How the UK quietly became a research powerhouse in the fight against malaria

Inside a shipping container shaded by mango trees in the sleepy coastal town of Bagamoyo,Tanzania, research scientist Dr Brian Tarimo uses an ultra-fine needle to inject mosquito eggs lined up along a microscopic slide.

Grey and non-descript from the outside, the container holds a state-of-the-art research lab built in Spain and imported in its entirety to the Ifakara Health Institute, which is a leading research centre in Tanzania. The needle, meanwhile, contains genetic material precisely modified by CRISPR gene-editing – a scientific breakthrough thatwon the 2020 Nobel Prize for chemistry– which blocks the development of Plasmodium parasites that causemalaria.

It’s a process that could be game-changing in the millennia-long fight against malaria, whichcontinues to kill more than 600,000 people per year.

“In terms of the science, we have shown in the lab that we can block the spread of malaria in this way,” says Dr Tarimo, who reveals that there are around 10,000 mosquitos in the shipping container at any one time. “The big challenges we face now are around.... community engagement, so that we can move from lab to field testing, while meeting all the ethical guidelines that we need to follow.”

The lab in Bagamoyo is one of only a handful of facilities carrying out the genetic engineering of mosquitoes around the world. Its location in Tanzania is extremely helpful, says Dr Tarimo, as the genetic similarity of lab mosquitos to those that are outside means that the transition to field trials, which are set to begin in 2028, should be much smoother.

The original gene drive technology was, however, initially devised at Imperial College London. For Professor George Christophides, who leads the team in London, the project reflects how the UK has emerged as a powerhouse in critical global efforts to tackle malaria, at a time when cases are increasing due to threats likeclimate changeandanti-microbial resistance.

“The UK has played, and continues to play, a leading role in malaria research,” he says, pointing out that UK-based institutions are leading two of the three major international research programmes in the genetic engineering of mosquitos. “Many of the major advances in the field, from early discoveries on disease transmission to more recent developments in vaccines and [mosquito] control, have involved strong UK research leadership,” he adds.

Similar to genetic engineering, a malaria vaccine has for decades been considered something of a holy grail in the fight against malaria. Finally, a vaccine known as RTS,S that was developed British pharmaceuticals giant GSK was approved for use in 2021 by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Then, just two years later, a further vaccine from Oxford University’s Jenner Institute called R21 - which is around twice as effective, and around a third of the price - was also approved by WHO.

According Professor Adrian Hill, the director of the Jenner Institute - which also developed the vaccine‘Oxford Astra Zeneca’vaccine during the Covid-19 pandemic - malaria was a “much tougher nut to crack” than something like Covid-19, because malaria is a parasite that is thousands of times larger than a virus.

“There have been I think 150 candidate vaccines for malaria, all of which have failed apart from two,” he says. “So that’s a UK company and a UK research institution at a rather large university producing two vaccines, which most of the world has had a crack at making previously, without success.”

Both Prof Christophides and Prof Hill highlight the strength of the UK biomedical sciences sector, as well as consistent government funding as key reasons why UK research in malaria has been world-beating. Indeed, the UK public fundinghit £52m last year, which is the highest level in four years, shows data from Impact Global Health, cementing the country’s long-held position as the second largest country funder after the US.

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Both professors also attest to the UK’s colonial legacy leaving British universities with research partnerships with institutions in other parts of the world - such as Tanzania’s Ifakara Health Institute - as well as a long-standing interests in understanding tropical diseases. “That legacy helped establish a strong tradition of internationally oriented research, which today continues in a more collaborative and equitable form,” says Prof Christophides.

Prof Hill adds that with all such scientific breakthroughs there is also an element of “luck” involved. “I’ve been doing malaria for 20 years when it wasn't the right time… then suddenly all the technologies improve, and you’re in a position to supply them,” he says.

Back in Tanzania, Ifakara’s Dr Sarah Moore - a specialist in mosquito-control products like bed nets and repellants, who originally hails from Wales - also points to the increasing accessibility, often through scholarships and reduced fees, of UK higher education institutions to Global South students as a key factor in malaria research success.

“We have these incredible academic institutions in the UK, which are helping to develop products that save lives day in, day out,” she says. “But there has also been an important shift towards the decolonisation and decentralisation of research, which means that most of my students here at Ifakara were at some point either trained in the UK or in Switzerland.”

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Glasgow University, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine are institutions regularly mentioned by the world-beating scientists at Ifakara when asked where they trained. Dr Tarimo - the genetic engineering specialist - was trained in both Glasgow and Liverpool (as well as Tanzanian universities), and he shares fond memories of going to see Liverpool FC, the football team he has supported since childhood, play at Anfield.

