The Interview

Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said he wanted to rehabilitate Iraq’s image after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But now sectarian violence in Iraq is arguably worse than ever and is overlapping with sectarianism in neighbouring Syria. The Shia-led government in Baghdad is accused of discriminating against the Sunni minority and of being too close to Iran. How can Hoshyar Zebari, himself an Iraqi Kurd, hope to have any coherent foreign policy, when his own country is in danger of slipping into civil war?

24 Juli 201323min

Britain's Labour Party was created from the trade unions and it still gets most of its money from them. But Labour’s leader Ed Miliband - a man who owes his job to the union vote - now wants to loosen those ties. Hardtalk speaks to Paul Kenny, the leader of one of the UK's biggest unions, the GMB. He says Labour is in danger of losing 90% of his union's funding. So what would a change mean for the Labour Party, the unions and working class representation in Britain?Photo: Paul Kenny (right) Credit: Getty Images

22 Juli 201323min

Albania is the single most corrupt country in Europe according to Transparency International. Hardtalk speaks to Edi Rama, who will become Albania's prime minister in September. A modern artist, he won international plaudits for transforming the capital Tirana when he was its mayor - not least by painting its grey buildings in bright colours. He's now promised a renaissance for the whole country. So can he succeed where previous politicians have failed?(Photo: Edi Rama. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

19 Juli 201323min

David Davis has been a candidate for the leadership of the British Conservative party but he has also made a name for himself as a civil liberties campaigner - arguing against what is sometimes called the 'surveillance state'. So what does he make of the massive collection of data by the US National Security Agency and Britain’s GCHQ revealed by the American whistle-blower, Edward Snowden? In the years since the 9/11 attacks - have we got the balance wrong between liberty and security?(Image: David Davis, Conservative MP at the 2005 Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool. Credit: Associated Press)

17 Juli 201323min

Zhang Xin is one of only 24 self-made female billionaires in the world. Her story is a true rags-to-riches tale. As a teenager she worked in a sweat-shop in her native China, by her twenties she worked for Goldman Sachs. Disillusioned by Wall Street, she returned to China to make her fortune in property development. But what kind of China did she return to - a country heading for economic problems or possibly an emerging democracy as well as an emerging super-power?(Image: Pan Shiyi (L), chairman of Soho China, and Zhang Xin, chief executive officer of Soho China. Credit: Getty Images)

15 Juli 201323min

A year ago the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's creed looked like a winning political formula. Now the Islamists have been removed from power by the army and millions of Egyptians see that as a cause for celebration. Meanwhile, Turkey's moderate Islamist rulers have faced unprecedented mass protests - and in Tunisia political Islam is on the defensive. Stephen Sackur speaks to Turkish writer Mustafa Akyol and Egyptian feminist and political activist Dina Wahba. Is political Islam failing, if so why?

12 Juli 201323min

Nikos Dendias, Greece’s minister for public order believes Greece has become the new gateway to Europe, receiving 90% of all illegal immigrants to the EU. He also says the Greek immigration problem may prove even greater than the financial one. How have the years of austerity impacted on Greek society and law and order?(Image: Greek minister of public order and citizen protection, Nikolaos Dendias. Credit: Associated Press)

10 Juli 201323min

Afghanistan is a country that has huge natural resources. It is also one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Hardtalk is in Kabul to talk to Afghanistan’s finance minister Dr Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal. He has publically accused fellow MPs of corruption, and has had to defend himself against similar charges. There is money to be made in Afghanistan, but will the people who live there see any of it?(Image: Afghan Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal (R) and Japan's Ambassador to Kabul, Reiichiro Takahashi (L). Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

5 Juli 201323min