Chief-Exec.com

Donald Trump says US could ‘take the oil in Iran’
Donald Trump has said he wants to “take the oil in Iran” and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island, as the US sends thousands of troops to the Middle East. The US president told the FT in an interview on Sunday that his “preference would be to take the oil”, comparing the potential move to Venezuela, where the US intends to control the oil industry “indefinitely” following its capture of strongman leader Nicolás Maduro in January. The president’s comments come as the US-Israeli war against Iran has thrust the Middle East into crisis and sent the price of oil surging by more than 50 per cent in a month. Brent crude rose above $116 a barrel on Monday morning in Asia, near its highest level since the conflict began. Trump said: “To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people.” Such a move would involve seizing Kharg Island, through which most of Iran’s oil is exported. Financial Times, March 30

Middle East war: Pakistan ready to host talks
Iran said on Sunday it was ready to respond to a US ground military operation, accusing Washington of preparing such an offensive while claiming to seek negotiations. Meanwhile the foreign ministers of several major countries in the region met in Pakistan to try to put an end to the conflict. Discussions held in Islamabad with the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia , Turkey and Egypt focused on proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to navigation, sources close to the matter said. Following these exchanges, Pakistan stated that it was preparing to host "meaningful discussions" between the two sides in the coming days to end the conflict, without it being known whether the United States and Iran had agreed to participate. France 24, March 29

EU wants to open deportation hubs in Africa this year
Germany and a group of like-minded states are confident that rejected ­asylum seekers will soon be deported to holding centres outside the EU after the European parliament cleared the way for a harsh new approach to illegal migration. Berlin is working closely with the governments of the Netherlands, ­Denmark, Austria and Greece, and with the support of Finland and Italy, to create “return hubs” by the end of the year in countries - expected to be mostly in Africa - that are willing to host ­asylum seekers who cannot be ­returned to their home countries. As the hard-right National Rally soars in the polls, President Macron of France and his centre-right government have also signalled support. The Times, March 29

Five EU governments found to ‘consistently’ dismantle rule of law
Governments in five EU member states are “consistently and intentionally” eroding the rule of law, Europe’s leading civil liberties group has warned, while democratic standards are deteriorating in six more, including historically strong democracies. Drawing on evidence from more than 40 NGOs in 22 countries, the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) described the governments of Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia as “dismantlers” that were actively weakening the rule of law. The group’s 2026 report, released on Monday, said the rule of law had regressed in all areas - justice, anti-corruption, media freedom and civil society checks and balances - in Slovakia under the populist, authoritarian, pro-Moscow government of Robert Fico. The picture was similarly bleak in Bulgaria, while Hungary, where Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power could end after elections on 12 April, “remains in a category of its own, continuing to pursue ever more regressive laws and policies with no sign of change”. The Guardian, March 30

Thieves steal Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse paintings in three-minute Italian heist
Paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth millions were stolen in a heist on a museum near the Italian city of Parma, police say. Four masked men entered the Magnani Rocca Foundation villa on 22 March, police said, making off with Les Poissons by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Paul Cézanne and Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse. The gang were in and out in the space of three minutes, Italian media outlets have reported, and were only interrupted by the museum's alarm system, preventing them from stealing more. The institution is the latest to be subject to a heist, following the brazen daylight robbery of priceless jewels from the Louvre in Paris last October. The thieves involved in the robbery forced their way through the main door to the Villa dei Capolavori, nestled in the Parma countryside, and took the paintings from the French Room on the building's first floor, Italian media outlets have reported. BBC news, March 29

Trump gives Iranians 10 more days to open Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump has said he will pause airstrikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for 10 days because peace talks are going “well”. The US president extended the Saturday deadline he had previously given Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as he thanked Tehran for allowing 10 Pakistani-flagged oil tankers to leave the Gulf unharmed. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was pausing “energy plant destruction” until April 6, adding: “Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well.” Trump said that the pause had been requested by Iran. “They said to me, very nicely through my people, ‘Could we have more time?’ Because we’re talking about tomorrow night,” he told Fox News. “So, I gave them a 10-day period. They asked for seven.” The Times, March 27

Putin asks oligarchs to donate to budget as cost of Ukraine war soars
Vladimir Putin has asked oligarchs to donate to Russia’s budget in a bid to stabilise the country’s finances as he presses on with his invasion of Ukraine, according to three people familiar with the matter. The comments by Russia’s president to a large group of prominent businessmen on Thursday made it clear that he is intent on pursuing the war to a victorious end despite the growing strains on the Kremlin’s budget. Russia will fight on, Putin said, until it captures the remaining areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region not under its control, according to two of the people. He said the decision was necessary because Ukraine had refused to withdraw unilaterally from the Donbas during recent rounds of talks brokered by the US, the people added. The Russian leader had supported what he viewed as a compromise proposal to turn the Donbas into a “demilitarised zone” or US-backed “special economic zone”, but dropped the idea after Ukraine made it clear that surrendering the region was a red line, one of the people said. Financial Times, March 26

EU parliament clears the way for offshore migrant detention centres
European lawmakers cleared the way on Thursday for tougher penalties for irregular migrants and their potential deportation to so-called return hubs outside the bloc. The measures, criticised by human rights groups, are part of a tightening of Europe's immigration rules in response to pressure across the 27-nation bloc to curb migration. The European Parliament approved the package with support from right-wing and far-right groups in a 389 to 206 vote in Brussels - bringing it a step closer to final approval pending negotiations with the European Commission and Council of the European Union. Thirty-two members abstained from the vote. The reform would notably allow for the opening of centres or "return hubs" outside the EU's borders to which migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected would be sent. France 24, March 26

UK: Keir Starmer set to make Sadiq Khan a lord
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to offer a peerage to London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, in a bid to mollify one of his most high-profile Labour critics, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would come after local and devolved elections in May that are expected to be a severe blow for the prime minister. One person familiar with the matter also said that conversations had taken place about Starmer offering Khan a cabinet role as part of a post-election reset. A Downing Street official said that suggestion was incorrect. Appointing a spate of new peers, including Khan, would likely be criticised, given that Starmer has already appointed more peers than any of the previous four prime ministers. He gave the mayor a knighthood last January. Nonetheless, Downing Street officials see the move as helping Starmer “shore up his position with patronage” at what is expected to be a moment of maximum danger, said the person familiar with the discussions. Financial Times, March 27

Just Eat and Autotrader among firms investigated in fake reviews probe
Food delivery giant Just Eat and motoring site Autotrader are among five firms being investigated as part of a probe into fake and misleading online reviews by the UK's competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority, which is also investigating reviews site Feefo, funeral firm Dignity and Pasta Evangelists, is looking at whether they have broken consumer law. The investigation will focus on how reviews are obtained, moderated and presented to customers. Online reviews influence billions of pounds of spending each year, yet many consumers worry about misleading content online … Under new powers announced in 2024 the CMA can fine firms for violating consumer law, without needing to go through the courts. While the CMA is investigating the five businesses, it said it had "not reached any conclusions about whether consumer law has been broken". BBC news, March 27