our top story: the rugby world cup isjust hours from starting, with japan the first asian country to host the competition. the world's top rugby nations are poised for the start of the cup with the outcome as uncertain as any of the previous eight tournaments. the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, has again apologised for wearing blackface make up on several occasions decades ago. he faces renewed pressure ahead of next month's general election after pictures and footage emerged. and this story is popular on bbc.com: protesters are preparing for friday's climate strikes in around 100 countries across the world. organisers say there could be up to a million people taking part. now on bbc news it's hardtalk

with stephen sackur. welcome too hard to talk. i am a stephen sackur. all of the conflicts and tensions in the wider middle east coalesce in the discordant politics of one small state: lebanon. currently a quarter of the lebanese population is made of syrians seeking refuge from war. iran wields huge influence through its sponsorship of the shia islamist group hezbollah, while israel has a history of intervention in its northern neighbour. my guest today is lebanese foreign minister gebran bassil. is his government making lebanon's problems worse?

gebran bassil, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. once again, it looks as though lebanon could be drawn in to a dangerous regional conflict. and your government appears to be doing nothing right now to reduce the tension. why is that? actually, we wa nt to tension. why is that? actually, we want to avoid getting into any trouble. our policy is to be disassociated from any conflict in the region but we are obliged to protect our country and we are repeatedly addressed by israeli violations. imagine that in the last two months, we had 480 israeli violations of our sovereignty by air, land and sea. but if you seriously want to avoid getting into any conflict, why do you continue to

allow the militant sheer group hezbollah to expand its military presence across your country —— shia. there has never been an attack by lab alone against any country, it has only been self defence. when we we re has only been self defence. when we were attacked in 2006, lebanon has had to respond and since then, we lived 13 years of calm. what happened lately, israel attacked us and our capital. using two drones. 6.7 kilograms of explosives for each. we know why israel has conducted targeted attacks including drone strikes inside lebanese territory. we know why. because the israelis see what hezbollah is doing. they are developing their

precision missile capability on your soil. they are even boasting about it and israel says it will do whatever it takes to protect its own security in the face of this hezbollah militarisation. why israel has arrived to do whatever she wants outside the legitimacy, the international legitimacy? why lebanon does not have the right to defend himself? why israel has the right to have a nuclear bomb when lebanon cannot even defend itself? with respect, this isn't about lebanon. it is about hezbollah. u nless lebanon. it is about hezbollah. unless you are saying that hezbollah is the defector armed force of the lebanese state? hezbollah is part of the lebanese population, hezbollah is part of the government, hezbollah is part of the government, hezbollah is part of the government, hezbollah is part of the parliament and hezbollah is defending lebanon when

lebanon is being addressed along with the lebanese army. so you are entirely happy, are you? i want to get this straight for the people around the world, you are entirely happy that we know iran is funding, supplying and training hezbollah with a new position guided missiles. —— precision. you are entirely happy for this military buildup to be taking place on your territory, not controlled by you, the lebanese state, but controlled by hezbollah and therefore, ultimately, controlled from iran to stop you are happy with all of that? no, i will be happy when peace prevails in my country and the region. and this exceptional situation. and i will be happy when israel respects the eu resolution and. 0ccu pying happy when israel respects the eu resolution and. 0ccupying my country and. addressing the arab rights. then i will be happy. now, i am not

happy to be in the situation where we are threatened with war and aggression from israel. no, iam not happy. why is your message on this so happy. why is your message on this so out of step with mr hariri? he says this is not only lebanon's problem but the entire region's problem. they are acting in southern lebanon contrary to our position this is your prime minister talking about his beloved. —— about hezbollah. your prime minister describes hezbollah as a deeper problem. why don't you? because hezbollah is considered by many countries is a problem and we cannot neglect that it is graded as such.

this is not the usual situation in a country which is occupied where you have the army and you have an armed group and this is why we say we want to get rid of that situation, by having peace in place. i having our territories freed from the occupation. then there will be no reason why we should have this unusual situation. you say occupation but of course israeli troops pulled out of lebanese territory a long time ago. so i'm not quite clear... i don't think anybody argues about the fact that the israeli forces are still occupying arab lands. syria and lebanon. it is interesting... nobody also argues that we still have hundreds of thousands of palestinians living in our country

