Main PointsKey Reads
Ronan McGreevy – 0 minutes ago
Ryanair is unlikely to hedge its fuel costs before the end of June, as it waits for more clarity on prices amid the war in Iran.
“I don’t think we’ll do any hedging for the next three months,” Ryanair group chief executive Michael O’Leary said. “We would always vary a little bit if we thought there’s a short-term [jump] – clearly nobody’s doing any hedging now with these kind of rates.”
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Ronan McGreevy – 11 minutes ago
ECB’s commitment to 2 per cent inflation remains ‘unconditional’, says Lagarde
The European Central Bank will act decisively and swiftly if the current surge in energy costs risks a broader bout of inflation, though for now it’s still assessing the shock caused by the Iran war, according to President Christine Lagarde.
While the situation is different from 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ultimately sent consumer-price growth into double digits, there are “reasons for vigilance,” Lagarde said Wednesday in a speech.
“We will not act before we have sufficient information on the size and persistence of the shock and its propagation,” she told the ECB Watchers Conference in Frankfurt. “But we will not be paralyzed by hesitation: our commitment to delivering 2 per cent inflation over the medium term is unconditional.”
Soaring energy costs brought on by the conflict in the Middle East are stoking fears of another inflation spike like the one four years ago. Bundesbank chief Joachim Nagel and others have signaled borrowing costs may need to be lifted as soon as April if the price outlook sours further.
“We are prepared, if appropriate, to make changes to our policy at any meeting,” Lagarde said.
Speaking directly after Lagarde, Chief Economist Philip Lane reiterated the ECB’s determination to be agile in responding to reactions by businesses and consumers to the Iran war.
“We mean it when we say we’re data-dependent,” he said, adding that “lots of data” will be arriving in the coming weeks and months. “April, June — ongoing,” he said.
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago
Oil falls and stock rise on prospects of peace
The price of oil has dipped and Asian stock markets moved higher after reports that Donald Trump has sent a 15-point framework for peace to Iran, amid hopes of a ceasefire in the Middle East.
Oil prices had fallen by 4 per cent in the early hours of Wednesday, with brent crude futures sinking below $100 a barrel and even moving as low as $97.57 as trading was influenced by the prospect of an end to the conflict easing the squeeze on oil supply.
Stock markets in Asia also moved higher in morning trading. Japan’s Nikkei rose by 2.9 per cent, while the S&P BSE Sensex in India was almost 2 per cent higher and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was just under 1 per cent up.
European markets also rose in early trading. The FTSE 100 in London was up by almost 1 per cent, while Germany’s Dax was trading 1.8 per cent higher and France’s Cac 40 climbed by 1.5 per cent
However, oil prices later started to climb again amid mixed signals about the status of negotiations between the US and Iran, after Tehran denied that any talks had taken place since the start of the bombing campaign.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait of Hormuz, located at its southern border, has all but halted global shipments of oil and gas through the key shipping channel, sparking what the International Energy Agency has called the largest ever disruption to oil supply.
Strikes continue across #Lebanon, including overnight airstrikes in Beirut, following further mass displacement orders.
To date, over 1 million people – including nearly 370,000 children – have been forced to flee.
Humanitarians continue to respond, but needs keep rising. pic.twitter.com/Q11txqeCaa
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) March 24, 2026
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago
Two men arrested over London ambulance attack
Two men have arrested in connection with the Golders Green ambulance arson attack in London.
The men – aged 47 and aged 45 – were arrested this morning at addresses in north west London and central London areas respectively.
They were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and both men have been taken to a London police station where they currently remain in police custody.
CCTV footage show a group of three men burning four ambulances belonging to the Jewish charity Hatzola at 1.35am on Monday morning.
The Metropolitan Police in London is treating the incident as an antisemitic attack and it is being investigated by the counter-terrorism police.
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago
Baltic states suspect stray Ukraine drones entered their territory
The authorities in Estonia and Latvia believe drones that entered their airspace from Russia were actually from Ukraine.
Several drones entered Estonian and Latvian airspace from Russia on Wednesday morning.
A drone that entered from Russia hit the smokestack of the Auvere power plant in Estonia.
Latvia also reported that a drone entered its airspace, crashed and may have exploded near the border with Russia.
Latvian prime minister Evika Silina said in a post on X that according to preliminary information the drone may have been Ukrainian.
The Estonian government will convene an emergency session on Wednesday morning.
The incidents occurred amid a Ukrainian attack early on Wednesday on Russia’s Ust-Luga port which is very close to the border with Estonia.
The incursions follow a separate crash of a drone in Lithuania on Monday, which the authorities in Vilnius identified as coming from Ukraine, raising questions over air defence capabilities of the Baltic states despite years of investments in their security – Bloomberg
Workers from an electricity distribution company conduct repairs on power lines in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared a state of national energy emergency amid surging fuel prices in the country, impacted by the Middle East conflict.
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago
Taiwan fears China as the world fixates on Iran conflict
Taiwan fears China will exploit the distraction of the United States by its war in the Middle East, with state media citing examples from the conflict to cast doubt on the efficiency of US weapons the island would use to repel any invasion.
One of the world’s biggest potential flashpoints, democratically governed Taiwan faces growing military pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory, around which Beijing held its latest war games in December.
Taiwan officials say Beijing’s resumption, since March 14 and 15, of large-scale air force incursions near Taiwan after an unusual drop-off, show China wants to take advantage of U.S. forces redeploying from East Asia to bolster the war effort.
“This is a moment for China to exercise influence,” said a senior Taiwan security official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.
“What China is trying to create is a sense that when the US shifts forces away and Indo-Pacific strength is redirected to the Middle East, tension and instability should be manufactured.”
