his first trip to see soldiers under his command in a combat zone. it comes days after his defence secretary, jim mattis, resigned in a dispute over the president's decision to pull us forces out of syria. stock markets in the us have made a remarkable rebound after days of losses, including their worst ever christmas eve. the dow index posted its biggest ever daily point gain, surging by more than one thousand points in a single trading session. president putin says russia has acquired a new type of strategic weapon, after observing the final tests of a nuclear—capable hypersonic missile. he said it was a new year's gift to the nation. mr putin said the weapon could penetrate any existing or next—generation missile defence system. now it's time to take a look at some of hardtalk‘s stand—out interviews from 2018 — from presidents and world leaders, to campaigners from the metoo movement. here's stephen sackur.

a very warm welcome to this end—of—year edition of hardtalk, with me, stephen sackur. after 12 months of tough questions, this is our pick of the year's highs and lows. the world is particularly messy today. i don't see strong leaders around who could cope with it. where most of us felt deeply hurt is when donald trump blamed pakistan for the failure of the united states in afghanistan. this dragon, this beast called

"corruption" is an animal that we intend to slay. it's a relief, because it explains what had previously been inexplicable. when the intelligence community say, with a high degree of confidence, "it is our assessment," that means they don't know. yes, of course, um, i certainly feel responsible, in part, for the situation the country finds itself in. but, of course, that was a mistake. brexit is a disaster. brexit is a tory conceived, uh, vanity. i thought it was absolutely a bad strategy to declare war on the media. you have hardtalk, you know, we want hardfacts. our review of 2018 begins with the melodrama in washington, dc, otherwise known as the trump presidency. his tweets, his populism, his hirings and firings all defy political convention.

he reviles the media, yet dominate the headlines, and all the while investigations continue into his presidential campaign and its ties with russia. i believe the very core allegation of the dossier, which was consistent with other intelligence we already had, that was that the russians were interfering in the american presidential election. the rest of it, i didn't know what to make of, and some of it i didn't care whether it was true or false. the prostitute thing? i didn't care whether that was true or false, i just wanted the president to be aware. surely you must‘ve cared whether donald trump was potentially vulnerable to blackmail. yes, which is why we told him about that, so he would know about the allegation and know the fbi was aware of it. when the intelligence community said, with a high degree of confidence, "it is our assessment", that means they don't know. no, i don't agree with that. you don't trust for one second those put into the positions of highest authority in america's leading security and intelligence agencies. you clearly believe the fbi,

the cia and i dare say every other intelligence agency are full of people who lie. who have been politicised. the fbi and cia opposed the release of a memo that will demonstrate that they violated the law because they say that it threatens national—security? nonsensical. anger and resentment is not a governing philosophy, and it only goes so far. and there are pendulum swings in politics, certainly in american politics, so i do think this is president trump's party right now. it is, no doubt. you cannot win a republican primary around the country if you are highly critical of the president's behaviour or his politics. but that won't always be the case. the president's very media savvy. he should take a step back from that and he should say, "you know what, i can have an adversarial relationship with the media without a war declaration." we have an administration right now that is trying to disqualify the press as an independent arbiter of fact.

and not just to disqualify us as an independent arbiter of fact, but to disqualify other institutions as independent arbiters, so law enforcement, intelligence agencies, the court system, scientists, all of them, to disqualify them and say that the white house itself, the administration itself, is the only source of truth. here's one of the great ironies of 2018 — donald trump avoided personal criticism of vladimir putin and yet russia's relations with the west still soured badly. over the skripal poisoning, the alleged use of chemical weapons in syria, and moscow's unyielding strategy in ukraine. with tempers fraying, i went to moscow to talk to russia's foreign minister. you said you had irrefutable proof that a russophobic country, by which you meant britain, had worked with these white helmets to fake and stage manage...

why did you say that i meant britain? don't put your words into my mouth. i did say a country which is trying to lead the russophobic campaign. please, quote me correctly. there are already, over the past few weeks, new sanctions from the united states on a whole bunch of different companies of individuals, which have hit the russian stock market very badly. russia's being squeezed. thank you for your sympathy. but don't worry, we will survive. it seems you're now saying you don't trust the 0pc government. for a brit, you have very bad manners. do you think you're in a new cold war? well, i think it's worse, because during the cold war there were channels of communication, and there was no obsession with russophobia, which looks like, you know, genocide by sanctions. throughout the year, we quizzed a host of international leaders. for some, power has almost become a way of life. i have been accused of being a dictator.