Dr Moore believes that there is a level of bashfulness in the British psyche that means most Brits will not know that the country has been so consequential in saving millions of lives from malaria. But perhaps it is time to change that: “The scientific achievements of British academia are truly outstanding, and we should be celebrating them far more,” she says.

Gareth Jenkins, managing director of advocacy charity Malaria No More, agrees – and points out that it was actually a Brit called Sir Ronald Ross who first discovered the malaria parasite and proved that it was carried by mosquitoes over 125 years. “The UK has long been a malaria science superpower, and this is something we as a country should hold our heads high about,” he says.

Given the government’swide-ranging cuts to the aid budget- as well as polls that suggest cutting aid isa lower priorityfor the public - generating a greater appreciation of the value of UK-backed malaria research may prove critical if funding is to continue long term. That value is not only in lives saved, but also economic:one study, for example, found that investment in neglected disease R&D could generate £7.7 billion in additional GDP for the UK, while anotherreportsuggested that cutting malaria by 90 per cent by 2030 could boost the economies of malaria endemic countries by $142.7bn.

For now, UK development minister Jenny Chapman tellsThe Independent thatforeign aid for scientific R&D - as well as spending on global health programmes - will continue to be a priority for the government. But with a weak economysqueezing government budgets, and a political party planning to “dramatically cut foreign aid” leading in the polls for the next UK general election, there is no guarantee that this will continue unless there is greater public recognition of what UK support for malaria actually brings.

“Investing in malaria can in the long term build a healthier workforce that can in the long term totally transform African countries,” says Dr Moore. “People will be sick less and save more money, they will be encouraged to stay in situ and work instead of migrating, things like family planning will be encouraged, and ultimately you will build stronger economies that can trade and do business back with the UK.”

This article has been produced as part of The Independent’sRethinking Global Aidproject

byAlpha World

in

May 01, 2026

How the UK quietly became a research powerhouse in the fight against malaria

Inside a shipping container shaded by mango trees in the sleepy coastal town of Bagamoyo,Tanzania, research scientist Dr Brian Tarimo u...

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Oil prices rise as U.S. and Iran appear locked in a costly stalemate

What to know about the Iran war today:Iran has offered a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping if the U.S. drops its military blockade of Iranian ports and vessels, sources tell CBS News. But the offer apparently includes no concessions on Iran's nuclear program, which President Trump has insisted must be dismantled as part of any agreement to endthe two-month war. Hezbollah's leader has flatly rejected the U.S.-brokered negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, "and their outcomes," raising new doubt over the tenuous ceasefire in the parallel war and further complicating prospects for a U.S.-Iran deal.Mr.Trump abruptly called off plansover the weekend to send senior envoys to Pakistan for a second round of direct talks with Iranian officials, insisting his administration has "all the cards" and if Tehran wants "to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us." The move has leftprospects for the Pakistan-led diplomacy deeply in doubt, as Iran's foreign minister meets with President Vladimir Putin in Russia on Monday. Trump met with national security team this morning on Iran proposal, Leavitt says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump met with his national security team Monday morning, after Iran proposed a mutual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and holding off on the nuclear conversation.

"The proposal was being discussed. I don't want to get ahead of the president or his national security team," Leavitt said. "What I will reiterate is that the president's red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear."

Leavitt said she didn't want to go so far as to say the U.S. is "considering" the Iranian proposal.

Iranian foreign minister on "very good" meeting with Russia's Putin

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as "very good."

In astatement, he said "the issue of war and aggression" by the U.S. and Israel was discussed "in detail." According to the Iranian diplomat, their meeting lasted more than an hour-and-a-half and covered a range of topics, including "bilateral relations and regional issues" involving the conflict.

He also said "very good ideas were put forward," and "there are very good grounds" for continued cooperation between Iran and Russia.

Armenia could face "influx of refugees" if Iran conflict worsens, says global affairs analyst

Uncertainties surrounding the Iran war have created "a lot of anxiety" for Armenians, said Michael Bociurkiw, a global affairs analyst and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.

Bociurkiw has been reporting from the border between Iran and Armenia, which refugees or asylum seekers can freely pass through. Russia, to the north, has helped Armenia control it.

"If things worsen in Iran, there could be an influx of refugees into Armenia," Bociurkiwtold CBS Newson Monday, noting that the country of 2 million recently took in about 120,000 of its own people aftersigning a peace agreementwith Azerbaijan at the White House last year.

That agreement included plans to develop a transit corridor in the region named after President Trump, which is now in development.

"If the Iranians don't like that, there is a U.S. embassy in Yerevan, and people said it's not out of the imagination that the Iranians could throw a missile that way," said Bociurkiw. "So, things could go bad. But for now, it is pretty peaceful."

United Nations chief warns "drivers" of nuclear proliferation are accelerating

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that "the drivers" of nuclear weapons proliferation were accelerating, while speaking at a conference attended by signatories of the landmark nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The conference, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, took place amid mounting global fears of a renewed nuclear arms race.

