Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday night for a two-day visit that both the United States and China hope will stabilise their relationship and prolong a truce in the trade war that began over tariffs last year.

The state visit – with all the pomp and ceremony that entails – had been scheduled for April but was deferred because of the war in Iran.

There is a lot on the table and, in the shorthand favoured by analysts, they are: the three Ts (Taiwan and Tehran and trade) and the three Bs (beans, Boeing and beef).

On day one, Trump flattered Xi Jinping but was that reciprocated? And what about the two superpower’s key interests outside trade and tariffs: Trump wants China to help open the Strait of Hormuz; Xi considers Taiwan as the most important issue in the relationship between China and the United States?

Is the fact that the meeting happened at all the real win for the two countries following a period of fraught relations.

Irish Times China correspondent Denis Staunton is in Beijing.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

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When Dubliners first saw the multi-tiered, gleaming white, iron and glass shopping centre on St Stephen’s Green in the late 1980s, it was quickly nicknamed “the Mississippi showboat” and “the wedding cake”. And in a city that prides itself on its Georgian heritage and its historic buildings, it was seen by some as kitsch, an architectural pastiche and a bit embarrassing. But it grew on others.

Now that plans have been approved by Dublin City Council to knock the shopping centre and replace it with a new scheme, a campaign has begun to save the centre.

So what is planned to replace it? Why are objectors so against it? And why do so many people have a new appreciation for this “historic” building?

Dublin editor Olivia Kelly isn’t one to sit on the fence when it comes to how the city is shaping up and she explains her reservations about the plans.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

British prime minister Keir Starmer is clinging to power after scores of Labour MPs – and several ministers – called on him to resign or at least plot a clear path for a change in leadership.

The immediate prompt is the collapse of the Labour vote during the local elections which saw more than 1,500 councillors lose their seats.

Add the party’s losses at the devolved elections in Scotland and Wales and the turnaround in Labour’s fortunes since its landslide general election win couldn’t be more stark.

But do the roots of dissatisfaction with the solid, steady and uncharismatic Starmer, and the party, go much deeper than a few bad days at the polls?

And while he says he is going nowhere and that he will stay and fight Reform UK for “the soul of Britain”, is his position really tenable? Is there a contender in the wings, waiting for the chance to oust him from Number 10, someone who would be more popular with Labour voters?

Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul reflects on a dramatic day in Westminster.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.

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When Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope got an email last June about the non-delivery of garden furniture, he couldn’t have known that it would be the start of a deluge of similar complaints from hundreds of frustrated customers.

All had ordered from Rathwood, a family business, operating for more than 30 years that had grown into one of the biggest outdoor living retailers in the State. And all had received excuses about delays, supplier issues and new investors.

It has now been estimated that customers are owed in excess of €2 million and that the company, now in examinership, is mired in debt.

So how did this family business come to be the second most complained about company in Ireland after Ryanair? Now that it has entered examinership what does that mean for consumers who have already paid for a range of items from furniture to fuel? Do they have any chance of getting their money back? And what is going to happen to this once thriving business?

Conor Pope outlines the experience of Rathwood customers over the past year and what they can now expect.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced Declan Conlon and Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For online fraudsters to be successful they need a web of bank accounts to first receive the money they steal and then to channel it, often out of the country.

Some people, often students, willingly let their bank accounts be used in exchange for a small sum of money. For others though, they have no choice, like the victim of sextortion before the courts this month who was blackmailed into letting his Revolut account be used by a crime gang.

Drug gangs still use bricks-and-mortar operations to launder money; businesses that are often cash based, from barbers to nail bars. But the volume of cash generated particularly by online fraud needs a more sophisticated banking-based solution.

Ten years ago An Garda Síochána was uncovering just 50 cases of money laundering a year in Ireland, in 2025 it was nearly 2,800. So why the huge increase and does the Garda have the resources to deal with this growing category of crime?

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains why money laundering is now big business in Ireland.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey and Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Wednesday, in the midst of a tentative ceasefire, Iran issued what could be the first step in a deal with the US over the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile Iran’s foreign minister was in Beijing meeting China’s top diplomat who urged an end to the blockade of the vital waterway and an end to the war. Could a peace deal finally be in sight?

And why did German chancellor Friedrich Merz torpedo his relationship with US president Donald Trump by saying “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership”? Was it a tactical move by the German leader or was he shooting his mouth off? And at what cost?

Also, with Trump set to visit Chinese president Xi next week, what will be on the agenda for this meeting of two of the globe’s strong men?

Denis Staunton, Beijing correspondent and author of the Irish Times daily Global Briefing newsletter, considers the issues.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Iran war, which began on February 28th, has disrupted air traffic routes and pushed up jet fuel prices. That much is clear. But with the war showing little sign of resolution, what is less clear is what will happen as the aviation industry grapples with inevitable fuel shortages?

The disruption to aviation has been severe in the Middle East and Asia but, to date, the impact on European airlines has been relatively minimal. Flights have been cancelled and prices have risen marginally but for most, it has been a case of travelling as usual.

That though could change radically and soon as jet fuel becomes scarce and the price airlines must pay for it – already 90 per cent higher than before the war began – rises even further.

The industry is now talking of rationing but what might that look like?

Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey and Declan Conlon.

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In June 2025, the Mancel family left their apartment in Leopardstown in south Dublin, headed to Dublin Airport and flew to Reykjavik. They checked into the luxury Edition hotel for what appeared to be a weeklong holiday for husband Emeric Mancel (57), wife Ming Ting and their 29-year-old daughter, Catherine.

But on the day they were due to fly home, Emeric and Catherine were found dead from stab wounds in the hotel.

Shortly after the grim discovery in the hotel, Ming Ting was arrested and she is now facing a murder charge over the killing of her daughter Catherine. Her husband is suspected of assisting in their daughter’s death.

Reykjavik-based Irish journalist Karen McHugh explains this most troubling case, including the inheritance issue; how Ming Ting changed her story and why she is being allowed to live freely in the Icelandic capital while she awaits trial.

NOTE: This episode contains discussions about suicide, which some listeners may find upsetting.

For support: Samaritans on freephone 116 123 or text HELLO to 50808. Pieta freephone: 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444. Or visit yourmentalhealth.ie

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.