Record View says Holyrood should mirror the Unauthorised Entry Act and bring in banning orders for those who sneak into matches.

The recent Old Firm riot sparked a great deal of hand-wringing from our political leaders.

But there has been little in the way of action to avoid a repeat of the shameful scenes beamed around the world on live television. This weekend in England, however, a change in the law will come into force that could make a difference.

The Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Act targets fans who force their way into games without paying. It’s a sensible measure and a similar law in Scotland is long overdue.

Ticketless fans forcing their way into games – either through tailgating other supporters or forcing their way through security gates – has become a major problem for clubs. The trend comes as we are witnessing the growth of “ultra” groups across the country.

These young fans bring passion and a party atmosphere to our football stadiums and that has been widely welcomed. But in some cases the boisterous behaviour has spilled over into anti-social behaviour – including gaining entry to games without paying.

English authorities have moved to target this practice – and the Scottish Government cannot simply watch from the sidelines. We have repeatedly seen fans double-up at turnstiles, charge barriers or use counterfeit tickets.

Stewards are shoved aside, paying supporters are crushed against turnstiles and clubs haemorrhage revenue. The English law makes sense because it includes strong deterrents, such as heavy fines and football banning orders.

The solution is straightforward. Holyrood should mirror the Unauthorised Entry Act and bring in banning orders for those who sneak into matches. Ticketless entry is not harmless fun. It is theft from honest fans and a risk to the safety of ordinary supporters.

Life-saving advice

A warning has been issued to parents about the dangers to babies of “co-sleeping”.

It comes after the deaths of 29 babies were linked to the practice after a review of fatal accident inquiries. Solicitor General Ruth Charteris deserves credit for raising her concerns.

Every single one of these fatalities is an unimaginable loss for the families involved. The fact they could have been avoided makes the tragedy even greater. The Lullaby Trust, which advises parents, has issued guidance to keep babies safe.

If you or anyone you know has a wee one, please read the guidance in today’s Record or online – and let’s try to avoid any more needless heartbreak.

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Hawaii suffered its worst flooding in more than 20 years as heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago, officials said Friday while warning that still more rain was expected during the weekend.

Muddy floodwaters smothered vast stretches of Oahu‘s North Shore, a community world-renowned for its big-wave surfing. Raging waters lifted homes and cars and prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu. Authorities cautioned that a 120-year-old dam could fail.

Gov. Josh Green said the cost of the storm could top $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, people’s homes and a Maui hospital in Kula.

“This is going to have a very serious consequence for us as a state,” Green said at a news conference.

Most of the state was under a flood watch, with Haleiwa and Waialua in northern Oahu under a flash flood warning, according to the National Weather Service.

Green said his chief of staff spoke to the White House and received assurances the islands would have federal support.

Most serious flooding since 2004

No deaths were reported and no one was unaccounted for. About 10 people were taken to a hospital with hypothermia, he said.

Crews searched by air and by water for people who had been stranded — efforts that were hampered by people flying personal drones to get images of the flooding, said Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for Honolulu.

The National Guard and Honolulu Fire Department airlifted 72 children and adults who had been attending a spring break youth camp at a retreat on Oahu’s west coast called Our Lady of Kea’au, according to city and camp officials. The camp is on high ground but authorities didn’t want to leave them there, the mayor said.

Green said the flooding was the state’s most serious since 2004 floods in Manoa inundated homes and a University of Hawaii library.

Dozens — if not hundreds — of homes were damaged Friday but officials haven’t been able to fully assess the destruction, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. Some 5,500 people were under evacuation orders.

“There’s no question that the damage done thus far has been catastrophic,” he said.

Officials blamed some of the devastation on the sheer amount of rain that fell in a short amount of time on saturated land. Parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) of rain overnight. Kaala, the island’s highest peak, got nearly 16 inches (40 cm) in the past day, the National Weather Service said.

More rain was expected: Blangiardi said 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) of rain was forecast to fall on Oahu in the next two to three days.

Winter storm systems known as “Kona lows,” which feature southerly or southwesterly winds that bring in moisture-laden air, were responsible for the deluges in the past two weeks. The intensity and frequency of heavy rains in Hawaii have increased amid human-caused global warming, experts say.

