Newshour

President Trump has sacked Pam Bondi as the US Attorney General. She was a close ally of Mr Trump but had been criticised for her handling of the release of files relating to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Writing on social media, Mr Trump described her as a loyal friend saying she had done a tremendous job overseeing a crackdown on crime but was moving to a new role in the private sector. Mr Trump's former personal lawyer, the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, will take over on a temporary basis.

Also in the programme: nations meet to find a solution to the Strait of Hormuz; and Artemis 2 heads out of orbit.

(Photo: Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi attends a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 24 March 2026. CREDIT: GRAEME SLOAN/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)

The four Nasa astronauts on the Artemis II Moon mission are preparing for its next stage, after their first sleep in space. We speak to former astronaut Tim Peake about Nasa's plan for them to travel around the Moon.

NASA is to launch the Artemis II mission to the Moon, more than half a century after the last Apollo missions – we’ll hear from one of the four surviving astronauts who have set foot on the Moon.

Also in the programme: US President Donald Trump attends a Supreme Court hearing about his attempt to end birthright citizenship by executive order; and how a hundred driverless taxis all suddenly stopped mid-journey in a city in China – so how robust is the tech?

(Photo: The Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B ahead of the mission launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. Credit: Reuters/ Brendan McDermid)

Global stock markets have risen and the oil price has fallen, after President Trump again said the war against Iran could be over in a couple of weeks. Britain says it will host a multi-national meeting this week to discuss how to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump says he is "strongly considering" pulling the United States out of NATO. We will hear from a former US ambassador to NATO.

Also, South Africa's government sends in the army to fight criminal gangs.

And the countdown to NASA's Artemis moon mission! Plus fifty years since the birth of Apple computing.

(Photo: A person reacts to the damage near a business building including the Qatari Al Araby TV office, after an airstrike in northern Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2026. Credit: EPA)

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)

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.

(Image: Illustration shows 3D-printed miniature model depicting US President Donald Trump pointing at a map showing the Strait of Hormuz. Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

President Trump says he's negotiating with Iran's leadership to end the war, while again threatening to strike its energy infrastructure. Iran has dismissed American demands as excessive and 'illogical'. We hear from a former US army officer on President Trump's military options.

Also in the programme: Israel's parliament passes a new law introducing the death penalty for terrorists. A critic of the law tells us it's framed just to target Palestinians; and a Sex Pistol celebrates the 50th anniversary of punk rock.

(Photo: A member of the Iranian security forces stands guard next to a banner honouring former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on 30 March 2026. Credit: ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/EPA/Shutterstock)

President Trump has posted on social media another warning that he would, in his words, 'obliterate' Kharg island and Iran's power plants, if the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately reopened to allow oil and gas tankers to travel freely.

Also on the programme: how are countries around the world responding to the price of oil reaching $116 a barrel? And paintings by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse have been stolen from a museum in Italy. Is there's even a market for this type of stolen art?

(Picture: President Trump on Air Force One. Credit: Reuters)

Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, has said that both Iran and the United States have expressed confidence in his country to facilitate talks on reducing tensions in the Middle East conflict.

Also in the programme: the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is prevented from celebrating a private mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; and a UN summit moves to protect 40 migratory species.

With talks under way in Islamabad to end the war in the Middle East, we’ll hear from Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US.

Also on the programme: we hear from Myanmar where the global energy crisis has left kilometres-long queues at petrol stations; and veteran Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard reflects on his latest Oscar-winning film Sentimental Value.

(Photo: The USS Tripoli (LHA-7) amphibious assault ship enters the Singapore Strait, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Singapore, March 17, 2026. REUTERS/Edgar Su)