19 March 2026

48 minutes

Available for 5 days

Oil and gas prices have risen sharply after fresh strikes hit energy infrastructure in the Middle East, including Qatar's main gas facility.

Gas prices jumped by about 25% on wholesale markets in the UK and Europe in early trading, before easing slightly. We've also been hearing from the US defence secretary Pete Hegseth who says the Pentagon will go to Congress to ask for funding for the war as it continues on.

President Trump says he knew nothing about the Israeli attack on the Iranian South Pars facility; we'll examine what this says about US-Israeli military co-operation.

Also in the programme: The world's longest coastal path is opening in England; and newly discovered letters from the renowned palaeontologist Mary Anning show even she got sick of fossils.

(Photo shows a file photo of QatarEnergy's liquefied natural gas production facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar on 2 March 2026. Credit: Reuters)