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago
IDF continues to strike at Iran despite US talks of peace
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says it has struck two key sites used to develop long-range naval cruise missiles in the Iranian capital Tehran.
The IDF says in a post on Telegram that the “significant strikes” had caused extensive damage to the sites in recent days and that the missiles had been capable of “rapidly destroying targets at sea and on land”.
It “represent another step in deepening the damage done to the regime’s military production infrastructure,” the IDF added.
Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago
The Philippines declare national emergency
The Philippines has become the first country in the world to formally declare a national energy emergency as the conflict in the Middle East threatens fuel supplies and the country’s economy.
There is an “imminent danger of a critically low energy supply,” Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in an executive order.
“Urgent measures are necessary” to ensure the stability of energy supplies, continuity of economic activity and the delivery of essential services, he said.
Marcos, at a televised briefing on Wednesday, said he issued the order as a “precautionary tool” to give his government more options to address the energy emergency.
He also said he’s confident the nation has a steady flow of oil beyond the current stockpile of around 45 days, and that fertilizer supply is also sufficient until the next planting season.
The last time the Philippines declared a state of national emergency was during the Covid pandemic in 2020, when the country implemented one of the world’s strictest lockdowns.
Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago
Fears grow over access to fertiliser
Governments are rushing to secure supplies of critical crop nutrients ahead of spring planting, as the Middle East war chokes off the flow of commodities and amplifies fears of a global food crisis.
Fertilisers exemplify the tight link between energy and food prices, underpinning harvests worldwide. The Middle East is a vital supplier, rich in both mineral reserves and the gas needed to produce nutrients for staples like corn, wheat and rice.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, shipments have ground to a halt as Iran, the US and Israel continue to exchange strikes on energy infrastructure.
In turn, prices of urea — the most widely used nitrogen fertiliser — have surged, with phosphate supplies also at risk. Much of global stock is tied to the Persian Gulf, and panic is spreading across major agricultural economies.
Top exporters China and Russia are curbing some crop nutrient sales, while the US is loosening shipping restrictions to facilitate domestic flows. India, the largest urea buyer, is scrambling for supply and weighing a tender.
Greece and France have expanded financial support for farmers, and in Africa, Ghana has rolled out a free fertiliser program.
“Farmers should not bear the burden of any crisis,” Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday in Parliament, where he addressed the Middle East conflict and announced efforts to shore up fertiliser reserves. “The government stands with them.”
Rising fertiliser prices could push food costs higher, just as inflation in agricultural goods had started to ease after years of shocks — from the pandemic to the war in Ukraine and extreme weather.
At the same time, countries are moving to shield farmers already hit by weak crop prices, high input costs and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago
Oil prices fall again and then rise
The price of oil has continued its rollercoaster ride as traders try to ascertain whether or not an end is in sight to the war.
Brent crude dipped below $100 a barrel again on Wednesday morning having been close to $110 a barrel the day before.
Brent fell by 7 per cent in early morning trading before settling at 4.5 per cent lower on Wednesday.
Mixed messages from the White House have played havoc with markets around the world.
While President Donald Trump has suggested the end of the war is in sight, he has also ordered the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy about 2,000 soldiers to the region.
The Iranians show no sign of giving up their chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz.
Ronan McGreevy – 4 hours ago
Israel and Iran exchanged airstrikes
Israel and Iran exchanged air strikes on Wednesday, as Iran again rejected Donald Trump’s claim the United States was in negotiations to end to the war.
The Israeli Defense Forces said in a Telegram post it had launched a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure across Tehran. The semi-official Iranian SNN News Agency said the strikes hit a residential area in the city, with rescuers searching the rubble.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said they had repelled fresh drone attacks, without stating where they originated. Drones targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire but no casualties, Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, Iranian state media reported. – Reuters
Ronan McGreevy – 4 hours ago
Iran says US is negotiating with itself
The United States is negotiating with itself, an Iranian military spokesman said according to state media on Wednesday, a day after Donald Trump said Tehran wanted to make a deal to end the war in the Middle East.
“Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you negotiating with yourself?” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for the unified command of Iran’s armed forces, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, taunted the US leadership.
Rocket trails in the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks on Wednesday. Photograph: Getty Images
“People like us can never get along with people like you.”
Zolfaqari said US investments and prewar energy prices would not return as long as Washington does not accept that regional stability is guaranteed by Iranian armed forces.
Earlier, Iran told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organisation that “non-hostile vessels” may transit the Strait of Hormuz if they co-ordinate with Iranian authorities.
The effective closure of the waterway, where 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas normally transits, has created the worst energy supply shock in history, sent fuel prices soaring, and disrupted global aviation.- Reuters
Ronan McGreevy – 4 hours ago
US offers 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran
Welcome to our continuing coverage of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran and its wider implications.
The Trump administration has offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, according to a person briefed on the contours of the proposal.
Early details of the proposal emerged, even as the US military is preparing to call up at least 1,000 more troops to supplement some 50,000 troops already in the region.
The plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from Pakistan, who have offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, it’s understood.
A fragment of a missile that landed in an orchard near the Palestinian village of Hares in the West Bank, on Tuesday. Photograph: The New York Times
The Pentagon is also in the process of deploying a pair of Marine expeditionary units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region.
Israeli officials, who have been advocating for US president Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, were taken by surprise by the US administration’s submission of a ceasefire plan, the person said.
But with the US taking steps to send additional soldiers and Marines to the Middle East, the move is being framed as Trump manoeuvring to give himself “max flexibility” on what he will do next, the person added. – AP
The US is poised to deploy about 3,000 additional soldiers from its elite 82nd airborne division to the Middle East