Newshour

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)

President Trump arrives in China, the first US president to go there in nearly a decade. We'll look at how the balance of power has shifted since then and how Chinese perceptions of America have also changed.
Also in the programme: on the day of the King’s Speech to Parliament setting out the next legislative programme, speculation mounts that a senior minister will challenge Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership; and the stricken love letters of the English romantic poet John Keats, now up for auction.
(IMAGE: U.S. President Donald Trump participates in an arrival ceremony at Beijing Capital International Airport during his visit to the country, in Beijing, China, May 13, 2026 / CREDIT: Reuters/Evan Vucci)

Keir Starmer's position as Britain's Prime Minister is looking increasingly uncertain. He's said it's business as usual, but a succession of his junior ministers have now resigned.
Also on the programme: A suggestion of a huge breakthrough in the treatment of H.I.V; and the crime writer Patricia Cornwell on why she felt compelled to write a memoir.
(Photo: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets construction apprentices in London. Credit: Reuters/Toby Melville/Pool)

The UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is still fighting for his political life amid open revolt in his own party; do the rebels have the numbers to oust him - or can he hang on?
Also in the programme: a special report from Khartoum three years into Sudan's civil war, where land mines are hampering aid efforts; how enjoying cultural activities can help slow down biological ageing; and - a propos - we have an appreciation of Shostakovich's first symphony, 100 years after its premiere in Leningrad.
(IMAGE: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer walks through the Member's Lobby of the Houses of Parliament in London to the House of Lords to hear the King's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament, Wednesday May 13, 2026 / CREDIT: Toby Melville/PA Wire)

The US president voices scepticism over the latest Iranian demands. Donald Trump says the month-long ceasefire between the US and Iran is on "massive life support" and insists he’s in no hurry to reach a peace deal. So how fragile is the Iran-US ceasefire?
Also on the programme: As the final Hantavirus cruise passengers disembark, we hear from the medical facility in the US where sixteen of them are being quarantined; and the comedian who's donning the persona of Alex Jones, conspiracy theorist extraordinaire - to help compensate the victims he's defamed.
(Photo: An Iranian person walks next to an anti-US and Israel mural in a street in Tehran, Iran following an exchange of fire in the Strait of Hormuz amid a ceasefire. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock)