Leaders from around 50 African countries will meet in Beijing on Wednesday for a three-day triennial summit. The Forum on China-Africa Co-operation—the ninth since it first convened in 2000—is a showcase of China’s decades-long effort to deepen ties with the continent.

That push has mostly been successful. But some African countries have expressed concern about China’s exploitation of natural resources, including minerals and fisheries. China is also under pressure to relieve the large debts accumulated for infrastructure projects it has financed in places such as Angola, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Still, more African heads of state typically show up for the summits than attend annual meetings of the UN General Assembly (where China often relies on African votes to support its priorities). President Xi Jinping is expected to encourage his guests to buy Chinese green tech. Yet African leaders may seek to rebalance the trading relationship: China is yet to fulfil a pledge from 2021 to buy $300bn in African goods.

Time and again Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamism takes a back seat to his pragmatism. More evidence of this will be on display in Ankara on Wednesday, when Turkey’s president rolls out the red carpet for a man he once called a tyrant, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s strongman. This is Mr Sisi’s first trip to Turkey. He and Mr Erdogan are expected to discuss trade, defence and co-operation on tourism, as well as humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

The two countries fell out in 2013, after Mr Sisi and other Egyptian generals ousted the government of Muhammad Morsi. He was a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that Turkey had backed. They reconciled only last year, after Turkey, desperate for foreign investment, restored ties with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia . Another front in Mr Erdogan‘s regional charm offensive may soon open. Turkey is seeking a rapprochement with Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad.

Few will be watching the Bank of Canada’s interest-rate decision on Wednesday more closely than Justin Trudeau, the prime minister. Economists expect the bank to cut the benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 4.25%. Mr Trudeau will hope the bank signals larger reductions to come, too. That would be good news for mortgage holders and would-be homebuyers. The high cost of housing has been a big reason for the declining popularity of Mr Trudeau’s Liberals. Rises in other prices have angered voters, too: annual inflation peaked at 8.1% in June 2022.

In response, the central bank raised its trend-setting rate from 0.25% to 5% between 2022 and 2023. That helped reduce inflation—the annual rate was 2.5% in July 2024. But it also made mortgages more expensive and dampened consumer spending. More aggressive rate cuts may soon provide relief. But that may not give much of a political boost to Mr Trudeau ahead of elections due next year.

On January 6th 2021 Thomas Robertson walked from Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington to the Capitol, where he saw an angry mob. Rather than walk away, the off-duty police sergeant donned the gas mask he had brought from home and joined in. Armed with a wooden stick, he held back law-enforcement officers while rioters broke into the Capitol building. He then followed them inside. For his part in the chaos, Mr Robertson was given 87 months in prison in 2022.

On Wednesday that sentence could be reduced. One of Mr Robertson’s convictions was for “obstruction of an official proceeding”. In June the Supreme Court decided the charge did not apply to the January 6th rioters. That called the lengths of over a third of the sentences handed down so far into question. Mr Robertson’s lawyers want time shaved off his. Whether their request is granted will give some indication of the fate of his fellow obstructionists.

The global arts spotlight falls on South Korea on Wednesday, when the opening of the Frieze Seoul coincides with other big events in the country’s capital. Now in its third edition, the art fair brings works of more than 110 international galleries to the giant COEX Center in the Gangnam district. The show is an offshoot of the original Frieze art fair in London, a franchise now owned by Endeavor, a sports and entertainment group.

The Korea International Art Fair, an older event showcasing more local galleries, is showing in the same complex. Capitalising on the double feature’s draw, several of Seoul’s top galleries are also holding exhibits. They include works by international figures such as Georg Baselitz and Refik Anadol, as well as Korean artists like Kyungah Ham, Lee Ufan and Yoo Youngkuk. Two cities in South Korea’s far south, Busan and Gwangju, are both hosting art biennales, too. Korea is very much in season.