now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. what i find funny, you might find offensive. comedy challenges taste and convention and it can rouse strong reaction, as we saw at this year's oscars when a joke earned comedian chris rock a slap in the face from the actor will smith. my guest today has spent more than 25 years finding laughs in sometimes unlikely places, omid djalili was born in london to iranian parents. he has thrived as a cross culture comedic chameleon, but is it possible to be funny without being mean? omid djalili, welcome to hardtalk. stephen sackur, my friend, my fellow presenter in the business of show, man who is so unbelievably good looking and thin that he walks into snooker hall, they start chalking his head. i am so happy to be here, this is one of my favourite shows. well, if you carry on like that, this might be an interview, it will be a monologue! let me ask you this, you have been doing comedy for almost 30 years, do you find the same stuff funny today as yo

i'm stephen sackur. haiti is one of the world's most broken nations, and the internal fractures are tearing the country apart. last summer, the president was assassinated. despite a swirl of rumour, the perpetrators haven't been brought to justice. the current prime minister is under a cloud of suspicion, elections have been shelved, and haitians live in grinding poverty, gang violence and amid international indifference. my guest is the former foreign minister and briefly acting pm, claude joseph. can haiti be saved? claudejoseph, welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me. it's a pleasure to have you. it is eight months or so since president moise was brutally gunned down, assassinated in his own home. haiti today is still in chaos as a result of that. why is it still in chaos? one of the reasons is because the current prime minister, prime minister henry, is still in command, and we do know that, according to national and international investigators, he was involved in the assassination. his implicatio

now on bbc news... it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. since vladimir putin launched his invasion of ukraine, russia has faced new levels of international isolation. that's had a big impact in sport, an arena which putin has long used to project russian pride and power. russian footballers have lost their chance of going to the world cup. my guest today has seen his sporting dreams shattered, too. nikita mazepin was a formula 1 driver backed by his billionaire oligarch father. now, both of them have been sanctioned, and mazepinjr has been fired by his f1 team. does this sort of international pressure work? nikita mazepin in moscow, welcome to hardtalk. stephen, thank you for having me. it's a pleasure to have you on the show. you thought that right now, you would be driving in a formula 1 team, you would be part of the f1 season. as it stands, you no longer have a job. what are you doing with your time right now? yes, stephen, you're very right. one month ago, i couldn't really even think about not being somewhere very far away from my ho

stephen sackur, bbc news, bratislava. the bbc understands that a consortium led by the owner of the la dodgers baseball team is set to be named the preferred bidder for chelsea. that's despite a late offer from british billionaire jim ratcliffe yesterday. todd bowley has made a bid of two—and—a—half billion pounds. while sirjim ratcliffe, the founder of the chemical company ineos, has offered four—and—a—quarter billion. saturday sees one of the most anticipated fights in boxing history between two female fighters — katie taylor and amanda serrano. they're top of the bill at the iconic madison square garden — where the undefeated taylor will put her lightweight titles on the line against world champion serrano. ade adedoyin reports from new york. the best facing the best. katie taylor, amanda serrano... neither wanted to blink first — the weigh—in was like an event in itself. both have had their names in lights all week, the pair reaching new heights here in new york — a photo op on the empire state b

i'm stephen sackur. where does vladimir putin's self—styled special military operation in ukraine go from here? he expected kyiv to fall quickly. it didn't. ukraine's determination to resist has not crumbled, despite the terrible human cost. russian losses mount and its economy is hurting. my guest is pro—putin russian mp maria butina. in the invasion�*s second month, what do russians think it's achieving? maria butina in kirov, russia, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. hello. president putin insists that his so—called special military operation is going to plan. after five weeks, with everything we've seen in ukraine with this war, do you think that is true? yeah, absolutely. i think it's true because it would be naive from the west to expect that this operation could end in a week. i have heard speculation about it, and some people would say, "well, it should end quickly." i don't think so, because russian forces are very careful, so they don't hurt the civilian population. if they wanted to fini