"For too long, the treaty has been eroding. Commitments remain unfulfilled. Trust and credibility are wearing thin. The drivers of proliferation are accelerating. We need to breathe life into the Treaty once more," Guterres said in opening remarks.

In 2022, during the last review of the treaty considered the cornerstone of non-proliferation, Guterres warned humanity was "one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation."

With global geopolitical friction heightened since that last meeting, it was unclear what this year's two-week gathering could achieve.

But Do Hung Viet, Vietnam's U.N. ambassador and president of the conference, said its success or failure "will have implications way beyond these halls and way beyond these next five years," adding that "the prospects of a new nuclear arms race are looming over us."

The nuclear non-proliferation treaty aims "to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament,"according to the U.N.It has been signed by almost all the countries on the planet, with notable exceptions including Israel, India, and Pakistan.

German chancellor says U.S. "is being humiliated" by Iranian leadership

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday criticized the U.S. for going into the Iran war without any strategy, saying this also makes it harder to end the conflict.

"The problem with conflicts like these is always the same: it's not just about getting in; you also have to get out. We saw that all too painfully in Afghanistan, for 20 years. We saw it in Iraq," the chancellor said while speaking Monday to students in Marsberg in the Sauerland region of Germany.

The lack of U.S. strategy and the fact that the Iranians are stronger than previously thought made it hard to end the conflict now, he said.

"Especially since the Iranians are negotiating very skillfully — or rather, very skillfully not negotiating," he added. "And then letting the Americans travel to Islamabad, only to send them back without any results. An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards."

Germany, he said, maintains its offer to send minesweepers in order to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but only after the fighting is over.

39 U.S. states saw average gas prices increase over the last week, data show

The average price of gasoline in the U.S. rose 7 cents over the last week and currently stands at $4.04 per gallon, according to new data released by GasBuddy, an app that tracks gas prices across parts of North America and Australia. Within the U.S., that data comes from more than 12 million price reports at roughly 150,000 gas stations nationwide, according to the company.

While average gas prices have increased in 39 U.S. states since last week, average diesel prices declined across the country, said Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, in a statement.

"However, that divergence may prove short-lived," he said. "Oil prices have been climbing again as markets react to renewed geopolitical tensions and the cancellation of talks between the U.S. and Iran. As a result, gasoline prices are set to rise further this week, with diesel expected to follow."

De Haan suggested the Great Lakes and Plains regions, as well as other inland states, could see average gas prices reach their highest points since 2022.

Trump to hold Situation Room meeting on Iran

President Trump will hold a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Monday to discuss Iran, CBS News has learned.

Superyacht linked to U.S.-sanctioned Russian oligarch transits Strait of Hormuz

A superyacht linked to a sanctioned Russian steel magnate sailed through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, shipping data shows, as traffic through the waterway remains largely gridlocked by the U.S. and Iran's restrictions on the vital shipping lane.

The 465-foot vessel named Nord transited the strait, passing by Iran's Larak island Saturday and was anchored off Muscat as of Monday morning, according to data from MarineTraffic.com.

Mordashov, the CEO of Russian steel and mining company PAO Severstal, was placed undersanctionsby the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022, in connection with Russia's war in Ukraine. The Nord is owned by a Russian firm that is owned by Mordashov's wife, Reuters reported Monday.

The Nord had been moored in Dubai since the war with Iran began on February 28, and it was unclear whether it had obtained explicit permission from Iran to transit the strait. Other civilian vessels have been attacked by Iran's IRGC naval forces and accused of trying to sneak past the country's blockade.

The U.S. militaryexpanded its blockade of Iranian portson April 16 to include Iranian-linked vessels, sanctioned ships "and vessels suspected of carrying contraband," regardless of their location in the waters around Iran.

There is no indication that the Nord superyacht is specifically subject to U.S. sanctions.

Russian state media say Putin lauds Iranian people "fighting for their independence and sovereignty"

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iran's top diplomat that Moscow would do everything it could to help secure peace in the Middle East, during a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Monday.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had blamed Washington for the failure of talks on brokering a deal to end the fighting, with a ceasefire between the sides still holding.

"For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests, the interests of all the people of the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible," Russian state media quoted Putin as telling Araghchi.

Putin also hailed "how courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence and sovereignty," the TASS news agency reported.

"Russia, just like Iran, intends to continue our strategic relationship," the Kremlin chief added.

