here is stephen sackur.ery warm welcome to this end—of—year edition of hardtalk, with me, stephen sackur.

here is stephen sackur.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 2

in september, stephen sackur spoke to the cuban conceptual artist tania bruguera. work has attracted international acclaim but also harassment from the cu ban authorities. just months after recording this interview, she was arrested again for protesting against a controversial new censorship law in havana. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur, and this is the vast turbine hall in london's tate modern gallery. it has been home to a series of installations by some of the world's leading contemporary artists, and right now it is showing a work by my guest today, the cu ban conceptual artist, tania bruguera. her installations and performances have won her acclaim right around the world. also, they have prompted harassment, censorship and detention inside cuba. so is she an artist, activist, or maybe both at once? tania bruguera, welcome to hardtalk. here we are in the tate modern gallery. it is stuffed full of things, of paintings, sculpture, and yet you as an artist seem much less concerned about things, much more focused on ideas. would that be fair? absolutely. i

it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk i'm stephen sackur. do we decide what is important? how do we balance the personal priorities of the here and now, with the big picture challenges that will determine the future of human civilisation? my guest is used to considering the biggest of canvases. martin rees is one of the world's leading astrophysicists, but recently he has been gazing into the future of our own planet. the next century, he says, will determine humanity's long term destiny. so, are the prospects good or grim? sirmartin sir martin rees, welcome to hardtalk. good to be here. we are used to you gazing at the third is corner of the universe and yet here we are having just published a book on the prospect for humanity. now your focus is here, on the prospect for humanity. now yourfocus is here, on the blue planet and you appear to believe that this century is the most critical humankind has ever known. why? the earth has been around for 45 billion century but this is the first one on species, the human species, has the power to aff

i'm stephen sackur. in the movie industry have taken the lead in a movement for equality, respect and an end to abusive male behaviour. the mantra, #metoo, has become a cultural phenomenon in the united states, but how far can it reach? my guest today is pakistan's biggest female movie star, mahira khan. in a culturally conservative, male—dominated country, can she be an agent of change? mahira khan, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. is this a good time to be a female actor in pakistan? yes, i would say so. i think it's a good time to be a female in this world at the moment. it's a good time for us. but in pakistan, being female and being in the public eye, as you are, it's quite a sensitive place to be. yes, um, i would say it used to be, it used to be. right now, i don't think it's sensitive to be in the public eye. i think it's sensitive or it's a little bit challenging to break barriers, to sort of do the things that you want to do, you know. there's a particular question about the movie industry becau

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.the pantheon of rock ‘n‘ roll greats, a special place is reserved for guitar virtuosos. think eric clapton, jimmy page, or my guest today, mark knopfler, frontman of dire straits, one of the biggest bands in the world in the ‘80s and ‘90s. unlike so many other rock stars, knopfler never fully embraced the world of excess and celebrity. he forged a solo career, writing, performing, and working with the likes of tina turner and emmylou harris. a low—key, grounded rock legend — whoever heard of such a thing? mark knopfler, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. you've been writing music for many, many decades now. you are still at it, writing, singing, touring around the world. how different does it feel now from back in your youth, making it big in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s? it feels... i feel older. it gets harder touring. if there are steps that you take, then the touring would be the final one, after writing and after recording. then the touring would probably be the first c

now on bbc news it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.t gives each of us our sense of who we are? at the most personal level, we all have our own family background. in the most general sense, we are, all of us, part of the human species. but it's the stuff in between that puts us in groups or tribes, and often motivates our behaviour. gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality — these are the persistent fault lines that seem to separate us from them. my guest today is kwame anthony appiah, an academic and public intellectual, who says we need to rethink identity to escape the myths of the past. but how? kwame anthony appiah, welcome to hardtalk. good, good to be here. you have spent a great deal of your recent professional life thinking about identity and how each and every one of us labels ourselves. so let's start with a simple question, how do you label yourself? it depends a little bit on who i'm talking to. taxi drivers, usually i explain that i'm half ghanaian and half british by origin and that i live in the united states. that's the

i'm stephen sackur. storytelling is one of the most basic human impulses. are the storytellers who can draw in millions of readers all over the world, fewer still those who can do it repeatedly. which put my guest today, lee child, ina very which put my guest today, lee child, in a very exclusive club. his first thriller featuring former military policeman jack reacher was published 21 years ago. his latest is his 23rd and his book sales have topped 100 million. fans speculate endlessly about what drives jack reacher, but what drives lee child? lee child, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you have lived with this fictional characterjack reacher for the last 20 odd years of your life. where did he come from because he certainly didn't come from your own life experiences? not may own experiences but my life experiences we re experiences but my life experiences were all in entertainment. i learnt very early that you can never plan and you should never overanalyse something that might or might not work in entertainment. everything is an accident. i wrote jack rea

i'm stephen sackur.2 billion of the world's people are muslim, and yet half of them, the female half, have traditionally played little or no role in the institutions of theirfaith. that is changing, albeit very slowly. my guest today, sherin khankan, became scandinavia's first female imam when she opened the mariam mosque in copenhagen. her focus on women's rights in a 21st century brand of islamic practice has stirred controversy and debate far beyond denmark's borders. is islam ready to empower women? sherin khankan, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. you are one of europe's very few female imams, but you're also a writer, a social activist. what do you see as your most important role? actually, i'm not one of few. there are actually quite a lot of female imams around the world, also in europe, so it's a myth that female imams is a totally new phenomenon. well, how many? we've had female imams in china since 1820, in the us, in canada, in germany, they have a very large community for female imams