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. what will it take to end the waeradimir putin initiated in ukraine? in military terms, russia now seems intent on a grim campaign of attrition in the east and south, a strategy which is already taking a terrible human toll. could economic isolation inflict enough pain to force the kremlin to reconsider? well, my guest is exiled russian economist sergei guriev. is moscow outmanoeuvring the west when it comes to sanctions? sergei guriev, in paris, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much, stephen, for inviting me. it's a pleasure to have you on the show. and if i may, i'm going to start with some of your very own words because recently, you wrote, "the only way "to stop putin is to deprive him of the financial resources "to continue this war." that's wishful thinking, isn't it? after six weeks, we can pretty much say that's not going to happen. well, that depends on the resolve of the west and, so far, the unity and resolve of the west has been unprecedented, and that means further step

now on bbc news, hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. workers across much of the industrialised world have been hit by a triple whammy, inflation is outpacing their wages, the gig economy is undermining job security and intelligent technology promises to transform the world of work. how should employees respond? well, my guest is frances o'grady, the general secretary of britain's trades union congress. what ever happened to the power of organised labour? frances o'grady, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you've had almost a decade at the top of the trades union congress. for much of that time you been seen as somebody who favours collaboration over conflict. but right now would you say that the trade unions are about to take the gloves off when it comes to relations with employers? well, ifavourworkers getting a fair deal and clearly unions are about trying to negotiate their pay, health and safety, decent conditions at work and equality. and many, many times we get good agreements with employers so that's important. but clearly, if an em

now on bbc news, hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. iran's rocky relations with the west have cost a host of individuals their freedom. the islamic republic has imprisoned citizens from the us, britain and a number of other countries for spying. now, the charges may be trumped up, but tehran�*s determination to use western prisoners for political purposes is very real. my guest is the australian academic, kylie moore—gilbert, who was released from an iranianjail in 2020 after 804 days behind bars. is it possible to heal after such a shattering ordeal? kylie moore—gilbert in melbourne, welcome to hardtalk. thanks so much for having me. it's a real pleasure to have you on the show. it is pretty much a year and a half now since you were released from imprisonment in iran. how much distance do you now feel from that whole experience? it feels sometimes like it never happened. it feels like it was a very lengthy, especially vivid nightmare that ijust dreamt one night when i was asleep and have woken up the next day, and i still have t

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. what lessons have the russians learned from the progress or lack of it of their military offensive in ukraine? right now russian forces are focused on the east of the country, the donbas. and what happens in the next few weeks will be critical for the future of ukraine, of russia and of european security. my guest is the former russian oligarch turned arch putin foe mikhail khodorkovsky. if putin is cornered how will he respond? mikhail khodorkovsky, welcome to hardtalk. western leaders say that puitn�*s invasion that vladimir putin invasion of ukraine must fail. do you think they understand what it will take to ensure that putin means war ends in defeat? in a sense, this war is about will, it's about the will and determination of putin, about the will of ukrainians led by zelensky and also about the will of the west to confront putin. whose will right now do you think is the strongest? you know putin well, i'd be interested in your answer. really? because there is a school of thoug

stephen sackur, bbc news, bratislava. and you can see that hardtalk interview in full here on bbc news. check your local listings for details. get in touch with me any time on twitter. thank you for your company. you're watching bbc news. hello there. another bank holiday weekend, but a weekend of contrasting weather conditions across the country. if it is sunshine you are after, you have plenty of that across england and wales, despite a late frost first thing this morning, blue sky and sunshine set to continue, but a different story further north and west, a weather front bringing cloud and eventually rain into scotland and eventually rain into scotland and northern ireland today. here it is and you can see a few more eyes around the globe, so breezy around here is that high pressure is squeezing further south, so outbreaks of rain so far today in northern ireland and north—west of the great glen, but gradually drifting eastwards and that is going to mask any bright early morning brightness into aberdeenshire and the

welcome to hardtalk i'm stephen sackur. vladimir putin claims ukraine is a fake nation. he peddles a moscow centric version of history which draws on centuries of russian imperialism. his invasion of ukraine is about much more than military supremacy, it's about culture, language, identity and values too. my guest is the ukrainian rock star, former mp and current lieutenant in the ukrainian armed forces, slava va karchuk. what can this cultural icon contribute to the defence of the ukraine? slava vakarchuk, somewhere close to the front line in eastern ukraine, a warm welcome to hardtalk. hello stephen. very happy to be here, thanks for having me here. it is a pleasure to have you on the show. let me ask you this, musician or soldier, how do you see yourself right now, how should we see you? first of all, you don't need to split, i'm certainly musician in my life and i hope i will be a musician to the end of my life because that's what i love. but then, everybody in ukraine, 4 million ukrainians are now soldiers in their own places, not everyone with weapons but everyone