Putin wishes Iran's new supreme leader well, tells visiting envoy Russia-Iran intel cooperation will continue

Russia's state-run TASS news agency said Monday that President Vladimir Putin had extended his best wishes for the health of Iran's new supreme leader to the Islamic Republic's visiting Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during their meeting in Saint Petersburg.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard from directly since rising to the top role in Iran's ruling theocracy. He was named as the successor to his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on the first day of joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, which kicked off the ongoing war on February 28.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the younger Khamenei was wounded and likely incapacitated in the same attack on Tehran, but his condition has not been confirmed, and Iran's other leaders continue to say he is in control of the country.

A few written statements have been attributed to the new supreme leader during the war, and Russian media said Monday that Putin received a message from Mojtaba Khamenei.

Iran's foreign minister blames "excessive demands" from U.S. for stalled diplomacy ahead of meeting with Putin

Iran's top diplomat blamed Washington on Monday for the failure of peace talks after landing in Russia as part of a whirlwind diplomatic tour, with direct negotiations between the warring parties seemingly at an impasse.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the remarks in Saint Petersburg, where he is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, having sandwiched a trip to Oman in between visits to main mediator Pakistan over the past few days.

Islamabad played host to the first and only round of talks between Washington and Tehran, and Araghchi's visit had fanned hopes for fresh negotiations over the weekend, until President Trump scrapped a planned trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan.

"The U.S. approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands," Araghchi said Monday.

The state-owned Russian news agency RIA said Putin had confirmed to Araghchi that Moscow intended to maintain its intelligence ties with Tehran.

U.S., European Union and British officialssaid early in the warthat Moscow was providing Iran with intelligence to help it target American forces in the Middle East.

White House says Trump admin "will not negotiate through the press" as Iran offers Strait of Hormuz deal

A White House spokesperson told CBS News on Monday, in response to officials saying Iran had offered a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a dropping of the U.S. naval blockade, that the Trump administration would "not negotiate through the press."

"These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the U.S. will not negotiate through the press. As the President has said, the United States holds the cards and will only make a deal that puts the American people first, never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Assistant White House Press Secretary Olivia Wales said in a statement.

Sources told CBS News that Iran's proposal did not include any terms related to the country's nuclear program, and would leave that matter to be negotiated later.

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President Trump and his cabinet have said repeatedly that the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and vessels will remain in place until the regime accepts its terms for a peace agreement, including handing over its enriched uranium and abandoning its nuclear program.

Stocks mixed but oil prices stay high amid uncertainty over any new U.S.-Iran talks

World shares were mixed Monday as the price of Brent Crude oil jumped $2.50 a barrel early in the day as talks on ending the war between the U.S. and Iran remained snagged.

Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed oil prices sharply higher since the war began.

On Monday, Brent futures were up just more than 1% at $106.47 a barrel after initially trading around a multi-week high of $108.50 earlier in the session.

"It may be that hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough were pretty faint to start with, and markets are now in wait-and-see territory ahead of a heavy week of earnings and economic touchpoints," said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

With energy prices high, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, followed by similar decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, which analysts believe is helping stock prices remain buoyant.

Markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt all advanced despite the elevated oil prices and a lack of progress in negotiations. U.S. futures were broadly steady ahead of trading.

Asian markets were mixed on Monday, as Tokyo and Seoul were buoyed by a tech rally, while Hong Kong slipped.

Investors were also looking ahead to earnings this week from U.S. tech titans Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple.

"Investors have been encouraged by corporate news flow over the past few weeks, leading to higher equity prices," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

He added, however, that "higher oil for longer spells trouble for inflation, which in turn could act as a headwind for the economy."

Israel announces new strikes in Lebanon

Israel's military said Monday that it "has begun to strike Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Beqaa Valley and in additional areas across southern Lebanon," as Israel's ceasefire with the Lebanese government continues to be challenged by an expanding exchange of fire with the Iranian-backed group.

The announcement by the Israel Defense Forces came shortly after sirens sounded in a few northern Israeli communities on the border with Lebanon, as authorities said drones had entered the country. There were no immediate reports of impacts.

Lebanese leader dismisses Hezbollah's criticism over deal with Israel

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun commended the Trump administration on Monday for its efforts to end Israel's war with the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in his country, and dismissed criticism from the group for agreeing to a ceasefire with Israel that has largely failed to stop the bloodshed.

Hezbollah's leader issued a scathing statement Monday flatly rejecting the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations brokered by the U.S., which have brought an ongoing ceasefire marked by multiple accusations of breaches by both sides and a still-rising death toll.

Hezbollah has not been involved in the talks, and it continues exchanging deadly fire with Israeli forces, who have occupied a swath of southern Lebanon and forced tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes.

"Some criticize us for deciding to go into negotiations under the pretext that there is no national consensus," Aoun said ina statementshared by his office on Monday. "I ask: When you went to war, did you first obtain national consensus?"

