Gas prices have soared on the back of the war in the Middle East, and US president Donald Trump criticised some European nations for not being helpful in the conflict. Plus, the ongoing crisis is disrupting precious-metals trade, and China will unveil its five-year plan during the National People’s Congress meeting on Thursday.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Trump threatens to cut trade with ‘terrible’ Spain and calls Starmer ‘no Churchill’

China’s cadres advocate end to overtime to encourage people to have families

Brussels urges calm as Iran crisis sends European gas prices soaring

Gold and silver flows disrupted as Iran conflict grounds flights

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted by Victoria Craig, edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Fiona Symon and Saffeya Ahmed. Our show was mixed by Kelly Garry. Additional help from Michael Lello and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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