576. How Xi is Outplaying Trump and Tensions in Northern Ireland

The Rest Is Politics

Thursday, 1 October 2026 - 1 hour 6 minutes

As Trump becomes the first American president to personally welcome a visiting head of state off a plane since JFK greeted Harold Macmillan in 1962, did his summit with President Xi signal improving US-China relations, or does Xi have his counterpart in an economic chokehold? With the standoff between protesters and members of the pro-British Protestant Orange Order in Northern Ireland showing no sign of resolution, is the region's fragile peace in danger of unravelling? And as violence erupts in Ethiopia, is Africa's second most populous country on the brink of civil war – and does it risk dragging other regional actors into a wider conflict spanning the Horn of Africa and the Gulf?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time.

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Research: Evie Townend

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Josh Smith, Lorcan Moullier, Oli Ortega, Joe Pettit

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Exec Producer: Bella Soames

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