our top story. the asean summit is about to get under way in manila where us president trump will meet with the philippine leader, rodrigo duterte. earlier, leaders gathered at a gala dinner in manila and signed trade agreements with hong kong in what one chinese officials called a vote against rising regional trade protectionism. spain's prime minister, mariano rajoy, has told his supporters in catalonia, that next month's elections should help end "separatist havoc." it's his first visit since he took direct control of the region. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it's shows dramatic pictures of a burning oil pipeline in bahrain that has caused a diplomatic spat. bahrain says iran is behind the explosion. iran has dismissed the allegation. more on this story at bbc.com. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i am stephen

sackur. there are no tanks on the streets of riyadh, but make no mistake, what has just happened in saudi arabia represents a revolution of sorts. king salman and his son crown prince mohammed have started a purge of princes and ministers and potential rivals, part of a grand plan to entrench their power and transformed the country. my guess is saudi journalist and current political exile, jamal khashoggi. —— guest. is the saudi drama about raw power or real reform 7 jamal khashoggi, welcome to

hardtalk. thank you for having me. it isa hardtalk. thank you for having me. it is a pleasure. you have been calling for a long time now for reform in the kingdom of saudi arabia. we now see a man at the top who appears determined to deliver on reform. are you delighted with what you are seeing in the saudi capital? imight sound you are seeing in the saudi capital? i might sound throughout the show to have conflicting messages. yes, i am delighted. but we have seen issues with one man rule. it always ends with one man rule. it always ends

with disaster. saudi arabia was not a democracy, but it used to be ruled by consensus, not between us and the royalfamily, but by consensus, not between us and the royal family, but within the royal family itself. perhaps that safeguarded saudi arabia in the past from adventurous policies. but today it is ruled only by one man. not even just the family. he is the sole leader of saudi arabia. he owns the future of saudi arabia. it is up to him to drive us to prosperity and reform or wars, we don't know. let mejust be reform or wars, we don't know. let me just be clear. when you talk about one man, are you talking about the crown prince, or the actual king of saudi arabia, king salman? let's face it, the monarch is king salman, but i suspect you are not talking

about him. i am talking about crown prince mohammed. king salman has delegated responsibility to his son. not officially, but in reality. your point about the end of consensual decision—making within the royal family raises an important question. and surely, mohammed bin salman and his father are delivering a simple message, there are many, many corrupt people in the royal family. they have put 11 princes under detainment. they have been responsible of milking the kingdom of billions and billions of dollars. very much correct. corruption in saudi arabia is endemic. it has depleted saudi resources. it has corrupted even the mindset of the

business environment. and it had to end. and we have been saying that, us end. and we have been saying that, us writers. so, he has to do that. but is he doing it the right way? i can add to the list 10 others, royals and non—royals, who are corrupt. every single person arrested, there has to be 10 others who should be with them. and then the council is corrupted itself. what is corruption? it is still being practised until the date saudi radio. so, there is a need to be transparency. —— until today in saudi arabia. there is need for a media and open dialogue about it, of which there is none. you have to start somewhere. clearly, he started with a very dramatic move against, we believe, at least 500 people, and

i hear there will be more arrested in the next few days. and the message from mohamed bin salman to these people seems to be quite simple, you have taken from the kingdom and its oil riches all of these hundreds of billions of dollars and we want to take the money back to the people of saudi arabia can enjoy the fruits of these riches. surely that message resonates with all the people in the kingdom. i think we should give him the benefit of the doubt. but should not we discuss that in saudi media, ina not we discuss that in saudi media, in a consultation body? those things are essential. yes, we need to crash radicalism and corruption, but it is being done by one direction by one man rule. —— crush. being done by one direction by one man rule. -- crush. are you saying

there is no space at all to discuss there is no space at all to discuss the nature of mahmoud bin salman‘s initiatives, including the anti—corruption drive? i know that saudis are extremely wired to social media, one of the most connected in the world. all sorts of young saudis have tweeted. here are a few i will quote. this man says this represents the saudi dreams we have been waiting for. thank god we now have a vision and a print to carry forward our ambitions. another the mouse is this. a leader speaking for the benefit of the future. this person says we have an extraordinary crown prince, the saviour of our generation, working for a great leap towards the future! that is the voice of young saudis! very much

