Column: Iran war exposes fragility of Western aluminum market

Reuters | March 9, 2026 | 

Machinery and aluminum rolls. Stock image.

The Iran war is exposing a growing vulnerability in the West’s supply of aluminum, a metal classified as a critical manufacturing input by both the United States and the European Union.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminum price hit a four-year high of $3,418 per metric ton on Wednesday after one ​Gulf producer, the Qatalum joint venture between Norsk Hydro and Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing, started powering down its smelter and another, Aluminium Bahrain, declared force majeure.

The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz risks further disruption ‌to a regional production hub that accounts for 23% of non-Chinese supply.

Aluminum has historically been cushioned against such unforeseen supply hits by high inventory and excess smelter capacity in China, where producers would lift run-rates at the first sign of rising prices.

Inventory cover is now much reduced and China no longer has much spare capacity to flex, rendering the market much more sensitive to the sort of disruption currently unfolding in the Middle East.

LME registered and off-warrant aluminum stocks

Dwindling stocks

The LME’s daily stocks reports show that ​aluminum has been leaving LME warehouses in Malaysia’s Port Klang at a daily rate of 2,000 tons since the start of January.

No one has paid much attention.

LME aluminum stocks lost much of ​their signalling power over the last 10 years as traders and banks tussled for metal to lock into lucrative warehouse deals.

The resulting churn, shifting metal in ⁠and out of the LME’s warrant system, served to obscure any read-through to what was happening in the physical supply chain.

But the daily stocks noise has been masking a steady depletion of what was a 3-million-ton ​aluminum mountain at the start of the decade.

Combined registered and off-warrant stocks ended February at 583,000 tons, the lowest level since the LME started publishing off-warrant inventory figures in 2020.

Moreover, a significant amount of what ​remains is Russian aluminum, which accounted for 58% of warranted stocks at the end of January.

That’s not a lot of use to many Western buyers. The US and Britain banned the import of Russian metal in 2024 to prevent Moscow from funding its war in Ukraine, and the EU will follow suit this year.

The pool of usable metal in the LME system is therefore far smaller than even the falling headline figure suggests.

China’s annual production of aluminum with y/y change

China hits the brakes

The shift in stock dynamics is a reflection of profound structural ​changes in aluminum’s supply landscape.

Chinese producers are now running up against the government’s mandated annual capacity cap of just over 45 million tons.

Chinese production growth slowed from 4% in 2024 to 2% last year, ​with smelters running at an annualized rate of 44.5 million tons in December, according to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI).

The production slowdown is causing China’s trade with the rest of the world to change.

Chinese manufacturers have been importing more primary ‌metal, particularly ⁠from Russia. The world’s largest producer imported a record 2.5 million tons last year together with just over 1 million tons of unwrought alloy, according to the World Bureau of Metal Statistics, which sources data from official customs figures.

And China has been exporting less semi-manufactured products such as tube, sheet and foil. Outbound shipments fell by almost 10% year-on-year in 2025, equivalent to a Western market loss of almost 600,000 tons.

In other words, China is importing more aluminum metal and exporting fewer finished products, tightening Western supply at both ends of the chain.

Flat-lining

Western smelters have even less capacity flex than their Chinese peers

Production outside of China did ​no more than flat-line last year, according to the ​IAI.

Here the core problem is the price ⁠of energy, a crucial cost component in the electrolytic smelting process.

There is significant idle smelter capacity in both the US and Europe but restarts need to compete with other sectors, particularly data centres, for scarce long-term power supplies.

Indeed, high power prices continue to take their toll on existing plants. South32 is currently in the process of ​placing its Mozambique smelter on care and maintenance after failing to negotiate an economically viable power contract.

While Gulf producers are currently in the firing line, ​the evolving energy shock from ⁠the Iran war risks further undermining the West’s ability to build longer-term supply resilience.

New volatility

Aluminum is a ubiquitous feature of modern life, used in everything from homes to cars to food packaging.

It is also key to the energy transition.

Back in 2020 the World Bank identified aluminum as a “high-impact” and “cross-cutting” metal in all existing and potential green energy technologies.

However, it is a metal facing ever more price volatility as the global market emerges from a prolonged period ⁠of surplus ​to one where supply looks a lot more problematic and stocks are much lower.

The Iran war is a wake-up call for ​a very important metal.

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, Andy Home, a columnist for Reuters.)

(Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Mideast-bound bauxite, alumina vessels divert due to Hormuz blockage

Reuters | March 9, 2026 | 

Evergreen container ship is seen moored in a port along Bosporus strait. Stock image.

