Welcome to hardtalk. Im stephen sackur. President biden has reportedly paused arms sales to saudi arabia as his administration reviews relations with his long time strategic ally. Not long ago, candidate biden described the kingdom as a pariah, but is there any prospect of external or internal pressure challenging the authority of saudi arabias De Facto Leader, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman . Well, my guest is exiled saudi opposition activist, madawi al rasheed. What next for saudi arabia reform, repression or maybe both . Madawi al rasheed, welcome to hardtalk. Hello. You have become one of the highest profile saudi critics of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. I just wonder how you felt a couple of weeks ago when we saw the crown prince so warmly welcomed at the World Economic forum, the online davos event, where he was selling saudi arabia as an Investment Opportunity for the entire world. What did you make of that . Well, its a familiar image and a familiar trick. Saudi arabia ha
Now on bbc news, hardtalk. Welcome to hardtalk. Im stephen sackur. President biden has reportedly paused arms sales to saudi arabia as his administration reviews relations with his long time strategic ally. Not long ago, candidate biden described the kingdom as a pariah, but is there any prospect of external or internal pressure challenging the authority of saudi arabias De Facto Leader, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman . Well, my guest is exiled saudi opposition activist, madawi al rasheed. What next for saudi arabia reform, repression or maybe both . Madawi al rasheed, welcome to hardtalk. Hello. You have become one of the highest profile saudi critics of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. I just wonder how you felt a couple of weeks ago when we saw the crown prince so warmly welcomed at the World Economic forum, the online davos event, where he was selling saudi arabia as an Investment Opportunity for the entire world. What did you make of that . Well, its a familiar image and a fami
Meanwhile enjoyed their first Training Session since arriving in australia, following their 2 1 victory against sweden in auckland. Like england, they are seeking to be crowned World Champions for the first time come sunday. Arsenal manager mikel arteta says that Defenderjurrien Timber is in good spirits despite facing the prospect of missing the rest of the season after suffering ligament damage in their 2 1 victory over Nottingham Forest on the Opening Weekend of the season. Arteta also admitted that the dutchmans absence is a loss for the club. A huge blow. Especially for him. Afterjoining the club to have the injury that he has, it is a huge disappointment for him. It is a big blow because we are a team with clear intentions and bringing him into the team it was evident. And we are always open and we have to be open to react. If something happens, with the injury early market as well, that is what we are doing. And with the Rugby World Cup just a few weeks away australian head coac
wherever you rejoining me from around the world, once again, a big hello and a warm welcome to the show. you know, eye watering sums of money are being thrown at sports all over the world, but it s the middle east that seems to be doing most of the buying. and saudi arabia in particular. whether it s in football, golf, formula 1, boxing or cricket, billions of dollars are flowing in. so what impact is it having on the business model that has allowed these sports to become, well, some of the world s most popular forms of entertainment? just a few weeks ago, saudi arabia s sovereign wealth fund known as pif, agreed a deal to merge its live golf series with the us and european tours. the saudis, they re thought to be pumping in $3 billion. it ll bring their acrimonious rivalry, including lawsuits, to an end. football, it s also seen an influx of saudi cash. back in december, cristiano ronaldo signed for al nasr for around $220 million a year. it does include commercial activitie
translation: if the territorial integrity of our country is - threatened, then to defend russia and our people, we shall of course use all means at our disposal. i am not bluffing. in the past hour, russia has released 10 prisoners of war captured in ukraine in a deal brokered by saudi arabia. half are britons. also in the programme, new york s attorney general files a civil suit against donald trump and three of his children, accusing them of fraud. donald trump has condemned the lawsuit as a witch hunt . also this hour, the us federal reserve is expected to announce in the next few minutes another hike in interest rates, in a bid to bring down high inflation. we begin with the conflict in ukraine. russia s president, vladimir putin, has announced a partial military mobilisation, making an additional 300,000 personnel available to fight in ukraine from today. he said the call up was necessary to protect russian territory, including occupied areas that moscow is preparing