Eyes on an aging dam

Officials have been closely watching the Wahiawa dam, which has been vulnerable for decades, saying it was “at risk of imminent failure.”

Water levels in the dam receded by late Friday but that could change if more rain falls. Overnight into Friday, the dam went from 79 feet to 84 feet (24 to 25.6 meters) — just 6 feet (1.8 meters) shy of what it can handle, authorities said.

As she prepared to evacuate to a friend’s home on higher ground, Waialua resident Kathleen Pahinui told The Associated Press in a phone interview that the aging dam is a concern every time it rains.

“Just pray for us,” she said. “We understand there’s more rain coming.”

The state has said Wahiawa dam has “high hazard potential,” and that a failure “will result in probable loss of human life.”

The earthen dam was built in 1906 to increase sugar production for the Waialua Agricultural Company, which eventually became a subsidiary of Dole Food Company. It was reconstructed following a collapse in 1921.

The state has sent Dole four notices of deficiency about the dam since 2009 and five years ago fined the company $20,000 for failing to address safety deficiencies on time, according to records.

Afterward, Dole proposed to donate the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state in exchange for the state’s agreement to repair the spillway to meet and maintain dam safety standards.

The state passed legislation in 2023 authorizing the dam’s acquisition. It also provided $5 million to buy the spillway and $21 million to repair and expand it to comply with dam safety requirements. But the transfer has not been completed. A state board is due to vote on the acquisition next week.

“The dam continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage,” Dole said in an emailed statement.

The state regulates 132 dams across Hawaii, most of them built as part of irrigation systems for the sugar cane industry, according to a 2019 infrastructure report by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

___

Associated Press writer Hallie Golden contributed to this report from Seattle.

Juliette Kenny’s father revealed the symptoms his daughter faced just hours before she tragically died after contracting meningitis B, during an outbreak of the infection in Kent

The family of an 18-year-old girl tragically killed by meningitis revealed the symptoms she faced just hours before she died.

Juliette Kenny sadly died on Saturday March 14, after she contracted meningitis B amid an outbreak in Kent. The 18-year-old, a sixth form student, was one of two people who have died as the UKHSA investigates 29 cases linked to Canterbury, Kent. She sadly died just 12 hours after she started to show symptoms of the deadly infection.

Her heartbroken dad Michael Kenny revealed what the family first noticed as they realised something was wrong with their beloved girl.

READ MORE: Kim Jong-un beams as his teen ‘heir’ daughter drives him in an anti-drone tankREAD MORE: Fuming Donald Trump lashes out at ‘late’ response from Keir Starmer over Iran

Mr Kenny said Juliette started to vomit and showed discolouration in her cheeks, in the early hours of Friday. The Year 13 student, at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, exhibited no other symptoms at that time, her dad said.

He even added that the teenager had been “fit, healthy and strong” before that point and finished the practical assessment for her PE A-level on Thursday, March 12.

Mr Kenny said the family took Juliette to medics when they noticed her symptoms, saying: “In the morning on Friday, she was taken, by us, to our local emergency drop-in as a discolouration appeared on her cheeks. She was given antibiotics and sent by ambulance to A&E.

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“Juliette fought bravely for hours, but despite the fantastic NHS hospital staff fighting alongside her, meningitis took her from us less than 12 hours later. We were with her at the end, and the last sounds that she heard were the voices of those who loved her telling her how very much loved and cherished she is.”

In a heart-rending statement, the dad said: “We are incredibly proud parents to two wonderful daughters. Juliette is a force in this world. With her beautifully positive energy she spread fun, love and happiness to those around her and she continues to do so now. The devastation of her loss to us, her family and friends is immeasurable.

“Sharing stories of the empathy, warmth and fun that she created is helping her family and friends through at this time. Her energy continues to make the people who love her find a way. The illness took her from us so quickly.”

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Mr Kenny said “no family should experience this pain and tragedy” and has called for better protections to be in place for young people against meningitis B. This included urging the government to improve access to the menB vaccination for young people. The menB jab was introduced on the NHS for babies in 2015, meaning the majority of young people born before then are not protected against it unless they have had the jab privately.

