threat from china. rishi sunak is due to meet the australian prime minister and the us president. the three countries are expected to agree to provide australia with nuclear powered submarines. now on bbc news, it s hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur and today i m in nice on the french riviera, a glamorous corner of europe, which has long been a favorite haunt of russia s oligarchs. and my guest today, sergei pugachev, is one of them, or at least he was the billionaire businessman helped vladimir putin make it all the way to the kremlin. but their relationship soured. pugachev was accused of massive financial crimes. he fled from moscow, first to london and then here to nice, where he enjoys french citizenship. he now has his own private security and an extraordinary story to tell, which gives us insights into both the strengths and the weaknesses of vladimir putin. sergei pugachev, welcome to hardtalk. hello, thank you for the invitation.
the dispute, and outbreaks of violence, forced the authorities to postpone a planned state visit by the british monarch, king charles. meanwhile, separate demonstrations have begun in western france, linked to concerns over water usage by large scale agricultural producers. it s feared the disputes could converge at a time of growing tensions. earlier i spoke to our paris correspondent bethany bell and she explained the background of the protests. the most dramatic one at the moment is this one we are seeing pictures of in western france, this was a demonstration that has been planned for a while. it was always expected to attract radical protesters, and we ve seen at least two police vehicles in flames. we understand that police have used tear gas, and that police have used tear gas, and that protesters have thrown fireworks at police, and there has also been use of water cannon. this is a separate protest from the very big protests we have seen against president macron s pe
several tornadoes have killed at least 23 people in the us state of mississippi, which is located here, in the south of the country. the authorities said twisters left a trail of damage for more than 150 kilometres. one of the worst affected towns is rolling fork, where trees and power lines have been torn down. at one point, debris was being pulled more than 6,000 metres into the sky. we are looking at some of the latest pictures that have come through. you can see the trail of destruction, debris everywhere, cars on top of buildings, completely decimated. 0ur correspondent frances read is with us. you have been working in the us and you have covered a lot of weather stories, how does this compare? this is serious, stories, how does this compare? this is serious. 23 stories, how does this compare? “m 3 is serious, 23 people at stories, how does this compare? “m 1 is serious, 23 people at least have lost their lives, a large number. a trail of destruction, as you said.
a tornadoe has killed at least 23 people in the us state of mississippi, which is located here, in the south of the country. the authorities said twisters left a trail of damage for more than a hundred and fifty kilometres. one of the worst affected towns is rolling fork, where trees and power lines have been torn down. at one point, debris was being pulled more than six thousand metres into the sky. you can see here the latest pictures which have just come through to us, of the destruction in rolling fork. earlier i spoke to our correspondent frances read. 23 people at least have lost their lives. a large number. a trail of destruction of you said it is a km with up some are saying just think about of the debris was thrown 6000 metres into the air but possibly up to 9000 meters. that s almost 30,000 feet. tremendously frightening, whatever the official measurements eventually turn out to be. at the moment, as you ll see from the pictures, a total scene of destruction. trees
the authorities said the twisters left a trail of damage for more than 150 kilometres. trees and power lines were torn down, and tens of thousands of power outages reported. radar information indicated that at one point debris was being pulled more than six thousand metres into the sky. search and rescue operations are underway. our correspondent frances read is with us. you been a correspondence working in the us and on the west coast. talk us through exactly what has happened here. , , ., ., ., here. this is on the other coast, we are talking here. this is on the other coast, we are talking about here. this is on the other coast, we are talking about the here. this is on the other coast, we i are talking about the south-eastern are talking about the south eastern corner, or thereabouts. as you said, at least 23 people were killed, that his early estimates, expected to rise, unfortunately. a trail of destruction of 150 kilometres. as you said, somewhere some were sa