Hello, you're listening to the free edition of the world in brief from The Economist.

As a reminder, if you subscribe to The Economist, you'll get access to a deeper look at the day ahead, updated three times a day.

If you're already an Economist subscriber,

visit Economist.com slash espresso or visit our espresso app to start listening. Here's today's

free edition.

This is the World in Brief from The Economist.

Our top stories.

Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping.

A Kremlin spokesperson said the leaders of Russia and China will exchange views on Donald Trump's visit to

the Chinese capital last week. They are also expected to sign bilateral agreements on energy.

Chinese state media suggests the series of visits reflects China's growing status as a leader

of global diplomacy.

Mr. Trump claimed Iran is, quote, begging to make a deal to end the war with America,

but threatened, quote, another big hit in days without one.

On Monday, America's president said he paused a planned attack at the request of

Gulf allies because of negotiations. Kazim Garibabad-Badi, Iran's deputy foreign minister,

said his country was prepared to confront any military aggression.

Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and a MAGA ally, was endorsed by

Mr. Trump in the state's upcoming Republican Senate primary. The president said John Cornyn,

the incumbent, quote, was not supportive of me when times were tough. Bill Cassidy, a Republican who fell out of

Mr. Trump's favour, recently lost Louisiana's primary. Thomas Massey, another Trump rebel, is running

in Kentucky's Republican primary on Tuesday. Job vacancies in Britain fell to a five-year low in April reported the country's statistics

...