• Are Trump's friends getting filthy rich on his “peace deal“?
    Mar 24 2026

    "Unusual activity" was observed on the main US stock market just fifteen minutes before Donald Trump went public with the sudden and unexpected news that he would stop striking Iranian energy sites and talks with Tehran were apparently going well. Trading volumes were up to six times higher than normal - with oil futures seeing a sudden flurry of activity in the moments before Trump broke that news.

    More than half a billion dollars was netted in that brief window, but it's not clear how. Experts and analysts are sounding the alarm about the activity - could some people close to Trump have known what was coming and gone straight to the market to place their bets? Why are Trump allies blocking investigators from looking into the Trump family and their allies? And what does this mean for the much bigger question of where the plans for peace actually stand ?

    The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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    32 mins
  • Has Trump invented his peace deal with Iran?
    Mar 23 2026

    It's a funny old world when you have to check with Iran’s state TV before you know if the US president is telling the truth. In a post early this morning - just as the markets opened - Trump declared he’d had productive discussions to end with war with Iran. An hour later Tehran flatly contradicted him. But by then there had already been a market rally putting two trillion dollars back into the system. So what’s going on: Has Trump had enough of war? Has he had stern words from his Gulf allies? Or is he just trying to manipulate the price of oil?

    Later, Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle on how to do business with America in the age of Trump and whether he’d call his actions "erratic".

    The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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    44 mins
  • The case for Trump's war in Iran
    Mar 20 2026

    It can be hard to decipher the reasons behind the US-Israeli decision to strike Iran. With a flurry of hyperbolic - often contradictory - statements from the American leadership, the objectives, the progress, and the endgame of this war are not much clearer three weeks into it.

    But Donald Trump has turned to one man to make the case for this war in a way he could never enunciate. Dr Muhanad Seloom has cut a somewhat isolated figure in the defence world outside of MAGA. An international security academic, he has been arguing that Trump's war is succeeding. Trump obviously likes what he is saying. The President posted Seloon's argument on Truth Social, with the caption: 'The US-Israeli strategy against Iran is working. Here is why'.

    Lewis spoke to Dr Seloom from Doha to try and understand what the thinking might just be in the White House and what success would look like for America - with more and more voices sounding the alarm about the consequences of its failure.

    The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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    40 mins
  • How Morocco snatched Senegal's AFCON crown - The Sports Agents
    Mar 20 2026

    It has been like the longest VAR ruling in history… the match finished two months ago, the Africa Cup of Nations trophy was presented, the considerable celebrations and recriminations were complete.

    And then, just as some last-16 Champions League fixtures were finishing on Tuesday night, a communication dropped from CAF.

    Senegal had actually forfeited the match by staging their now infamous walk-off and Morocco are AFCON champions via a technicality.

    But why has this taken so long? Can you really strip a country of a title? And what happens next?

    Former Sierra Leone captain Steven Caulker and Co Host of the ‘On The Whistle’ podcast, Zayn Naabi both join Gabby and Mark.

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    22 mins
  • Is Iran winning the war?
    Mar 19 2026

    Looking and sounding rather like a frat boy emerging from a hazing, Pete Hegseth arrived blinking, bombastic and victorious into his press conference this morning to declare complete success in his Epic Fury military campaign in Iran.

    He was quick to castigate America's ungrateful allies - telling the world that they should be thanking President Trump - and cracked a few jokes about Iranian ships being at the bottom of the ocean.

    Outside the Pentagon's echo chamber, the world looks rather different. Iran's regime holds many of the cards in this conflict. And it’s making Trump sweat. Control of the shipping lanes gives Iran control of the price of oil and thus much of the world economy. And they’re acting like an army of insurgents - pounding energy infrastructure across the Middle East, sending gas prices rocketing. So how does America find a way out? Or is Trump's only play now to go all in and send in the troops?

    Later - anyone remember the 70s? Ted Heath's dire warning to the nation that life would no longer be as we know it has some uncomfortable parallels for the current occupant of No 10. Should we prepare for everything we’ve taken for granted to change? And should Keir Starmer be rethinking his entire premiership as a result of this war?

    The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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    43 mins
  • Why do the Conservatives have a problem with Muslims praying in public?
    Mar 18 2026

    Nick Timothy is the Conservative shadow justice secretary. This week, he took issue with Muslims gathering in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the last week of Ramadan and the breaking of the Iftar fast with prayer. He called the gathering an "act of dominance" in a Christian country - right beside a church. Does Kemi Badenoch agree with him? Tommy Robinson certainly does...

    Later - why has Ofcom got no teeth when it comes to GB News? A major investigation by The New World puts the question to the media regulator. And gets little response. Sir Ed Davey raised it with the Prime Minister today. Has GB News simply become 'Reform TV'? We speak to Alan Rusbridger.

    The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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    41 mins
  • Has Trump lost it?
    Mar 17 2026

    Donald Trump's Oval Office ramblings are nothing new. But last night was off the scale. He thrashed out at allies. Castigated his friends. Contradicted himself. Lied about former presidents in a way that was painfully easy to disprove and sounded like a man who’d missed his meds.

    More significant than any of this is how the rest of the world received it: with a shrug - and very little anxiety or action. Has Trump lost the room? And the war?

    And, as the first resignation comes in from his director of counter terrorism centre, could we be reaching a turning point where Trump is no longer scaring people in the way he once did?

    The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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    44 mins
  • Is Starmer ending his abusive relationship with Trump?
    Mar 16 2026

    Last night, President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he was "demanding" allies provided back up in the Strait of Hormuz and send ships to keep oil the supply of oil flowing.

    “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response", he warned, "I think it will be very bad for the future of Nato."

    Keir Starmer’s response this morning was clear - the PM insisting that the UK would not be dragged into a wider war. Instead, he’s working with European allies on a "viable plan" to ease the crisis. Others have used even stronger language. The Germans have said the war has "nothing to do with NATO". Luxembourg's deputy PM has warned his country won't listen to "blackmail". Italy has rejected Trump's request. Others too, are deciding that they no longer need to pander to the man in the White House.

    Has Europe reached a fundamental turning point now when it comes to America? Does it see Trump - and his war -as a toxic asset? And how do we navigate lower oil prices in the midst of this geopolitical chaos?

    The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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    36 mins