The Debate

US President Donald Trump is travelling to Beijing, where he will be hosted by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. On the agenda are a series of issues that could cement the superiority of one over the other, and even lead to a new world order. Beneath the diplomatic and friendly language there are messages that will be hard to digest for one of the two men. Behind the handshake, there’s a likely arm wrestle over who has dibs where and when in the world. Our panel dissect what’s at stake and hopefully answer your questions in what is the most testing of times.
Produced by Mark Owen, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

Nations like Kenya are looking to scale up their ability to meet Africa's artificial intelligence needs. Recently, the likes of Zambia, Zimbabwe and most recently Ghana turned down deals to store citizens' data in the United States. For France, a summit like the Africa Forward one in the Kenyan capital Nairobi is an opportunity to offer a third way between US and Chinese tech. We bring you a special edition of The Debate from the summit in Nairobi.
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

Donald Trump again says the Iran war will be over "soon". The US president has said this in some way, shape or form a number of times in recent days. Yet there's still no solution on the horizon in the Middle East.
On March 9, Trump said the war was "very complete, pretty much". On March 24, he reportedly said the US and Israel had "won" the war. On April 14, in a Fox Business interview, Trump said the war was "very close to being over." On April 16, CBS reported Trump again saying the conflict was "very close to over." On May 1, in a letter to Congress, the US president declared the hostilities had "terminated." On May 7, Trump said there was a "very good chance" the war was nearing an end and spoke optimistically about peace negotiations.
This Thursday, there is word of a 14-point memorandum being under consideration by Tehran. Key in the demands being made by Washington is a moratorium on Iran's enrichment of uranium. In return, there would be a lifting of sanctions against Iran and an unfreezing of assets. 
Is there any chance of a breakthrough?
Produced by Mark Owen, Antonia Cimini, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

Never have local elections in the United Kingdom been so loaded with implications. The rise in popularity of two parties – Reform UK and the Greens – raises questions about the political system, which has for so long been based on two main parties. 
But on a wider scale, the fate of the UK prime minister could be in play. Keir Starmer has been under pressure, it seems, ever since winning the 2024 general election. There are already reports of plans to push him aside if Labour loses heavily in Thursday's local elections. So could this be Starmer's last stand?
Produced by Mark Owen, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Guillaume Gougeon and Charles Wente.

Iran's economy may be teetering on the brink of collapse, but does that really threaten its regime? Monday's flare-up of hostilities across the Strait of Hormuz makes clear that oil's not about to start flowing freely again. Tehran and Washington are both signalling they can bear the pain of lost revenue and inflation, with Iran arguably taking that brinkmanship further.
When missiles target the Emirates' prized Fujairah pipeline, which bypasses the Strait, they're shooting at what was a favoured hub for parking its cash and bypassing sanctions. We ask about who feels more pain in the divorce with the same UAE that last week quit OPEC, in part because it thought Gulf neighbours weren't tough enough on Tehran.
Read moreUS and UAE report Iran attacks as military pushes to reopen Strait of Hormuz
The Islamic Republic knows that its main nemesis, the one that killed its supreme leader, faces the pain of rising prices at the pump ahead of November US midterm elections. But what about ordinary citizens in Iran, a nation where mass New Year's protests were sparked by soaring inflation?
At what point is the regime in danger? A messianic streak and a survival mode honed over decades are both factors. But Iran and its powerful Revolutionary Guards also rely on a vast patronage system. Behind the cloak of an internet blackout, how's it looking on that score?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Andrew Hilliar.