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The UK government has rejected a call from the Offshore Energies UK trade body to boost North Sea oil and gas production, despite warnings that the UK will become increasingly reliant on imports at a time of rising global instability.The industry group has urged the government to take action to slow the decline of the North Sea as a provider of energy, citing concerns that consumers will be left more exposed to global volatility and higher emissions if domestic production is not increased.The warning comes as the war in the Middle East has triggered the biggest oil and gas supply shock in the history of the market, causing UK gas prices to more than double in under a month.A government spokesperson said that issuing new licences to explore new fields cannot guarantee energy security and will not reduce bills, adding that the only way to truly protect against price spikes is to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets.The decline of the North Sea oil and gas basin means that the UK's reliance on gas imports is likely to increase sharply from about 14% last year to more than a quarter of its gas supply by 2030, and almost half by 2035.David Whitehouse, the chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, argued that energy security means backing homegrown oil and gas alongside renewables, and that a stable new tax regime for the industry is essential to reduce reliance on volatile imports and protect skilled jobs.

The conflict in Iran has sparked concerns about a potential global food crisis due to a looming shortage of fertiliser, a crucial component in food production. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route, has been disrupted, impacting the export of fertilisers from Gulf countries.On March 2, Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the commander-in-chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), announced that the Strait of Hormuz was 'closed', causing oil prices to soar above $100 per barrel. However, experts warn that a parallel crisis is emerging - a considerable threat to global food security due to a shortage of fertiliser.Nearly half of the world's traded urea, the most widely used fertiliser, and large volumes of other fertilisers are exported from Gulf countries via the Strait of Hormuz. Recent disruptions to gas supplies and shipping have already forced fertiliser plants in the Gulf and beyond to shut or cut their output.Countries such as India, Brazil, and China are heavily dependent on Gulf fertiliser exports, with India sourcing over 40% of its urea and phosphate fertilisers from the region. A prolonged fertiliser shortage and hike in fertiliser prices could lead to reduced crop yields, affecting food security worldwide.The urea export prices from the Middle East have surged by about 40%, rising from just less than $500 to a little more than $700 per metric tonne. The price is currently close to 60% higher than this time last year.According to one shipping services company, 20% of the world's fertiliser originates in the Gulf, while 46% of global urea supply comes from the Gulf. Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO), considered the world's largest urea supplier, alone supplies 14% of the world's urea.Analysis by Kpler, a data and analytics company, shows that as much as one-third of global fertiliser trade could be disrupted if the closure of the Strait of Hormuz persists. This could lead to nitrogen fertiliser prices doubling and phosphate prices climbing by about 50%.

The United Nations has recorded 143 deaths in an air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, significantly lower than the figure offered by Afghanistan's Taliban government.The attack on Kabul's Omar Addiction Treatment Hospital on Monday night has sharpened a bitter dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the Taliban putting the casualties at more than 400 people killed and about 265 wounded.The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan provided its figure to the Reuters news agency on Wednesday. The gap between the two counts underscores the difficulty of verifying casualty figures in the conflict as competing claims frequently come from Kabul and Islamabad.Afghanistan's Taliban administration has blamed Pakistan for the attack on the drug rehabilitation centre, a 2,000-bed facility, and Pakistan has denied carrying out the strike. Hamdullah Fitrat, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban administration, said the strike hit the hospital, destroying large sections of the building and triggering fires that rescue teams worked through the night to contain.Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of deliberately hitting civilian infrastructure and called the assault a “crime against humanity”. Mujahid said those killed and wounded were patients undergoing addiction treatment at the time of the strike.Pakistan's information minister, Attaullah Tarar, denied the allegation, insisting his country “only targeted terrorist infrastructure and military locations”. The strike is the latest in a widening confrontation between the two neighbours, who have engaged in repeated cross-border clashes.At the heart of the dispute is a long-running Pakistani accusation that the Taliban government shelters the Pakistan Taliban, known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, as well as outlawed Baloch separatist groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani soil. Kabul has consistently denied providing sanctuary to the groups.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has taken a significant turn as foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim countries gathered in Riyadh for urgent discussions. The meeting, which included representatives from 12 countries, aimed to muster a common response to Iran's increasing retaliation against US assets and infrastructure in the region.The talks were held as Iran targeted several energy facilities across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar in retaliation against Israel's strike on the South Pars gasfield, Iran's biggest source of energy. This escalation comes after a series of Israeli assassinations of top Iranian security officials.The joint statement issued on Thursday confirmed that the countries present at the meeting, including Qatar, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates, asserted the right of states to defend themselves, citing Article 51 of the United Nations Charter on defensive action.The foreign ministers condemned deliberate Iranian attacks with ballistic missiles and drones that have struck various targets, including residential areas, water desalination plants, oil facilities, airports, and diplomatic positions. They called on Iran to:Halt its attacks.Stop "provocative actions or threats" aimed at its neighbours.Cease supporting, financing, and arming pro-Iran proxy groups based in Arab states.Refrain from actions or threats aimed at blocking the Strait of Hormuz or threatening maritime security in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.The meeting yielded a unified response to Iran's increasingly unpredictable behaviour, but the joint statement was vague about how countries would follow this up. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud emphasized his country's right to defend itself and hinted that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states would act if necessary, adding that they have "very significant capacities and capabilities that they could bring to bear should they choose to do so".The Iranian leadership's response to these developments remains unclear, with New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei having not been seen in public since his appointment. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement saying that Iranian forces had responded to the "deceiving and lying enemy" that had targeted energy facilities in the country, and that they had "entered a new phase of warfare" to defend Iran's infrastructure.

