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
Ukraine gets a new military chief
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, replaces his military chief after weeks of speculation. Plus: Finns prepare to vote in a presidential election runoff, why births peak in the Year of the Dragon and Laura Kramer meets the makeup artists behind Bradley Cooper’s ‘Maestro’.
Pakistan goes to the polls
Pakistan cuts mobile-phone and data services as millions of voters go to the polls in a controversial election. Plus: Baghdad condemns Washington after US airstrikes, tensions escalate between Kosovo and Serbia, and Fernando Augusto Pacheco heads to Mexico for ‘The Global Countdown’.
Hamas proposes a ceasefire deal
The latest from Israel as negotiators consider Hamas’s proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza. Plus: Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, faces a new setback to his economic reform bill, Lufthansa staff go on strike and why Thailand wants to protect its famous elephant-print trousers.
Mexico’s president considers his legacy
Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, tables a raft of leftist constitutional reforms ahead of the country’s elections in June. Plus: how Turkey is rebuilding a year on from devastating earthquakes, financial troubles for Vienna’s famous Boys’ Choir and a check-in from Stockholm Design Week.
Who is El Salvador’s self-proclaimed ‘cool dictator’?
We discuss the landslide re-election of El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele. Plus: a flick through today’s papers with Fernando Augusto Pacheco and highlights from the London Critics’ Circle Awards.
Is India’s opposition coalition bound to fail?
Washington plans airstrikes on Iranian targets and sanctions Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Plus: Argentina’s congress continues its marathon debate on a sweeping economic reform bill, India’s opposition coalition falters and Japan announces a digital-nomad visa.
The EU agrees to a €50bn Ukraine aid package
European Union leaders agree on a €50bn support package for Ukraine, despite a threat by Hungary’s, prime minister, Viktor Orbán to veto new aid. Plus: why farmers’ protests are spreading across Europe, more Houthi airstrikes in the Red Sea and Fernando Augusto Pacheco’s ‘The Global Countdown’.
Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in prison
Joe Biden has decided how Washington will respond to a deadly airstrike on its troops, which the White House blames on Iran-backed Syrian militia. Plus: former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan faces 14 years behind bars and Monocle’s design editor, Nic Monisse, checks in from Copenhagen International Fashion Fair.
How will Washington react to a deadly airstrike on US troops?
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking a confidential diplomatic cable. Samira Shackle has more details. Plus: Washington weighs its options following an airstrike that killed US troops over the weekend and Northern Ireland’s devolved parliament looks set to return.
What are ‘Iran-backed’ militant groups?
A Hong Kong court orders the liquidation of Chinese property giant Evergrande. Bloomberg’s Rebecca Choong Wilkins explains why it matters. Plus: after Joe Biden blames ‘Iran-backed’ militants for a deadly strike on US forces, we explore who the groups are and their ties with Tehran.