Ships carrying aluminum raw materials to the Middle East are changing course and making for new destinations as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz makes it impossible for them to complete their voyages as intended, vessel-tracking data shows.

The Middle East accounts for around 9% of global aluminum supply, and its smelters have been unable to export their metal or import the bauxite and alumina they need to keep producing since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28.

Three bauxite carriers – the Richmond, the Glory Energy and the Penelope Oldendorff – were veering away from their intended destination of the United Arab Emirates, data from Kpler’s MarineTraffic.com platform showed on Monday. Their combined cargo sizes are 371,000 metric tons, according to LSEG data.

Bauxite ore is refined into alumina, which is then smelted to make aluminum used in the transport, construction and packaging industries. Emirates Global Aluminium has an alumina refinery at Al Taweelah near the UAE port of Khalifa and is the region’s main bauxite importer.

The Richmond left Freetown in Sierra Leone on January 24 bound for Khalifa but came to an abrupt halt off the coast of Oman in early March as the war escalated, LSEG data shows. It reversed course to move east towards India on Friday but has since stopped again, with its new destination unclear.

The Glory Energy and the Penelope Oldendorff, which both left Ghana in February, had been heading for the Gulf after coming up the coast of East Africa but have moved further east, suggesting they may be diverted to Asia.

Kpler’s lead metals analyst Ben Ayre said another vessel, the Alisios, had been taking bauxite from Amrun in Australia to the Gulf but was now heading north for China. The vessel, carrying 79,000 tons, was last east of the Philippines.

Reuters is seeking to identify the owners of the vessels to request comments.

Alumina available

Two vessels carrying alumina meant for the Gulf also appear to be changing course.

The Timorsun and the African Sanderling left Australia in February for the Bahraini port of Sitra, according to LSEG data. The African Sanderling was last off the coast of Sri Lanka, while the Timorsun was slightly further west.

Aluminium Bahrain, the kingdom’s sole aluminum smelter and which declared force majeure on its contracts last week, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(By Tom Daly and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Pratima Desai and Mark Potter)

 

Oil price spike at over $100 per barrel as market faces possibly worst crisis in history

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By Newsbase March 9, 2026

Oil prices surged to over $100 per barrel in early trading on March 9, as the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for nearly a week now has led to production shut-ins across the Gulf as storage space for unexported oil runs out.

Brent was trading at over $108 per barrel as of 06:30 GMT, up from the early $90s at the close of trading on March 6 and the early $70s prior to the US and Israel launch of strikes against Iran on February 28.

As NewsBase warned, Gulf producers are now having to shut down wells because of limited oil storage capacity and limited alternative oil export routes to Hormuz, which typically handles 20mn barrels per day (bpd) of oil flow – equivalent to around a fifth of global supply. 

Tehran claims it is only restricting passage through Hormuz for Western nations and Israel rather than completely closing the maritime chokepoint. But many other oil tankers are reluctant to pass through the Strait because of the risk of Iranian strikes – intentional or accidental. Iranian forces already targeted two tankers in the early days of the war.

Iraq has cut production from its southern fields that export via Hormuz by 70% to only 1.3mn bpd, Reuters reported on March 8, after the country’s storage facilities reached maximum capacity. Its exports also fell sharply to 800,000 bpd, from 3.33mn bpd in February, according to the news agency. 

Kuwait and the UAE were next to announce production cuts over the weekend, with even larger producers like Saudi Arabia expected to take similar steps if the crisis is not resolved soon. 

JPMorgan estimated on March 2 that onshore crude storage capacity across Gulf producers amounts to roughly 343mn barrels, equivalent to around 22 days of output that could become stranded if exports are unable to leave the region. In addition, about 60 empty tankers currently in the Gulf could provide temporary floating storage capacity of roughly 50mn barrels

“The market is shifting from pricing pure geopolitical risk to grappling with tangible operational disruption,” Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodities research at JPMorgan, told clients on March 6.

The bank estimates that production cuts could surpass 4mn bpd by the end of this week if Hormuz remains closed. The oil price surge may therefore have only just begun. 

“Every additional day of disruption adds pressure, and in that scenario there is effectively no ceiling to prices in the short term,” Stefano Grasso, senior portfolio manager at Singapore-based fund 8VantEdge, told Bloomberg.