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. vladimir putin still calls his invasion of ukraine a special military operation. the hollowness of that phrase has been exposed as horrifying evidence has emerged from towns and villages around kyiv, recently vacated by russian forces. hundreds of civilian corpses have been found, some bound and shot in the head. the ukrainians are calling it evidence of genocide. moscow says it's all fake. my guest is ukraine's foreign minister, dmytro kuleba. as this war gets ever darker, is there any room at all for diplomacy? foreign minister dmytro kuleba, in warsaw, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. foreign minister, we know that your forces, ukrainian forces are now in many towns and villages recently left by russian forces around your capital, kyiv. give me the latest information you have on what they have found. it is true that russian forces withdrew from some of the villages and towns, but it also shouldn't be forgotten that we pushed them out. our army pushed them out from many villages and

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. vladimir putin still calls his invasion of ukraine a special military operation. the hollowness of that phrase has been exposed as horrifying evidence has emerged from towns and villages around kyiv, recently vacated by russian forces. hundreds of civilian corpses have been found, some bound and shot in the head.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. what lessons have the russians learned from the progress or lack of it of their military offensive in ukraine? right now russian forces are focused on the east of the country, the donbas. and what happens in the next few weeks will be critical for the future of ukraine, of russia and of european security.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. iran's rocky relations with the west have cost a host of individuals their freedom. the islamic republic has imprisoned citizens from the us, britain and a number of other countries for spying. now, the charges may be trumped up, but tehran�*s determination to use western prisoners for political purposes is very real. my guest is the australian academic, kylie moore—gilbert,

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. what will it take to end the waeradimir putin initiated in ukraine? in military terms, russia now seems intent on a grim campaign of attrition in the east and south, a strategy which is already taking a terrible human toll. could economic isolation inflict enough pain to force the kremlin to reconsider? well, my guest is exiled russian economist

welcome to hardtalk i'm stephen sackur. vladimir putin claims ukraine is a fake nation. he peddles a moscow centric version of history which draws on centuries of russian imperialism. his invasion of ukraine is about much more than military supremacy, it's about culture, language, identity and values too. my guest is the ukrainian rock star, former mp

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. russia's invasion of ukraine and kyiv�*s defiant response will have a long—term impact on geopolitics far beyond europe's eastern flank. the west insists putin must fail, but this century's rising power, china, offers mr putin friendship without limits. could the ukrainian invasion foreshadow an effort by beijing to eliminate the thorn in its side — namely,

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. russia's invasion of ukraine and kyiv�*s defiant response will have a long—term impact on geopolitics far beyond europe's eastern flank. the west insists putin must fail, but this century's rising power, china, offers mr putin friendship without limits. could the ukrainian invasion foreshadow an effort by beijing to eliminate the thorn in its side — namely, taiwan? well, my guest is taipei representative to the eu, ming—yen tsai. could what starts in ukraine end in taiwan? ming—yen tsai in brussels, welcome to hardtalk. it's my pleasure to be here with you. it's pleasure to have you on the show. you, of course, sit there in brussels, you are the representative of taipei, as it's put, to the european union. ijust wonder, from your position, what impact has russia's invasion of ukraine had on your homeland? yes, i think our global community is watching the situation in ukraine closely and we believe that impact of the ukraine situation will be far—reaching and global—reach

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. workers across much of the industrialised world have been hit by a triple whammy, inflation is outpacing their wages, the gig economy is undermining job security and intelligent technology promises to transform the world of work. how should employees respond? well, my guest is frances 0'grady, they general secretary

welcome to hardtalk, i am stephen sackur. russia �*s invasion of ukraine and he have �*s defiant response will have a long—term impact on geopolitics far beyond europe �*s eastern flank. the west insists putin must fail, but this century

i'm stephen sackur. haiti is one of the world's most broken nations, and the internal fractures are tearing the country apart. last summer, the president was assassinated. despite a swirl of rumour, the perpetrators haven't been brought to justice. the current prime minister is under a cloud of suspicion, elections have been shelved, and haitians live in grinding poverty, gang violence and amid international indifference.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. what i find funny, you might find offensive. comedy challenges taste and convention and it can rouse strong reaction, as we saw at this year's 0scars when a joke earned comedian chris rock a slap in the face from the actor will smith. my guest today has spent more than 25 years finding laughs in sometimes unlikely places, 0mid djalili was born in london to iranian parents.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. since vladimir putin launched his invasion of ukraine, russia has faced new levels of international isolation. that's had a big impact in sport, an arena which putin has long used to project russian pride and power. russian footballers have lost their chance of going to the world cup. my guest today has seen his sporting dreams shattered, too. nikita mazepin was a formula 1 driver backed by his