no, you know, no dictators have ever resigned. i resigned. and now i have come back. after more than 20 years in power. yes. that's a long enough time. well, we need time to develop a country. you know, it's not so easy, just like picking your fingers. a lot of people are concerned you're not delivering, largely because of the widespread, rampant corruption that exists in your country at your own admission. this dragon, this beast called "corruption" is an animal that we intend to slay. we have been working quietly over the last few years to strengthen our various agencies that are involved in this particular fight. is that what you want your legacy to be, the fight against corruption? the fight against corruption, and to ensure that the nation's resources are used in the best interests of the people of the republic. plenty of new faces swept into power in 2018 — one of the most familiar belonged to a former cricketing star.

let me make it clear, pakistan has to be friends with america, the united states is a superpower, but where most of us felt deeply hurt is when donald trump blamed pakistan for the failure of the united states in afghanistan. we felt that here was our country being made a scapegoat, a country that had 70,000 people killed fighting the us war. we had over $100 billion lost to the economy, because general musharraf took us into a war which was not our war. i opposed it. and, at the end, the humiliation, i mean, to be made a scapegoat for their failure in afghanistan. new leadership in south africa, too, where the anc tired ofjacob zuma's scandal—plagued administration. we are going to take action against those who have acted wrongly against the people of the country.

that's going to be a full—time job, won't it? prince mashele, co—author of a book called the fall of the anc, says your party is rotten in its entirety, so it's notjust accusations against jacob zuma, it's right across the party. well, we allowed corruption to continue growing in the party. we have recognised that this is a problem, we have decided that we are going to root corruption out, and it's not everyone who is in the anc who is corrupt. there's some really good people in south africa, in the african national congress, and that is what is giving us the platform and the levers to root out those who are perpetrating wrong things against the people of south africa. in south america, i spoke to a new president grappling with the humanitarian crisis. are you asking for regime change in venezuela ?

i think many countries are. and we are also asking for that. we have not recognise the last elections in venezuela, why? because the dictator manipulated all the democratic system, the apparent democratic system, to keep himself in office. the colombian government has not recognised that regime, and so many countries in latin america has done the same. across europe, populism and nationalism were on the rise, fuelled by frustration over low growth, inequality and what many perceived as the threat of mass immigration. and no—one tapped into the political mood better than the leader of italy's anti—immigrant populists. but there is a real humanitarian crisis here, minister, and you have blood on your hands because of the policies you've adopted. the unhcr is quite clear. they say that the new restrictions that you and your government have put on these migrant boats,

the new limited access to italian ports for refugees and migrants, has led to a far higher death rate at sea. that's your responsibility. in austria, do you see this now as a time for your government to pursue its own national interest rather than europe's collective interest? we work here in tandem with partners such as denmark or the netherlands. it's not only italy. there's a number of european members, european union member states with whom we work in tandem. and we had this morning, for instance, a visit in vienna by european parliamentarians, and there is an awareness i would say that goes across all political segments that migration is something that

will remain with us. we don't believe that a simple distribution of people who have come in from whichever parts can be redistributed according to a quota system, and that this is the magic bullet, the silver bullet solution — that we say. in britain, the politics of identity played into a uniquely protracted and divisive argument over brexit. the uk has been on course to leave the eu since the referendum of 2016, but tortuous negotiations over the exact shape of an exit deal have so far delivered only chaos and uncertainty. well, i wanted the pm to bring back a great deal that was in the national interest, and i suspended disbelief for the last two and a half years that she might do so. theresa may said this in the commons, she said no—one, "no—one knows what will happen if this deal doesn't pass, but it will open the door to more division, more uncertainty and all of the risk

that that will entail." you surely agree with that? no, i think proceeding on this basis, with a flawed, botched brexit that leaves us in the worst of all worlds will leave everybody unhappy. the conservative party will be blamed for bungling brexit, for saddling the country with a half—in, half—out country that leaves us poorer and less in control than we were before. we won't be forgiven for that. i'm looking at the words of prime minister theresa may, let us not forget, your prime minister, the leader of your political party, who wrote this letter to the nation just a few days ago, saying, "we will take back control of our borders, ending free movement, we will take back control of our money, putting an end to the vast annual payments to the eu, and we will take back control of our laws by ending the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice." either she's living in cloud cuckooland or you are. or you wonder, has she really read every page of her own agreement? i mean, i've talked to some very senior lawyers about this — i'm not a lawyer —