Oil prices have experienced a significant surge, rising more than 5%, in the wake of an Israeli strike on Iran's South Pars gasfield. This development comes as the United States-Israeli conflict with Iran continues to escalate.The international standard, Brent crude, rose 5 percent to $108.66 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude (CLc1), the price barometer for US oil, gained 2.5 percent to $98.65. This widened its discount to Brent to the largest since May 2019, driven by fears of a prolonged conflict.Iranian state media reported that natural gas facilities associated with its offshore South Pars field – the largest gasfield in the world, located off the coast of southern Iran's Bushehr province – were attacked. Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened to attack oil and gas infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, heightening the risk of further disruptions to energy supplies in the region.Later on Wednesday, Qatari authorities reported a fire at the country's Ras Laffan gas facility after an Iranian ballistic missile attack. Qatar's Interior Ministry later confirmed that the fire had been brought under control.The US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks on Gulf neighbours have disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East and forced production stoppages. Experts warn that if these disruptions keep oil and gas prices elevated for an extended period, the global economy could experience a wave of inflation.Fighting has halted most shipments via the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of global oil and liquified natural gas supplies pass. Total oil output cuts in the Middle East are estimated at 7 million to 10 million barrels per day or 7 percent to 10 percent of global demand.

The conflict between Iran and Israel has taken a significant turn, with oil prices skyrocketing to unprecedented levels. Analysts are now warning that prices could reach $150 or even $200 per barrel, a scenario that was previously considered far-fetched.The global benchmark, Brent crude, has hit nearly $120 per barrel and has remained above $100 since March 13. The recent Israeli strike on Iran's South Pars gasfield and subsequent Iranian attacks on oil and gas facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have further pushed crude prices up to over $108 per barrel.The Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for about one-fifth of global oil supplies, has been effectively closed since Iran declared it shut early in the conflict. Only a handful of ships, mostly Indian, Pakistani, Turkish, and Chinese-flagged vessels, have been allowed to pass through in recent days.Market watchers agree that prices have room to move much higher if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights, notes that benchmark Middle Eastern crudes have already crossed the $150 threshold, making $200 a possibility.The International Monetary Fund estimates that every 10% rise in oil prices would correspond with a 0.4% increase in global inflation and a 0.15% reduction in economic growth. Oil prices at $150 or higher would weigh heavily on the global economy.Adi Imsirovic, an energy expert at the University of Oxford, warns that oil at $200 per barrel would be a major handbrake to the world economy, impacting inflation, growth, employment, and potentially causing shortages of fuel and materials.

The Pakistan Super League (PSL), the country's top domestic T20 cricket tournament, will take place in empty stadiums due to the recent surge in oil prices. The decision was announced by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, citing a fuel shortage caused by the Middle East conflict.The league, set to start on Thursday, will now be hosted in only two cities: Lahore and Karachi. The opening match will be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The PCB has also cancelled the opening ceremony that was scheduled to take place in Lahore.Pakistan is facing soaring oil prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, prompting the government to advise citizens to restrict their movements. Naqvi stated that it wouldn't be feasible to have 30,000 people in stadiums daily while people are being asked to limit their travel.The PCB will refund tickets to fans who had purchased them and will also compensate franchise owners for the loss of revenue from gate receipts. Naqvi apologized to the four cities – Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, and Peshawar – that will no longer host PSL games this season.Several foreign players, including Australians Jake Fraser-McGurk and Spencer Johnson, South African Ottneil Baartman, and West Indian Gudakesh Motie, have pulled out of the PSL due to personal reasons. The PCB consulted with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the PCB patron, and the eight franchises before making the decision to stage the games without spectators.

Japan has initiated the release of oil from its emergency reserves in response to the escalating global energy crisis triggered by the Iran-Israel conflict. The crisis has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil supplies.The decision to release oil reserves was announced on Monday through a notice published in the Japanese government's official gazette. This move follows Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's announcement last week to unilaterally release 80 million barrels of oil from stockpiles due to supply concerns arising from Iran's threats against shipping in the strait.The International Energy Agency (IEA) has also pledged to coordinate the release of a record 400 million barrels to mitigate the market impact of the conflict. Despite these efforts, oil prices have surged, with Brent crude rising as much as 3% on Sunday before easing slightly on Monday. As of 05:45 GMT, Brent stood at $104.85 a barrel, marking a more than 40% increase since the start of the war on February 28.Japan, being one of the world's largest oil importers, relies on overseas fossil fuels for about 80% of its energy needs. The country also holds one of the world's largest oil reserves, sufficient to meet 254 days of domestic consumption. Tokyo has stated it has no plans to deploy its navy to the strait following a call from US President Donald Trump for other countries to help unblock the waterway.

Cuba has extended an invitation to Cuban Americans and other exiles living abroad to invest in and own businesses on the island, effectively opening its doors to a community that has traditionally agitated for harsh economic sanctions against the Communist government. The move is part of a broader effort to revive Cuba's collapsed economy, which has been exacerbated by a US-imposed oil blockade and sanctions leading to extended blackouts and shortages of fuel, food, and medicine. Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga stated that there are no limitations for Cubans living abroad to participate in the country's development, including investing in larger projects, particularly in agriculture. This policy shift comes as Cuba has begun talks with the US, and US officials have indicated a desire for an economic opening as part of any bilateral agreement. The issue of allowing emigrants to invest in island businesses is sensitive, given the often-hostile stance of some exile communities towards the Cuban government. Economist Paolo Spadoni described the policy shift as 'pragmatic' but noted that Cuba should have initiated it years ago. He added that this change could be a catalyst for deeper US-Cuba economic ties, creating significant opportunities for US companies. With over 1 million Cubans having emigrated since 2021, this move represents a potential source of investment still largely untapped. The policy change occurs against the backdrop of strained US-Cuba relations, with US President Donald Trump having cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threatening tariffs on countries selling oil to Cuba.