Newshour BBC Podcasts

The Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico was shot several times after leaving a government meeting in what the interior minister described as a politically motivated attack. He has been in surgery in hospital for at least three and a half hours. His alleged attacker has been arrested. We have the latest from inside Slovakia and reaction across Europe.
Also in the programme: the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has insisted that Ukraine will prevail against the Russian invasion; and Beijing is set to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin who arrives in China on a state visit.
(Picture: Medical personnel carry Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico to hospital after being transported in a helicopter. Credit: JOJ TV/Handout via Reuters)

The Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, is in hospital after being shot multiple times. He is now in a life-threatening condition, according to an update on his official social media account. Slovakia's President-elect Peter Pellegrini has said he is horrified by the attack. We'll get the latest.
Also in the programme: Police scour northern France for a gang that killed two prison officers in an ambush; and we hear from the Ukrainian guitarist who played on stage with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
(Photo: Security officers move Slovak PM Robert Fico into a car after the shooting which happened after a government meeting in Handlova, Slovakia, May 15, 2024. Credit: Reuters/Radovan Stoklasa)

Riot police have been confronting protesters in Georgia's capital after the parliament passed a law forcing civil society and media organisations to register if they receive foreign funding.
A former deputy US trade representative explains what's behind US President Joe Biden imposing fresh tariffs on Chinese imports, including electric vehicles.
And the Canadian author, Nobel prize winner and exponent of the short story, Alice Munro has died at the age of 92. Her lifetime editor Douglas Gibson talks about what made her style distinctive.
(Photo: Demonstrators hold a rally to protest against a bill on "foreign agents" in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 14, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, with the promise that US weapons are "on the way". But with towns in the north east around Kharkiv under constant Russian bombardment - will they arrive in time?
Also in the programme: scuffles in Georgia's parliament over a proposed new law that's also triggered mass protests - we hear from President Salome Zourabichvili, who has the power to veto it; and the sister who fought off a crocodile to save her twin.
(IMAGE: Ukraine"s President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomes US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 May 2024 / CREDIT: EPA/UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT)

Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen testifies in the case against his former boss, but is he a credible witness? We hear from a former US federal prosecutor.
Also in the programme: Kharkiv fighting intensifies as Russia troops advancing in north-east Ukraine; and how an Italian opera house is trying to convert children?
(Photo: Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor as former U.S. President Donald Trump sits with his eyes closed. Credit: Reuters)

The European Commission has condemned Georgian police action against protesters outside the parliament in Tbilisi. Newshour hears from an MP with the governing Georgian Dream party -- Nikoloz Samkharadze -- who voted for the controversial new "foreign influence" law.
Also in the programme: on the front line in eastern Ukraine; and on patrol with South Africa's anti-crime volunteers.
(Picture: Demonstrators take part in a rally to protest against a bill on "foreign agents" in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 13, 2024. Credit: Reuters)