and their interpretation is emphatically that statement is wrong. we'll be shelling out 39 billion, and probably more if we get into the next financial round, out if it drags on. but we'll absolutely be under the cosh of the european court ofjustice. are you impugning her integrity? because, when you're saying that his flat out wrong, you're suggesting that, either she's utterly incompetent, or she's a liar. no, i... good question. i find it extraordinary. her public statements are not in tune with my understanding and with lawyers' understanding of what is proposed. what would the question be in this second referendum of yours? do you like the deal that we've got, or would you like to remain within the european union? that is what we need to put to the people. parliament has now spent two years with only brexit dominating. if we are to exit the european union, the legislation in parliament to deal with the consequences of that will go on for another decade. amid all the british infighting, it was important to remember those on the other side

of the brexit argument. i come from louth county, which is a border county with the north of ireland, in my constituency now. but all the counties along the border with northern ireland, those are the people i represent. i drive to donegal through northern ireland. so it's my territory, if you like, and i remember the 1980s, when i was younger, and it was not a nice place to be. and therefore i think those of us who know the value of 20 years of peace and togetherness — that is incomplete, but we get on, there's a great community spirit — we don't want it impacted negatively by brexit. if there is no deal, is there bound to be a hard border between your country, the republic of ireland, and northern ireland? we have said we won't construct a hard border, and the british have said the same, so that is the position. the british government is party to an internationally binding treaty called the good friday agreement. at the core of that is

the concept of consent. and what the agreement says is that the people of the north of ireland must consent to any change in the constitutional status of the north of ireland. and of course, when the agreement was signed, that meant the union between britain and the north. but i think that you can fairly and feasibly argue that the proposal to coerce the north of ireland out of the european union, despite the democratically expressed wishes and views of the people, actually flies in the face of the consent principle. we try to nail the big trends, as well as the big personalities. this took us to kazakhstan, a vast swathe of central asia poised to exploit the eastward tilt of the global economy. in the kazakh language, "asta na" means capital. in just 20 years, this city has risen from the empty steppes, these showpiece buildings a monument to the country's riches in oil, gas and minerals. now, kazakhstan is

determined to diversify. for me, travelling the silk road has always conjured up images of adventure and romance. but this is the reality today — a four—lane, brand—new superhighway that slices through the kazakhstan steppes. and this new silk road is all about china's ambition to be the dominant global economy of the 21st century. imagine what marco polo would have made of this. khorgos dry port towers over the silk road on kazakhstan‘s eastern frontier. five years ago, this was empty steppe. now, chinese railfreight rolls in, gets transferred onto kazakh—gauge track, and can be in europe

within a dozen days, halving shipping times. in this relationship between china and kazakhstan, which created this amazing new facility, the power really lies with china, doesn't it? it's not something that we should fear about. on one hand, yes, we depend on volume. you depend on china. china owns 49% of this facility in kazakhstan. china basically is behind this entire project. well, they are our partners. this partnership brings benefits for either side, for the kazakh and the chinese side. 0n hardtalk, we don't just do politics. we like to probe cultural shifts, as well. women continued to challenge sexism and discrimination, as the #metoo movement matured and extended its reach.

i was not frightened of harvey weinstein, and i think that's why he blackballed me. i think that's why he blacklisted me, and did unfortunately, as we know now, such a successful job of sabotaging my career. but does it leave you feeling that your career has in a substantial way been ruined by this man? not ruined, but definitely impacted. i was at the time the highest—paid female actor in hollywood, and then, when i was on the shortlist — and it wasjulia roberts and sandy bullock and me, and a couple of other people, when it would come down to it, so often, without explanation, i wouldn't get the offer. and now we know why. even in hollywood, they keep saying real change is coming about. i think real conversation is what's happening right now. since the weinstein thing broke in america, there have been some very prominent pakistani women

who have begun to speak in public about their own experiences, and being abused, for example. all of them have been very honest, and one of them actually said what is disturbing in pakistan in the recent past is the silent acceptance of women, and our society has not taught us in the past to deal with this competently. absolutely, i agree with that. but we're talking about pakistan at large here. and yes, there's a problem, because we attach... you know, honour and shame, all these words, they are so misconstrued. the essence of hardtalk is personal, digging deep into character and motivation. it isn't always the interviews with the rich and powerful that have the most impact. one of my most memorable encounters was with ‘johnny‘ johnson, the last survivor of one of the most daring british military operations of world war ii, the so—called dambusters raid. he told me how, years later, he revisited the german dam that he tried to destroy. and i stopped, looked over the side, and i was dropping that bomb again, just like that.