Mr Kenny said: “No family should experience this pain and tragedy. This can be avoided. There are young people currently battling this and young people still at risk. As parents, we knew our children would change the world and be a force for good.

“The work to protect young people has started. It needs to be more. Juliette’s impact on this world must be lasting change. Now is the time to ensure families are safe from the impact of meningitis B.”

Vinny Smith, chief executive of Meningitis Research Foundation, said in 2015 the charity’s called for the menB vaccination to be “routinely available” on the NHS for all at-risk age groups was “not taken forward” as it was “judged not to be cost-effective”.

With summer on its way its important to be aware of the risk warmer weather presents to your dog.

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Spring has arrived and milder temperatures are approaching. For dog owners, there’s naturally a desire for your four-legged companion to enjoy the sunshine alongside you.

Plenty of pet owners opt to bring their dogs along for picnics or to relax in a sunlit pub garden on weekends. However, a veterinary expert is urging owners to remain mindful of potential hazards. Anyone who’s experienced sunburn understands just how uncomfortable it can be, and Dr Anna Foreman from Everypaw Pet Insurance emphasises that dogs experience identical discomfort.

She explained: “Sunburned skin is painful in animals as it is in humans. More chronically and seriously, repeated sunburn can lead to cancerous changes.”

Since dogs don’t synthesise vitamin D through their skin like humans do, there’s no health advantage to allowing your pet to bask in the sunshine – and doing so could potentially endanger them.

Despite dogs enjoying sunbathing (much like people), it’s crucial to restrict their sun exposure, reports the Express.

Dr Amy said: “Dogs should be limited to sunbathing for a maximum of 45 mins to an hour when the sun is particularly intense (11am-3pm).

“Dogs should always have shade to escape to (they tend to seek shade if too hot), and a bowl of fresh water available. They may also benefit from a clean, fresh water ‘pool’ or cool mat to cool down in/on too.”

When a dog becomes overheated, it risks developing heat stroke, where the body’s core temperature climbs above 39.2°C from prolonged exposure to external heat.

Certain dog breeds face heightened vulnerability to heat exhaustion.

Brachycephalic breeds like pugs and French bulldogs are particularly prone to heat stroke due to their respiratory issues and extra care needs to be taken with them in hot weather.

Furthermore, elderly dogs, along with those suffering from pre-existing health problems, cope less effectively with high temperatures.

Should you own a dog with sparse fur such as a Chinese crested sphynx, or one with a pink nose and ear tips, they face considerably greater risk of suffering sunburn.

The bridge of the nose, abdomen, and groin of all animals are at risk of sunburn because this is where their hair is the thinnest.

While lighter-coloured animals face heightened risk, darker-skinned dogs can also experience sunburn.

Olivia Pope will always be one of the most legendary TV characters of all time.

‘It’s handled,’ is a phrase I frequently say in my head when I’ve dealt with a tough situation, forever inspired by the tenacity that the lead star of Scandal imbued into the role.

When I heard that Kerry Washington was starring in and executive producing a new TV thriller called Imperfect Women, I couldn’t wait to watch it. But when I found out that she was one of three leads alongside The Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss and House of Cards actress Kate Mara, my excitement went through the roof.

Metro recently had the chance to speak with Kerry, Elisabeth and Kate together, and I couldn’t help but say to them that to me – as an avid entertainment geek – their Apple TV crime drama feels like the ultimate TV crossover event.

‘That was literally my dream when we first started developing it,’ Mad Men star Elisabeth answered, who is also an executive producer on the show.

‘I wanted to bring together that dream team. The idea of if we could get Kerry and Kate and bring together these three number ones from their own individual, incredible shows and create this… That was what I wanted for the audience. I wanted that fun.’

Little Fires Everywhere star Kerry then continued: ‘And as iconic as all of these characters in these shows are, then it was like, how do we work as hard as we can so that when people enter this world, all they’re thinking about are these women and these friendships and not those other characters.