Depending on how it lasts, this may prove to be the biggest disruption in oil markets in history. In comparison to the 20mn bpd of exports affected by the Hormuz blockade, the Iranian Revolution of 1978 only disrupted 5.6mn bpd of supply, while the Yom Kipper war of 1973 hit 4.4mn bpd of exports, the 1990 Iraq-Kuwait war 4.3mn bpd and the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 some 4.0mn bpd.

As noted, the alternative export routes for Saudi Arabia and other producers is limited. As NewsBase has reported, Saudi Arabia possesses the greatest logistical flexibility. Its primary contingency relies on the East-West pipeline, which has around 2mn bpd of spare capacity to deliver oil to the Red Sea. But that would still leave 4mn bpd of Saudi exports trapped. 

Other major producers face significantly shorter timelines. Kuwait lacks any bypass infrastructure, meaning all its exports must transit Hormuz. With limited storage headroom, Wood Mackenzie estimates the country has roughly two weeks of cover before it must slash production. Southern Iraq is similarly exposed; its 3.5mn bpd of exports are entirely dependent on the strait, with storage cover measured in “days, not weeks,” according to Araman.

The UAE maintains partial flexibility through the Abu Dhabi oil pipeline,  which can move 1.8mn bpd to Fujairah, a terminal located outside the strait. Nevertheless, with total exports exceeding 3.4mn bpd, a substantial volume remains bottlenecked. Araman wrote that ADNOC’s Fujairah storage provides a buffer of roughly two to three weeks, after which Murban crude output must adjust.

The $100-per-barrel oil price is perceived as a psychologically significant threshold that when surpassed, could trigger problems for the global economy as well as inflationary pressure. Depending on the duration of Hormuz’s closure, the crisis could erase completely the surplus of global oil supply this year that was anticipated prior to the war. In February, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted that global oil production  would rise by 2.4mn bpd in 2026, while demand would only grow by 850,000-930,000 bpd, creating a surplus of 1.47-1.55mn bpd.

Asian stocks slide as oil prices surge past $100 per barrel

/ Marcus Reubenstein - Unsplash

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By bno - Surabaya Office March 9, 2026

Equity markets across Asia fell sharply at the week’s opening on March 9, with indices in Japan and South Korea leading regional losses following a steep rise in global oil prices, The Business Times reports.

Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) also opened 1.9% lower at 4,755.91 points. On the island, declining stocks heavily outnumbered gainers, with 249 losers versus 37 advancers, after around 166.9mn securities worth approximately $175.3mn were traded.

In addition, banking stocks in Singapore were among the hardest hit in early trading. Shares of DBS Bank fell 1.6%, declining by about $0.67 to $40.24. Meanwhile, OCBC Bank dropped 1.9%, slipping roughly $0.30 to $15.18, while United Overseas Bank (UOB) lost a full 2.3%, decreasing by $0.61 to $26.19.

The sell-off across Singapore and the region came about as crude oil prices surged above the $100 per barrel mark with West Texas Intermediate rising 20.8% to $109.78 per barrel, while Brent crude climbed 16.3% to hit $101.38 per barrel.

Energy-related stocks - as a result - were among the few gainers in early trading. Rex International jumped 13.3%, rising by about $0.018 to $0.154, while Geo Energy Resources also increased 5.4%, gaining roughly $0.019 to $0.365.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was also down 2% as of 9:30 am local time, despite a research note released on March 6 by BMI ranking Malaysia as having the fifth-lowest risk score among 24 emerging markets in terms of potential exposure to the economic fallout from the US–Israel–Iran conflict.

The assessment evaluated factors such as trade disruption linked to the effectively closed Strait of Hormuz, terms of trade, external balances, as well as fiscal and monetary policy resilience.

The report also noted that energy-exporting countries such as Malaysia, seen as up and coming in the region, could benefit from elevated gas prices. In contrast, dedicated energy importers like the Philippines and South Korea may face pressure on their currencies and increased strain on their balance of payments as oil prices remain elevated.

War In Iran Shocks Markets, Costs U.S. Taxpayers $1 Billion A Day

 March 9, 2026  

By Brett Rowland

(The Center Square) – The escalating war in Iran has already rattled global markets and driven oil prices to their highest levels since April 2024. If the conflict persists, the strain on the global economy deepens and the burden on U.S. taxpayers grows.

With U.S. military operations costing more than a billion dollars each day, experts warn that a prolonged war could require a significant increase in defense spending, further affecting the federal budget.

