hello, everyone. i m christiane amanpour. we will take you around the world to ask questions and tackle the big problems and let history be our guide. here is where we re headed this week. the united states fights fires on multiple fronts. will it win? a briefing from one of america s best-known generals, david petraeus. we face more challenges in number and more complex and more dangerous challenges than arguably at any time since the end of the cold war. also ahead, the imf chief optimistic about the u.s. economy. cheer up, this is a new year, people. then can you feel it rock star lenny kravitz on life, legacy and vying for an oscar. and from the archive, the anniversary of the pope s first visit to atheist communist cuba. welcome to the program, everyone. i m christiane amanpour. this year crises overseas could also tip the scales. first in ukraine where the war grinds on and president biden s request for emergency funding could die in congress.
have stopped passing through here and are now taking the much longer route all the way around africa instead adding costs and delays. here s our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. the threats to shipping in the red sea is very real. this was an attack by iranian backed houthi fighters last month, storming a cargo ship registered in britain. the militia from yemen claiming that any vessels owned by allies of israel were legitimate targets. shouting. there have also been drone and missile attacks so many that shipping companies are pulling out of the red sea, sending their vessels around southern africa instead. in response, the us secretary of defence, who s visiting the middle east, has formed an international military coalition to protect ships and ensure freedom of navigation. these attacks are reckless, dangerous, and they violate international law. and so, we re taking action to build an international coalition to address this threat. and i would remind you that
and 18,000 miles in an electric car. stay with us here for and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world. good evening. the fallout from baroness mone s interview with the bbc yesterday, in which she admitted lying about how she and her family stood to profit from a government contract to supply ppe during the pandemic, continues. claim and counter claim have been flying around today. the prime minister insisted he s taking the allegations against michelle mone extremely seriously. she replied, what s the pm talking about, he knew about her involvement all along. a former tory health minister thenjoined in, saying she didn t tell him about it. the company run by baroness mone s husband, ppe medpro, made £60 million profit from its contract with the government. 0ur political editor, chris mason, has the latest. a pandemic strikes. suddenly, gowns and masks personal protective equipment, pp
to protect commercial ships in the red sea. countries joining the security group include the uk, france, canada, bahrain, norway and spain. it comes after the energy giant, bp, suspended its shipping operations through the red sea because cargo vessels are being attacked by houthi rebels from yemen. this is the route taken by around 12% of world shipping which then passes through the suez canal. but several major freight companies have now stopped passing through here. because of the risk. instead they are taking the much longer route all the way around africa via the cape of good hope. that adds costs and delays. here s the us defense secretary lloyd austin. these attacks are reckless, dangerous and they violate international law. we are taking action to build an international coalition to address the threat. i would remind you that this is not just a us issue, this is an international problem and it deserves an international response. joining me now is marc 0stwald, chief e