Regarding Keir Starmer’s political health, there are three distinct and contradictory medical opinions. One says he is already dead, pending certification by the coroner and the subsequent autopsy. Another says he is in a vegetative state from which it is almost impossible to recover, and only the family’s resignation and authorization to disconnect life support remain. And the last is that he has suffered a deep trauma and is in critical condition, and – although difficult – he is strong and it cannot be completely ruled out that he will wake from the coma, recover, and return to normal life.

In his effort to sell a victory to the American people in the Iran war, Donald Trump has stubbornly repeated that the Persian country has already been “annihilated” militarily, so the “total victory” at the strategic level is just around the corner. “They have no Navy, no communications, no Air Force,” he said two months ago, when he lied by claiming that the war was “practically over.” “They have already fired everything they had to fire,” he added: “Iran’s drone and missile capability has been completely destroyed, the navy has disappeared.”

Ancient China did not leave the cosmic order in the hands of amateurs. For two millennia, the emperor himself was responsible for winning over the gods in the Temple of Heaven. As if his elaborate annual rituals were what kept the world ticking. This Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping will accompany the sacred navel of Beijing to his American guest, Donald Trump. And a world on edge may wonder what their respective offerings will yield.