who were expelled from their country. it is interesting that you talk about "we" as though lebanon is united on this. lebanon is not united. you speak to your own country, a christian party in lebanon. you, as one of the leading christian parties, movements, inside your country, have consistently sought partnership and alliance with hezbollah. you provide coverfor what hezbollah is doing and what the iranians are doing inside your own country. we are united on this against israel and let me tell you why. you are not united because your prime minister... have a unity guard gaff —— government, headed by hariri, in which all of the lebanese fa ct hariri, in which all of the lebanese fact is and political forces are present and among them is hezbollah and that government, national unity

government, unanimously declared its unity behind the lebanese position and against israel. the point is hezbollah... that position was taken into thousand six. let me tell you something, we are united whenever israel is addressing us. it seems to you that you as lebanon's foreign minister is in a very difficult position because the uk, the us and a host of other arab nations regard hezbollah as an out and out terrorist organisation. the us has in recent days opposed sanctions — make proposed sanctions against members of hezbollah and members of parliament. they have imposed sanctions on the lebanese bank saying it is a conduit for hezbollah. you, as foreign minister, how do you respond? in what sense? do you welcome it? do you oppose it?

can you oppose it? we definitely oppose, we don't agree, that our mps would be sanctioned. but we know that this is the us position since long time on which we disagree but still, we have good relations with the us. we have strong ties with the us. the us is supporting our armed forces. they are also supporting our country. we have our strong ties but we disagree on... let me give you the words of mike pompeo, secretary of state, earlier this year. in lebanon, he says, hezbollah puts all of the lebanese people at risk with unilateral and unaccountable decisions on war, peace, life and death. the lebanese people face a choice. they either bravely move forward as an independent nation or they allow the dark ambition of iran

and hezbollah to dictate the future. you have chosen the latter. we received in lebanon secretary mike pompeo. and we accepted him. our position is that hezbollah is not considered as a terrorist organisation but as, you know why we cannot consider them as such? because hezbollah represents a big pa rt because hezbollah represents a big part of the lebanese population. he has 14 mps in parliament and we cannot accuse part of our population to be terrorists so we are talking about our population and we are talking about our national unity. that is why we cannot agree with this position. don't tell me that you have a good relationship with washington because clearly, washington because clearly, washington regards your position,

particularly your question party, your decision to go in alliance with hezbollah, as a fundamental threat to both israel's security and as the us would see it... to american security. so you want to disregard the fact that the us is assisting our armed forces, paying money... yes because they are dealing with the prime minister, with respect, foreign minister. they are not looking at you. i am the guy of lebanon. not of the united states. not of iran, not of saudi arabia. i am the guy of lebanon. i am the foreign minister of lebanon, not of anybody. that is why we have a policy that preserves our interests, not the interests of anybody else. that is why we take from washington what is in our interest and from any otherforeign what is in our interest and from any other foreign country. and we have the country — make courage to this agree with what washington says. ——we have the courage to disagree

with what washington says. let me quote david schenker, from washington. he very clearly says his fears of hezbollah and his supporters in les —— lebanon. people who are aiding and assisting hezbollah, regardless of their sect or religion. that was clearly a message pointed towards christian politicians such as yourself who are in alliance with hezbollah. you could face us sanctions.” in alliance with hezbollah. you could face us sanctions. i am the foreign minister of lebanon and these sanctions would not be on my person if they ever happen and i doubt they will ever happen. these are circulated for some interests but if they ever happened and all of lebanon is sanctioned. and then all of lebanon will have to deal with

this. i don't represent myself. i represent lebanon. again, and independence for the policy, that i would like to preserve lebanon away from problems. but at the same time, i would like to protect lebanon against israeli aggression is that i disregarded by the international community. i hope that israel will abide by the un resolution as lebanon is doing and as such we will avoid all these problems and we will be facing peace. you in lebanon no better than most the chaos that can come with war and the problems that can come with mass movements of people. i believe roughly a quarter of your population today is actually syrian who fled the terrible war in syria. why is your government right now violating international conventions by forcing more and more of those syrian refugees out of your country, returning them to syria? this is really unjust to treat a

country like lebanon who hosted 50% of its population as refugees and displaced and provided the best example of humanity by receiving these huge numbers of people, of accusing a country like lebanon are forcing people to leave. we never forced one single syrian to leave our... hang on. hang on. the reports are untrue. nobody provided us with one example as such and this is not how you reward a country like lebanon who did what he did. minister... not all of europe was able to host as much as lebanon hosted. there is no question lebanon has been strained to the number, the sheer scale of migration into your country from syria to not reading the same reports as me because there

