The Briefing Monocle Radio

The death of Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash has plunged the nation into political uncertainty so what happens next in Tehran? Then: France and Germany express ‘deep concern’ over the foreign agents bill in Georgia, India’s election enters its 5th phase and Poland announces a €2.2bn investment to reinforce its border with Russia and Belarus. 
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We look at the US-built pier off Gaza as it begins delivering aid and what challenges lie ahead. Plus: Taiwan’s legendarily unruly parliament kicks off again as a new president prepares for inauguration and why Hungary’s prime minister is taking the attempted assassination of Slovakia’s prime minister personally. Plus: the new releases hitting screens this week.
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We check in on Slovakia prime minister Robert Fico’s condition after shooting and the events that led up to this act of violence. Then: we discuss Russia’s offensive in Ukraine’s strategically important Kharkiv region and examine why a state of emergency has been declared in New Caledonia. Plus: ‘The Global Countdown’ heads to Switzerland. 

 
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Jordan says that it has foiled an Iran-backed plot to stop weapons being smuggled into the kingdom. We have the latest. Plus: as Vladimir Putin says that he backs China’s plan for peace in Ukraine, we ask what this really means. Finally, after a far-right politician in Germany is fined for using a banned Nazi slogan, we ask whether it is a sign of a wider shift. All that, plus a check-in from Cannes Film Festival.
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Students across Georgia have walked out of classrooms and lecture halls to march against the foreign-agent law that is set to be passed by the country’s parliament. In New York, ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen testifies in the hush-money trial against his former boss. Plus: Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg’s message for the youth of the alliance, the latest business news and what Gucci is up to in London this week. 
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We hear about the huge protests that have broken out in Georgia over the introduction of a new foreign influence bill, described by critics as the “Russian law”. The bill, which has been rushed through ahead of elections, targets civil-society organisations and independent media that receive foreign funding. Plus, we find out why President Putin has changed his defence minister and opened up a new front in Ukraine; Nordic nations meet to discuss closer economic and security co-operation and we’ll hear about the backstage drama at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. 
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