but we have sort of lost that lovely collective pastime. i mean, it's the national pastime, but it's become a very individual pursuit. and i think that this is pretty much the only time of year, perhaps olympics, coronations, weddings aside, when we do all gather and that little flickering box in the corner still has its power. now time for hardtalk... let's be clear, the only path forward towards justice and an independent state for palestinians is not through hamas violence. i wake up with one thought — have i done enough yesterday for ukrainian soldier taking part in the counter—offensive to be able to save his life? we have to believe i in ukraine's victory. otherwise, i mean, this- is what russia is hoping for, you see cracks in our unity. the democrats and some in the media

are scared to death that donald trump is going to get a second term and he is going to clean house in america. we need to think much more cleverly about how we produce food and how we're going to sustain those systems. we've got to remember that the planet is on fire. i'm telling you, there's. going to be a revolution. we are using ai in a way to subjugate people, reduce their autonomy, reduce their agency, reduce their contribution to production. in the spirit of your title of hardtalk, you're completely wrong. welcome to this special year—ending edition of hardtalk with me, stephen sackur. welcome to this special year—ending edition of hardtalk with me, stephen sackur. it's our chance to look back on some of the most telling and compelling encounters of 2023. how will this past

year be remembered? well, a grim new phase in an intractable conflict will loom large. on october the 7th, hamas — the islamist group which controls gaza and is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the uk and the us — launched a murderous attack on southern israel. 1,200 israelis were killed. israel's response was a ferocious assault on gaza, now in its third month, which has already inflicted tens of thousands of palestinian casualties. we cannot guarantee 100% safety for the people in gaza who will be around hamas militants. and that's why i keep saying, move out, move out from those neighbourhoods, because we are coming to hunt down hamas and we will do whatever is necessary from the air, from the sea, from the land. we will get to those people and we will kill them. you cannot defeat ideologies

with bullets as israel is trying to do, and rockets. they will end up in the bodies of babies, these rockets. you defeat ideologies in the ballot — not the bullet, the ballot box. we need to implement international resolutions, not negotiate them. and i believe, as you do, this could serve as a wake—up call, as an alarm, that there is no way you can bypass the legitimate rights of the palestinian people and there is no way you can repeat a second nakba. you are the boss of the un relief and works agency, which in essence has been one of those organisations that has kept gaza sort of functioning for years and years and years. how close is unrwa to collapse? in gaza, if unrwa collapses, if unwra leaves the gaza strip, the last glimpse of hope the palestinians have would also disappear and would be felt as a betrayal from the international community. so we have to do whatever

is possible to keep the presence of unrwa which is considered — not only by the people in gaza, but also in the region, by the various country — as being absolutely indispensable. as the scale of the death, destruction and humanitarian catastrophe became ever more evident in gaza, international pressure for a ceasefire mounted. the us, israel's key strategic partner, refused to support those calls, but the biden administration's tone towards the israeli government became more critical. washington's message — crushing hamas and reoccupying gaza is not in itself a pathway to lasting peace. that requires israel to accept some difficult truths. let's be clear, the only path forward towards justice and an independent state for palestinians is not through hamas violence. it is through president biden�*s calm, effective and persistent

advocacy for a two—state solution. it is a real problem for us that prime minister netanyahu does not embrace a two—state solution. butjoe biden has believed in and fought for an outcome in which palestinians have a chance to actually govern themselves. but, senator, that's not true, is it? the truth is the united states has continued to regard israel as its key strategic ally, which it backs with vast amounts of money, whatever israeli settlers have been doing on the west bank. and that surely is the core us mistake when it comes to saying, we've done our utmost for a two—state solution. you haven't. so i think the previous administration took a very sharp change in direction in terms of us—israeli relations. and one of our challenges has been in terms of holding israeli governments' feet to the fire and supporting palestinian ambitions for a two—state solution versus tolerating — even welcoming — settler expansion, potential annexation of the west bank.

there's been quite different approaches from different administrations. are you going to ignore biden�*s words about reoccupation being a very big mistake? i think that when we talk about what will happen in gaza, i think everyone who cares about the safety of arabs and jews alike in the area understands now. and if someone did not learn from october 7th anything and wants to return to this situation again and again and again, i am — i have disagreement with this view and with this people who think that we need to return to the day before october 7th and allow our enemies to come and slaughterand murderand rape children and families in israel. i don't think that's a good idea. after everything that has happened since october 7th and everything you have described to me, can you, in all honesty, imagine a time when you and your children

