U.S. weighs releasing sanctioned Iranian crude

Oil prices rose as much as 3% on Thursday after Iran attacked several energy facilities across the Middle East following a strike on its South Pars gas field. Dwayne Schnell | 500px Plus | Getty Images U.S. oil prices extended their decline Friday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington may soon lift sanctions on Iranian…

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‘Takes money to kill bad guys’

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on March 19, 2026. Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the Pentagon’s reported $200 billion budget request for Iran war funding “could move.” “It takes money to kill bad guys,”…

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Gold loans are thriving in India

Hello, I am Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to the latest edition of Inside India — your one-stop destination for stories and developments from the world’s fastest growing large economy. This week, I unpack what’s driving the rapid surge in gold‑loan growth in the world’s second‑largest bullion market. Loans against gold are…

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Trump warns to ‘blow up’ South Pars gas field in Iran if strikes against Qatar energy continue

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike in central Beirut’s Bachoura neighbourhood, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. Claudia Greco | Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that if Iran continued targeting Qatar’s energy facilities, America would “massively blow up the…

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