mohamed diab, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. your movie—maker.deep breath do you have to take before making a movie in the day's egypt, particularly a movie that is about politics, society, culture in your country today? i'm going to tell you what everyone around me told me before making that film — don't. everyone told me, even my family, everyone knew this film was going to explode in my face. making a politicalfilm or something that has a political statement, it's almost suicide. notjust because the government or the regime, it's because of everyone. we are in the midst of a big division in egyptian society, almost amounts to civil war. maybe the streets, people are not killing each other these days but at some point they did, and the hatred extends to every family member. egyptian families, the first rule of any family gathering is don't talk about politics. so, if everybody, yourfriends, your professional colleagues, everybody said don't, and you did, would it be right to characterise eshtebak the movie your act of resistance? i was part of

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur.s the job of the journalist to speak truth to power but it can be a lonely place, defying conventional wisdom and the powers that be. my guest today has known that loneliness. irish journalist david walsh was convinced that cycling's untouchable champion lance armstrong was a drugs cheat long before the sport revealed the scale of his deceit. armstrong is now history of course but doping continues to devalue elite sport. maybe it's a problem that no amount of truth telling journalism can fix. david walsh, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. i wonder if you could cast your mind back to starting as a young journalist in ireland, working on sports. you memorably described yourself then as a fan with a typewriter. do you still regard yourself as a fan? in certain respects, yes, but in a general sense, no. i think a journalist has to leave that behind. i think the predominant reason why people want to be sports writers is because they love sport. in my case, i knew from a very early stage i wan

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.ost of countries around the world still impose the ultimate punishment on the most serious criminals, death. what's it like to be in command of the machinery of state sanctioned execution? today i'm going to get a rare insight from allen ault, who spent years running the correction facility in the southern us state of georgia. he organised the killing of criminals until he could stand it no more. now he's an opponent of the death penalty. why? allen ault, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. it's back in the 1990s that you were the commissioner of corrections in the us state of georgia, and you were responsible for running the machinery of capital punishment. is that experience still with you today? it is still here. i still have nightmares, not every night, but on occasion i still have nightmares about it. it's a very hard pill to swallow. it stays in your psyche forever. it's the most premeditated murder possible. the manual is about that thick, and the preparation you go through to execu

now on bbc news it is time for hardtalk.me to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi, here in florida, where my guest is 98—year—old ben ferencz. he is the last surviving prosecutor at the nuremberg nazi trials. he also helped liberate the death camps of europe while serving in the us army. so does he believe that the nuremberg trials have made genocide and other crimes against humanity less likely to be committed in the world today? ben ferencz, welcome to hardtalk. you were born in 1920 in transylvania in central europe. you moved to the united states with your family when you were a little baby. you really epitomise the american dream, a kind of rags to riches story, because it was discovered that you were highly intelligent and you were put on a fast track to harvard law school. we arrived in america. my parents were young immigrants fleeing persecution and poverty. no money, no skills, no language. and lucky to have some friendly new yorker offer us, my father, who had been trained as a shoemaker, but they didn't need any boot

now it is time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. three years of fighting, 10,000 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, is it time for ukraine's leaders to acknowledge they are in a war they cannot win? geopolitics, economics, and public sentiment don't seem to be working in kiev‘s favour. my guest was ukraine's prime minister until a year ago. arseniy yatsenyuk described his own premiership as a kamikaze mission. so how does his nation avoid self—destruction? arseniy yatsenyuk, welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me, stephen. seems ukraine's crisis has lurched into a new level of urgency in recent days with a blockade, which has been imposed by people who are actually nominally supportive of ukraine's government, a blockade which is restricting all trade between the eastern breakaway regions and the rest of the country. why is this happening? the reason is very clear. under the minsk deal russians had to launch a full—fledged ceasefire on the ground, to pull back its forces, and to pave the way for the political solution. wha

now on bbc news, hardtalk.elcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi, in florida, where i am speaking psychologist james mitchell. he helped draw up and carry out the cia's enhanced interrogation programme after the september 11 attacks. he personally interrogated suspects using techniques like waterboarding. his critics say that he is a torturer. he says he has nothing to apologise for, and what he did was harsh, but legal, and necessary. so this is your study? yes. the thing that is useful about a library like this is, like, for example, this is reliance of the traveller, it's a book of sharia law from a salafist position. i've got a couple of versions of the quran, because the translations are not always the same. what sort of insights, based on their knowledge from these books, as well as your training as a psychologist, about what motivates the kind of people you have interrogated into carrying out the deeds or wanting to carry out the deeds that we know about? i've heard people say that these terror attack

