The countdown is on as Trump ups pressure on Iran

What can Merz’s visit to Beijing really achieve? Then: Warnings that the Horn of Africa is on the brink of war, Trump’s State of the Union address and how Canada is stepping up to help Cuba. Plus: Why Etihad is flying high.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The EU fails to agree fresh sanctions as the Russia-Ukraine war enters another year. Then: will Donald Trump’s intervention kill the Chagos Island deal? Plus: exploring the memory of Beirut through its cinema and the latest aviation news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the risk of war looming over the Middle East, pressure mounts on Iran’s theocracy. As Washington moves more warships and aircraft into the region and Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to strike a new nuclear deal counts down, how close are we to a new conflict?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid backlash from the EU, the UN and even the Vatican, President Donald Trump hosts his inaugural Board of Peace. Then: former UN special advisor on how to end the war in Sudan. Plus: the latest urbanism news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We unpack the two high-level talks that took place in Geneva and speak with Salomé Zourabichvili, who maintains that she’s the legitimate president of Georgia. Plus: Greenland gets closer to the Nordics and Indonesian news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest from Geneva as the US mediates two separate rounds of talks on Iran and the war in Ukraine. Then: we speak to Bill Browder about the future of Russia’s economy. Plus: Macron’s high-profile visit to India and news from the Balkans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio visits Hungary to boost ties with pro-Trump prime minister Viktor Orbán. Then: we meet Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus’s opposition leader at the Munich Security Conference. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As this year’s edition comes to a close, we discuss the key takeaways and the future ahead for global security. Then: what does the US want from Cuba? Plus: the Italy-Africa summit and Monocle in Milan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We catch up with our team in Munich and discuss the Nato summit in Brussels. Then: the competition to be the main US-Iran mediator. Plus: the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Monocle at the Olympic Winter Games. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss what’s at stake in the Bangladesh elections and whether the outcome could set the country on a path towards democracy. Then: preparations for the Munich Security Conference and cultural news from Japan Plus: we dig into recipes from a famed Parisian bistro.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.