unspun world withjohn simpson. hello. it s good to see you. we re here in the bbc s central newsroom for another edition of unspun world. in today s programme how is it that russia s economy is doing so well in spite of the ukraine war and western sanctions? a quite extraordinary transformation of the russian economy into a war economy, with massive defence spending, with the reorientation of its industrial base towards its war machine. iran s client groups around the middle east get a hammering from us missiles. but what s the point of having the americans in the region? maintaining counterterrorism efforts against isis, and also, they check iranian influence in syria, in iraq, in lebanon. and, is ethiopia yet again going to be a byword for hunger and despair? this is the moment to try and fix this problem, - not six months down the line l when an awful lot more people have died and it s much harderl to turn the whole thing around. russia invades its neighbour after signin
so you can go ahead, good evening. the prime minister has said he takes extremely seriously the allegations against the former conservative peer, baroness mone. he said the government was taking legal action against the company run by her husband ppe medpro. in an interview with the bbc, michelle mone admitted lying about her links to the medical clothing company and confirmed she and her family stand to benefit from the £60 million profit made during the pandemic. the couple apologised for denying their role in the deal for more than three years. and today baroness mone has hit back at rishi sunak, saying she was honest with the government over the contracts. 0ur poltical editor chris mason is in westminster this evening. it was an extraordinary interview. you can watch or listen to yourself on the iplayer or bbc sounds. it was the story of an emergency. human foibles, taxpayers money, making money, truth and lying. a pandemic strikes. suddenly, gowns and masks, pers
nominations in the scottish national partly leadership national party leadership race close at midday, with humza yousaf, kate forbes and ash regan expected to appear on the ballot paper. and new research for the bbc suggests the price of pasta has nearly doubled in two years for uk consumers with the rate of food price rises still running at almost 17%. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. president volodymyr zelensky has said ukraine will do everything it can to defeat russia this year in a statement marking the anniversary of vladimir putin s full scale invasion. ceremonies are taking place across the country remebering those killed or forced to flee from the conflict. here in the uk, rishi sunak will urge allies to increase military support to ukraine, during a meeting of g7 countries. there will also be a minute s silence across the uk at 11 o clock. ourfirst report comes from our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse. a thud, marking the
how local lad sean longstaff has these newcastle fans dreaming, as the club reach a first final since 1999. it s official liverpool has become the host of this year s eurovision song contest in a special handover ceremony in the city. it isa it is a dry and bright day in the south and east, but expect some rain in the north and west. the strong winds will gradually ease. good morning. it s wednesday, 1st february. hundreds of thousands of workers are going on strike today, in the biggest day of industrial action in more than a decade. among them are more than 100,000 teachers in england and wales. teachers in some parts of scotland are also taking action in a separate dispute. unions say more than 23,000 schools could be disrupted, with many having to close. 0ur education reporter vanessa clarke has more. it s been a familiar sight in scotland for months. but for the first time in seven years, teachers in england, and teachers and support staff in wales, are joining the act