Hezbollah started launching attacks on Israel in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, which killed the Islamic Republic's supreme leader, soon after the war began on Feb. 28. Israel responded with overwhelming force, unleashing a barrage of airstrikes on southern Lebanon and areas around its capital Beirut and later launching the ongoing ground invasion.

"How long will the people of the south continue to pay the price for others' wars on our land, the latest being the war in support of Gaza and the war in support of Iran?" Aoun asked Monday. "If the war were for Lebanon, we would have supported it, but when its purpose serves others, I completely reject it. What we are doing is not betrayal; betrayal is when someone drags their country into war for external interests."

Lebanon says 14 people killed by Israeli strikes on Sunday alone

Violence has continued between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon in spite of a recently extended ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's government.

The two sides traded blame over violations on Sunday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military was "vigorously" targeting the group as both sides claimed new attacks.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 by firing rockets at Israel to avenge the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with Israel responding with strikes and a ground invasion.

Netanyahu told a weekly cabinet meeting that Hezbollah's actions were "dismantling the ceasefire," while Hezbollah vowed to respond to Israeli violations and its "continued occupation" of part of southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country's south killed 14 people on Sunday alone, the deadliest day since the tenuous truce came into force.

Israel also reported a soldier killed in combat in south Lebanon. The country maintains that under the terms of the truce, it can act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks."

"This means freedom of action not only to respond to attacks ... but also to pre-empt immediate threats and even emerging threats," Netanyahu said.

Oil prices rise again as Pakistan talks fail to materialize

Oil prices climbed almost 3% Monday as hopes for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran dimmed and energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained extremely constrained.

The price of international benchmark Brent Crude was up about $3, or almost 3%, to $108.36 per barrel early Monday morning, its highest price point in three weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was up 2.6% before U.S. markets opened, at $96.85.

The Reuters news agency said Brent and WTI gained almost 17% and 13% respectively over the course of last week - their biggest weekly rise since the Iran war began.

There was brief hope at the end of last week that direct peace talks between the U.S. and Iran might resume, but President Trumpsaid Saturdaythat he was not sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for a new round of negotiations, citing wasted time and confusion over Iran's leadership.

"We have all the cards," Mr. Trump insisted, adding that Iranian leaders could call him if they wanted to negotiate an end to the two-month war.

Iran offers deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz if U.S. drops blockade, but without nuclear concessions

Iran is offering to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz without addressing its nuclear program, sources told CBS News on Monday, as the country's foreign minister made a visit to Russia he said was an opportunity to consult with Moscow regarding the war against Israel and the United States.

Axios was first to report the new offer from Iran, which President Trump is unlikely to accept as it does not address the nuclear issue.

Iran wants the U.S. to end its blockade of the country as part of its proposal, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations — another stipulation the White House has previously rejected.

The new proposal, passed to the United States by Pakistani intermediaries, likely won't gain support from Mr. Trump, who has said he wants any peace deal to include a complete end of Iran's nuclear enrichment program.

"We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us," Mr. Trump said Sunday to the Fox News Channel.

Hezbollah leadership "categorically reject" U.S.-brokered Israel-Lebanon "negotiations and their outcomes"

The Secretary-General of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said in a statement Monday that the group's leadership "categorically reject direct negotiations" that the U.S. has been brokering between Israel and Lebanon's government.

"Those in the position of authority must know that their actions will not benefit Lebanon nor themselves. What the Israeli-American enemy wants from them is not in their hands, and what you want from it will not be granted to you," Qassem said.

His statement is the latest rejection of the diplomacy that led to the ongoing, but incredibly fraught ceasefire that President Trump pushed Israel and Lebanon to sign weeks ago, which he then announced a three-week extension of last week, in a bid to smooth the path for a wider peace deal with Iran.

Hezbollah has long been one of Iran's most powerful so-called proxy paramilitary forces in the Middle East, while also functioning as a political party in Lebanon. It's Hezbollah's forces engaging in crossfire with Israel, not Lebanese state forces, and the group's exclusion from the Trump administration-led negotiations between Israel and Lebanon has complicated the ceasefire since it was first signed.

On Monday, Qassem said bluntly that, for Hezbollah, "these direct negotiations and their outcomes are as if they do not exist for us, and they do not concern us in any way whatsoever."

Hezbollah's rejection of the negotiations leaves the viability of the ceasefire in greater doubt than ever. And as the Iranian regime has said it will not agree to any peace deal that doesn't also halt Israel's war in Lebanon, it also casts further doubt on the prospects for a wider U.S.-Iran agreement to end the war that has gridlocked the Strait of Hormuz and already fueled rising inflation across the globe.

Death tolls climb as diplomacy stutters

Since the U.S. and Israel launched their war with Iran on Feb. 28, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,509 people in Lebanon, according to health authorities in both countries.

