The visit of America’s president to Berlin on Friday will be a celebratory affair. After receiving the Federal Cross of Merit, Germany’s highest civilian honour, Joe Biden will visit Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, to discuss Ukraine and other matters. Throughout the war the two men have shared a cautious approach to escalating the war, often frustrating more hawkish NATO allies. Mr Scholz’s transatlantic focus has also troubled allies who wish to promote European autonomy. They include Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, who along with Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, will join the pair in Berlin.

The plan’s two final points are reminders of what Ukraine can do for its Western allies if it prevails. The country has vast mineral wealth , especially in parts of Donbas occupied by Russia. And, in a post-war world, battle-hardened Ukrainian units could replace some American contingents based in Europe. But in three weeks it could all be a dead letter if Donald Trump wins America’s presidential election.

New figures released on Friday showed that China’s economy grew by 4.6% in the year to the third quarter, a little faster than expected. Industrial production also beat forecasts. But China’s investors are no longer much concerned with backward-looking data. They are preoccupied instead with press conferences. Ever since the central bank and financial regulators held an unusual joint media briefing on September 24th, investors have been reacting—and overreacting—to every hint of impending stimulus. China’s planning agency, finance ministry and housing ministry have all held press conferences so far this month, but the ultimate scale of any fiscal easing remains vague.

Friday’s figures, although better than expected, suggest the economy is still falling short of this year’s official growth target of 5%. They also show that China suffered its sixth straight quarter of deflation (as measured by the gap between “real” inflation-adjusted growth and the unadjusted figure). The statistics cannot say how much stimulus the government will eventually provide. But they do help clarify how much stimulus China’s economy needs.

The visit of America’s president to Berlin on Friday will be a celebratory affair. After receiving the Federal Cross of Merit, Germany’s highest civilian honour, Joe Biden will visit Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, to discuss Ukraine and other matters. Throughout the war the two men have shared a cautious approach to escalating the war, often frustrating more hawkish NATO allies. Mr Scholz’s transatlantic focus has also troubled allies who wish to promote European autonomy. They include Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, who along with Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, will join the pair in Berlin.

Meanwhile, some of Mr Scholz’s Social Democrat colleagues quietly wonder if the president might offer another lesson. Opinion polls suggest that Mr Scholz, one of the least popular chancellors in German history, will lead his party to a devastating defeat in next year’s election. Yet Mr Scholz continues to insist he is the right man for the job. There was a time when Mr Biden said the same about himself.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive in Australia on Friday for a six-day tour of Sydney and Canberra. The premiers of Australia’s six states have snubbed a reception to welcome the royals, citing other commitments. Australian monarchists accused them of “insulting” the king.

The country has debated for decades whether to become a republic. In 1999 Australians voted against doing so in a referendum. Since then support for republicanism has fallen. Republicans thought Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022 would change that. Yet many Australians cling to the king . Recent polling suggests that just one in three wants to ditch the monarchy. Australia’s centre-left Labor government has scrapped plans for another referendum on the issue. One reason is that Australians have bigger issues to worry about. Most are more preoccupied with rising inflation than with the crown.

The word “buttocks” does not, in this golden era of sly and subtle television, appear much in reviews. Nor do words such as “romp”, “tits” and “bonk”. But then reviewers rarely have to cope with the oeuvre of Jilly Cooper, a British “bonkbuster” novelist. On Friday, with the release of a star-studded adaptation of her 1988 novel “Rivals” on Disney+, they do. They have risen to the occasion magnificently, peppering (adoring) reviews with not just the words above but also with (brace yourself) “squirting”.

“Rivals”, set in Ms Cooper’s beloved Cotswolds, is unabashedly of another era. The men are lecherous and treacherous; the women gorgeous; the sex gratuitous; the puns execrable. It is, in short, glorious. There is plot—something or other about a TV company. But don’t worry about that. In an era that takes itself a trifle seriously, “Rivals” doesn’t at all. Instead, it offers romps, rumps, lashings of champagne and, above all, joy. Oh, and did we mention the buttocks?