correct. if i was to speak like them, i would also be in saudi arabia. but rather are the voices, and they are not being heard. they are being told to be silent. they have signed things saying they will stay silent. the list of saudis banned from travel is growing every day. are you notjust feeling a little personally sour because you have run into problems with the regime because some of the things you have said on twitter in the past few months have irritated. and also yourformer boss, one few months have irritated. and also your former boss, one of the richest men in saudi arabia, prince walid,, he is also in detention as well, and you are seeing bad things with that. it is insulting to be told to be

silent. i am it is insulting to be told to be silent. iam more it is insulting to be told to be silent. i am more worried than sour. iam silent. i am more worried than sour. i am worried for my country. i cannot retire in america happily in just the right unimportant issues and go on with my life. —— and just write. what is worrying me the most is one man rule. we need reform, but one man rule is bad, as i said earlier. it always goes wrong in any country, whether it is saudi arabia, germany, iraq... we will get to the nature of autocracy in just a moment, butjust to nature of autocracy in just a moment, but just to focus nature of autocracy in just a moment, butjust to focus on your former boss, someone we are familiar with, one of saudi arabia's richest and most prominent business people. he owns hotels around the world and has huge stakes in america's

businesses. there he is in detention in riyadh. are you saying there are no grounds to be holding him and thatis no grounds to be holding him and that is a purely political act by mahmoud bin salman? no, i am not saying that. there has to be an investigation. if there is corruption, perhaps the authorities know better than i. but as far as i know, he was not a threat to prince mohammed, and was in fact supportive of him. a few days before his arrest, he sent me a text message urging me to come back to saudi arabia. he said enlightened minds like you should be with us, joining my brother, prince mohammed, in building the fourth state. that was him talking to me and asking me to return. he was very much supportive and was not challenging the crown

prince. that is interesting. you are suggesting to me that the prince, one of the key figures in all of this drama, had no idea, even 48 hours before being detained, no idea that this was coming. yes, exactly. he sent me this message and i am sure he sent to many other people because that his habit. he wanted prince mohammed to know that he is supporting him. have you spoken to him by text, any other form supporting him. have you spoken to him by text, any otherform of communication, since that? no. i texted him but there was no reply. let's talk about the stability of the leadership now. you say it is all about one man, all about crown prince mohammed bin salman. he has moved against some of the most powerful princes in the house of saud, including the former head of the national guard, and others. do you believe his grip now is absolutely unchallengeable? yes, i

think so. i do not think the royals can even gather and create a front against him for a number of reasons. number one, they are so fragmented. number one, they are so fragmented. number two, they lack a leader. they don't have that leader, a moral leader, who can stand for values and for saudi arabia, who is totally independent and respected by all of them. and lastly, because he is using the stick of corruption. and if not all, most of them, somehow, they are involved in some form of corruption or abuse of power. so, he has the upper hand on those issues. so, ithink

has the upper hand on those issues. so, i think he has won for now, but his biggest threat is not the royals, clergy, but the economy. he has to succeed economically.” royals, clergy, but the economy. he has to succeed economically. i will talk to you about that soon. but he thought about what we might learn from not just thought about what we might learn from notjust saudi arabia but arab nations experiencing uprisings since the first arab spring in 2011. surely the message of all all of this is that street protests and toppling governments has been negative for the nations of the arab world. what mohamed bin salman seems to be saying is i know we have to transform ourselves, we have to modernise, we have to change, and i will be that agent of change. you call him in autocrat, comparing him to vladimir putin, saddam hussein, and others, but surely the message of the last two years is that the best hope a nation, arab nation,

like saudi arabia has. someone who wa nts to like saudi arabia has. someone who wants to use his power for like saudi arabia has. someone who wants to use his powerfor genuine reform and change. not by choice, why fact, de facto. he is the best choice for saudi arabia. that is what they are saying, they wish him luck. he has to succeed. that is what will decide the future of saudi arabia and also his future. it is for him to succeed. the people of saudi arabia are very much believing in mahmoud bin salman today. he hardly has any opposition. he hardly has any serious opposition, we will say. so, he has all of the floor for himself for the next few years to deliver his plan. 0k, and now to the detail of a plan. you refer to the vision of 2030. it has various elements to it. starting with the economy, he says he wants to develop

