The Briefing
A fast-paced news round-up with expert reporting, business insights, and industry updates on technology, aviation, retail, and media. Anchored from London.
Latest Episodes
Xi Jinping’s European charm offensive
As Xi Jinping visits Europe for the first time in five years, we ask whether China or western Europe have any real interest in reviving relations. Then: UK foreign secretary David Cameron promises long-term aid during a visit to Kyiv as the US warns of chemical weapons being used by…
Clashes at US campuses continue and a murder trial in Kazakhstan
As campus clashes continue across the US, Congress looks to counter rising anti-Semitism but is it taking the right approach? Then: millions in Kazakhstan are tuning into the trial of a former government minister accused of murdering his wife. We ask whether the case could be a game-changer for domestic…
Pro-Palestine protests at US campuses escalate
Violence breaks out at US university campuses. As protesters clash and police move in, we ask what happens next. Then: Donald Trump is fined for violating his gag order, Russian election meddling lands a Moldovan governor in court and the latest from Broadway as the Tony nominations are announced.
First images of the US aid pier in Gaza
How will the US aid pier on the Mediterranean coast of Gaza work? Haiti’s transitional council elects its new president and a new round of Brexit border checks takes place amid a row with Ireland over asylum seekers. Plus: fashion news with Dana Thomas.
Ukrainian troops withdraw from Donetsk
Ground losses on Ukraine’s battlefield come amid delays to military aid from allies, the prime minister of Spain and first minister of Scotland both face decisions about their future, and we find out how Austria is dealing with its espionage problem.
Antony Blinken meets with Xi Jinping during a warning of crossing ‘red lines’
US secretary of state Antony Blinken meets with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, TikTok’s parent company insists that it has no plans to sell the social-media company and Boeing burns through $4bn (€3.7bn). Plus: what to watch this weekend in our TV and film Friday wrap.
China doubles its presence in the West Philippine Sea
Polish broadcaster TVP World will begin broadcasting in Russian, China doubles the presence of its military vessels in the Philippine exclusive economic zone, shares slump in Facebook’s parent company, Meta, and how the rise of artificial intelligence will have a lasting effect on how we work. Plus: ‘The Global Countdown’…
US Congress approves $95bn (€110bn) aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
We detail the US aid package approved by Congress last night, join celebrated novelist Monica Ali as she reveals the Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist and discuss why shares in Gucci’s parent company, Kering, have plunged. Plus: we talk about Caravaggio’s last painting, “The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula”.
The UK green lights controversial immigration policy
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s bill to send illegal migrants to Rwanda has been approved in parliament – but could the courts still get in his way? Also in the programme: we have the business headlines, discuss the opening arguments of Donald Trump’s first criminal trial in New York and…
Aid for Ukraine and drills in the South China Sea
After the US finally approves its latest foreign-aid package for Ukraine, we discuss how Russia might respond to a seizure of its assets to help the invaded country. Meanwhile, we look to the Philippines, where the US is launching a series of military drills in the South China Sea, and…
