BBC

Unilever, the company behind brands like Hellmann’s and Knorr, has agreed to combine its food business with US spice and flavour giant McCormick & Company. What does it tell us about where big consumer brands are heading next?

Also, South Africa cuts fuel duties as the impact of the war in Iran feeds through to prices at the pump.

Leanna Byrne hears from a business person and our correspondent who has been out to witness the situation.

(PHOTO: Hellmann's, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 24, 2022. (Credit: Reuters/Andrew Kelly/File Photo).

President Trump hits out at US allies over Iran -- telling them to grow a backbone and go and get the oil stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. His Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth then joins the fray. Do they have a point?

Also in the programme: has the European Union reached breaking point with Israel? A NASA scientist on a huge week for space travel; and wolf bites woman on a German city street - we hear the case for the defence.

(IMAGE: Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026 / CREDIT: REUTERS/Stringer//File Photo)

Lynda recruits for the Easter Promises Tree, and Robert interrogates Oliver.

The medical charity Doctors without Borders - also known as MSF - says rape and other forms of sexual violence remains part of everyday life in parts of Sudan. The MSF's new report is the most comprehensive account yet of sexual violence in Sudan’s nearly three-year conflict.  The fighting began as a power struggle between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces - RSF - and the Sudanese army and has led to what the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.  MSF's report says between January 2024 and November 2025, more than 3,000 survivors of sexual violence sought treatment in its supported facilities across North and South Darfur in western Sudan. We hear from a midwife and some of the survivors.

 

And in Lesotho, the US may have reduced the trade tariffs imposed on the country but what lingering impact does it have on the country's garment and textile industry?

 

Presenter : Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Keikantse Shumba, Blessing Aderogba and Ayuba Iliya

Technical Producer: David Kinyanjui

Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga

Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

The Sri Lankan government has increased electricity prices for most households by more than 8% as fuel costs surge due to the Iran conflict.

Plus, Bisi Adebayo looks at the impact the war is having on jet fuel costs and how British and American food giants, Unilever and McCormick, have agreed a deal to combine parts of their food businesses.

US Defence Secretary says President Trump is willing to make a deal to end the fighting, but if Iran doesn't accept the terms, the war will continue. Also: Israel's defence minister says his country's forces will destroy all homes in Lebanese villages adjacent to the Israeli border. The medical charity MSF says rape and sexual violence remain part of everyday life in parts of Sudan. Eurovision - the world's longest-running international music competition - is heading to Asia. And the organisers of a Barbie-themed festival in Florida agree to issue refunds after customers complained that the event was not as advertised.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.

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Get in touch: [email protected]

We look at America's goals in the war with Iran, and we ask what Israel's strategy is, as regards the conflict in Iran and Lebanon.

Also on the programme: the latest report on sexual violence directed at women and girls in Sudan; and the world's longest running international music competition, Eurovision heads to Asia.

(Picture: Illustration shows 3D-printed miniature model depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and map showing the Strait of Hormuz Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

Also, NI Ambulance Service prepares for new system aimed to free up crews more quickly.

The White House has downplayed concerns that Donald Trump's threat to hit Iran's civilian infrastructure could lead to the US potentially carrying out war crimes. President Trump said the US military would destroy Iran's electricity plants, Kharg island and desalination plants if Iran did not make a deal. Also: The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting after two more UN peackeepers were killed in southern Lebanon. Australia's internet regulator is investigating tech giants over suspected breaches of its new under-16s social media ban. And Celine Dion has announced her long-awaited return to the stage with a ten night residency in Paris.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.

Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Stephanie was brought up in France in a French family, but her birth parents are Indian – she’s an intercountry adoptee. In the 1980s and 1990s thousands of babies, like Stephanie, were adopted from India into white, western families. Now, inter-country adoption is more regulated, and there’s a recognition that this is a practice open to abuse – several countries have banned it altogether.

In France, Stephanie grew up very happily with her adoptive mum and dad. But after they both died, she began to think more about her origins. And she experienced a desire to re-connect with her motherland. In this edition of Assignment, Stephanie journeys into rural India in the state of Maharashtra with journalist, Tanya Datta. Together they attempt to find Stephanie’s birth mother. Along the way, Stephanie discovers she isn’t an ‘absolutely abandoned and destitute child’ found on the roadside as she’s been led to believe her whole life, but was born to an unmarried teenager. Nearly 40 years later, will she find that 50-something woman?

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.