President Trump says a US delegation will arrive in Pakistan on Monday for negotiations with Iran. The White House says it will again be led by Vice-President JD Vance. But reports from Iran say hardliners in the leadership are against attending as long as America's blockade of Iranian ports continues. Also in the programme: The party of the pro-Russian former president, Rumen Radev, is on course to win Bulgaria's general election and more than 150 authors leave a prominent French publisher, but why? (Photo: A police officer gestures to a vehicle at a check post along a road near Faisal Masjid, as Pakistan prepares to host the U.S. and Iran for the second phase of peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan April 19, 2026. CREDIT: REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro)

Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, which it calls a "breach of the ceasefire". We'll hear from inside Iran from Lyse Doucet.Also on the programme, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the biggest threat to his leadership; and, amid our modern technology, people rush to independent record stores to celebrate vinyl records. (Photo:The Malta-flagged tanker Agios Fanourios I, an oil tanker that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, arrives in Iraq’s territorial waters off Basra,Iraq April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty)

Iran's navy says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US blockade on Iranian ports is lifted. It says the continuing US blockade is a "breach of the ceasefire" and warns that ships approaching the vital shipping channel "will be targeted". We hear from our Chief International Correspondent in Tehran. Also on the programme: the ongoing row over the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as UK ambassador to Washington; and tributes are being paid to one of France's most celebrated film stars, Nathalie Baye, who's died at the age of 77. (Photo: A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province on April 12, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

Iran's central military command has said it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again, accusing the United States of continuing its naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iran's port.We hear the latest from our correspondent in the Middle East and we speak from a captain on one of the ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.Also in the programme: the perils of using AI chatbots to diagnose illnesses; and China's love affair with snooker.(Photo: A drone view of a tanker arriving in Iraq's territorial waters after sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Credit: Mohammed Aty / Reuters)

President Trump and Iranian officials have said the Strait of Hormuz is open to all commercial vessels, although shipping firms say they're remaining cautious. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the vital waterway would be navigable while the Lebanon ceasefire was in place, warning ships to use designated safe lanes. But Tehran warned it may retract this if Mr Trump continued with his threat to maintain a US blockade on Iranian ports until a comprehensive peace deal is reached. The price of oil has dropped on the announcement. Also in the programme: finance chiefs warn that a new AI tool could jeopardise global banking; and Japan creates a new word for days over 40 degrees celsius.(Photo: A drone view shows the Malta-flagged tanker Agios Fanourios I, an oil tanker that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, arriving in Iraq’s territorial waters off Basra, Iraq, April 17, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Aty)

Iran's foreign minister says the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" to commercial ships as long as the ceasefire remains in place.But the US president Donald Trump said the US blockade of the strait will continue until a deal is made.The announcement comes as European leaders came together to promote a unified message that the strait must be opened without tolls and without restrictions.Also in the programme: We'll look at the ceasefire brokered between Lebanon and Israel and how people on both sides have reacted; the UK prime minister comes under renewed pressure over his former US ambassador; and why the Strait of Gibraltar is a treasure-trove of shipwrecks.(Photo shows a protest rally in Tehran, Iran on 17 April 2026. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA)

President Trump has announced that there will be a ceasefire in Lebanon where Israel has been engaged in a war with Hezbollah. The US leader said both countries had agreed that a ten day pause in fighting would begin at midnight local time. Mr Trump also said he'd be inviting the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun to the White House for talks. Also in the programme: As a dispute with the Vatican over the Middle East war continues, President Trump has dismissed comments by Pope Leo who'd said the world was being ravaged by tyrants; and another missing page in the life story of William Shakespeare has been found - the London home he bought three years before he died.(Photo: US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before departing on Marine One, in Washington, DC on 16 April 2026. Credit: Graeme Sloan/Pool/EPA/Shutterstock)

Iranians tell the BBC's chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, they're unsure the ceasefire will hold. Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned Iran to choose wisely in negotiations with the United States. He said the US military was reloading and ready to go at the push of a button. We have a report from inside Tehran and ask about the prospects for talks between Lebanon and Israel. Also in the programme: the South African politician, Julius Malema, has been sentenced to five years in prison for violating gun laws; and we find out how sperm whales mirror the language of humans.(Photo: Lyse Doucet reporting from Tehran: Credit BBC)

The White House says indirect talks about the extension of a ceasefire between the US and Iran were productive and ongoing - hours after Pakistani mediators arrived in Tehran. Meanwhile, hundreds of ships remain stranded due to blockades in the Strait of Hormuz. We hear from a major shipping company. Also on the programme: a Sudanese author reflects on 3 years of conflict; and we take a tour of a new exhibition celebrating 125 years of Black British music. (Photo: A handout photo made available by the Iranian Foreign Ministry Office shows Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R) and Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir during a meeting in Tehran, Iran. Credit:HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock)

Three years since the start of Sudan's brutal civil war, international donors are meeting in Berlin to discuss ways to end the country's dire humanitarian crisis. We hear from a top UN aid official and an acclaimed Sudanese author.Also in the programme: a new online search engine helps people to discover if their ancestors were members of the Nazi party; and we speak to the director of a new film The Wizard of the Kremlin.(Photo: Internally Displaced Persons in Sudan. Credit: UNHCR/Ala Kheir)

China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, has described the American blockade as 'irresponsible' while the IMF is warning that the global economy could slip into recession because of the Iran war. Also on the programme: Israel and Lebanon have held direct talks for the first time in decades, to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah; and we hear about the return of a centuries‑old stone carving of the Zimbabwe bird - the country's sacred national emblem.(A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, Credit: Reuters)

Israeli and Lebanese officials to meet to discuss Israel's campaign against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. We report from southern Lebanon.Also in the programme: a BBC investigation into Greek police recruiting mercenaries to push migrants back into Turkey; the rise and fall of the Chinese property developer who was once Asia's richest person but has now pleaded guilty to fraud; conservation success in Uganda where numbers of mountain gorillas are rising; and could small talk be good for you?(IMAGE: Israeli soldiers stand among destroyed buildings in southern Lebanon, near the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from the Israeli side of the border in northern Israel, April 14, 2026 / CREDIT: REUTERS/Florion Goga)