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President Trump tonight described the war in Iran as "a short term excursion" after he'd told CBS the war was "ahead of schedule" and "very complete, pretty much".

He spoke as the economic impact of the war became clearer. With oil prices rising - and inflation likely to rise as well - we hear advice on how to drive more efficiently.

Also on the programme: After chaotic ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras tour, Live Nation and Ticketmaster settle a lawsuit in the United States. What will it mean for ticket prices here?

President Donald Trump’s announcement comes hours after G7 finance ministers said they were ready to use strategic oil reserves if necessary. Also, Anthropic sues the US government for calling it a risk. And we mark 250 years since the publication of Adam Smith’s iconic economics book, The Wealth of Nations.

(Picture: Motorists queue at a gas station in Skopje, North Macedonia, 09 March 2026. After the Regulatory Commission announced an increase in petrol and diesel prices at gas stations, people rushed to fill the tanks of their vehicles. Credit: Photo by GEORGI LICOVSKI/EPA/Shutterstock)

G7 finance ministers have said they're ready to take measures to support the global energy supply, after meeting to discuss the economic turmoil caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran. Oil prices eased back below 100 US dollars a barrel, after they indicated this could include the release of strategic reserves. But they're still about 40 percent up since the start of the war, which has halted most exports from the Gulf. Concerns about the impact on the global economy have caused stock markets to fall in America, Europe and Asia.

Also in the programme: Reports that members of Iran's women's football team are seeking refuge in Australia - we'll hear from a former Iranian sportsman who fled the country; and how AI is predicting the risk of serious heart disease from breast cancer screenings.

(File Photo: A maze of crude oil pipes and valves pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, US. Credit: Reuters/Richard Carson/File Photo)

Tony Juniper is an environmentalist who has worn many hats, over the course of his career. After developing a passion for birds in childhood, his first job saw him working to save endangered parrots - including a successful effort to bring back the Spix's macaw from the edge of extinction. Tony went on to hold leading campaigning roles with some of the world's best known environmental organisations, from Friends of The Earth to the World Wildlife Fund. He also acted as an advisor to King Charles's International Sustainability Unit and co-authored three books with the monarch. Today, Tony has swapped lobbying and campaigning for advising the government, as head of the advisory body Natural England: not without its challenges, but he says they are still outweighed by the positives. Talking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about his enduring love for nature and hopes for the future, Tony explains his optimism that we can and will recognise the urgent need to protect and restore our planet; and why ultimately, that means saving ourselves.

Chris is taken aback, and Kirsty and Kate fail in a resolution.

Bangladesh starts rationing fuel for private motorists. It's a result of the rapid rise in oil prices as a result of the US/Israel war on Iran.

And Nepal has a elected a new government, six months after the previous administration was toppled by Gen Z protests. Leanna Byrne hears from Nepal.

The benchmark oil price has passed $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022. But Donald Trump says the economic fallout from the US-Israel war with Iran is "a very small price to pay" for world peace. After Iran named a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, heavy explosions have continued to rock the capital Tehran. The Turkish opposition leader Ekrem Imamoğlu has gone on trial in Istanbul for corruption, in a case he describes as politically motivated. We report from South Sudan, where the world's youngest nation is grappling with instability and fears of a return to civil war. The Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky has said he is sending drone experts to the Middle East this week to help Gulf states under attack from Iran. There is concern about the safety of the Iranian women's football team after they refused to sing their national anthem at the first game of the Asian Cup in Australia. Scientists have discovered an ancient Egyptian equivalent of correction fluid.

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As the US and Israel's war on Iran enters its second week, concerns are rising about surging oil prices.

Crude has jumped above $100 a barrel and stock markets slumped over the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran. What are the effects likely to be?

Also in the programme: We'll profile Iran's new Supreme Leader, the son of the former cleric; we'll hear how the war is affecting daily life in the Gulf state of Qatar; and how the master artists of ancient Egypt may have invented correction fluid.

(Photo shows smoke rising following a strike on the Bapco Oil Refinery on Sitra Island in Bahrain on 9 March 2026. Credit: Reuters)

In recognition of International Women’s Month, we speak to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization. We discuss women representation in leadership, the impact of the latest Middle East conflict on African economies and the shifting balance of global trade and Africa’s place in it.

And, we also look at LGBTQ rights on the continent. In much of Africa, homosexuality remains criminalised in 33 out of 55 countries, according to the Institute for Security Studies. While South Africa recognises same-sex marriage, most African countries do not. In Botswana, two women are now challenging the government in court for the right to marry, despite same-sex relationships being decriminalised.

Presenter : Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Keikantse Shumba and Chiamaka Dike

Technical Producer: Jonathan Mwangi

Senior Producer: Bella Twine and Blessing Aderogba

Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

Learn how to use hyphens: "They did a ten-foot dive into the swimming pool."

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