The Fourcast

This week Chinese president Xi Jinping told his military to prepare for war in what he called an increasingly “unstable” security environment. 

China just had its 20th party congress, with Xi Jinping securing an unprecedented third term in power. And amid rising tensions between China and the US, the first in-person meeting between Xi and Biden has been confirmed next week.

But with no immediate loosening of the zero-Covid policy, we ask what’s next for Xi? 

In this week’s episode of the Fourcast, Yu Jie, Senior Research Fellow on China at Chatham House, tells us about the recent Communist Party Congress in China, the rule of Xi Jinping, and where next for this superpower.

Sources: MSNBC, AP

Producer: Freya Pickford

Has anything really changed since COP26?

In the year that Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering a global energy crisis, we’ve also seen the drastic impact climate change is having on our planet: with catastrophic flooding in Pakistan, a megadrought in the US and record-breaking heat waves across Europe. 

With COP27 fast approaching; diplomats from across the world will gather once again to try and get global warming under control. Including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who after saying he’d be a no-show, U-turned to say he would attend after all. But as the global heavyweight gather can we expect real change to take place as a result? 

In today’s episode of the Fourcast we bring you an extended interview with one of the world’s most famous environmental activists, teenager Greta Thunberg. She spoke with Channel 4 News presenter, Jackie Long, about the release of her new book, The Climate Book. 

She also talks about COP27 and why she feels hopeful about the fight against climate change. And how, above all else, now is the time not to become complacent in making change happen. 

Produced by: Freya Pickford

The US midterms are approaching and polls suggest the Republican Party could take control of the House and could even secure the Senate too. But has the party gone from the grand old party of Abraham Lincoln to more like a Donald Trump fan club? What comes next?

In today’s episode, we speak to the Republican pollster and strategist Whit Ayres, about the shifting nature of the party, from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. 

We ask him whether the Republican Party is now fully beholden to Trump or whether there are signs his grasp is weakening.

Sources: AP Archive, AP, CNN

Producer: Nina Hodgson

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly held a vote to condemn Russia’s illegal annexation of four regions in Ukraine. The resolution was supported by 143 countries but four voted against and 35 abstained.

As bombs reigned down on Ukrainian cities and killed civilians, why is it that 39 nations either still support Russia, or remain neutral in this war?

Today, our International Editor Lindsey Hilsum tells us about the countries that still back Moscow and explains whether any of them are beginning to change their minds as the war doesn’t go to plan for Putin.

Produced by: Freya Pickford

Liz Truss was always inheriting a difficult job, with a war in Ukraine, a cost of living crisis and a party in need of a fresh start after 12 years in power and the scandals of Boris Johnson.

She’s certainly made a mark. Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget has been anything but mini, it’s had a huge impact on the markets, mortgages, gilts, and the pound.

It’s also had an impact on how her party and the public view her and that’s what could be really lethal.

Today, our political editor, Gary Gibbon, takes us through the first few weeks of Liz Truss’s leadership and how it could be ending before it’s even got started.

Produced by Nina Hodgson and Ka Yee Mak

Russia's Vladimir Putin is obsessed with his legacy. He has compared himself to Peter the Great, the tsar who founded St Petersburg and created the modern Russian empire.

That was Putin’s plan but with Ukrainian forces now pushing back and Russian men fleeing the country, it’s not going the way he had hoped.

So is he losing his hold on power?

We speak to Angela Stent, an author, professor and an expert in all things Russia and Putin. She explains that while Putin’s legacy is damaged and his hold on power is slightly weaker - it’s too early to say if this is the beginning of the end for the Russian leader.

Sources: AP Archive

Produced by Freya Pickford

Russian President Vladmir Putin is expected to announce the annexation of four regions of Ukraine - just like he did with Crimea in 2014. But this isn’t total deja vu, because this time, he’s on the backfoot and he's in trouble. 

Following months of stalemate after his failure to take the capital Kyiv, Putin’s forces were surprised by a Ukrainian counteroffensive that either pushed his forces back, or made them flee.

And so now, he’s had to hold sham referendums and initiate a partial mobilisation to try to turn things around. But can he?

In today’s episode, we speak to our presenter and Europe editor Matt Frei in Kyiv about how this point in the war is arguably one of the most pivotal moments for all sides in this bitter conflict.

Produced by: Nina Hodgson, Heidi Pett 

Camera in Kyiv: Ray Queally

Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s first military mobilisation since World War Two. He also warned he would use "all means [he has]" to defend Russian territory, raising concerns around the world and saying it wasn’t a bluff.

With the United Nations General Assembly taking place this week, Nato leaders attacked Putin’s announcement. But Nato-Russia relations weren’t always quite so frosty. 

In this episode we speak to Lord Robertson, the tenth Secretary General of that alliance, who met Putin 9 times and says that Putin even discussed joining Nato at one point in their conversations.

We ask him whether Putin has changed or whether he and the West completely miscalculated what the Russian leader was up to.

Sources: AP Archive, CNBC

Produced by: Freya Pickford and Nina Hodgson 

For the past few days, young and old, Britons and beyond, David Beckham too, have descended on London to join what must be the world’s longest queue. The line to file past Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second’s body as she lies in state at Westminster Hall.

At one point, the queue reached capacity, it was five miles long and the wait was 14 hours and so for several hours no one could join the queue. So they formed a queue for the queue. When queuing resumed, the wait was even longer, 24 hours. 

This feels novel and baffling, but it is incredibly British.

In today’s episode, Kiran braves the long queue himself and tells us what it’s like to stand in the longest queue in the world.

Producer: Freya Pickford

On Wednesday, the body of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will travel in a public procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, carried on a gun carriage, with King Charles leading the procession behind his mother’s coffin, which will be draped in the Royal Standard.

Once in Westminster Hall, the coffin, topped with the Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre, will lie in state for four days, with each corner guarded 24-hours-a-day by soldiers from units that serve the Royal Household.

When the Queen Mother lay in state two decades ago, thousands lined to view her coffin. Many more mourners are expected to pay their last respects to our longest reigning monarch before the funeral on Monday.

In this episode of the Fourcast we speak to our presenter, Cathy Newman, who broke the news of the Queen's death on Channel 4. We look back on the historic days we have witnessed since and ahead to a new era under King Charles.

Sources: AP

Producer: Freya Pickford