is clear evidence, the middle east director of human rights watch says lebanon is clearly putting syrians at grave risk by turning —— returning them to the country they fled from, handing them to a government responsible for mass atrocities. the lebanese access centre for human rights issued a report the other day saying there is no evidence of a systematic policy of the lebanese authorities to push refugees to leave the country and returned to syria. there is evidence. totally untrue and that is not evidence. totally untrue. you choose not to see it. you choose to close your eyes. you have overtime said to your own people that these syrian refugees are less, less than the people of lebanon. let me tell you something. this is my country andi you something. this is my country and i know much more than you what's going on in my country and i challenge you to provide us with one fa ct

challenge you to provide us with one fact that one syrian was expelled from our country whereas here in this country, or from where i am coming from now, germany, the interior minister of germany said that a syrian who is going back to his country is no longer classed as a refugee. in lebanon, we have a move of more than 11,000 syrians a month. people who are considered refugees and are able still to go back to their country, and they are taking ourjobs in lebanon, they are having assistance from lebanon and the international community and still, they are still very much welcome in our country and i still having the best refuge they can have. here in europe, you know how many countries expelled syrians or refused to host them? still, we are ina very refused to host them? still, we are in a very weak economic situation and still, we are hosting them, an

unprecedented humanism. you want evidence. 0n unprecedented humanism. you want evidence. on april 26, at least 16 syrians were summarily deported after arriving at beirut airport despite most of those 16 people expressing explicit fears of torture and persecution should they be returned to syria. 0n the airport? how much evidence do you need? you are coming on the airport of beirut shows they are being oppressed in our country? you know how they come to the airport of lebanon? they are not coming from syria? it doesn't mean they are not being persecuted. you told me there is no evidence of any syrian being returned forcibly to the country under fear of persecution. there is clear evidence. of course, there is not anyone evidence, anyone name you can provide, this is totally untrue. why just a couple of months ago did you make a speech which worried many of your own people. you said the lebanese, are above all, you said

there is a genetic distinction which makes the lebanese superior to the syrians. many lebanese feared that you were being populist, nationalist, and some said even racist. this is not true. i always talked about the genetics of lebanon are now belonging. what has genetic stock to do with it? let me tell you something, not in comparison with the syrians, this is totally untrue, to bring the text and i challenge you again that this is untrue. i a lwa ys you again that this is untrue. i always talk about lebanity. lebanity isa always talk about lebanity. lebanity is a sense of belonging to the lebanese. do you know why i use this? to say we have our own belonging, not being affiliated to any other foreign country. and so you think, because this idea of lebanity, you think it's... crosstalk. let me continue. this was never used versus any other people. this was never used against the syrians. maybe you are aware... 0n

the contrary, we always showed affection and the best behaviour to the syrians and when we are seeking their return, it's for their sake. it is because we care for the syrians, we want them to go back to our country. we are also saying those calling for syrians to stay out of the country, they are racists. your own party supporters have been going around with banners telling syrians to go home. they have attacked shops and businesses run by syrians and you may have forgotten back in 2013, you said that syrians in lebanon should be deported. this is the politician that you are. no, not deported, they should go back to the country, of course. of course they should not stay... course. of course they should not stay. . . they course. of course they should not stay... they do not feel safe in the country. and you say they should be forced... i think they feel very safe and i think that they have been living in lebanon for seven years. nobody ever harmed them. and it's

our rightand nobody ever harmed them. and it's our right and there are right to call for their return to their country and it is your obligation here to help a country like lebanon and to help the syrians to go back to their country, not because another misery to the syrian people to stay out of the country. isn't the truth... and this racism. isn't. .. but the truth... and this racism. isn't... but and the truth... and this racism. isn't. .. but and this is the lack of humanism. when you treat the people in misery and you chase them out of the country and you force them to stay out of our country. our good behaviour is to help them to go back to their country. many people listening to this will think you are indulging ina listening to this will think you are indulging in a fantasy about the desire of the syrians in your country to —— to syria but let us leave that on one side and discuss the nature of your politics. many people see you as a nationalist and a populist who is playing a dangerous game in lebanese politics. you ask a doting syrians, saying

they are taking lebanese jobs, ruining the lebanese economy when all of the evidence suggests the lebanese economy, which your government overseas, is in chaos because of fundamental mismanagement and corruption over many years inside lebanon. nothing to do with immigration. no, this is something we are responsible about, our mistakes, or the corruption. this is something for which we hold the responsibility. but this is something, you know, and having the syrians or any other population living in our country and taking the jobs of lebanese, is something else for which we have the right to call for which we have the right to call for the lebanese to have theirjob opportunities. it is called scapegoating. you are seeking to blame the other for the problems created by your own government. and i answered you clearly that these are two separate issues. this is

