Ruled russia, as president or Prime Minister, he hasnt done it alone. Hes been backed by a coterie of trusted associates, connected through past ties in St Petersburg, or in the kgb or in business. One of mr putins inner circle is my guest today. Vladimir yakunin ran Russian Railways for a decade and was a close putin adviser. So much so the us made him a target of sanctions after the invasion of crimea. He left the railway two years ago. Is he still a true believer in the putin project . Vladimiryakunin, welcome to hardtalk. Hello. I think its fair to say, you, for a decade more, were one of Vladimir Putins closest associates and advisers. In general terms, as you look at putins impact upon russia, would you say that you believe he is taking russia in a very positive direction . Thank you for your introduction. Listen, to tell the truth, i never considered myself a voice to be in the position to be considered an adviser of mr putin. I was doing my business, i was ceo, i was the head o
Ruled russia, as president or Prime Minister, he hasnt done it alone. Hes been backed by a coterie of trusted associates, connected through past ties in St Petersburg, or in the kgb or in business. One of mr putins inner circle is my guest today. Vladimir yakunin ran Russian Railways for a decade and was a close putin adviser. So much so the us made him a target of sanctions after the invasion of crimea. He left the railway two years ago. Is he still a true believer in the putin project . Vladimiryakunin, welcome to hardtalk. Hello. I think its fair to say, you, for a decade more, were one of Vladimir Putins closest associates and advisers. In general terms, as you look at putins impact upon russia, would you say that you believe he is taking russia in a very positive direction . Thank you for your introduction. Listen, to tell the truth, i never considered myself a voice to be in the position to be considered an adviser of mr putin. I was doing my business, i was ceo, i was the head o
Manifestation to date of the slum a phobia. In a call for more to be done to protect mosques, extra police will be deployed. Our security correspondent chris sports reports. It till the government just eight minutes to call this a terrorist attack. It was an attack that, once again, targeted the ordinary and the innocent. Speaking today, the Prime Minister called it every bit as sickening as the other terrorist attacks this year s. She repeated her intention to set up a commission to counter extremism. But while police and Emergency Services we re while police and Emergency Services were soon on the scene, there i suggest is that the makers may have underestimated the threat from far right extremism. The whole counter extremism agenda is focused on islamist extremism. And what we have seen is a growing concern around the far rightand seen is a growing concern around the far right and individuals who adhered to extremist ideologies from the far right, but they have not been tackled seri
Bolster their ranks but with the test five days away and the coaches for that new recruits have fitted in seamlessly. It hasnt been difficult, its been great. The lads are very interactive. It is fantastic because that is what it is all about. Not all are so positive, though. England battled their way to a series win on saturday that neither they nor irish players were called up. Gatlin thought they were too far away in argentina and japan so too far away in argentina and japan so they werent considered. England boss eddiejones said the call ups should have been made on merit rather than sheer of geography. Jetta what he is doing right now is devaluing it and will players on the tournament will say, you dont deserve to be here. The lions ethos has always been about the greater good. Every game has its importance. Every time you put on the lions shirt, you have to leave it in a better place than you founded. Gatlin was briefly part of the team 11 years ago. On the touchline tomorrow, no