a purely poached whale saudi arabian economy, investing in technology and building a new city in the north—west, some calling it a robot city, such will be the reliance on new technology. he wants massive infrastructure spending. are you suggesting to me this is all fa ntasy, suggesting to me this is all fantasy, he cannot deliver on this? lead their no, he can probably build the cities but will the cities succeed? two cities in saudi arabia which have not succeeded. king abdullah‘s financial city and king abdullah industrial city. i have been to one of them. i have seen the grand ambition. the city was pretty empty when i was there. but it is all about the ability of saudi arabia

two times for myths of from a dairy ——a fairly sort of crude oil economy for something that is fit for purpose in the 21st century as a global leading economy and surely that ambition has to be saudi arabia's future? ic to faults in the vision and i wish i could express those in a local saudi newspaper and we need to do that in saudi arabia. number one, it is styled darwin approach. that will not work for a country as big as saudi arabia. it would work for a small country, a city—state like dubai, doha or abu dhabi but not saudi arabia. also, it is not based onjobs. saudi arabians are addicted to foreign labour. we need to resolve the culture ofjobs

and saudis will go back to work. there are all millions saudis who are not injobs there are all millions saudis who are not in jobs today, there are all millions saudis who are not injobs today, not there are all millions saudis who are not in jobs today, not 2 there are all millions saudis who are not injobs today, not 2 million as the government suggests. the actual number is 4 million. every year, 250,000 young saudis go to the job market. that is his biggest task and he should spend more time on this problem rather than building a new city in saudi arabia. but you said the young people appear to be overwhelmingly with him and one reason is not just overwhelmingly with him and one reason is notjust because he talks about this new economic proposition but he also talks the language of fundamental social change, not least for women in saudi arabia. he has decreed that all women will be able to drive illegally come the summer of 2018. he is giving them places on the consultative council. they are going to be free to attend sports events. this is very important

stuff, isn't it? he is signalling that saudi arabia's culture, its social life, it is fundamentally changing. very much, and i campaigned for it and many other writers campaigned for it. it was an issue that we were pushing for almost every single day. but now we have put that behind us and we are moving forward and he is enjoying all the support from the young people. he needs to look at the unemployment issue. he has to providejobs for unemployment issue. he has to provide jobs for millions of saudis. i don't think that can be done from this top—down approach by building new cities but rather, starting from scratch and bringing back the culture of work to the saudi society. the culture of work among saudis is dead because of our addiction to foreign labour over the last 40 years. almost every single

job is done by a foreigner and we need to be free from that. what about the religious element to all of this? in a keynote speech just last month, mohammed bin salman pledged, and i'm using his words, to return saudi arabia to moderate islam. there is a very complicated relationship between the rulers of the kingdom and the leading clerics and religious authorities in saudi arabia. can he deliver on this shift of the religious tanah and tone of the kingdom? yes, he can. because in the kingdom? yes, he can. because in the court of history, young people are becoming more and more moderate. number two, he only needs to unplug and government support for radicalism. radicalism was tolerated by the government. radicalism in

saudi arabia that was put into the saudi arabia that was put into the saudi curriculum, the saudi education system, the mosques, it was a loud and tolerated by the government. it the government pulled the plug, those clergy is dependent on the government, they will go back home and seek their own safety. the reason why so many people, not least in the white house behind you, care about what is happening is —— in saudi arabia is because of the strategically important kingdom —— the —— the strategically important role the kingdom plays in the region. mohammed bin salman has, if you like, being the director of saudi arabia's military assault on the rebels in yemen and seems to be choreographing a very co—ordinated move, for example encouraging former prime minister hariri to resign in

lebanon, getting tough with iran, sending signals to qatar, that's their radicalism will not be tolerated any more. is all these different ways in which saudi arabia is mixing its muscle will be intensified in the coming months and yea rs ? intensified in the coming months and years? it has to succeed. before it could intensify, what about its chance of success? that worries us. asa chance of success? that worries us. as a citizen, i want to stop uranium expansionism, sectarian expansionism but i don't want war with the iranians, it will damage both countries. i would like to see saudi arabians more inspired for change, such as the arab spring. it is not a conspiracy as many saudi people suggest. young people in a jeep in

