now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. making people laugh is a precious gift. we treasure the comics, the comedians, the professionally funny men and women who add and inject laughter into cultures all over the world, but who defines what is funny? how does funny change over time? and what impact has the internet had on the business of jokes? well, my guest is british writer and stand up comedian david baddiel. has comedy become a casualty in the culture wars? david baddiel, welcome. hello. how are you? i m well, and in fact, i m very well cos i ve just seen your latest stand up show, and it prompts a very simple question. are you in an abusive relationship with your smartphone? probably, yes, i think so. well, i m certainly in an addicted relationship with my smartphone and my laptop and whatever else i access social media with. i am undeniably addicted to social media. but we might all be we might, as a culture, be addicted to social media. a
ministers in scotland and wales are urging people to think carefully before travelling to england to take advantage of more lenient covid rules on new year s eve. nightclubs in scotland and wales are closed, and tables in pubs, bars, and restaurants have limits on numbers. that s not the case in england, which means some people are planning to travel in order to celebrate. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports from the welsh town of chirk, near the border with england. plans for a big night out tomorrow have been put on hold in wales. it s masks on, two metre distancing, table service and the big draw this new year s eve, elvis, has left the building. we were gutted, but i understand they re trying to keep the case down. they re not doing it for their own benefit, they are doing it for our benefit, really, the public. i ve had covid, so i know what it is like. the changing rules have hit mark and chelly s business hard, because people have lots of other op
hello and welcome to bbc news. us presidentjoe biden has again told russia s president vladimir putin that the us and its allies will respond decisively if russia further invades ukraine. this during the second call between the two leaders in less than a month, amid concerns over russian troops massing at the ukrainian border. a kremlin spokesperson said that putin had made it clear that any new large scale sanctions would be a colossal mistake. our washington correspondent gary o donoghue has the details. president biden and vladimir putin spoke for 50 minutes. and if you need any kind of indication of how serious the situation is, this is the second time in three weeks that had a call between one another to discuss the situation on the ground. we understand that the discussion was robust and serious, substantive according to the americans. joe biden lead out two paths, according to his officials, one of diplomacy and discussion, where russia could de escalate and get back t
explores the six buildings shortlisted for the 2021 riba stirling prize and reveals which was crowned the winner at an awards ceremony hosted in coventry cathedral back in october. there is a phrase that has become rather familiar or so over last year or so build back better. it is a idea that says if you re going to build something to fix today s problems, be really careful that you are not going to create tomorrow s disasters, and that is why we have come to this place a british mosque in cambridge one of six buildings nominated for this year s stirling prize. this is a little moment to sit back and admire beauty, a chance to look round the six nominated buildings for this year s riba stirling prize. at the end, we ll find out who has won the prize for britain s best new building. but this is about more than just beauty it is about solutions to problems, such as how can we continue to build without destroying the environment? how can we future proof construction? an