IMF: Prolonged Iran war could trigger global recession

Countries worldwide would face the slowest economic growth since the Covid-19 pandemic if the Iran war carries on for longer, according to the International Monetary Fund. The warning comes as finance ministers and central bank heads gather in Washington for the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. Our business correspondent joins from Washington.

BBC Verify is analysing data on Iran-linked ships that have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the US blockade of Iranian ports started on Monday. We discuss with Verify reporter Joshua Cheetham.

Pakistani officials say they're working to bring the US and Iran together for a second round of peace talks. Our global affairs reporter Anbarasan Ethirajan gives details.

As Israel and Lebanon hold peace talks in Washington, the first such negotiations in decades, fighting continues between the Israeli military and Hezbollah. We hear from our correspondents in Beirut and Jerusalem.

Health officials in Gaza City say an Israeli airstrike on a police vehicle has killed at least four people, including a child. Although the fiercest fighting between Israel and Hamas has come to a halt, Gaza remains in a state of limbo. We have a conversation with aid workers there.

Colombia is launching a plan to cull its invasive hippopotamus population, which was introduced to the country in the 1980s by the late drug lord, Pablo Escobar. We speak to journalists who have been covering this story and have visited the hippos.

Presenter: Rahul Tandon
(Photo: The IMF's Director of Monetary and Capital Markets Tobias Adrian speaks during a press briefing on the global financial stability report at the IMF in Washington, DC, USA, April 14, 2026. Credit: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA/Shutterstock)