Israel dramatically ramped up its parallel war with Hezbollah in Lebanon two days after the Iran war began, in response to the Iranian-backed group firing volleys of rockets at Israel in retaliation for the strikes on Iran.

Israeli authorities say 23 people have been killed in the country during the war, and more than a dozen have been killed in Gulf Arab states allied with the U.S. by Iran's retaliatory missile and drone fire.

Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 U.S. service members in the region and six U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have also been killed.

Iran's top diplomat to meet with Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Russia Monday for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin as part of a regional tour that included two stops in Pakistan and a visit to Oman, which shares the Strait of Hormuz with the Islamic Republic, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Pakistan-led mediators are working to bridge significant gaps between the U.S. and Iran, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Iran's foreign minister, in Russia, blames U.S. for Pakistan talks failure, Iranian state media report

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday blamed the United States for the failure of peace talks in Pakistan, after arriving in Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

"The U.S. approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands," Araghchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

He also said "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is an important global issue," as the US and Iran continue their rival blockades of the vital waterway.

byAlpha World

in

April 30, 2026

Oil prices rise as U.S. and Iran appear locked in a costly stalemate

What to know about the Iran war today:Iran has offered a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping if the U.S. drops i...

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New 'bluster' from Trump? Germany faces new threat about reduced US military presence in Europe

MUNSTER, Germany (AP) — President Donald Trump has againthreatenedthat the United States could reduce its military presence in Germany, a key NATO ally and the European Union’s largest economy. Europeans have heard this before.

Germany Army Merz

Trump's social media post on Wednesday followed comments by Chancellor Friedrich Merz that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Tehran as it slow-walks its diplomacy over the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.

Trump hasmused for yearsabout reducing America's military presence in Germany, and has recentlyrepeatedly railed against NATOfor the its refusal to assist the U.S. in its two-month-old war.

US military presence in Europe

U.S. allies at NATO have been waiting for the Trump administration to pull troops out since just after it came to office, warning that Europe would have tolook after its ownsecurity, and that of Ukraine, in future.

Depending on operations, exercises and troop rotations, around 80,000-100,000 U.S. personnel are usually stationed in Europe. NATO allies have expected that U.S. troops deployed after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in 2022 would be first to leave.

Germany hosts several U.S. military facilities, including the headquarters of its European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base and a medical center in Landstuhl, where casualties from U.S. wars in places like Afghanistan and Iraq are treated. U.S. nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.

Ed Arnold, an expert in European security at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said the U.S. gets a lot out of its presence in Germany — like logistics and support for Middle East combat operations — and was unlikely to withdraw.

Trump’s post is most likely “bluster,” he said.

“There is a difference between the military view and the political view,” Arnold said. “The issue with some of these threats is that they are not quite as galling as they were a couple of years ago.”

NATO and the German government did not immediately comment.

Merz, visiting troops at a military training area in Munster, northern Germany, on Thursday, did not directly address Trump’s comments, but alluded to “shoulder to shoulder for mutual benefit and in deep trans-Atlantic solidarity,” and said his government over the last year has “made great efforts to strengthen Germany’s security.”

RUSI’s Arnold said Europe is more concerned about issues like a U.S.redeployment of Patriot missile systemsand ammunition from Germany to the Middle East, and notifications to NATO countries such as Estonia that orders for American weapons will be delayed as the U.S. government is prioritized.

A senior Western official told The Associated Press they were not aware of any discussions between the U.S. and Germany or other allies regarding the possibility of troop reductions in Germany.

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The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, noted that Europe and Germany, which recently announced its new military strategy, is taking more responsibility for security on the continent.

LastOctoberthe U.S. confirmed that it would reduce itstroop presenceon NATO’s borders with Ukraine. The move to cut 1,500-3,000 troops came on short notice and unsettled ally Romania where the military organization runs an air base.

As Russia looks on, Iran war has had an impact

The U.S. administration informed the allies early last year that it has been reviewing its military “posture” in Europe and elsewhere. The findings of that review had been due to be made public in late 2025 but still have not surfaced.

However, the U.S. did commit to inform its allies in advance about any changes to ensure that no security gap is created at a time when Russia is increasingly confrontational.

Many European leaders believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin might try to launch an attack elsewhere in Europe by the end of the decade, especially if he wins his war on Ukraine.

The U.S.-Israel war on Iran only made the prospect of a withdrawal more likely, and a flurry of meetings has been held between administration officials, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European leaders since the conflict started on Feb. 28.

Over the last year, European allies and Canada have understood that they will have to provide Europe’s conventional defenses. The main U.S. contribution to NATO deterrence going forward will be the presence of American nuclear weapons and some troops.

Trump's Greenland fixation

The Trump administration has previously caused confusion in Europe with announcements of changes to defense support.

In September, plans to halt some security assistance funding to European countries along the border with Russiawere greeted with confusionas some Baltic defense leaders said they had not received official notification.

