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
centers, weapons storage sites, and supply chain facilities. sites two u.s. officials tell nbc news are directly linked to the drone attack in jordan. this will also not be a one-day affair. the u.s. says the response will be phased in a campaign that could last for weeks. quote, this is the start of these actions. they will unfold at times and places of our choosing, said secretary of defense austin in a statement. the question now is not only, how does iran respond, but how do our allies react? the president and his administration have said they don t want a war with iran and they adopt want to be dragged into a broader middle east conflict. iran was already angry about last week with a spokesperson for the iraqi prime minister calling it a violation of sovereignty that undermines years of cooperation. what do the iraqis say now? and why does the u.s. still have such a large presence there in the first place? we should also note the timing. these strikes were launched les
environment. finland takes the step of nato membership in order to strengthen not only its own security, but also in order to strengthen wider transatlantic security. this is not away from anybody. like you, mr. president, said nato is protective, not a threat to anybody. at the same time we must not forget that, at this very moment, the proud people of ukraine are fighting not only for their own freedom and democracy, but for our common security. finland, together with the eu and the united states, stands firmly behind ukraine. so, mr. president, once again, i want to thank you for making history with us. thank you. thank you. mr. president, thank you for welcoming president niinisto and me to the white house. the bonds between sweden and the united states, they are strong and long standing, and as you know, swedes first in your home state of delaware in 1638, and we were one of the first countries to recognize the united states as an independent nation in 1783. since th
Then he had to fly home from the west coast to face the reality. Also. Spicing up the drama today, the Russian Foreign minister is in washington, with a trip to the white house on the itinerary. After the meeting Sergei Lavrov called allegations that russia tampered in the us election fake, accusing american lawmakers of damaging the political system. Plus. Is washingtons political scene more chaotic than ever, or does it just feel that way . We delve into the archives to our coverage from the past. Im katty kay in washington, clive myrie is in london. Christian is off today. In the firing of fbi Directorjames Comey, donald trump either showed strong and decisive leadership, or he demonstrated undemocratic nixonian tendencies. Take your pick. James comey had no idea his pink slip was on the way, and hed be shown the door. But mr trump says he has his reasons forfiring mr comey now, right in the middle of the russia investigation into his own Election Campaign. Hes used 139 characters o
On some of the worlds most notorious strongmen. And one of them is today a guest at the white house. President erdogan of turkey, who is not altogether happy the us is arming syrian kurds. And, news that ford might soon be shedding 200,000 jobs . Well tell you why the car company may be hitting a speed bump. Hello, i am katty kay in washington, Christian Fraser is in london. And we are both confused. Are reports that donald trump gave classified intelligence to russian officials a storm in a tea cup or a major breach of Us National Security . The Administration Says its the former. Critics say this marks a serious violation of an allys confidence. The white house is not denying the information concerning Islamic State was given to russia, itjust says it was no big deal in fact, wholly appropriate is how the National Security advisor described it a short time ago. Hr mcmaster said a report in the Washington Post accusing the president of giving away intelligence was not accurate. I stan