time now for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur.resident robert mugabe of zimbabwe is 93 years old. his wife recently suggested he could win re—election as a corpse. but failing that, zimbabwe needs to grapple with the issue of succession. and will follow mugabe? my guest is his former vice president and one—time heir apparentjoice mujuru. she broke away from the ruling party two years ago and now leads her own opposition party, but how tainted is she by her long association with robert mugabe? joice mujuru, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. how can you persuade the zimbabwean people that you are an agent of change when for most of your adult life you've been one of robert mugabe's most loyal allies and associates? thank you very much. the way how i left zanu pf did not go down well with the rest of the country, because i never replied, i never did anything. but they know me, even during the robert mugabe government, that as much as i was loyal to my party, which i fought for, i was also loyal to zimbabweans because when i ran ministr

now on bbc news, time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, with me, zeinab badawi.sident of the democratic republic of congo, joseph kabila, has been in powerfor 16 years, and should have stood down at elections that were due last november. still no elections are in sight, and opposition leaders are growing increasingly frustrated. my guest today is opposition politician moise katumbi. he is effectively in exile in europe. so what can he achieve that this distance, and has the opposition been outmanoeuvred by president kabila? moise katumbi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. 31 december last year, a deal was hammered out under the auspices of the cenco court, a group of powerful catholic bishops in the drc. does that present a way forward? there should be a transitional administration, pending elections to be held in 2018. joseph kabila won't stand. yes, we know that deal, which cenco made with the congolese government and the opposition, supposed to serve the country. so far, the agreement is dead. president kabila doesn't want, really, to meet the implications of th

now on bbc news, time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.or years, the israeli—palestinian conflict has been stuck, condemned to repeat itself year in, year out. but now, something has changed. the two protagonists remain deaf to each other‘s demands, but there is a new us president, who seems to care little for washington's long established quest for a two state solution. so what does that mean? well, my guess is husam zomlot, adviser to the palestinian authority leader mahmoud abbas. does the trump era signal the end for the palestinian dream of statehood 7 husam zomlot in ramallah, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen, thank you for having me. mr zomlot, you are relatively young for a senior figure in the palestinian authority. most of your adult life you have lived with the oslo peace process. are you prepared to acknowledge today that for all intents and purposes, that notion of an oslo peace process is dead? first of all, thank you for the compliment, considering me young. i am well in my 40s. believe me, when it comes to the palest

welcome to hardtalk i'm sarah montague.guest today is one of the big names of the apartheid struggle in south africa. ahmed kathrada was sentenced to life imprisonment alongside nelson mandela on robben island, spending 26 years of his life in prison. on their release, nelson mandela persuaded him tojoin him in government, an experience he did not like, but he has never stopped campaigning for the ideals of freedom on which the anti—apartheid movement was based. has south africa lived up to those ideals? ahmed kathrada, welcome to hardtalk thank you for having me. when you think back 50 years ago, what were the ideals for which you are fighting? in one sentence? it was for a non—racial, non—sexist, democratic south africa. that sums up the whole struggle. that sums up the whole struggle? but, for you, there were years of what became an incredibly difficult life? you were arrested more than 18 times? you spent 26 years of your life in prison? there must have been times when you thought that this wasn't for you. there was no

allen ault, welcome to hardtalk. thank you.e 1990s that you were the commissioner of corrections in the us state of georgia, and you were responsible for running the machinery of capital punishment. is that experience still with you today? it is still here. i still have nightmares, not every night, but on occasion i still have nightmares about it. it's a very hard pill to swallow. it stays in your psyche forever. it's the most premeditated murder possible. the manual is about that thick, and the preparation you go through to execute someone. i can tell from your words already that this is seared into your soul, this whole experience. let's start from the beginning and how on earth you got involved in this element of the corrections business. as i understand it, you were a trained psychologist and you entered the world of corrections, the present system, believing that you were there to help and to rehabilitate. how on earth did you end up running death row and execution chambers? in the ‘70s, i'd never been into prison orjail,

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.ater this month, a new chief executive will be voted into office in hong kong. elected not by the people, but by 1000 or so members of the territory's economic and political elite, tied closely to the beijing government. and that is far short of the universal suffrage demanded by my guest today. joshua wong was a teenage student when he became a leader of the so—called umbrella pro—democracy protests that swept hong kong in 2014. has beijing managed to neutralise hong kong's youthful rebels? joshua wong, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. so thank you. 50 hong thank you. so hong kong is about to get a new chief executive. he will be selected, he will not be elected, by the general population. and that isa sign by the general population. and that is a sign of the failure of your pro—democracy movement, isn't it?” don't pro—democracy movement, isn't it?|j don't think it is in favour of our movement. because our movement is just motivated by the undemocratic system, which means, rather than