and your grandchildren will live in peaceful coexistence side by side with jewish israelis? absolutely. and i don't only imagine it, i believe in it and i work for it. and i tell you again, as i said before many times, israel has one of two options — either to evacuate their settlers from the west bank and allow palestinians to have a state of their own, including west bank, gaza and eastjerusalem, and arrange for the return of the palestinian refugees. or we should live in one democratic state. we will have... where we all have equal rights, jewish and palestinian people. but what they want is to ethnically cleanse us and have palestine all by themselves. as war consumed gaza, international attention was distracted away from ukraine. this year, a stalled kyiv counter—offensive saw intense attritional battles with little

ground gained or lost. having survived yevgeny prigozhin�*s short—lived rebellion, vladimir putin appeared increasingly confident of outlasting ukraine and its western backers. in 2023, it became clear this war has become a brutal test of strategic will. we want to keep the war on the agenda and to get enough of the weapons so we can actually win the war. because putin's strategy is to drag everyone into this long, long fight with the hope that their allies would not sustain it. so is there a degree of fear in kyiv right now, fear of ukraine fatigue setting in in europe, and maybe in the united states, as well? you know, we live side by side with this fear, probably since like second week

of the full—scale invasion. so this is why we are working on all the international fronts. this is why president zelensky is doing his international visits, showing the gratitude, but also saying, we are still fighting, we are still here — please don't forget about us. please stand with us, please win with us. i'm just wondering what the psychological pressure is on the ukrainian army right now. the struggle for victory, this is a huge pressure that we all feel — not only soldiers in the army, but also diplomats, politicians, all members of zelensky's administration. we understand how high stakes are. and this is what drives us to work harder to get all the weapons that our country needs.

literally, every day i think — i wake up with one thought. have i done enough yesterday for ukrainian soldier taking part in the counteroffensive to be able to save his life, to break through the lines and to move forward? this is the pressure that we all are feeling. at this juncture, there's only one way. it's a winning of the war, destruction of ukrainian armed forces, defeat of the west, but of course, not only defeat of the west — liberation of ukraine from neo—nazi regime and total destruction of the ukrainian military. right, well, that's quite a wish list. would you agree with me that one important measure of the health of a society — whether it's fighting a war or not — is honesty? whether a culture, a society is prepared to be honest with itself. do you think russia is being honest with itself today? russia and most of russians understand that it is a warfor life or death. it's an existential war. so we are going to win.

by supporting ukraine, we are helping ourselves because if we leave it unattended, if we leave it without any support, russia... and the rest of the countries supporting now ukraine would do the same, then russia would most probably prevail in ukraine. russia would take it as a confirmation of the right approach to their foreign and security policies. and as we heard openly from their top representatives, russia wouldn't stop with ukraine. we have to believe in ukraine's victory, otherwise, i mean, - |this is what russia is hoping for —| to see cracks in our unity and also to see cracks in our belief in ukraine's victory- because when we don't believe any. more, then we don't support ukraine. hundreds of thousands of ukrainians have died in this war. ukraine right now insists that it will recover all of its territory. but this war which, for right now, appears to have no end, is costing the most terrible price. it is.

but, again, i come| to our own history. of course, every child knows that war is bad and peace is good. - but there's also differencej between peace and peace. you in the uk after the second world war, you had peace, - which meant that you built up your country. _ nobody died because of the regime. whereas here we didn't have war after the second - world war, we had peace. but what it meant was mass deportations of our people i to siberia, where they died. it meant mass killings of people. it meant the suppressing of our culture, trying - to erase our language. all of this was here - when there was peace. the conflicts in ukraine and gaza raised awkward questions this year for the world's most powerful nation

— the united states. does it retain the will and the capacity to project power across the globe? in part, of course, that depends on who is in the white house. 2024 is presidential election year, but 2023 put the leadership question front and centre. a rerun of biden versus trump is looking likely, but is either man what america needs? joe biden is wise, he has knowledge, he has a beautiful vision for america. he has knowledge of the issues, therefore, judgment and wisdom. he has strategic thinking about getting things done. that's why his presidency has been so successful on the domestic front. he has empathy, and cares about working—class families. and we have to communicate that better to the american people. and that is what a campaign is about. i didn't hear you say any complimentary thing about anything that people have said about the president or our

performance as elected officials. we don't care about the negative, we're about the positive. it's not about fear, it's about hope. and you'll see, 15 months from now, joe biden re—elected as president of the united states with great pride. i think donald trump will be able to do things in his second term that he was not able to do in his first term. had he had a different attorney general, had he had a different fbi director, we would not be sitting here today talking about a re—election of donald trump because he would have already been re—elected. the mistakes that he made in his first term, he will not make again. and that's why the democrats and some of the media are scared to death that donald trump is going to get a second term and he is going to clean house in america, that he is going to change the way that washington operates, i think with the help of most of us in the republican conference. the us isn't the only country where the health of democracy

