Now on Bbc News, hardtalk. Welcome to hardtalk, im stephen sackur. The taliban now have The afghanistan They fought forfor two decades, a country rid of american and nato troops, Theirs to bend to Their will. Or maybe its not as simple as that. Can The taliban afford to forego international aid and economic assistance . Do They need to build alliances both inside and outside The country . Well, my guest is omar zakhilwal, former afghan Finance Minister and recent interlocutor with The taliban. Does The future belong to The pragmatists or The zealots in afghanistan . Omar zakhilwal in kabul, welcome to hardtalk. Pleasure. You made a remarkable decision just a couple of weeks ago as thousands and thousands of afghans were trying to flee The country as The taliban fighters swept into kabul. You decided to head back from safety in The united states. Why did you do that . Well, my country faced a sudden, unexpected, deep uncertainty. There were fears, as we saw at kabul airport, people even
Flooding causes chaos as roads are closed and thousands are left without power. A new afghan government, composed of senior taliban figures, could be announced as early as friday. A senior leader told the bbc the government would be inclusive. But against this backdrop the economy of afghanistan is close to collapse with little immediate prospect of the new islamist rulers gaining access to the countrys foreign currency reserves held in the west. Prices of Essential Goods are soaring, the value of the currency is falling, and many public services are barely able to function. Heres our afghanistan Correspondent Secunder kermani. The taliban are in firm control of the country. This, a huge Military Parade in the southern city of kandahar, along with a captured helicopter. But the group still hasnt established a new government, leaving many afghans in a state of limbo. Now that the final foreign troops have left, an announcement is expected soon. The last time the group was in power in th
Welcome to hardtalk, im stephen sackur. The chaotic Evacuation Operation still underway at Kabul Airport has put a harsh spotlight on two decades of us and nato Military Commitment in afghanistan. It looks and feels like a strategic defeat, but what does it tell us about the wider geopolitical Balance Of PoWer . Well, my guest is russias ambassador to the uk, andrei kelin. Is this reverse for the us and her allies a positive for russia . And is moscow seeking to exploit other perceived vulnerabilities in the West . Ambassador andrew kelin, Welcome to hardtalk. Your government appears to view the overthrow of a democratically elected government in afghanistan by a theocratic islamist Militant Group as an overall positive. Why . Oh, i wouldnt say so, and i never heard such an estimation. You wouldnt say so . That We are glad that its happened . No, of course not. It is definitely a failure for the coalition to be in afghanistan for 20 years and doing nothing. But on the other hand, there
Hello and welcome. We begin in afghanistan, where the us embassy In Kabul is asking american citizens in the country not to travel to Kabul Airport. The warning came just moments after similar advice issued by the british foreign office, which included the warning of a high threat of a terrorist attack. The pentagon says about 10,000 people are currently at the airport, as the scramble to leave the country is gathering pace before the deadline for evacuation flights. Graham satchell has this report. Day after day for more than a week now distressing pictures of afghans that couple airport desperate to leave. Now a new warning from the american government is saying there is a high threat of attack here. The advice is dont travel to the airport which means a hugely difficult operation to get people out has just got worse. Latest figures from the Ministry Of Defence show that more than 11,000 people have so far been evacuated to the uk. 0f far been evacuated to the uk. Of those, almost 70
Welcome to hardtalk. Im Stephen Sackur and this is the Restaurant Kitchen of my guest today, one of britains top chefs tom kerridge. Now, for much of the past year, this place has been eerily quiet, but now lockdown is over and the noise, the heat and the smells are back. But what will the long term impact of covid be on the Hospitality Business . And has it prompted us to rethink the relationship between our food and our health . Tom kerridge, welcome to hardtalk and thank you for letting us into your fabulous kitchen. Yeah, well, youre very, very welcome. If you stay there too long, i might get you podding some of these peas how good is it to be back here . Its amazing. Personally, its great to have the energy going but, actually, you know, the team, the staff, across the board of every space, every restaurant have been amazing. Theyve been. We were all back in at least a week before we could open, and just the idea of getting stocks and sauces on, the energy levels. Weve had staff s