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Netanyahu says Iran no longer has ability to enrich uranium
Benjamin Netanyahu said joint US-Israel strikes on Iran had destroyed Tehran’s ability to enrich uranium and to produce ballistic missiles. Israel’s prime minister on Thursday said that while he was not “putting a stopwatch on it”, he saw “this war ending a lot faster than people think”. Netanyahu also said Israel acted alone in striking Iran’s South Pars gasfield, but added his nation would “hold off on future attacks” on the field at the request of US President Donald Trump. The prime minister’s remarks came a day after an Israeli strike on the massive offshore field rocked energy markets and led Iran to escalate its fire targeting oil and gas installations across the region. Trump also sought to distance himself from the Israeli attack, claiming he had no prior knowledge. Financial Times, March 20

As Iran war grinds on, Gulf leaders are torn over how it should end
President Trump promised a quick conclusion to the war with Iran but as its third week draws to an end, oil and gas refineries across the region are in flames and Arab Gulf states are settling in for a long and costly conflict. Their rulers expected Iran to lash out at US military bases in their countries and went to great lengths in the days before the war to assure Tehran of their neutrality. The scale of Iran’s response surprised and angered them. Its aim is straightforward: Iran wants to pressure the powerful Gulf countries into swaying Trump to end the war, while driving up global energy prices by closing the Strait of Hormuz and attacking oil and gas infrastructure. But the attacks have had the opposite effect, turning some Gulf states into keener supporters of the war they had lobbied against. The Times, March 20

Strike on Iran gasfield exposes US-Israel rift as Trump claims he did not know
The US-Israeli war against Iran has exposed further divisions between the two countries after an Israeli strike on Iran’s largest gasfield angered US allies in the Gulf and prompted Donald Trump to say he knew nothing in advance about the attack - a claim that Israeli officials disputed. Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he had spoken to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu following the strikes on Iran’s South Pars gasfield - part of a reserve shared with Qatar - and had told the Israeli prime minister to refrain from further attacks that could escalate a regional war on energy infrastructure. “I told him, ‘Don’t do that,’ and he won’t do that,” Trump said. “We didn’t discuss [the strikes]. We do independent but get along great. It’s coordinated. But on occasion he’ll do something, and if I don’t like it … and so we’re not doing that any more.” Israeli attacks on the South Pars gasfields have opened a Pandora’s box of retaliatory strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure, including pipelines and natural gas processing facilities that serve liquefied natural gas to economies around the world, particularly in Asia. The Guardian, March 19

EU leaders fail to sway Hungary's Orban on €90 billion Ukraine loan
EU leaders failed to persuade Hungary's Viktor Orban to lift his block on a massive loan to support Ukraine's war effort at summit talks on Thursday, leaving the much-needed funding in limbo. Moscow's closest partner in the bloc, the nationalist prime minister has long resisted helping Kyiv to repel Russia's invasion, stalling EU aid and repeated rounds of sanctions. This time around, Orban is holding up a 90-billion-euro ($104 billion) loan as leverage in a feud over damage to a pipeline running through Ukraine - which has choked the flow of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. "The Hungarian position is very simple. We are ready to support Ukraine when we get our oil, which is blocked by them," Orban said on arrival at the summit, which Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky addressed by videolink. Orban had made it clear he planned to play hardball, as he leans into anti-EU and anti-Ukrainian narratives ahead of close-fought national elections on April 12 - to the exasperation of fellow EU leaders. France 24, March 19

UK borrowing overshot in February before Middle East turmoil
The UK borrowed a higher than expected £14.3bn in February, according to official figures that are set to be overshadowed by the threat to the public finances from the Middle East war. The shortfall between government spending and income was £2.2bn higher than in the same month a year ago and far above the £8.5bn forecast by economists polled by Reuters. February’s figure was driven by the timing of debt interest payments and higher spending, which offset an increase in revenues, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. Borrowing for the first 11 months of the fiscal year that began in April was £125.9bn, down almost 9 per cent from the same period a year earlier as tax receipts increased. But the Middle East war, which began on the last day of February with US-Israeli air strikes on Iran, has sparked an energy shock that has already sent UK borrowing costs higher amid fears of higher inflation. Financial Times, March 20

Tailgating at matches to become criminal offence
Entering a football match in England and Wales without a ticket will become a criminal offence under new laws that come into force before Sunday's Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Manchester City at Wembley. Offenders will face a football banning order of up to five years, as well as a fine of up to £1,000. The legislation has been introduced as a result of the serious disorder that marred the European Championship final between England and Italy at Wembley in July 2021, when thousands of fans forced their way into the stadium. The new act is designed to clamp down on 'tailgating' - where supporters without tickets make their way through turnstiles by staying close behind legitimate ticket-holders. It will also be illegal to knowingly attempt to gain entry using forged tickets, passes and accreditation documents, or by posing as a member of staff. Until now, there have been no specific legal penalties for entering a football match without a ticket, with supporters that are caught doing so tending to be ejected without any further punishment. BBC news, March 20

Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ all of Iran’s South Pars gasfield if Tehran strikes Qatar
Donald Trump threatened to “massively blow up” the world’s largest gasfield after Israeli strikes on the Iranian site prompted Tehran to step up attacks on energy facilities across the Middle East. Israel’s decision to target the South Pars gasfield on Wednesday marked a major escalation of the war, heightening fears of significant disruption to international energy supplies. Iran promptly retaliated with fresh attacks across the region, including on Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities - infuriating the US president. Oil and European natural gas prices rose sharply, with Brent crude - the international benchmark for oil - up 6 per cent at $114 a barrel. Gas prices jumped 23 per cent. Leading Asian stock markets came under pressure, with the Nikkei 225 falling 3.4 per cent in Japan. The Guardian, March 19

European leaders seek breakthrough on €90bn Ukraine loan blocked by Viktor Orban
EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday hoping to unlock a massive loan for Kyiv, with the much-needed funding ensnared in a standoff between Hungary's Viktor Orban and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky. Moscow's closest partner in the bloc, the nationalist Hungarian leader has long resisted helping Kyiv to repel Russia's invasion, stalling EU aid and repeated rounds of sanctions. This time around, Orban is holding up a 90-billion-euro ($104 billion) loan as leverage in a feud over damage to a pipeline running through Ukraine - which has choked the flow of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. As the Hungarian prime minister leans into anti-EU and anti-Ukrainian narratives ahead of close-fought national elections on April 12 - he appears intent on playing hardball. "No oil, no money," he warned this week. "If President Zelensky wants to get his money from Brussels, then the Druzhba pipeline must be reopened." France 24, March 19

London mayor says Labour must fight next election on promise to rejoin EU
Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has said Labour must fight the next election on a clear manifesto promise to rejoin the European Union, further piling the pressure on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Earlier this week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said “there’s an awful lot we can do to improve our trading relations” with the bloc that Britain left in 2020. But in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica published on Wednesday, Khan called on his party’s embattled leader to go further. “I’m quite clear: on the ballot paper of the next general election, a vote for Labour [is] a vote to rejoin the European Union, and we should be unequivocal about the benefits of the European Union,” he said. The Times, March 19

KPMG and Harvey Nichols among employers to have paid less than UK minimum wage
Big Four accountancy firm KPMG, luxury department store Harvey Nichols and well-known retail brands and football clubs are among 400 employers found to have paid workers less than the UK’s statutory minimum wage. The government said it was acting on a commitment in the November Budget to “name and shame” employers caught breaking labour market rules more frequently, as it seeks to step up its enforcement of newly strengthened workers’ rights. The Department for Business and Trade said the employers concerned had repaid more than £7.3mn to around 60,000 workers, with fines of £12.6mn also issued to 389 employers. Football clubs Norwich City and Charlton Athletic were among those named, alongside high street chain Costa, breadmaker Hovis and Walsall Council. Harvey Nichols was named as having failed to pay £7,537 to 83 workers. These companies did not respond to requests for comment. Financial Times, March 19

Pay grows at slowest rate in more than five years
Pay has grown at its slowest rate in more than five years, according to the latest official figures. Earnings - excluding bonuses - grew at an annual rate of 3.8 per cent in the November to January period, down from the previous figure of 4.2 per cent. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at a near five-year high of 5.2 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said, but there was a rise in the number of workers on payrolls last month. The ONS figures come ahead of the latest decision on interest rates from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which is expected to keep the cost of borrowing unchanged. Despite the slowdown in pay growth, wages were still rising faster than the rate of price increases. Inflation fell to 3 per cent in January, although the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran has led many analysts to expect the rate to pick up in the months ahead. BBC news, March 19

UK considers FOI clampdown as requests soar
British officials are considering a clampdown on the freedom of information system in a move that would spark backlash from transparency campaigners. Government figures are discussing a reduction in the cost ceiling for processing a request as the number of annual submissions has spiralled, according to people familiar with the situation. The soaring number of requests comes against a backdrop of heavily constrained Whitehall budgets, they added. Under the Freedom of Information Act, introduced in 2000, the cost threshold for complying with a request is set at £600 for central government and £450 for other public bodies, with staff time charged at a flat rate of £25 an hour. This equates to 24 hours of work, or 3.5 working days, for Whitehall departments and 18 hours of work for other government agencies. Officials said that in 2024, the last year for which there is published data, 83,041 requests were received across all monitored bodies in central government - the highest number since monitoring began in 2005. This was an increase of 12,566 requests, or 18 per cent, on the previous year. Financial Times, March 19