next up, it s hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i m stephen sackur. today, i m in the white cube gallery in london as cultural life starts to re establish itself after many months of lockdown, and my guests are the artistic duo gilbert & george. now, forfive decades, they ve been producing controversial, provocative work, and this exhibition they call new normal pictures. but is there anything normal about gilbert & george? gilbert & george, welcome, both of you, to hardtalk. thanks very much. very kind. very nice. we re sitting in this gallery space. this is your latest exhibition. it s called new normal pictures. is this your response to what the world has been through in the last year and more? that is, the covid pandemic and lockdown? no, not at all. the title of the show and the pictures predates the pandemic. we created the pictures before the pandemic. we only called it new normal because we were so interested that people in england use the term what s the term they alw
and new research shows we should all be hugging and we should be doing it for longer. we ll talk to a profession cuddler on how to embrace the hug. hello and welcome to the programme we start with breaking news from india: the prime minister, narendra modi, says he s decided to repeal agricultural reform laws that have sparked a year of protests by hundreds of thousands of farmers. in an address to the nation, mr modi said the government had been unable to convince some farmers of the benefits of the three laws. let s get more from our correspondent in delhi, arunoday mukharji. do we have any idea why this has happened? do we have any idea why this has happened? there are several reasons attributed has happened? there are several reasons attributed to has happened? there are several reasons attributed to this - has happened? there are several reasons attributed to this very i reasons attributed to this very surprise decision taken by the indian government and announced b
pupils in england must be allowed to buy some uniform from high street shops, according to new government rules. how much are you paying for your kids school uniform? do you think this move is a good one? get in touch with me this morning via twitter, i m @rebeccajonesbbc. or you can use #bbcyourquestions. we ll be speaking to the child poverty action group in around 45 minutes. also today. # mew, mew, mew. and the duchess of sussex as you ve never seen her before, as she plays a prank on unsuspecting members of the public during a us television interview about family life. welcome to bbc news. english cricket is facing fresh accusations of racism, after it emerged that a player wore black make up at a fancy dress party in 2009. a photograph of alex hales, who plays for nottinghamshire, has been published by the sun newspaper. he responded by saying he was dressed as his musical hero, the rapper tupac shakur, and he deplored discrimination in all its forms. the england and w
indian farmers celebrate after a surprise u turn by india s prime minister. narendra modi says he will scrap the agricultural reform laws which sparked a year of protests. belarus clears a migrant camp on its border with poland, moving thousands, hoping to get into the eu, to a logistics centre. plans for tougher laws to prosecute drivers in the uk using their phone behind the wheel with a ban on playing games and scrolling through playlists. # mew, mew, mew #. and the duchess of sussex as you ve never seen her before, as she plays a prank on unsuspecting members of the public, during a us television interview about family life. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. english cricket is facing fresh accusations of racism, after it emerged that a player wore black make up at a fancy dress party in 2009. a photograph of alex hales, who plays for nottinghamshire, has been published by the sun newspaper. he responded by saying he was dressed as his m