect infants from harm. Michael Buchanan, social affairs correspondent, was at the inquiry and has been following the crisis in UK maternity care.
You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.
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Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.
New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenters were Alex Forsyth and James Cook. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Cordelia Hemming and Anna Harris. The social producers were Jem Westgate and Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The technical producer was Phil Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, can governments work together to regulate AI, after growing safety fears in the industry?
Donald Trump, has seemingly dismissed calls for government intervention made over the weekend. The President cited the AI race with China, saying “whoever wins AI, wins.” So is there anything the UK government can do?
Meanwhile the calls for a slow down in AI development has led to tech stocks falling in Europe, US and Asia.
Alex and James are joined by Darren Jones Labour MP and former chief secretary to the Prime Minister, who has been calling on the government for the regulation and safe development of superintelligence.
You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord
Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.
New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenters were Alex Forsyth and James Cook. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Cordelia Hemming. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

After Reform’s £72 million record donations, we’re looking at whether they’ll be allowed to keep the money.
Legislation is going through Parliament that could limit the amount of money foreign donors can give, and be applied restrospectively, but Robert Jenrick has said the recent donations were "entirely in line with the law".
And there’s been a shift in tone from tech bosses since the concerns about AI raised by researchers this week. We look at what a more controlled future for AI might look like.
You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.
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Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.
New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn and Eleanor Harrison-Dengate. The social producer was Joe Wilkinson. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at two record breaking donations to Reform UK of £72 million. The money has been given to the party by two crypto billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.
Laura and Paddy discuss who they are, and why they’ve decided to hand over such a massive amount of cash.
Delo said he wants a "fair fight and a level playing field", before Harborne said his "competitive spirit" inspired him to equal the £36 million.
But what effect will this actually have on UK politics? And could it change the date of the next General Election?
You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord
Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.
New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Jem Westgate. The social producer was Joe Wilkinson. The technical producer was Jonathan Greer. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.