is about to be tested. in putin's repressive russia, the outcome of the looming presidential election is entirely predictable. less so in south africa, where the ruling anc has enjoyed a monopoly on power since the end of apartheid, but is looking increasingly vulnerable as elections draw near. i took a hardtalk on the road to south africa last may as the anc government struggled to keep the lights on. night falls in khayelitsha township, cape town. the power is out, the street lamps are off and law enforcement is braced for trouble. cape town is the murder capital of africa. rolling power cuts have heightened residents' fears of the local criminal gangs. what are you doing with this stuff? wiseman, wife ruby and their two young daughters huddle in the candlelight. do you feel safe when

there is no power? no, we don't. we don't. actually, what i do, i make sure that all the kids are inside the house firstly. and then we lock the door. we lock the gate. when you said not so long ago, "there is a changing of the guard coming in south africa. "the anc�*s decline is terminal. "it's just a matter of how fast." did you really believe that? of course i believed it. and i think it's a fair assessment about where the anc found themselves in the last local government elections. in 2021, they — for the first time in post—democratic south africa — lost their majority and fell below 50%. this obviously allied with the fact that our economy is not growing. we've got 30 million people living in poverty, 12 million people unemployed and load shedding, rolling blackouts, which have reached into every home and switched off the lights, switched off our factories and switched off our economy.

south africans are realising that if they don't change the way they vote, south africa is going to end up in a very, very dark place. we are focused in terms of dealing with it. it is an achilles heel and i can't tell you tonight or any time that this is an easy matter for our government. surely after covid—19, this is the biggest challenge that has actually faced us internally. it's very candid of you to say this is an achilles heel because achilles heels tend to bring people down. and if this continues, it will bring the anc down, won't it? it will affect the fortunes of the anc to receive the outright majority. i'm telling you, there's. going to be a revolution. let the grid collapse and let's see what's going to happen. - let the grid collapse? i'm saying to you... how do you think south africans are going to feel hearing you say that? people who are losing theirjobs, who have no income and you just say to me... you are misinterpreting me, i i'm saying to you, let the grid

collapse, it is going to happen, and see what's going _ to happen in this country. i'm not wishing it. i'm saying it's going - to happen and you will see what's going to happen. do you think that once - the grid collapsed, people are going to exchange . roses with government? people are going to rise. 2023 exposed new divisions between the rich world and the so—called global south. but on one issue, humanity has an undeniable common interest — climate change — and how to prevent the worst of man—made global warming. the recent cop meeting in dubai ended with a collective promise to transition away from fossil fuels. some cheered, some remain deeply sceptical. there is no way to adapt ourselves out of the climate breakdown. we still have to reduce drastically our carbon emissions sooner rather than later. well, but recognising this, even if we were to live up to the 1.5 degrees celsius target, which you mentioned, stephen,

and we're not on track, we see already the climate catastrophe around us. so we simply have to adapt of the changes of today, which will get much worse tomorrow. you've got to understand what the seychelles is all about. we've got about 39 granitic islands, and of course mahe being the main granitic island goes up to 3,000 feet up, but the other islands are just a mere four metres, three metres above sea level. and already what we are seeing is with the rise in the sea level and with greater surges, a lot of these islands are already changing shapes. because the dune around the island is already being affected. therefore, these islands, similar to the maldives,

stand to simply disappear. if you're looking at the moment we're in right now, _ where the climate crisis _ is here and now, 36 million people in eastern africa with drought, three—year drought. _ and you're looking at having to halve global emissions. l africa needs to develop and we need |to have an alternative developmentl model to what we've had thus far. so if we can — and this is an if, but this is what we're trying i to make happen through different l partnerships — provide differentl | models where africa doesn't have | to go through the same fossil—fuel trap that we went through. rewilding is working with regenerative agriculture. it's working hand in glove with food production. we're always going to need prime productive land for agriculture, absolutely for food production. but we're also going to need land for nature. we need to clean our air. we need to clean our water. we need to bring back biodiversity and we need to sequester carbon. we are producing enough food.