i'm stephen sackur. britain's prime minister, theresa may, is facing a mutiny inside her own conservative party, which threatens to scupper her brexit deal, quite possibly her premiership as well. if she loses the key parliamentary vote in just a few days time, the uk will plunge headlong into political chaos. the stakes could hardly be higher for my guest today, owen paterson, a conservative mp and former minister intent on rejecting mrs may's brexit. is it too late to avert a damaging national crisis? owen paterson, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much for inviting me. these are the most extraordinary febrile days in british politics and every day there is a new effort by theresa may and her key cabinet colleagues to persuade people like you to rally behind her and support her deal with the eu 27. are you seeing or hearing anything that is persuading you? to vote for this deal? yeah, that's changing your mind. because we've know when for a long time that you're agin the deal. absolutely not. i've r

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.r cricketer imran khan two decades of hard political slog to win power in pakistan. it has taken his critics just months to decide he's out of his depth. they point to the country's crippled economy, propped up by emergency loans, despite imran‘s promise to end the "begging bowl" culture. well, my guest today is pakistan's finance minister, asad umar. is the pti government strong enough to put pakistan on a new course? asad umar, in islamabad, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you are one of the key ministers in imran khan's government. why do you think the hope and excitement generated by imran‘s election victory has worn off so very quickly? actually, it hasn't. if you look at the pakistani media and listen to the political talk shows, and maybe hear some of the discussions going on in the parliament, you might be led into believing what you just said. but in reality, you know, when the first 100 days of the government ended, there was a lot of focus. a number of surveys got carried ou

i'm stephen sackur.resident daniel ortega of nicaragua has been in powerfor the last 11 years, but this year he's faced popular protests and demands that he go. his response — repression and defiance. well, my guest today here in washington, dc is leading nicaraguan dissident and now a leader of the opposition in exile, felix maradiaga. is change finally coming to nicaraguan nicaragua? felix maradiaga, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. it is now seven months since popular protest erupted in nicaragua, and for a time it seemed there was a real chance of change coming to your country. do you feel that that window of opportunity has now closed? i think that the window of opportunity for a quick fix has ended. i feel that the situation is more complicated. on the other hand, the average citizen of nicaragua, the average nicaraguan, is still interested in transition towards democracy. so i think that we have not only a chance but a firm commitment to move towards democracy. would you accept that perhaps you and

and coming up in half an hour, stephen sackur looks back at some of the programme's stand—out interviews

in september, stephen sackur spoke to the cuban conceptual artist tania

now on bbc news, it is hardtalk, with stephen sackur.

in october, hardtalk‘s stephen sackur spoke

and coming up in half an hour, stephen sackur looks back at some of the programme's stand—out interviewsf 2018. good afternoon. indonesia's disaster agency now say at least 373 people were killed, and a further 128 are still missing, following the volcanic eruption and tsunami that swept through sunda strait on saturday. more than m00 people have been injured. thousands of people who live on the islands of java and sumatra have been forced to evacuate to higher ground as the tsunami hit coastal areas. in the last few hours, there have been more eruptions from the anak krakatau volcano, fuelling fears of another tsunami. rebecca henschke reports. rescue workers clear away the rubble in a race to find survivors. but today, they have only been pulling out bodies. this ocean fronting villa was full, hosting an end of year work event in this popular local tourist destination. villas like this one built right on the shore didn't stand a chance when the huge waves hit. this, the state of the swimming pool, and the villa now. teams from the military and the search and rescue teams are here, clea

i'm stephen sackur.he murder ofjournalist jamal khashoggi inside the saudi consulate in istanbul put turkey at the heart of a story about a shocking abuse of power and a total disregard for human rights. turkey was the accuser, saudi arabia the accused. and yet for all its appeals to the international community, the turkish government itself faces condemnation for violations of basic human rights. my my guest today is gulnur aybet, senior adviser to president erdogan. when it comes to respect for universal rights and norms, how much authority does turkey have? theme music plays gulnur aybet, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. let's start with the shocking case of jamal khashoggi. is there more that turkey intends to say and do to getjustice forjamal khashoggi. there is an investigation still going on and the turkish authorities have stated that, as more evidence becomes available, as investigation continues, they are prepared to share it with the rest of the world, including the saudi authorities. they have

now on bbc news, stephen sackur speaks to the writer lee child on hardtalk.

now on bbc news, stephen sackur speaks to writer lee child on hardtalk.

and coming up in half an hour — stephen sackur looks back at some of hardtalk‘s stand—out interviews. three british tourists, including a child, have died after their vehicle crashed while crossing a bridge in iceland. four other people in the four—wheel drive have been taken to hospital with critical injuries. the car crashed through a barrier on a single—lane bridge and then fell eight metres onto a river bank. my colleague simon mccoy spoke to adolf erlingsson, a tour operator, who was one of the first people at the scene. it happened in the south of iceland, along a main road. of iceland, along the main road. what we call the ring road. it is by a river, about half an hour east of a small town on the map. this is a one track bridge, and it crashed through the railings? yes, very strange, but somehow the driver must have lost control of the car and it just went through the railings, and crashed down onto the bank, which is kind of sandy, there's no river, so it wasn't submerged in water or anything, itjust landed there on a sandy bottom and flipped over and was totally destroyed.

now on bbc news: stephen sackur speaks to conservative mp owen paterson on hardtalk.