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Donald Trump jets off to Beijing today ahead of a long-anticipated summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The pair have much to discuss. But the timing is, for the U.S. president at least, a little unfortunate. The ongoing war in Iran – the reason for an earlier postponement of the talks – has depleted the United States’ military arsenal, exposed the weakness of its economic coercion and further eroded its position as a global leader.
And all this is music to the ears of policymakers in Beijing. The thinking is that it puts Trump on the back foot when it comes to issues such as the status of Taiwan, the reignited tariff war and the battle for dominance in all manner of geopolitical issues. Rana Mitter, an analyst of China-U.S. relations, runs us through what to expect in the talks and tamps downs expectations: “How consequential will the Trump-Xi summit be? Don’t expect another ‘Nixon meets Mao’ moment. But after a period when communication between the countries atrophied, it’s still important that they are talking at all.”
If that all sounds a little less than seismic, then feel free to instead ponder what life must have been like for the dinosaurs that experienced the cataclysmic moments of an asteroid armageddon. Monica Grady and Michael J Benton talk us through the moment, and what followed.
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Xi and Trump: A plastic friendship at best?
Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images
Rana Mitter, Harvard Kennedy School
Taiwan, trade and AI regulation are on the agenda. But will there be progress on any of these issues during Beijing sit-down?
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People walk past a mural depicting Venezuela’s late president, Hugo Chávez, in Caracas.
Ronald Pena R. / EPA
Julia Buxton, Liverpool John Moores University
Delcy Rodríguez has maintained tight control of political conditions inside the country, while prioritising economic liberalisation.
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serpeblu/Shutterstock
Michael J. Benton, University of Bristol; Monica Grady, The Open University
A week after the asteroid impact, rotting vegetation, smoke and sulphur create a stinky planet. Plant and animal survivors succumb to the corrosive acid rain.
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A spider camera in action in Bremen, Germany.
dpa picture alliance
Joe Towns, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Cameras mounted on the referee, trialled at the Fifa Club World Cup last year, will show us what the ref can – and can’t – see.
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Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex
Pakistan’s relationships with the US and Iran put it in a strong position to intervene – not to mention a need to stabilise its borders and protect its own economy.
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Vanessa Pirotta, Macquarie University
A new study highlights how noise pollution in the ocean is changing animals’ behaviour.
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Victoria Lorrimar, University of Notre Dame Australia; Tim Smartt, University of Notre Dame Australia
What makes for a good life? Simple: grinding through tokens.
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Frank Gerits, Utrecht University
The business start-up vibe of the Nairobi summit is no coincidence.
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Viraj Nair, University of East London
What is emerging is not the end of trust but its reconfiguration.
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Stuart Thompson, University of Westminster
Plants are more fascinating than you might imagine.
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