The U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 after nuclear talks with Islamic Republic failed to produce a deal. President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have laid out four military objectives: Destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, neutralizing its navy, preventing the development of nuclear weapons, and ensuring the regime can’t direct terrorism beyond its borders.

Both Trump and Hegseth said the conflict is at the beginning. It’s unclear how long the war could continue, but Trump said it could be several weeks. On Friday, Trump said he would accept nothing less than Iran’s unconditional surrender.

U.S. gas prices surged to an average of $3.45 on Sunday, according to AAA, a $0.47 increase over the week. That’s the sharpest weekly rise since March 2022, when prices jumped $0.60 after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Since the Iran conflict began, oil prices have soared from around $65 to over $90 a barrel as of Friday.

Desmond Lachman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said the economic hits could become more severe as the war continues.

He predicted gas prices could climb even higher, potentially exceeding $3.50 or even $3.75 per gallon.

“That has an impact on inflation and could also slow the economy. So it’s quite a big deal,” he said.

Shipping traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz is nearly at a standstill, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, an international group that tracks commercial shipping safety. The waterway usually handles about 20% of the world’s crude oil and natural gas shipments.

On average, about 138 vessels pass through the strait each day. That dropped to four earlier this week.

“This represents a near-total temporary pause in routine commercial traffic,” JMIC noted. “While no formal legal closure of the Strait has been universally acknowledged, the reduction stems from a combination of security threats, insurance constraints, operational uncertainty, and effective disruptions rather than a declared blockade.”

Lachman said the Strait of Hormuz is one problem, but Iran is also attacking oil and gas infrastructure, reducing supply.

“They are going after oil refineries and pipelines so there’ll be pressure on the United States to end the war,” he told The Center Square. “What’s happening right now is that those Gulf states are able to intercept the drones that the Iranians are sending, but the Iranians have got more drones than these states have got interceptors.”

Additional disruptions could send oil prices above $100 a barrel, Lachman said.

Goldman Sachs Research economists Jessica Rindels and Pierfrancesco Mei estimated that higher oil prices could hamper the U.S. economy and push up consumer prices. Higher oil prices reduce disposable income, which in turn limits spending, they noted.

“History suggests that oil price spikes driven by geopolitical shocks can be short-lived if markets gain confidence that supply disruptions will be temporary,” they wrote in a report.

How long the war with Iran will last and how far it might spread throughout the Middle East remain unclear, Lachman said.

“The trouble is, nobody really knows how long it will continue,” he told The Center Square.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Friday that the “situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control.”

“All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region – and pose a grave risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people,” he said. “It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations. The stakes could not be higher.”

In addition to the global economy, a long and costly war in Iran could hit U.S. taxpayers, Lachman said.

“This is costing over a billion dollars a day,” he told The Center Square. “So if this drags on, the U.S. is going to need a big increase in its defense budget, which can push interest rates up. You’ve just got to hope that this is a very short war; otherwise, there will be serious consequences.”

Trump is already looking to boost military spending. Trump previously proposed a $1.5 trillion budget for the Department of War, a 60% increase over existing levels.

On Friday, the nation’s largest defense contractors agreed to “quadruple Production of the ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry,” the president said in a social media post.

Rising US fuel prices risk sparking domestic wildfire for Trump

By AFP
March 6, 2026


In California and across the United States, gas prices are on the rise as the Middle East war begins to affect pocketbooks - Copyright AFP/File Frederic J. BROWN

Asad Hashim, with Sarah Lai in Los Angeles

Sean Robinson, a 54-year-old schoolteacher in the US capital Washington, did not realize how high gas prices had gotten until he arrived at the pump on Friday.

“That is a sizeable jump,” he told AFP, pointing to a neon sign showing $3.27 for a gallon of regular gasoline.

Robinson is among US consumers feeling the sting of a cost surge sparked by the US-Israel war on Iran, which sent oil prices soaring as Tehran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz after being attacked.

But the price hike comes at a politically sensitive time for President Donald Trump as midterm elections approach, hitting voters hard.

Expensive gasoline could also prompt the independent central bank to put the brakes on the world’s largest economy as it battles stubborn inflation.

Since last week, US average domestic fuel prices have risen 11 percent, according to the AAA’s fuel price gauge.

It is the kind of move that Robinson said will have him cutting down on all but the essentials.

“It just determines what I’m going to do on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “Pretty much start thinking about (watching) Netflix, staying in the house instead of burning gas.”

Others at the gas station agreed.

“It impacts all areas of life,” said Toloria Washington, 39. “We are in a state of survival mode.”