now its time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.he trump presidency promises to be a fascinating test of the resilience of the system of government crafted by america's founding fathers. the new president has already slammed the courts for overstepping their authority in blocking his so—called travel ban. a new executive order on the matter is imminent. my guest today is donald verrilli, us solicitor general under barack obama. does the constitution ensure that the white house is always subject to, not above, the law? donald verrilli, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen, it's good to be here. let's start with a personal perspective. having served five years as obama's solicitor general, how painful is it for you to watch donald trump pledging to undo so much of the legislative executive legacy left behind by barack obama, and of course a legacy that you defended? well, had you asked me that question two months ago i probably would have said extremely. but as time has passed, i think the resilience of the achievements of the obam

now it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from singapore. i'm stephen sackur.his citystate is one of the remarkable economic success stories of the last 50 years. if you want to find a place that has ridden the wave of globalization, well, this is it. but storm clouds are gathering over singapore. president trump is challenging assumptions about global free trade, security tensions are rising across east asia. i have an exclusive interview today with the prime minister of singapore, lee hsien loong. is singapore feeling vulnerable? prime minister lee hsien loong, welcome to hardtalk. let's start with the international political climate. donald trump is now president of the united states. he talks about protectionism, he talks about ripping up trade deals that have been bad for america. how dangerous is this new political climate for singapore? we are watching it very carefully. we of all countries depend most heavily on trade, our foreign trade is 3.5 times our gdp — probably the highest in the world. we have free trade agreements with many countries, including

now it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from singapore.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm sarah monatague.magine having the job of persuading people to holiday in zimbabwe. it is a beautiful country but it's also a basket case. doctors, nurses and teachers have all been on strike because they haven't been paid. half the rural population face starvation and the economy is in the grip of a major currency crisis. my guest today is zimbabwe's tourism minister, walter mzembi. he's worked alongside president mugabe for the last decade. a man, who aged 93, plans to stand in elections next year. isn't it time for the oldest head of state in the world to go? 35 55 e' 5,5 5:5 i 5 , 35 if; 5 i 5 755 i 5 e fig 5 5 sarah, thank you. president mugabe is the oldest head of state in the world, he's 93. should he really be the zanu—pf for candidate for the elections next year? absolutely, as long as the people ask him to carry on, as is the case now, and they've elrfiifis ififilfiffifififfiflaéf’ ' " " national conference that they want him to stay on and it's not really about the statistics, but what he's offering.

welcome to hardtalk from singapore. i stephen sackur.tystate is one of the remarkable economic success one of the remarkable economic success stories of the past 50 yea rs. success stories of the past 50 years. but storm clouds are gathering over singapore. president trump is challenging assumptions about free trade and traditional security alliances in asia. i have an exclusive interview with the prime minister of singapore, lee hsien loong. is singapore feeling vulnerable? prime minister lee hsien loong, welcome to hardtalk. let's start with the international political climate. donald trump is now president of the united states and he talks about protectionism, ripping up trade deals that have been bad for america. how dangerous is this new political climate for singapore. we are watching it very carefully. we of all countries depend most on trade, our gdp on foreign trade is the highest in the world, we have free trade agreements with many countries including the us. we are dependent on the system which america has built and upheld to

now on bbc news, time for hardtalk.

time now for hardtalk.

now, sarah montague speaks to zimbabwe's tourism minister walter mzembi on hardtalk.

one bbc news, it is time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm sarah montague.eing a humourless feminist. to mock her politics. but she has been effective, she is the politician behind the equality act, the minimum wage; the—guarantee. longer maternity leave, and laws on domestic violence. with women thanks to her changes. but even she ruled it out. why? was it laboul‘siaultl harriet harman. welcome to hardtalk. i thank you. the conservatives are on their second leader, the snp, the dup, plaid cymru, all have had or have women leaders. not the labour party, though, why not? does it have a problem with women? it's embarrassing and troubling, the fact thatwe_ceuard ourselves as the labour party being the party for women and equality and many of us as feminists, e§e§5;§ ll ;§f‘ e5217; bee? e71?- so having never had a female leader or woman prime minister, it's very embarrassing and paradoxical that the conservatives arenpteverr prime minister, they are on their second. butl! lthintlthereisj a reason for that. ironically. hem.) in the conservative party if you are p

more of me later but first, he is hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm sarah monatague.s also a basket case. doctors, nurses and teachers have all been on strike because they haven't been paid. half the rural population face starvation and the economy is in the grip of afmsicrrcurrencg'crisis. '. he's worked alongside president mugabe for the last decade. a man, who aged 93. plans to stand , ,