Beyond the uncertainty over U.S. personnel, the allies have gotten used to Trump’s outbursts, having weathered insults as “cowards” or hearing NATO branded as a “paper tiger” by their most powerful ally in recent weeks.

Repeated threats toleave altogether, or over things like defense spending, have inured them to social media posts that Trump might be considering some action or another.

The real damage to NATO unity was done by Trump’sfixation on Greenland, and his intent to annex the island, which is a semiautonomous part of ally Denmark, including sending family members and administration officials there.

Burrows reported from London and Cook from Brussels. Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

byAlpha World

in

April 30, 2026

New 'bluster' from Trump? Germany faces new threat about reduced US military presence in Europe

MUNSTER, Germany (AP) — President Donald Trump has againthreatenedthat the United States could reduce its military presence in Germany,...

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Golders Green attack victim accuses government of ‘not doing their job’ to keep Jewish community safe

One of the victims of a suspectedterror attack in Golders Greenhas accused the government of “not doing its job” as he describedthe horrific momenthe was stabbed in the chest.

Shilome Rand, 34,was stabbedalong with 76-year-old Moshe Ben Baila, named locally as Moshe Shine, during what appeared to be an antisemitic attack on Wednesday. The incident, close to where four Jewish community ambulances were destroyed by fire in late March, triggered a huge police response and the arrest of a 45-year-old man, said to be a Somali-born British national.

Soon after the incident, Sir Keir Starmerdescribed the attackas “deeply concerning”, and said his government was “absolutely clear in our determination” to tackle such incidents.

However, it has also led to claims not enough is being done to tackle antisemitism, including from Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who posted on X: “Words are not enough to confront this scourge.” Chief Rabbi SirEphraim Mirviscalled for “meaningful action” to tackle the “root causes” of antisemitism.

Speaking to ITV News from his hospital bed, victim Mr Rand also criticised the government.

He said: “People are really concerned, people are afraid, people are uncomfortable walking in the street, peopel are blaming obviously the government for not doing anything about what’s going on.

For updates on the attack and police investigation - click here for our live blog

"It's for the past few months really that our community is suffering from these type of attacks. And now it's going on and trying to take people's lives and it's really terrible."

He added: "The government, they are the ones that are able to take care of the problems. And they are not doing their job."

Mr Rand said he had been studying at a local synagogue when a man started running toward him.

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“I didn’t suspect anything and he just stabbed me in the chest. I was taken to the hospital,” he said.

He added: "He looked angry, he looked angry. You could feel it in his facial expressions, it was like he was out to get me."

Both Mr Rand and Mr Shine, who was attacked at a bus stop, are said to be in hospital in a stable condition.

Sir Keir has vowed that the government would address the causes of antisemitism, provide more funding for security at Jewish sites and tackle “malign state actors” linked to recent violence.

He is also expected to meet criminal justice agencies on Thursday to discuss the attack, and said he would visit Golders Green “as soon as possible”.

In London, counter-terrorism officers investigating the attack said they were also searching an address in the south-east of the city after it was reported the suspect had been involved in a prior “altercation” with another person.

A joint statement from detective chief superintendent Luke Williams, the regional basic command unit commander, and Barnet Council chief executive Cath Shaw said “significant number of officers” would be in the area to support the investigation.

“This gives police officers temporary powers to stop and search people in the area without needing specific suspicion, where there is a risk of serious violence,” the statement said.

“This is a preventative measure designed to deter further criminality. We were already deploying an increased number of Counter Terrorism Response Vehicles to respond to suspicious activity.”

They said there would be an “increased policing presence in and around schools, transport hubs, high footfall areas and faith venues”.

byAlpha World

in

April 30, 2026

Golders Green attack victim accuses government of ‘not doing their job’ to keep Jewish community safe

One of the victims of a suspectedterror attack in Golders Greenhas accused the government of “not doing its job” as he describedthe hor...

Read More

Pete Hegseth lost his cool in front of Congress. It was a dramatic unraveling

Pete Hegseth is struggling: that much has been clear for a while.

When it comes to the Iran war and the updates he is tasked to provide, he’s most comfortable in front of a journalistic audience, where he can yell and berate people for “being negative” any time they ask anything that sounds too much like an actual question. But today, poor oldPete had to testify in Congressbefore the experts on the House Armed Services Committee. It’s a place where questions aren’t just allowed, but alsofollow-up questions.

And this is where he completely unraveled. Because follow-up questions really arePete Hegseth’s kryptonite.

Take, for example, an early exchange between him and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.). Now thatthe Strait of Hormuzis still closed (our blockade oftheirblockade), the economy is in freefall, and the nuclear arsenal of Iran still hasn’t been decimated, what’s the Pentagon’s strategy, Smith asked? What happens next?

