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.

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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’ heads to Ireland. 

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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”. 

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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 explore whether German and British spies for China are just the tip of the iceberg. Plus: a look at the future of Chinese-owned app TikTok. 

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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 hear from a former US ambassador to Kosovo. Plus: the top stories in the Americas.

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As Israel launches retaliatory strikes against Iran, we consider whether this week’s escalation has come to an end. Then: the US vetoes a United Nations Security Council resolution that would recognise Palestine as a full UN member state. Plus: why there’s a private funding effort for Ukraine in Slovakia, the latest film and TV releases and a report from Milan’s Salone del Mobile.

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We look ahead to India’s elections before voters head to the polls for the six-week-long democratic exercise on Friday. Plus: we examine Germany’s arrest of two German-Russian saboteurs, bring you the second part of our special spring edition of ‘The Global Countdown’ and head back to Milan to join the Monocle team at Salone del Mobile.

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After Western allies flock to protect Israel from Iran, we look at how Ukraine, which remains highly vulnerable to Russian missile and drone attacks, has reacted. Plus: the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly votes to approve Kosovo’s application for membership and a check-in from this year’s Venice Biennale. 

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As Republicans in the US House of Representatives attempt to split funding to Israel and Ukraine despite Kyiv’s urgent pleas, we look ahead to Friday’s vote. Then: as Israel’s war cabinet debates how to retaliate against Iran, the regime in Tehran assesses its own capabilities. Plus: a fire breaks out at Copenhagen’s former stock exchange and the latest business news.

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As the escalation between Israel and Iran continues, we hear the latest on the ground in Jerusalem and look at the risks of contagion in the wider region. Then, to the UK, where MPs are set to vote today on the government’s controversial Rwanda bill and, finally, to New York, where Donald Trump will become the first former US president to stand trial in a criminal case. All that, plus a report from this year’s Salone del Mobile.

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As Israel confirms that it is prepared to act both defensively and offensively if Iran were to attack, we look at US attempts at deterrence. Then: Olaf Scholz’s visit to China as he hopes to bolster Germany’s faltering economy. Plus: we hear about Europe’s battle with populism from the Delphi Economic Forum, as well as Paris’s new Olympic museum.

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