something, and this is something different. it does not mean that in all cases, the syrians should not be staying there. their places syria and not lebanon. and you cannot justify their stay in lebanon by saying that we have our economic problems in lebanon. before we end, though, ijust problems in lebanon. before we end, though, i just want to bring problems in lebanon. before we end, though, ijust want to bring back problems in lebanon. before we end, though, i just want to bring back to the connection between politics and economics. you have a disastrous economy. your debt level is one of the highest in the entire world. your deficit level is still out of control. your unemployment rate is over 30%. lebanese people are desperate. you have the possibility because the saudis and the americans are talking about big assistance to lebanon. but they will only deliver it if they change their policy on hezbollah. are you prepared to do so? we draw our own interests. we

don't want our economy to be seized bya don't want our economy to be seized by a foreign desire on how to shape ourforeign policy. by a foreign desire on how to shape our foreign policy. we by a foreign desire on how to shape ourforeign policy. we want by a foreign desire on how to shape our foreign policy. we want an unconditional assistant. from any friendly country. we can accept gladly but not on conditions of our internal policy. you know, our priority is a national unity. you know why? because we faced internal warfor know why? because we faced internal war for 15 know why? because we faced internal warfor 15 years. we know why? because we faced internal war for 15 years. we don't want this to be repeated. we prefer to have an external war but not to have an internal war. we don't want neither external or internal. that's what we wa nt to external or internal. that's what we want to keep our national unity safeguarded and we want to accept assistance from others and friendship with others without dictating on us how we conduct our internal policy. the problem is, right now... our national unity... we don't want anyone to obstruct our

national unity because this means internal conflict in evident. -- lebanon. this means repeating the conflict in lebanon and we want to avoid this. we will have to enter there. gebran bassil, i thank you very much for being on hardtalk. hello there. temperatures are set to climb over the next couple of days. friday morning will start off with some fog patches in places but that you tend to lift and clear fairly quickly and we will see a lot of sunshine and some real warmth as well. high is centred just about here. consider wind rotating around it

in a clockwise direction. the high pressure keeping the rain bearing cloud they have the atlantic. wanted to fog patches across southern scotland, northern england. could be the odd dense patch of fog, some potentially for northern ireland as we go through the day, any fog will lift and we will see patches of cloud drifting northwards but a lot of sunshine across most parts of the uk and temperatures widely between 19 and 22 degrees. but with the south or south—easterly winds blowing across the uk, the favoured spot the high temperatures will actually be the north of scotland, particularly when you get some shelter to the north high ground. 23 or 24 degrees. as we go through friday night, it's going to stay dry. there will be long clear spells overhead and we will see more of a breeze at this stage so not too many problems with mist and fog and it's not going to be quite as chilly as some nights with had recently. some spots holding up in double—digit ‘s.

14 degrees therefore plymouth for example, down to 9 in glasgow and newcastle but the saturday, we have the speed of our coming up in the south of the south—east. pretty warm wind direction, fairly humid as well. high pressure holding onto the first half of the weekend but notice these frontal systems out in the atlantic. these will eventually make their move and turn things quite a lot more unsettled. saturday then, most reliably dry day for many parts of the uk. a lot of fine weather, lots of sunshine too but notice the odd thunderstorm late in the day to the south—west of england, parts of wales, maybe northern ireland as well. temperatures though, 21 degrees in glasgow, the south—east of england could get to 25, maybe 26 degrees. through saturday night, the increasing chance we could see and read downpours drifting across western areas. ahead of this frontal system. it is a cold front. it could be moving erratically northeastwards as we move to sunday. some uncertainty about where it will come to rest without makes a brain for the afternoon but ahead of it, another warm day, 23 or 24 degrees but behind that cold front,

the air turns colder. it will feel much cooler and much fresher and that leads us into a cooler, fresher week generally for all of us next week and there will be some wind and rain at times.

i'm rico hizon in singapore, the headlines: japan is set to become the first asian nation to host the rugby world cup. and i am mariko 0i outside the tokyo stadium where the home team will face russia later this evening. trudeau under pressure — the canadian prime ministerfaces heavy criticism after footage emerges of him in blackface makeup. darkening yourface, regardless of the context of the circumstances, is always unacceptable because of the racist history of blackface. i'm nuala mcgovern in london.

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