and then i walked over to the other side, and i saw that lovely valley going down there, and i said, you know, i'm almost glad we didn't breach this dam. had we done so, this valley would have been completely ruined. 0k, it would have been rebuilt, but it would never have been the same. and it made me think more about the after—effects of war, and about war itself.

it didn't make me think any the less of our war effort. another personal favourite was sue black, the remarkable forensic anthropologist whose skills have uncovered the secrets behind a host of murders and unexplained deaths. when you're out there as a scientist, you're expected to be objective. it's not yourjob to become emotional about it, it's not yourjob to become involved in it. you have no guilt, it's not your responsibility. you have a job to do. what about anger? you can't, it's not your place. this is aboutjustice, and justice will determine who is guilty and who is innocent. myjob is not to judge anybody. myjob is to gather evidence, analyse evidence, present evidence, and let somebody else decide on guilt. has it coloured your view of what we human beings are really like, and what we are really capable of? i think we have always known what the human is capable of, but what i find is that, in these horrendous circumstances, and they really are truly awful, there is always wonderful humanity. so you might have a widow who's lost her husband,

her children, her entire family, and when you come along to exume that grave, she's still there with you — for you, with a cup of tea. her way of expressing her thanks for what you're doing. and i've never found a horrendous situation in the world that has an absence of some humanity somewhere. humanity shines through, even in the darkest of times. not a bad thought to end on, after another challenging year in the hardtalk studio. we will be back in 2019. but for now, have a very happy new year. it may not have been a white christmas but it wasn't

a particularly bright christmas either or many of us. a lot of crowd around and through the day ahead again it will be often cloudy. but it should remain largely dry. we have high pressure still firmly in charged to the south. frontal systems dancing across the far north of the uk so a bit of patchy rain still clearing eastwards across scotland but for many more, it a dry start and a relatively mild start although notice, something a little bit cooler showing up across the south of england and south wales. could be at touch of frost here and that is because the skies have been clearing and after any early fog has cleared, across the southern counties of england and the south of wales, that is where we have a decent chance of seeing some sunshine

through the day. also, the north and east of scotland, parts of north—east england, maybe north—east wales and merseyside, these areas could see some sunshine. elsewhere, generally some clout, it may be some drizzle, most will be dry with highs of 8—12. through tonight, there could still be large areas of cloud and fog floating around but could have bigger cloud to the north and west. into northern ireland and western scotland by the end of the night. if the cloud does break for any length of time where you are, you might get a touch of frost but most of us worked. —— won't. for friday, outbreaks of rain trundling it was across scotland. much of the rain quite light and patchy. northern ireland and northern england, it may be down into the midlands, something brighter, some sunshine with more cloud down towards the south. and then we get on into the weekend. high pressure still in charge, our familiar friend sitting to the south. this frontal system is likely to spin up into an area of low pressure which will pass just across the northern

half of scotland. outbreaks of pretty heavy rain here and potentially some patchy rain also sliding into northern ireland and northern england as a day wears on. further south again, a lot of cloud but a lot of dry weather. a mild day on saturday. 10—12 degrees. for sunday, there still could be some patchy rain around but more of this largely dry but are largely cloudy weather on sunday. some sunny breaks and the temperature is still doing well for this time of year. 11 and maybe 13. for new year's eve and of course new year's day, it is looking largely dry, pretty cloudy, but for most of us it will be mild. this is bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories: president trump and the first lady pay a surprise christmas visit to american troops in iraq, his first presidential trip to a combat zone. a strong rebound on wall street. the dow index has broken a record and for the first time gained more than1,000 points in a single trading session.

russia's president witnesses the final test of a hypersonic missile he claims can penetrate any missile defence system. sister wendy beckett, the nun whose passion for art made her a tv star, has died at the age of 88.