‘I feel like we’ve really done a good job in creating a world that’s complicated enough that you can let go of that other stuff.’

Trust me, when you watch Imperfect Women, you won’t be thinking about Olivia from Scandal, or June Osborne from The Handmaid’s Tale. This trio of women, Eleanor, Mary and Nancy, will indeed consume your mind.

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Let me set the scene. Three women, who lead completely different lives, have been best friends since college. Eleanor is a successful charity boss, Mary is a housewife, and Nancy is a high-flying socialite.

At the start of the eight-part series, it’s revealed that one of the women has been killed under suspicious circumstances.

As the detectives investigating the case delve deep into the tight-knit group, secrets unravel and cutting betrayals come to light.

As the show progresses, viewers will gain insight into each woman’s mind, as the narrative flits between the present day and the past and between their unique perspectives.

It’s an engrossing experience that poses an important question to its audience: why are women often judged more harshly than men for their mistakes? Nobody’s perfect, but as the title of the thriller suggests, there is an imbalance.

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When I pointed out this double standard, Kerry snapped her fingers in agreement.

Kate, who starred as reporter Zoe Barnes in House of Cards, acknowledged how ‘everyone on the show is making very big mistakes’.

‘They’re not doing it to be a**holes,’ Kerry chimed in. ‘Everybody’s trying to do their best and struggling.

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‘I love the idea that when you see the words imperfect women, you think there’s something wrong with these women, and what you just come to realise is they’re human women. They’re just human beings.

‘We do put pressure on people to pretend to be something other than who they are, but you get to see in the show what it looks like to grapple and to try to uncover who somebody is after they pass, and how it can impact how you interact in the world as yourself as well.’

Imperfect Women is based on the book by Araminta Hall. While the essence of the story is the same, there are changes that have been made from the source material, most notably that the novel is set in England, with the three women becoming friends at Oxford University.

Elisabeth ‘fell in love’ with the structure of the narrative when she first read the book, an important aspect of the murder mystery that was brought into the TV show.

‘I’ll never forget the moment when I was reading Eleanor’s story, and it was fascinating and complicated and fun and interesting and challenging, and then you turn the page, and it says, Nancy. I still get chills talking about that,’ she recollected.

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‘I’m sure it’s been done before, but I don’t remember having seen it on television, especially with three women. So that was something that was really important to preserve for the show and to carry from the book.’

I might have been fangirling internally over speaking to actresses whose work I’ve admired for years, but it seems that they were just as ecstatic to work together on this project.

‘There’s so much mutual respect here and admiration. We’re like, fanning over each other all the time,’ Kerry shared.

‘To have the opportunity to collaborate and be inspired by each other, but also push each other… Every day, I was like, I want to live up to the talent that these two women are bringing to the table.’

Elisabeth, who gave birth to her child in 2024 before filming began in 2025, added: ‘I personally took as much advantage of the time between takes as possible. As a new mum, and as a working mum, I was constantly trying to get tips from them and advice and just listen to their stories.

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‘They’re both so incredibly wise, so intelligent, so good at what they do, both at work and at home. So for me, I was just trying to soak up and learn from them as much as possible.’

Imperfect Women is available to stream on Apple TV, with new episodes being released on Wednesdays.

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One sad chunk of salmon crudo in citrus soy dressing that everyone’s too polite to take – that’s what a small plates dinner usually comes down to;. Plus, one third of a portion of miso hispi cabbage and a spoonful of seasonal risotto for the fun, unfilling price of around £65.20. “Does anyone want that?” one person hopefully asks, before the waiter carts away the last morsel of the meal that’s worth about a fiver back to the kitchen, never to be seen again.

Small plates, even if never economical, used to be quite cool and adventurous. Stanley Tucci has openly shared his love for Duck Soup in Soho. Paul Mescal frequents Brat in Shoreditch. You’d be hard-stretched to find an Instagram dump shared by Dua Lipa without a candle-lit photo of a collection of small china plates clustered aesthetically together next to some thin-stemmed wine glasses. Singletons even mentioned small plates in their dating profiles to indicate they were edgy and elegant. This was an à la mode, not à la carte, way of eating. Until it wasn’t.

