Newscast

The broadcast reported that the French president said vandalism and looting would be punished amid major protests over falling education standards and the rising cost of living. It also reported violent clashes across Albania, where police fired tear gas and water cannon at crowds protesting poor education facilities, rising living costs and alleged corruption. President Trump signed an executive order blocking sanctions on Russia recently passed by Congress to punish it for its war on Ukraine, with Polensky saying it was a reward for Putin. Pope Leo was discharged from hospital after successful lung cancer surgery in Rome, and satellite data showed Amazon deforestation had hit record lows for a fifth year, dropping nearly 42% in the last year.

The broadcast then examined China's huge construction projects, including dams, solar power farms and a vast high-speed rail network, asking whether an engineering-first approach could help Beijing deal with climate change. It discussed China as an engineering state, with leaders holding engineering degrees and pursuing mega projects such as the Three Gorges Dam, the South-North water transfer and the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge, alongside high-speed rail that changed travel times.

The discussion also covered China's expansion of solar, wind, nuclear, ultra-high-voltage transmission and electric vehicles, as well as its continued reliance on coal and goals of energy independence and food security. It addressed urbanization, greener cities, displacement and environmental effects of large projects, and described China's interests around capitalism, construction and control.