– ‘It’s the basics’ –

Washington, who works in finance, said fuel expenses are non-negotiable for her. With prices rising at the pump, she had to make cuts elsewhere.

That, she said, is a problem for people already battered by years of high prices post-pandemic.

“That’s the key thing, it’s tapping into everybody’s basics,” she added. “It’s the basics. Daily survival of food, water, housing.”

US inflation hit a peak of 9.1 percent during the pandemic. While it has cooled since then, analysts warn of risks of another pick-up.

“Inflation showed signs of accelerating prior to the jump in energy prices,” said KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk.

“That has left consumers in a sour mood,” she added.

Swonk warned that rising fuel prices added “insult to injury” for low-income Americans, who are already seeing higher healthcare costs and a tightening of welfare benefits under Trump.

Trump, who has bragged about oil prices falling during his term, sought to address the political fallout on Friday, telling CNN he expected prices to come down quickly.

His Republican party holds only a slim majority in both the House and Senate.

With midterm elections due in November, he will be hoping that voters do not let tightening household budgets weaken his political position.

– Fed’s ‘dueling mandate’ –

Trump could see further complications if inflation from gasoline price hikes pushes the Fed to respond by keeping interest rates at a higher level.

The central bank has a dual mandate of maintaining stable prices and maximum employment, but has one main tool to do so — adjusting interest rates.

Raising them generally cools economic activity and reduces inflation while lowering them can spur activity, boosting the weakening employment market.

The prospect of more inflation due to oil prices raises the specter of what some analysts call a nightmare scenario.

“This could not come at a worse time for the Federal Reserve,” said KPMG’s Swonk. “It now has a dueling mandate with the risk that inflation not only lingers but accelerates.”

Fed policymakers remain cautious.

Addressing higher domestic energy prices on Friday, Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller told Bloomberg TV he considered them “unlikely to cause sustained inflation.”

But this is scant consolation for many Americans hit by even a temporary bout of price increases.

“One thing after another, it’s chaos, you know, every day,” said Lucas Tamaren, 32, at a gas pump in Los Angeles.

“Living in America feels unpredictable and chaotic and it’s hard.”

Robinson, the schoolteacher, said he will be watching gas prices every day now. He expects price pressures will be reflected at the voting booth in November.

“The more you pay higher gas, higher groceries (costs),” he said, voters will “start to see” that the middle class is shrinking.

Oil Price Charts | Oilprice.com

Supporters urge Australia to offer asylum to Iranian women's football team


Australia is coming under pressure to offer asylum to the Iranian women's football team as the squad prepares to fly home after losing its Asian cup match on Sunday. The Iranian team refused to sing their national anthem ahead of a match against South Korea, raising fears that the players will be targeted by the authorities if they return to Iran.

Issued on: 09/03/2026 
By: FRANCE 24

Video by: Camille KNIGHT

Iranian players run towards their positions at the start of the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 football match between Iran and the Philippines on the Gold Coast on March 8, 2026. © Stringer, AFP
01:29




Australia must protect the visiting Iranian women's football team, the son of the nation's late shah urged Monday, warning their refusal to sing the national anthem before a match could have "dire consequences".

Iranian players refused to sing ahead of an Asian Cup tournament match in Australia last week – a gesture widely seen as an act of defiance against the Islamic republic.

US-based Reza Pahlavi lent his voice to a growing chorus calling for Australia to offer the women asylum, joining politicians, human rights activists, and even "Harry Potter" author JK Rowling.

"The members of the Iranian Women's National Football Team are under significant pressure and ongoing threat from the Islamic Republic," said Pahlavi, the son of the last shah of Iran.

"I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and give them any and all needed support," he said on social media.

Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, has billed himself as the man to lead a democratic transition to a secular Iran as the theocratic regime fights to survive.

'Save our girls'

Iran's players salute during the national anthem before the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 football match between Iran and Philippines in Gold Coast on March 8, 2026. © Stringer, AFP


Iranian players refused to sing as their anthem was played ahead of a game against South Korea two days after the US and Israel began a war against the country.

In response, a presenter on Iranian state television branded the side "wartime traitors".

Crowds banged drums and shouted "regime change for Iran" as they gathered outside the Gold Coast stadium where the side played their last match over the weekend.

They then surrounded the Iranian team bus, chanting "let them go" and "save our girls".

On Monday, an AFP journalist saw members of the team speaking on the phones from their balcony of their hotel.

Canberra has so far declined to comment on whether it could offer the players asylum.

