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Are higher prices in the US starting to show up in household bills as inflation moves closer to 4%? We’ll be looking at where that pressure is coming from, how long it might last, and what it means for businesses and consumers already feeling the squeeze.

Also today, after an awkward intervention from President Macron, we get the mood from the tech-focused Africa Forward summit, where leaders and investors are debating the future of digital growth on the continent.

And we hear why eBay has ruled out a deal to merge with GameStop, ending speculation over a possible takeover in the gaming retail space.

(Picture: Allison Dinner/EPA/Shutterstock)

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is scheduled to meet the Health Secretary Wes Streeting tomorrow morning ahead of the King's Speech, in which the government will lay out its legislative agenda for the next year. Streeting is seen as a likely leadership rival to Starmer as more MPs call for the Prime Minister to quit and four ministers resign. However more than 100 Labour MPs have signed a statement backing Starmer. We ask if Britain's fracturing politics is making the country ungovernable.

Also on the programme: the best-selling crime writer Patricia Cornwell, on her traumatic early life, and how her days as a journalist shaped her writing.

Keir Starmer's position as Britain's Prime Minister is looking increasingly uncertain. He's said it's business as usual, but a succession of his junior ministers have now resigned.

Also on the programme: A suggestion of a huge breakthrough in the treatment of H.I.V; and the crime writer Patricia Cornwell on why she felt compelled to write a memoir.

(Photo: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets construction apprentices in London. Credit: Reuters/Toby Melville/Pool)

Ruth tries to stay positive, and Pip’s worries spiral.

Parliament in Israel passes a law to set up special military trials for Palestinians accused of taking part in the deadly Hamas-led attack in October 2023. The tribunal will be able to sentence those convicted to death. Also in this podcast: the European Union approves new sanctions against Israeli settlers accused of “supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank". Ministers start to resign from Keir Starmer's government, as the embattled British prime minister fights to stay in office. The UN says more than 400 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan since a cross-border conflict with Pakistan broke out in October last year. A senator in the Philippines takes refuge inside parliament to avoid arrest over his alleged role in former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs. President Emmanuel Macron co-hosts the "Africa Forward Summit" in Kenya, to try to reset France's relationship with the continent. And new research suggests participating in the arts slows the ageing process.

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The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have caused higher energy and grocery prices. The average US price for a gallon of unleaded is at its highest level since July 2022, at $4.50.

A Japanese snack maker says it's been forced to print its packaging in black and white because of ink shortages caused by the crisis in the Persian Gulf.

And it's the first day of the Cannes Film Festival in the south of France, one of the biggest events in the world of cinema.

Protestors have been arrested in Nairobi while objecting the Africa-France event and France-Africa relations, calling it rebranded "imperialism". Macron has announced investments worth $27bn (£20bn) in Africa in areas such as energy transition, digital and AI, the maritime economy and agriculture. The summit is aimed at broadening Paris's partnerships and making investment deals on the continent against a backdrop of rising anti-French sentiment and diminishing power in its former colonies, especially in West Africa.

And, we turn to a not-so new but revived sound of music by South-African musician Zawadi Yamungu, who is creating music that feels both spiritual and contemporary, drawing on themes of ancestry, identity and healing.

Presenter: Charles Gitonga

Producers: Rukia Bulle, Godwin Asediba and Blessing Aderogba

Technical Producer: Herbert Masua

Senior Producer: Bella Twine

Editors: Priya Sippy and Maryam Abdalla

The UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is still fighting for his political life amid open revolt in his own party; do the rebels have the numbers to oust him - or can he hang on?

Also in the programme: a special report from Khartoum three years into Sudan's civil war, where land mines are hampering aid efforts; how enjoying cultural activities can help slow down biological ageing; and - a propos - we have an appreciation of Shostakovich's first symphony, 100 years after its premiere in Leningrad.

Also, e-bikes and scooters "a nightmare" for blind and partially sighted people like Tony

Is it true or is it just a hunch? Learn when and how to use ‘a hunch’ in this programme

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