Hegseth’s immediate response: “I take issue with the premise of the question.” He then attempted to launch into a rote response about “other administrations that cut bad deals,” but Smith interrupted, calmly: “OK. What’s the plan?”

Hegseth then talked about the courage and intellect of Donald Trump, and Smith asked over him: “What are we going todo?”

“You have to stare down this kind of enemy,” Hegseth tried, before immediately pivoting back to meaningless rhetoric. The back-and-forth continued for a while longer, with Smith reiterating his absurdly simple question and Hegseth absurdly refusing to answer it, before Smith eventually gave up and yielded.

In between this and another question, Hegseth made the absolutely incredible assertion that “the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.” It was a misstep, and a costly one so early in the game.

Those very congressional members pressed him on it again and again over the next 40 minutes. By repetition alone, it became clear to everyone in the room exactly how foolish those words sounded — about as foolish as the deeply silly aside made by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was tasked with referring to a valued member of the military as “an AmeriCAN, not an AmeriCAN’T.”

And then Rep. Smith returned, during another telling exchange provoked by a question about Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Trump administration predicted that Ukraine would have long lost the war by now, he said. That clearly didn’t come to pass. So what was missed?

“What we didn’t miss was thatBiden—” began Hegseth, before Smith interrupted, “You’re not going to answer the question?” Hegseth carried on reiterating some irrelevant Biden administration rallyspeak that ended on: “You guys don’t talk about that!”

“I’m asking you from a strategic standpoint,” Smith said, calmly, after which Hegseth floundered and then eventually conceded, “I think Ukrainians have shown great courage.” Unimpressed, Smith yielded his time.

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Hegseth is a man who perennially channels the energy and integrity of a protein powder commercial, but few Huel ads have played in the hallowed halls of Congress. At press briefings, the Secretary of Defense-or-War can retreat to his pre-prepared remarks about LETHALITY and WAR FIGHTERS and the COURAGE OF PRESIDENT TRUMP. But today, pressed calmly and continually by a bipartisan group on strategy and military expenditure, it became extremely obvious how out of his depth Hegseth is.

We provoke “unrelenting fear in our adversaries,” the former TV talking head insisted. “We fight to win in every scenario!” Our “war fighters” are “forging a lethal arsenal of freedom!”

The response was muted.

“Wish fulfillment is not a strategy,” said Smith, adding that “we have sidelined the entire world” and shoved aside traditional diplomacy “in favor of two real estate guys.” Both Hegseth and President Trump have shown “astounding incompetence,” caused “immense economic damage,” “misled the public,” and caused “political and economic disaster at every level,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.).

And, in perhaps the biggest humiliation: “I’m a fan ofPulp Fiction,too,” said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.). Later, when asking a question about vaccines, Moulton added: “This is a softball one for you. Don’t screw it up.”

Hegseth began to bare his teeth and shout. Asked about the length of the war, he pulled out manufactured outrage, talking about howhisgeneration served in Iraq and Afghanistan, andthatwas a quagmire, and “you stain the troops” by suggestingthiswar has been going on too long. “Who you cheering for?” he yelled, adding, “Your hatred for President Trump blinds you to the truth of the success of this mission!” In the quiet, unostentatious room, his words sounded flat, eerie, cult-like. They did not project the power he must’ve hoped that they would.

And then Representative Carbajal asked him how American taxpayers would be affected economically by the war in Iran, and Hegseth got into a full shouting match with him as he simply asked random questions back rather than answering the question.

“I get soundbites, but how about numbers?” Carbajal asked. Hegseth said something about the “horrible” management of California, the state that Carbajal represents.

“It used to be that that stuff worked,” said Carbajal, unimpressed. It doesn’t any more, he continued, because the Trump administration is bleeding out supporters after a cost-of-living crisis caused by the Iran war.

“I’m sad for all the people who voted for Trump. I’m sad because you betrayed them,” he concluded.

This is Pete Hegseth in his true form: slippery, defensive, wound-up. A handful of soundbites stacked up inside an ill-fitting suit jacket and passed off as a Secretary of Super Lethal War. Here is a man who cannot answer basic questions about what his decisions mean to the average American taxpayer; a man who is quick to call his fellow Americans adversaries and reluctant to talk specifics; a man who performs shockingly badly under pressure and becomes volatile in high-pressure situations. Just who you want in charge of the Pentagon.

And yes, it is a little satisfying to watch such a man unravel in the face of basic questioning. But it is, of course — when you zoom right out — deeply and unrelentingly scary.

byAlpha World

in

April 30, 2026

Pete Hegseth lost his cool in front of Congress. It was a dramatic unraveling

Pete Hegseth is struggling: that much has been clear for a while. When it comes to the Iran war and the updates he is tasked to pr...

Read More