Asked about their case on Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia "stands in solidarity" with the people of Iran.

A spokesperson for Australia's Home Affairs department told AFP it "cannot comment on the circumstances of individuals".

Amnesty International campaigner Zaki Haidari said they faced persecution, or worse, if they were sent home.

"Some of these team members probably have had their families already threatened," Haidari said.

"Them going back... who knows what sort of punishment they will receive?"

Despite being heavily monitored, the side would have a "small window of opportunity" to seek asylum at the airport, he said.

Author J.K. Rowling said "please, protect these young women" in a post on social media.

Iran's embassy in Australia did not respond to a request for comment.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

UK

‘Ministers have vowed to protect women, but aid cuts will abandon them’

Jack McConnell 8th March, 2026

Photo: House of Commons

International Women’s Day always brings strong pledges from ministers to protect, support, and empower women and girls, particularly in conflict affected countries or those where girls are excluded from school due to poverty or banned altogether. Yet, this year, within weeks, the government will implement drastic cuts that will impact that work – cuts to development funding proportionally heavier than those imposed by Trump in the USA.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has recognised violence against women and girls in conflict as an “international emergency” and expressed her determination to force the promises to eliminate it up the global agenda for action. She told the BBC recently: “In the Foreign Office, I am making it now a priority to us in our foreign policy.”

But the sad truth is that her efforts will be fatally undermined if the UK goes ahead with disastrous funding cuts to aid and development that will close down the projects that are so badly needed to stem this emergency – cuts to be confirmed in the next few weeks, unless ministers can be persuaded to pull back.

I recently returned from my regular engagement with the Bangsamoro Peace Process in the Philippines. Twelve years after their Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed, a sustained peace, supported by the UK, is changing lives.

That agreement was the first in the world to be signed by a female chief negotiator, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer. Women have been central to the progress made since and the government of the Philippines has now created the Women, Peace and Security Centre of Excellence for Asia/Pacific. The UK supports this because we know peace agreements that include women are 35 percent more likely to last for a generation.

It is a rare example of successful peacebuilding in our world today. But this is not the norm.

Across the world, conflicts are killing women and girls in record numbers and inflicting sexual violence on a terrifying scale, leaving survivors without care after rape and pushing girls into the misery of forced marriage. From Myanmar to Sudan, Nigeria to Haiti, Ukraine to the Middle East, conflict is the brutal reality of life for one in every 17 people on the planet. And, as always, women suffer the most.

Yet, a grave setback is unfolding as the UK, which for so long championed international efforts to address the horrors of conflict for women, pulls the rug away when help is needed more than ever. The cuts that will strip 40 percent from the UK’s international development budget risk abandoning women raped in conflict, women denied access to sexual and reproductive health services, and girls left languishing in refugee camps when they should be in school. Already, the UK has cancelled funding for up to 50 women peacebuilding organisations it intended to support.

The UK Integrated Security Fund will no longer fund Women, Peace and Security programmes and may even stop funding specific gender advisers. Funding has run out for the much-admired initiative launched by William Hague and Angelina Jolie to prevent sexual violence in conflict zones, the UK’s flagship programme to end female genital mutilation is facing the axe, and the list goes on. The chasm between rhetoric and the grim reality grows wider.

The Prime Minister should think again before this becomes the first Labour government ever to spend less on international development than the Tories.  And whether the government decides to reverse these cuts or not, it must be clear within any budget that investing in women and girls, especially in conflict zones, is a clear priority for the UK again.

Jack McConnell

Lord McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, was First Minister of Scotland between 2001 and 2007 and is a Labour peer in the House of Lords. He is the Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women Peace and Security and the former UK Special Representative on Peacebuilding.

View all articles by Jack McConnell

Meet the Philippines' 'Cockroach Lord' standing up for little-loved bugs

The massively biodiverse Philippines has about 130 known species of cockroach, three-fourths of which are found nowhere else on earth.

A rare cockroach expert who names new species after Tolkien's fictional creatures, Philippines scientist Christian Lucanas says the disease-bearing bugs deserve more study – and credit – for the crucial role they play in preserving the planet's ecosystem.


Issued on: 08/03/2026 - 

By: FRANCE 24

Cristian Lucanas, an entomologist from the University of the Philippines Los Banos, shows preserved specimens of cockroaches. © Ted Aljibe, AFP

A thin band of light from Cristian Lucanas's headlamp pierces the blackness of a Philippine rainforest as he digs through the underbrush before gently scooping up a cockroach with his bare hands.

