you so much - and months going ahead. jonathan marcus, thank you so much for - marcus, thank you sous with your insights on newsday. to iran now — where its supreme leader is pardoning a large number of prisoners, including some of those arrested during the past months of protests. the pardon by ayatollah khamenei comes on the eve of the anniversary of the islamic revolution in 1979 — a date on which an amnesty is often given to prisoners. though the country's state media says the pardons exclude people facing charges of spying for foreign agencies, murder or the destrusction this of state property. taraneh stone, from the bbc�*s persian service, says those freed have several conditions attached to their release. the supreme leader has agreed to pardon and commute sentences of tens of people who are in prison or who are waiting for sentences. the letter from the judiciary said that a considerable number of people who were arrested and imprisoned in relation to the recent protests are among these people. but there is a long list of conditions for these people to be pardoned. one of t

bbc defense columnist jonathan marcus, the scandal surrounding the ministry of defense of ukraine has been going on for several weeks, it is connected with controversial purchases of military ration products were bought at seemingly double or triple inflated prices. there is no evidence that mr. reznikov was personally involved in these machinations, but i believe that he, as the head of this department, and taking into account the fact that the ukrainian president is very eager to create a new face of the ukrainian government that fights corruption, i think that the removal of mr. reznikova is only a matter of time. perhaps he will head the ministry of strategic industries, which would be logical, because as the minister of defense he played a key role in coordinating with nato countries supplies of weapons and other aid to ukraine. it seems to me that mr. reznikov is possibly the least politicized head of the ministry of defense, and this is the main reason why, as i said, he will probably remain in one of the key positions , but for me, the fact that reznikov as the head of the min

we've been speaking to the bbc�*s former defence and diplomatic correspondent, jonathan marcus.ence ministry for a few weeks now. obviously due to this procurement scandal, where food was being charged, russians being charged at two or three times the normal price. there is no suggestion that mr reznikov himself was dishonest but i think as head of that ministry, and given the fact that the ukrainian president is so eager to set a new face on ukraine's government, one that tackles corruption and so on, it was really a matter of time until he was shifted. it looks as though he is likely to take the role of minister for strategic industries. that would be logical because as defence minister he has played such a key role in co—ordinating with the nato countries about arm supplies and so on going to ukraine. still to come on the programme: dressed for success — the outfit is spectacular, but will lizzo be celebrating as the grammys get underway? crypto.com arena there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela, a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader

we've been speaking to bbc�*s former defence and diplomatic correspondent jonathan marcus. defence ministry for a few weeks now, obviously due to this procurement scandal where food was being charged, rations were being charged at two or three times the normal price. there is no suggestion that mr reznikov himself was dishonest but i think as head of that ministry and given the fact that the ukrainian president is so eager to set a new face on ukraine's government, one that tackles corruption and so on, and it was probably only a matter of time until he was shifted, it looks as though he is likely to take on the role of minister for strategic industries, that would be logical because as defence minister, he has played such a key role in coordinating with nato countries about arms supplies and so on going to ukraine. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. pope francis says laws criminalising l6bt people are a sin and an injustice and that people who are attracted to the same sex are children of god. the pope made the remarks aboard a plane while returning

let's discuss this with jonathan marcus, defence analyst at the strategic studies institute at the universityining us. why this particular concern about china supporting version now? i think because we _ supporting version now? i think because we are _ supporting version now? i think because we are entering - supporting version now? i think because we are entering a - supporting version now? i think because we are entering a very| because we are entering a very crucial phase of this war. the russian, it looks as though they have already launched their much heralded offensive. it seems to be rather smaller scale than perhaps some people expected but we will see how it goes over the coming weeks and months. and of course, ukraine excels is expected to launch offensive operations of its own towards the spring. now, both sides are facing shortages of ammunition. both sides badly need modern advanced weaponry added to their arsenals and, you know, supplying ukraine is a huge problem for the west. they know that the russians are facing problems too and clearly, china were to step in and start provi

jonathan, look, you are taking us back. >> don't worry. i'm not really bowser, laura and marcus. were you scared?d morning from l.a., all the way to the bay. we're here at universal studios hollywood. inside the super nintendo world land, the brand new place that opens up today. we are inside the video game we all know and love. we're outside the toadstool cafe. when we say we're inside of a video game, by literal design, we get an awesome power-up band. right now i'm wearing my princess beach power-up band and that allows me to play mini games and collect coins, like on this awesome block that we get to punch like mario did in 1985 with super mario brothers. it's so cool, guys. every single part of it is incredible. look at this. even the banana peel. the wet floor signs are banana peels. the big attraction is mario kart bowser's challenge. this is the entrance to the queue. an unbelievable ride. it is ar, so it is 3d and it is like you're in the game. you get to knock all your friends and family out with power-ups. there are mini games, there are four of them. it allows you to collect coins. th