Newshour

The Republican chairmen of the US congressional armed services committees have said they're very concerned about the Pentagon's decision to withdraw five thousand troops from Germany. Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers warned that prematurely reducing America's forward presence in Europe risked undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin. NATO says it's seeking clarification from Washington about the plan.
Also in the programme: FIFA will allow a team of Afghan women refugees to represent their country in international tournaments; and we look back on the life of a former racing driver and Paralympian.
(Photo: A soldier pilots a drone during the 'Combined Resolve' exercise at 7th Army Training Command's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels. More than 3,800 personnel participate in the exercise series, which is a reoccurring U.S. Army Europe and Africa exercise held several times throughout the year for its rotationally deployed troops. US-led army exercise 'Combined Resolve' - media day, Hohenfels, Germany - 30 Apr 2026. CREDIT: ANNA SZILAGYI/EPA/Shutterstock)

The US says it will withdraw five thousand of its troops from Germany, as a rift widens between the two countries over the war in Iran. The German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, says Washington’s decision was foreseeable, but that the continuing presence of American forces was in German and US interests. We speak to a German member of the European parliament.
Also on the programme: British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tells the BBC that he wants tougher policing of protests in the UK after the stabbing of two Jewish men in London; and we hear from two Afghan female footballers about their hopes of competing internationally.
(Photo: Badge of a soldier is seen during the 'Combined Resolve' exercise at 7th Army Training Command's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, 30 April 2026. Credit: Photo by ANNA SZILAGYI/EPA/Shutterstock)

The interruption to supplies of fertiliser and its key ingredients due to the war in Iran could cost up to 10 billion meals a week globally and will hit poorest countries hardest, according to the boss of one of the world's biggest fertiliser producers. Svein Tore Holsether, chief executive of Yara, told the BBC that hostilities in the Gulf, which have blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, are jeopardising global food production.
Also in the programme: Ukraine has been stepping up its campaign against Russia's oil industry; and is fish fraud affecting one of Britain's national dishes?
(Picture: Workers carry fertiliser bags to be mixed with water at a farm's irrigation centre. Credit: REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/File Photo)

The head of one of the world's biggest fertiliser manufacturers has warned that the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz - as a result of the war on Iran - could cost the world up to ten billion meals a week. Svein Holsether, who runs Yara, said farmers in the poorest countries would be hit first by the interruption to production and supply caused by the ongoing hostilities. We hear from two countries particularly affected by the shortage in industrial fertiliser.
Also in the programme: despair then relief for the Oscar winner who thought an airline had lost his award; and for the first time the nose of a mouse has been mapped showing us more about the way mammals smell.
(Photo: Farmers in Aceh labour amid possible fertilizer shortage due to war in Middle East. Indonesia, 28 March 2026. Credit 2026 Shutterstock Editorial. EPA/Shutterstock )

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is strangling the global economy. He said that even if the restrictions were lifted immediately, supply chains would take months to recover. We ask what options the US has now and what it's likely to cost.
Also in the programme; two coins dating from the reign of English King Ethelred, known as the Unready for his failure to defend his country against the Vikings, come to light in Denmark; and why Saudi Arabia needs to cut its costs, by pulling out of LIV Golf.
(Photo: A ship in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman Credit: REUTERS/Stringer)