As the Southeast Asian country's lone expert on the oft-misunderstood insect – and discoverer of 15 species – friends have dubbed the soft-spoken scientist "Ipis Lord", after the local name for the ubiquitous bug.

While fully aware most view cockroaches as disgusting, disease-bearing pests, the 31-year-old University of the Philippines entomologist says they deserve more study – and credit – for their key role in the planet's ecosystem.

Friends have dubbed the soft-spoken scientist "Ipis Lord", after the local name for the cockroach. © Ted Aljibe, AFP

"I also hated cockroaches when I was a child," Lucanas said with a grin during an interview with AFP in the college town of Los Banos, south of Manila.


"Fear of cockroaches is innate," he conceded, adding he usually tells people "I work in a museum" when asked about his job.

READ MOREThe Bright Side: Humble bugs are popular pets in nature-loving Japan

His girlfriend, also an entomologist, is more understanding, though her work focuses on insects less reviled than the cockroach, of which there are more than 4,600 known species.

"It's possible the real total is double or even triple that," said Lucanas, unable to hide his enthusiasm.

"For the longest time, no one was studying them," he said, calling it "sad" given the size and variety of the archipelago nation's cockroach population.

Cristian Lucanas's obsession began 12 years ago on a field trip to a bat cave on a remote island, its floor crawling with cockroaches feasting on guano. © Ted Aljibe, AFP

The massively biodiverse Philippines has about 130 known species, three-fourths of which are found nowhere else on earth.

Lucanas thinks there could be another 200 local varieties yet to be documented.

"Because of their outsized role in the ecosystem, its processes would be hampered if they disappear," he said.

Like dung beetles and earthworms, cockroaches are detritivores, built to eat and break down dead organic matter – including their own kind – and return them to the soil.

While some cockroach species do carry disease-spreading microbes, a world without them would slow the process of decomposition crucial for sustaining ecosystems, he said.

WATCH MOREBiologist Dave Goulson on the magic of insects and their crucial role on our planet

Birds and spiders would lose a key food source, and plants would absorb less carbon dioxide, potentially contributing to global warming.

Even so, Lucanas keeps a can of bug spray handy at work, ready to kill any live cockroaches that might view the museum's 250,000 preserved insect species as a potential snack.

Lucanas's obsession began 12 years ago on a field trip to a bat cave on a remote island, its floor crawling with cockroaches feasting on guano.

When his biology class adviser was unable to identify the species, Lucanas knew he had found his niche.

The massively biodiverse Philippines has about 130 known species of cockroach, three-fourths of which are found nowhere else on earth. © Ted Aljibe, AFP

A lifelong fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, Lucanas often names his discoveries after creatures in the author's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy: "Valar", "Hobbitoblatta", and "Nazgul".

Their ranks are set to grow once he finishes writing up scientific papers on his newest finds, he promised.

Given the uniqueness of his specialty, the young scientist occasionally finds himself in demand, albeit for very specific situations.

The country's biggest bug spray firm once invited him to lecture its staff on cockroach identification.

Its top restaurant chain also sought his advice, desperate to stop raids on their commissary by so-called German cockroaches, an invasive species from India.

"Control is not really my forte," Lucanas admitted.

But cockroaches are far from the indestructible creatures that they are often portrayed as, he insists.

It is not true, for instance, that cockroaches will inherit the earth after a nuclear war, he said, noting that their resistance to radioactive exposure is about on par with other insects.

Lucanas says it is not true that cockroaches will inherit the earth after a nuclear war, noting that their resistance to radioactive exposure is about on par with other insects. © Ted Aljibe, AFP

Humans, not bombs, pose a more immediate threat to the creatures, he said, noting that some species, especially in mountain environments, reproduce slowly and could disappear if their habitats are encroached upon.

Several cave-dwelling Philippine species first described in the 1890s during the Spanish colonial period "have not been seen again" since their habitats were opened to tourism, he explained.

He laments that most science funding in his country "goes to research that will directly affect humans", worrying that at best he will only be able to catalog and explain the Philippines' cockroaches.

But for now, that's enough, he said when asked about the decades still left in his career.

"I think I'll stick with what I'm doing. It's how I've built my reputation.

"And I really do enjoy working with cockroaches."

