CCTV FOLLIES 2.6 Stock footage and shocked silence

-TV news still silent on balloon and shoot-down -Xi still absent, but his glory lingers in re-runs -US thwarts peace talks -US is "a liar" sez Russia, Syria, Iran -CCTV coup, a Jimmy Dore appearance!

Xi Jinping is absent from the news but his stock footage lingers, seen here in Pingyao promoting local culture with a socialist touch

Xi is also rather grandiously credited with shoring up the Great Wall, rebuilding towers, refurbishing Forbidden City and polishing up Temple of Heaven

When Xi inspected this antiquities museum in Anyang last year, he memorably said, "Chinese writing is really something else!"

As Xi says, tell China's story well, make Chinese culture more believeable, loveable and easier to understand to foreigners

"China is in blossom and full of vitality"

Earthquake in Turkey, CCTV reporter Chen Huihui on the ground

Russia continues to pacify Ukraine. US blocked peace talks, says ex-Israeli PM Bennett. The US lies, says Volodin, head of Russia's Duma. Syria says so, too, as does Iran. US critic Jimmy Dore concurs, US is a liar setting region on fire.

While CCTV’s flagship news service has yet to mention the ‘weather balloon’ incident, even in passing, Global Times has produced a cartoon about it and penned some predictable pushback for international readers in the English edition. The Global Times weather balloon above is plainly identified as a ‘weather balloon’

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