Who is the most powerful leader in the world, Donald Trump or Xi Zinping?

Today at least President Xi Zinping of China looks to be the most powerful leader on the world stage. He has surrounded himself with many of the most unsavoury leaders, including Putin and Kim Jong-un, and is parading his most advanced weapons for all to see. Meanwhile, Trump has sent the mighty US Navy to blast away a small speed boat carrying drugs off Venezuela. The contrast couldn't be more dramatic. I know this is an artificial comparison and it's only today but somehow it seems to sum up how the world is going. Trump was asked whether he should be concerned about China and Russia ganging up on the US and he appeared to be very relaxed about it. He even went on to say how much he liked Xi and thought of him as a friend. But this wasn't the message the Chinese leader was giving as he rolled out new intercontinental ballistic missiles onlow loaders in Tiananman Square. He was definitely making the point that China wants to dominate the world order and push Trump to one side. It didn't help that social media yesterday was full of so-called stories claiming Trump had died. Trump was able to do a Mark Twain and say that reports of his death were premature, and he hadn't succumbed to some deadly illness. Trump is alive and apparently well. But there were no reports of Xi Zinping falling ill. He looked in sparkling health and remains leader of China for life. Again, another dramatic comparison.

Is Narendra Modi switching sides?

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, holds hands with Vladimir Putin and chats to him and Xi Zinping, the all-powerful leader of China, like they are the best and oldest of friends. Is Modi, hammered by Donald Trump's trade tariffs, demonstrating that he is changing sides, going for the would-be world-dominating, China-led option rather than the old US-dominated western alternative? He is reported to be so angry with Trump that the invitation to attend a meeting in Beijing of China's favourite leaders has given him the opportunity to turn his back on the US and Trump, in particular. It wouldn't be surprising because Trump has singled out India for the toughest tariff punishment for daring to buy Russia's cheap oil and gas. But, of course, it's all part of the game that Modi is especially clever at playing. In other words, one moment he seems to be courting China and the next he will be signing arms deals with the US and pretending everlasting friendship with Washington. Right now, in order to persuade Trump to back down over tariffs he is smooching up to Xi Zinping and, creepy creepy, walking along holding Putin's hand. I bet Putin cringed inwardly but of course he went along with it because he, too, wanted to do two fingers to Trump. So Modi is a clever politician. His smiles and affectionate embraces for Xi Zinping, Putin and others are all aimed at grabbing Trump's attention. What will Trump do? He should be able to see through all this showtime stuff in Beijing. But for the moment, he will probably feel somewhat left out as Xi, Putin, Modi and, later today, Kim Jong-un, on his way by armoured train from North Korea, all pose for pics and lovey-dovey cuddles.

Ignoring climate-change is all the rage

Donald Trump started it. He discounted climate change and global warming from the beginning, dismissing the millions of words of warnings from the world's best scientists and environmentalists, and the pictures of the Artic icecap melting, and the fantastic hot summers etc etc. All he was and is interested in is exploiting all the gas and oil the US has underground and rejecting the alternative energy sources. He hates wind turbines and is trying to dismantle them. Now other foreign politicians are following his example. In the UK, Nigel Farage, the so-called leader of the so-called party called Reform, believes whatever Trump says. The UK's opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch, doesn't like being upstaged by Farage, so she is the latest one to call for huge increases in oil and gas drilling around the the country to make sure nothing is left to waste away. She is thinking jobs and energy profits, never mind the carbon emissions. Meanwhile, the Labour government's energy policy is to go for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 which means no coal or gas or oil but nuclear, wind, solar and whatever else is going. But that policy is being dismissed as impractical even though it's supposed to be the goal set by the international community for the planet. Badenoch has jumped on the bandwagon of those saying it's all nonsense and we need to burn fossil fuel for as long as it's available. I think it's safe to say that the world, with such leaders, will bring this poor old world to an early end. It will just burn up and it will be too late to do anything about it. David Attenborough has spent most of the latter part of his long and extraordinary life warning us all about the dangers of climate change. We all listen and say what a great guy he is. But if governments don't listen we are all doomed.