syria, they want better regimes, they want a say in their government. u nfortu nately, they want a say in their government. unfortunately, i see my country countering such aspirations. that could drive iran and isis and radicalism a way from the region by placing those factors of change which are still happening in yemen, in syria. in yemen, saudi arabia can play a role in bringing all you many is together to find a power—sharing formula and that will end the war. —— the people of yemen. formula and that will end the war. -- the people of yemen. but that is not happening. i wonder if you believe whether mohammed bin salman is seriously contemplating war with iran? i hope not. we have to wonder what kind of exchange is having with the american administration and the americans giving promises they cannot fulfil. are the americans behind this drum of war that has

been sounded by us, the saudis? it's not clear yet. i don't think the americans will on our behalf but who is going to do the fighting? i hope not saudi arabia. even though i would like iran out of our rage and —— region, war with would like iran out of our rage and —— region, warwith iran is would like iran out of our rage and —— region, war with iran is very bad. final question, you warned me that i might find some of your position is confusing or conflicted andi position is confusing or conflicted and i have. throughout the course of this conversation, you have suggested that many of the things mohammed bin salman is trying to do is the right thing for saudi arabia but you have also in this interview compared him to autocrats including putin, saddam hussein and others. you ultimately believe he represents saudi arabia's best chance and will you at some point go home to try to be part of the change and reform of your kingdom? i have no option but

to wish he leads saudi arabia because i will not vote him out, we don't have elections in saudi arabia. he won the throne, really. even within the family. there is no serious competition or threat to him, even within the family. i wish i could go home but the environment is not welcoming to me or any other saudi writers, economists who are independent. all the people around him are yes—men and he wants that. he thinks he can do it alone. he thinks he is that she thinks he is the lead of the country has been waiting for so i willjust settle for my role to be here in washington and hopefully provide a loyal

opposition. jamal khashoggi, we thank you for being on hardtalk thank you very much. hello there. for most of us, sunday was a pretty glorious day, plenty of sunshine but it was cold. windy as well, particularly down the east coast, plenty of showers here too. some of these will continue through the course of the night and some on the heavy side but become more confined to the north sea coast of england and elsewhere, turning much drier and a colder night to come. widespread frost developing in some rural places. you can see the blue colours there. something a little less cold into the north—west of the uk.

the weather system pushes in, bringing outbreaks of rain. we start monday morning cold and frosty. lots of sunshine though. you can see the blue hue there so some places freezing or below at around eight o'clock in the morning. we continue to see cattered showers and blustery conditions across eastern coast areas, especially from lincolnshire down into east anglia. the odd heavier one too. northern ireland and northern england and scotland, a cold start but increasing wind and cloud across western scotland. outbreaks of rain into the western isles initally. this weather system will continue to move east through the course of the day, bringing rain and hill snow. we could even see snow down to lower levels before it all turns back to rain as the mild air moves in. northern ireland, cloudy

with outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, a fine day but the sunshine turning hazy and another cold one. for monday night, this weather system continues to advance eastwards, bringing stronger winds and outbreaks of rain to much of the country but also milder air. we'll lose the cold air as that weather system moves. we are all into the yellow and orange colours. most of the country, as the far north of scotland continues into that cooler air stream. for tuesday, it is a cloudier day. outbreaks of rain, particularly across western hills, a bit of mist and murk. look at those double—figure values. also cloudy on wednesday and thursday. the best of the sunshine across northern parts of the uk. thursday, probably the mildest day across the uk. quite a mixture this week. we are starting off on a cold and frosty start with some sunshine and then milder and cloudy for a time with outbreaks of rain and signs of it turning colder by the end of the week. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: the asean summit gets under way in manila.

donald trump is set to meet the controversial philippine leader rodrigo duterte. dozens of people are killed as a strong earthquake hits the border region between northern iraq and iran. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: the agonising wait. asylum seekers on manus island share their fears, as they expect to be forcibly removed from the australian detention camp. winds of renaissance at mumbai's royal opera house. after decades of renovation, it stages its first italian opera.