we don't need more area forfood production, but we need to think much more cleverly about how we produce food and how we're going to sustain those systems. we've got to remember that the planet is on fire. climate change is an existential challenge for the human race. so, too — if you believe some of the tech gurus of our age — is artificial intelligence, ai, ever more sophisticated machine learning. generative ai is already embedded in our lives. and, for all you know, it could have written the words i'm using right now. as it happens, it didn't — these words are mine. but how do you know, and how much does it matter? new technologies always bring very new challenges. and in this case there is the potential that very powerful systems will spread far and wide, and i think that has the potential to pose really significant

catastrophic threats to the future of the nation state. so, for example, all technologies in the history of our species, all the general—purpose technologies that you just referred to, to the extent that they have been incredibly useful, they've always got cheaper, easier to use, and therefore they have spread all around the world. if that trajectory continues, when we're actually talking about the creation of intelligence itself or in synthetic biology life itself, in some respects, then these units of power are going to get smaller and smaller and smaller and spread far and wide. everybody in 30 to 50 years may potentially get access to state—like powers. i think the very important point that hg wells captured in the time machine when he said, you know, when talking of human dominion about nature, we forget that it's always entangled with human dominion over other humans. that's the danger. we are using ai in a way to subjugate people, reduce their autonomy,

reduce their agency, reduce their contribution to production. and that's being done not because machines have taken over, but because a small cadre of people are shaping the future of ai. have you tried — have you, you know, tried, "write something in the style of lucy prebble?" i have. i have exactly done that, which is slightly shameful, but i have. what comes out? something which... some good stuff? ..is quite depressing. stuff where you recognise what it's drawing from. it isn't necessarily of a high quality, but i don't know whether to be insulted by that or enthused by that — it's complicated. but i'm reading them and i'm thinking, ok, so you are drawing on material that's available from me. so there is a copyright issue also there that's rarely discussed, but also, yeah, but also it may not be sophisticated yet, but it will be. it will be one day. let's end this review of the hardtalk year with a burst of positivity — a salute to the guests who, amid all the talk of conflict, division and suffering, came to this studio and reminded us of the importance of seizing moments

ofjoy and celebrating life. happy new year. we miss trees. let's plant trees to tackle desertification. he sings lekki lekki

hello. for most of us, boxing day turned into a pretty decent day. we had some spells of sunshine. certainly, it was a fine day to get out and about. the same does not apply to the day ahead. wednesday's weather dominated by storm gerrit, bringing a combination of rain, snow and gales with a very real risk of disruption. this is our storm system, this vast shield of cloud on the earlier satellite picture just enveloping the uk. outbreaks of very heavy rain driving northwards and eastwards, some really strong winds. notice all the isobars on this chart. and with the wet weather running into cold air, briefly a bit of snow mixing in over higher ground in northern england, southern scotland, but in the highlands, we could well see 15 centimetres of snow or more accumulating over the highest ground — blizzard conditions when we combine that snow with the very,

very strong winds. in fact, it is going to be a windy day for just about all of us. some very heavy rain affecting parts of england and wales — 90 millimetres possible for hills of wales, north—west england. lots of hefty downpours, too, in northern ireland. a windy day for all of us, gales in places. we could see gusts of 70 to possibly 80 miles per hour developing in the north—east of scotland. temperatures north to south, 5 to 13 degrees. and then through wednesday night, well, actually, if anything, the winds will strengthen further around parts of wales, south—west england. also extremely windy weather across the northern isles. we'll see snow and blizzard conditions for some in shetland. lots of showers elsewhere, blowing through on those very strong winds. as a result of the strength of the wind, it's not going to be a particularly cold night. and then into thursday, it stays blustery, the winds only slowly easing. i think we'll continue to see gales in places, particularly around some western coasts. lots of showers, some of which could be heavy, possibly thundery. wintry showers over high ground in the northern half of scotland especially. and those temperatures,

6 degrees there in aberdeen, perhaps 13 as the high in london. and then as we head towards the end of the week, we will see further weather systems working from west to east, further outbreaks of rain. this one at the start of the weekend could be particularly potent. and with cold air being pulled down from the north, expect something wintry to mix in from time to time, so it's a really unsettled outlook as we head through the rest of 2023.

welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines: a ukrainian missile damages a russian warship docked in occupied crimea — president zelensky praises his airforce for the attack. israel's army chief warns the war in gaza will continue for months, as the bombardment of the region intensifies. meanwhile, in his first interview since the war began,

the palestinian president calls for a full ceasefire in gaza. translation: everything has been wi ed out - translation: everything has been wiped out - houses, _ translation: everything has been wiped out - houses, mosques, - wiped out — houses, mosques, institutions, everything. you can't recognise cause any more. —— recognise cause any more. —— recognise gaza. iraq condemns us air strikes on iranian—backed targets in its territory — the us says it was retaliating after an attack on american bases. and, in a real—life home alone moment, a young boy travelling alone in the us is flown to the wrong destination by a low—cost airline. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has said he is "grateful"

to his air force for a missile attack that badly damaged a russian