Because there has been a shift. These paltry portions that were pricy but chic no longer hit the same note. Diners have small plate fatigue. We want to be full, and we have less money in the current climate to take risks. Order the recommended three to four dishes per person at £20-£30 a plate? No thanks. In fact, according to data from OpenTable, 56 per cent of UK diners now prefer individual options over sharing plates. But more than the outrageous cost, small plates simply no longer feel special.

Everywhere you turn, there’s another restaurant with a sign in the same scrawling font serving biodynamic wine, roasted fennel, grilled tuna belly and roasted artichoke on industrial metal tables. The formula has become so predictable that it’s routinely parodied by one successful content creator on TikTok who’s made up her own fictional small plates restaurant, Prick. “We’re not actually a restaurant, we’re an eatery space,” she says to the camera with convincing condescension. “We’re on a seasonal mediterranean vibe tonight,” she explains to her digital diners. “So, that means if you haven’t pre-eaten you will be going home hungry.”

Dining out used to mean you’d order a starter, main and maybe some sides to share. That changed in 2009, when Russell Norman opened Polpo in Soho. Inspired by the “ciccheti” culture in Venice, the restaurant sold smaller servings of dishes at (importantly) a reduced price, so they could be shared with a group. The concept was immediately popular in London, with swathes of restaurants following the formula – but not always the price point.

“For the last 10 to 15 years or so, East London has been the gentrifying frontier with these hip, artisanal, aesthetic restaurants,” says Peter Harden of Harden’s restaurant guide.

“Restaurants and business people look at what sells and then everyone piles in, so we’ve got more and more of it – But I think we can say fairly conclusively that the East End of London is well discovered now, and that this type of eating is no longer radical.

“There’s a definite possibility that the trend is running its course,” he adds. “It is, maybe, starting to look a bit passe in terms of its appeal.”

Small plates are, TikTok parodies aside, descending into farce. A new “snack” section appearing on menus can see you set back £10 for one singular chicken nugget, before you’ve even entered into the core main small plate section of the meal. If we continue to distil at this rate, we’ll have a “crumbs” section on the menu by 2027, where waiters serve you the aftermath of a bread basket, rather than the thing itself.

Instagram social commentator Socks House Meeting, who has made many a meme lovingly mocking the East London crowd who pile into small plates restaurants, says there’s now a three-tier structure to the trend: “Actual-experience, sit-down natural wine type restaurants, which have been there from the start of it becoming popularised; the gastropub-type, wooden-interior, public house group-adjacent places, which have jumped in; and then really off-key places you’d not expect to see it, like Wetherspoons and All Bar One, who are now labelling what would’ve been called ‘starters’ or ‘sides’ as small plates.”

As this race to the bottom continues, it’s perhaps unsurprising that there’s been a bounce back towards restaurant maximalism in retaliation. Many recent openings in the capital – Field Notes in London Fields, The Hart in Marylebone (from the team behind The Pelican and The Hero) have opted for simple, filling menus that offer just a handful of starters and reliable mains like steak and potatoes and fish stew, over frills.

Sasha Shaker, Senior Director at OpenTable in the UK and Ireland, says the move away from small plates indicates a broad return to traditional dining, which has coincided with a yearning for the past. “[We’re seeing] nostalgia play a role, especially among Gen Z diners,” she says, “with retro comfort dishes like bangers and mash (29 per cent) and prawn cocktail (28 per cent) among the dishes they’d love to see on menus in 2026.”

In a period of economic uncertainty that seems to have no signs of slowing down, eating out is a treat that we want to feel luxurious. Case in point: Martino’s in Sloane Square, which opened in November to rave reviews and is all about old school glamour. “It was de rigueur to rip off your linen tablecloths a few years ago,” says Harden. “They did it at The Connaught – but they were never foolish enough to do that at The Ritz. It was a bit like dad-dancing; five stars trying to get hip and down with the kids,” he adds of the luxe confidence crisis.

“But in the long term… creature comforts don’t change that much over the years,” Harden muses of the direction we’re headed back to now. “Polished hipster concrete and low lighting is nice, but people are always going to like comfy chairs… Sometimes, you just want lots of people being extremely nice to you and making you feel important.”

