BBC

China's leader Xi Jinping tells visiting US President Donald Trump that there could be conflict if their relationship is not managed properly. In a busy day of diplomacy in Beijing, Mr Trump said the two countries could enjoy greater prosperity and co-operation. Also in this podcast: Ukraine says Russia continues to launch drones on its territory. A senior minister resigns in Britain - throwing the prime minister's future into further doubt. There have been protests in Cuba over the economic crisis. And Israel's entrant in this year Eurovision Song Contest talks about the controversy surrounding his participation.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.

Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.

Get in touch: [email protected]

President Xi Jinping described US-Chinese relations as "the most important" in the world and stressed to President Trump that the US and China should be partners and not rivals. Also, in the programme; the dental tools used by Neanderthals and we hear from an exiled Venezuelan politician on how his country is five months after Maduro's capture.

(Photo: President Trump and Xi walking in the Great Hall of the People. Credit: Reuters)

A colorful Beijing, filled with grand celebration has welcomed President Trump who is on a two day visit to the Asian country. At the height of the trade war in 2025, the two countries had levied tariffs that crossed 100% on each other. A fragile truce followed but one of the main questions hanging over this visit is whether that will last, and what deal would take its place? In the midst of all of this, China has extended a trade deal to 53 African countries. How will this deal hold?

Plus, two young Nigerians are debating whether a mandatory youth service is still relevant to the country's youth. Mayowa Alawode, a preacher and content creator, and Oluwatobi Afolabi, Managing Editor at OkayAfrica join Charles Gitonga on Focus on Africa.

Presenter: Charles Gitonga

Producers: Keikantse Shumba, Rukia Bulle, Makouchi Okafor, Chiamaka Dike and Blessing Aderogba

Technical Producer: Herbert Masua

Senior Producer: Bella Twine

Editors: Priya Sippy and Maryam Abdalla

Also, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council to introduce 'silent' fireworks

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the work of Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972), the graphic artist and printmaker best known for his impossible buildings, paradoxical perspectives, and repeating geometric patterns. Born in Leeuwarden and trained as a printmaker, Escher visited the Alhambra in Granada and found inspiration in the tessellating shapes of Islamic art. Through his career he went on to create some of the most famous images of the twentieth century and has been called a one-man art movement. After his work was exhibited in a 1954 conference, Escher’s work also caught the eye of mathematicians who appreciated his intuitive geometric precision. Escher was influenced by their work, and they were influenced by his – despite Escher never thinking he was actually very good at maths himself.

 

With

Marcus du Sautoy

Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, Professor of Mathematics and Fellow of New College, University of Oxford

 

Sarah Hart

Professor Emerita of Mathematics and Fellow of Birkbeck, University of London, and Fellow of Gresham College

 

And

 

Judith Kadee

Exhibitions project manager and public programme curator at Hague Historical Museum

 

Producer: Martha Owen

Reading list:

Marcus du Sautoy, Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity (Fourth Estate, 2025)

Marcus du Sautoy, Finding Moonshine: A Mathematician’s Journey Into Symmetry (Harper Perennial, 2009)

Bruno Ernst, The Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher (Taschen, 2007)

M.C. Escher, M.C. Escher: The Graphic Work (Taschen America Llc, 1992)

Miranda Fellows, The Life and Works of Escher (Siena,1996)

Frederico Giudiceandrea, Escher op reis or Escher’s Journey (Publisher Wbooks, 2018, in Dutch)

Sarah Hart, Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature (Flatiron Books, 2023)

Douglas Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (first published 1979; Basic Books, 1999)

Siobhan Roberts, King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxeter, The Man Who Saved Geometry (Profile Books, 2007)

Claudio Salsi, Paolo Branca and Claudio Bartocci (eds.), M.C. Escher. Tra arte e scienza. Catalogo della mostra (24 Ore Cultura, 2025, in Italian)

Doris Schattschneider, “The Mathematical Side of M.C. Escher” (Notices of the American Mathematical Society, Vol. 57, 6, 2010)

Doris Schattschneider, M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry (Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2004)

Wouter van Reek, Nadir & Zenith in the World of Escher (Leopold, 2019)

In Our Time is a BBC Studios production

Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Misha Glenny and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.

The US and Chinese presidents meet face to face in Beijing for a much anticipated summit. Ahead of the talks, Xi Jinping told Donald Trump that the two countries should be "partners, not rivals". In response, President Trump described Mr Xi as a "great leader" and said the relationship between the superpowers will be "better than ever before". However, thorny subjects will be addressed during the talks, including tariffs, competition over tech, the Iran war and Taiwan. Also: The United Arab Emirates has denied a claim by Israel's prime minister that he secretly visited the country during the war with Iran. The man tasked with implementing President Trump's peace plan for Gaza says Hamas can survive as a political movement - but only if it gives up its weapons. And the disgraced lawyer, Alex Murdaugh, who was convicted of killing his wife and son in a high profile US murder trial that was the subject of a TV series, has his verdict overturned.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.

Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.

Get in touch: [email protected]

The Natural History Museum of London is getting ready to move 28 million of its precious specimens to a new state-of-the-art home. Imagine moving tens of millions of delicate animal and plant specimens, gathered from all across the world, over the centuries. Some are as big as a bus, some so tiny you need tweezers to pack them. Some are millions of years old. How to move 350 taxidermy tortoises? The biggest weigh half a tonne. Then there is the ten-metre anaconda. The team may have to get him out through the lift shaft. What if moths get in? What if something gets lost? It is a logistical puzzle on a mind-boggling scale. When the collections eventually arrive in their new home, scientists and researchers present and future will be able to explore the specimens’ vast amounts of data, much of it yet untapped, using the latest digital, analytical, and genomic technologies. With Dr Jeff Streicher, senior curator in charge, Amphibians and Reptiles and Richard Sabin, principal curator, Mammals.

As the King announces the government’s legislative agenda, allies of Health Secretary Wes Streeting say he is preparing to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership. We speak to Labour MPs from opposing camps.

Also on the programme: as Donald Trump touches down in Beijing, could he water down US security commitments to Taiwan, in the interests of a trade deal with China?

And we look at the high-end sandwiches packing as much salt as five cheeseburgers.

US President Donald Trump is in China to meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping. They're expected to discuss their current tense trade relationship, the Middle East war, and negotiate an extension of their trade truce agreed in October that paused tariff escalation between the two nations.

India has raised import tariffs on gold and silver purchased abroad to ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves after feeling the squeeze from rising energy prices. They're the world's second largest consumer for precious metals, and we hear how this is likely to affect global demand.

Open AI CEO Sam Altman testified in court today in the ongoing case against Elon Musk, concluding the evidentiary portion of the trial. Closing arguments are due next. Our North America technology correspondent Lily Jamali gives us an update from California.

And how has the aid sector affected Africa after Donald Trump closed the US Agency for International Development? Ed Butler reports from a maternity care project and speaks with experts across the continent.

President Trump has been given a lavish welcome to Beijing where he and American business leaders will hold talks with their Chinese counterparts on Thursday. Also on the programme, is the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, about to be forced out of office? And, we hear from Alex Batty, the British boy who sparked a high-profile international missing person investigation. He tells us what happened.

(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng during an arrival ceremony at Beijing Capital International Airport, in Beijing, China, May 13, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci)