CL The London conviction of Hong Kong trade office staff lands differently here than it does on British front pages. These were civil servants, operating in an office handling visa enquiries and trade questions, and now Beijing is delivering warnings to Downing Street over their prosecution. For a city whose overseas offices were once unremarkable diplomatic furniture, the moment feels like a marker of how much the terrain has shifted.-- CL

MB Two American peace processes are running simultaneously: a ceasefire in the Middle East both parties are using as a rest period, and an Iran nuclear framework that has survived long enough to acquire the word "deal" without quite the substance. Trump boards a plane to Beijing this morning, and the allies who were assured they would be consulted are watching the departure gate.-- MB