The performance will take place on Thursday, March 26, and is described as a night of “razor-sharp wit”.

Known for his appearances on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You?, and his travel series The Wonders of the World I Can’t See, Mr McCausland will deliver his observational humour to a live audience in Darlington.

A Darlington Hippodrome spokesperson said: “McCausland has been delighting TV viewers across the nation with appearances on shows such as Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You?, and his own travel series The Wonders of the World I Can’t See.

“Now, he’s hitting Darlington with a show packed full of laughs, left turns and the kind of stories you’ll be quoting for weeks afterwards.

“Yonks dives into the timeless themes of life, family, ageing and the wonderfully odd things we all pretend not to notice – all delivered with McCausland’s signature charm and mischievous sense of humour.”

Tickets are limited and organisers are urging fans to book quickly to avoid missing out.

There will be no additional dates or show extensions.

For more information visit the Darlington Hippodrome website or contact the box office on 01325 405405.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering “winding down” military operations in the Middle East even as the United States is sending three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region.

Trump’s post Friday on social media followed an Iranian threat to attack recreational and tourist sites worldwide and another day of the airstrikes and drone and missile attacks that have engulfed the region.

The mixed messages from the United States came after another climb in oil prices plunged the U.S. stock market, and was followed by a Trump administration announcement it was lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded on ships, a move aimed at wrangling soaring fuel prices.

The 3-week-old war has shown no signs of abating, with Israel saying Iran continued to fire missiles at it early Saturday, while Saudi Arabia said it downed 20 drones in just a couple of hours in the country’s eastern region, which is home to major oil installations.

The attacks came a day after Israeli airstrikes hit in Tehran as Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a normally festive holiday that has been muted by the war.

Trump says US near completion of its goals

The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising that topples Iran’s leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programs. There have been no public signs of any such uprising and no end to the war in sight.

On social media, Trump said, “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East.”

That seemed at odds with his administration’s move to bolster its firepower in the region and request another $200 billion from Congress to fund the war.

The United States is deploying three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, an official told The Associated Press. Two other U.S. officials confirmed that ships were deploying, without saying where they were headed. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Days earlier the U.S. redirected another group of amphibious assault ships carrying another 2,500 Marines from the Pacific to the Middle East. The Marines will join more than 50,000 U.S. troops already in the region.

Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but also has asserted that he retains all options.

Iran threatens attacks beyond the Middle East

Iran’s top military spokesperson, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned Friday that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” worldwide will not be safe for the country’s enemies. The threat renewed concerns that Tehran may revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei praised Iranians’ steadfastness in the face of war in a written statement read on Iranian television to mark Nowruz. Khamenei has not been seen in public since he became supreme leader following Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and reportedly wounded him.

With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained in the punishing U.S. and Israeli strikes, which began Feb. 28 — or even who was truly in charge of the country. But Iran’s attacks are still choking off oil supplies and raising food and fuel prices far beyond the Middle East.

Israel continues wave of strikes against Hezbollah militants

The Israeli military said early Saturday that it began a wave of strikes targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Smoke was seen rising, fires broke out and loud explosions were heard across parts of central Beirut, hours after the Israeli army renewed evacuation warnings for seven neighborhoods.

Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million, according to the Lebanese government.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles and four others have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.

US pauses sanctions on Iranian oil

Brent crude oil, the international standard, has soared during the fighting and was around $106 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before the war.

The newly announced U.S. pause in sanctions applies to Iranian oil loaded on ships as of Friday and is set to end April 19.

The new move does not increase the flow of production, a central factor in the surging prices. Iran has managed to evade U.S. sanctions for years, suggesting that much of what it exports already reaches buyers.

Looking for ways to boost global oil supplies during the Iran war, the Trump administration has previously paused sanctions on certain Russian oil shipments for 30 days, which critics said rewarded Moscow while having only a modest effect on markets.

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Price reported from Washington, and Watson from San Diego. AP journalists Collin Binkley in West Palm Beach, Florida and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.