From pest to plastic fighter: Cockroach metabolism unlocks rapid polystyrene degradation

Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences

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Integrated host–microbiome network driving polystyrene degradation in Blaptica dubia

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Credit: Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

Plastic pollution remains one of the most persistent environmental crises, with polystyrene (PS) among the hardest polymers to break down due to its stable aromatic backbone. A new study demonstrates that the cockroach Blaptica dubia can efficiently biodegrade polystyrene through a tightly integrated gut microbe–host metabolic system. The insects removed nearly 55% of ingested polystyrene within 42 days, achieving a degradation rate far exceeding those reported for other plastic-feeding insects. Analyses of residual polymer in frass versus original PS confirmed depolymerization, oxidation, enrichment of stable isotope 13C and partial mineralization. By coupling microbial enzymatic cleavage with host β-oxidation and tricarboxylic acid cycle pathways, the cockroach transforms plastic-derived carbon into metabolic energy, revealing a powerful biological strategy for tackling recalcitrant synthetic polymers.

Global plastic production now exceeds 400 million tons annually, and PS remains one of the most widely used yet environmentally persistent polymers because of its aromatic backbone and chemically stable carbon–carbon bonds. Once fragmented into microplastics, PS can accumulate in soils and aquatic systems as well atmosphere, adsorb pollutants, and enter food webs. Although several insect species, such as mealworms and greater wax moth larvae, have shown partial biodegradation capacity, their degradation rates remain modest, and the metabolic fate of breakdown intermediates is poorly resolved. Most previous studies focused primarily on gut microbes or depolymerization alone. In light of these challenges, a deeper investigation into coordinated host–microbiome metabolic mechanisms is urgently needed.

Researchers from Harbin Institute of Technology with collaborators at Stanford University reported the findings (DOI: 10.1016/j.ese.2026.100679) on February 25, 2026, in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology. The team investigated the biodegradation capacity of the cockroach Blaptica dubia, integrating metagenomics, transcriptomics, 13C isotope signature, and polymer chemistry analyses. Their results reveal a coordinated microbe–enzyme–host metabolic network that enables rapid depolymerization, biodegradation of daughter intermediates, and metabolic assimilation of polystyrene microplastics, offering new insight into how insects may adapt to synthetic carbon sources in the Anthropocene.

In controlled feeding experiments, cockroaches consumed an average of 6.0 mg of polystyrene per individual per day. Over 42 days, they removed 54.9% of ingested plastic, corresponding to a specific degradation rate of 3.3 mg per cockroach per day—an order of magnitude higher than rates reported in mealworms, superworms and other plastic-degrading insects. Gel permeation chromatography revealed significant polymer breakdown, with number-average molecular weight decreasing by 46.4%. Stable carbon isotope analysis showed enrichment of δ¹³C in residual plastic, confirming preferential metabolic utilization of lighter carbon isotopes which is strong indication of biological reactions. FTIR, NMR, thermogravimetric, and Py-GC/MS analyses detected newly formed oxygen-containing functional groups, demonstrating oxidative chain scission and aromatic ring modification.

Metagenomic sequencing revealed that polystyrene feeding reshaped the gut microbiome toward plastic-degrading taxa such as Pseudomonas, Citrobacter, Klebsiella, and Stenotrophomonas, accompanied by enrichment of oxidoreductases and transferases. Network analysis showed tightly connected microbe–enzyme modules driving aromatic oxidation. Meanwhile, host transcriptomics revealed strong upregulation of β-oxidation, NADH dehydrogenase, oxidative phosphorylation, and TCA cycle pathways, indicating that microbial degradation intermediates were absorbed and metabolically integrated. Together, these findings outline a synergistic cascade: microbial oxidative depolymerization followed by host energy assimilation.

“This work demonstrates that plastic degradation in insects is not merely a microbial phenomenon, but a fully integrated metabolic collaboration,” said the study's corresponding author. “The cockroach does not simply fragment polystyrene—it metabolically processes the breakdown products through its own energy pathways. The coupling of microbial oxidation with host β-oxidation and the TCA cycle represents a systemic adaptation to synthetic carbon sources.” The researchers emphasize that this tripartite host–microbe–enzyme cooperation explains the unusually high degradation efficiency observed.

The discovery expands the biological toolkit available for addressing plastic pollution. Rather than relying solely on isolated enzymes or engineered microbes, future strategies may draw inspiration from integrated host–microbiome systems capable of both depolymerization and carbon reutilization. Although direct environmental release of cockroaches that includes more than 4,400 species around the world is not currently practical or advisable, decoding their metabolic networks could inform synthetic biology approaches, microbial consortia design, or enzyme engineering platforms for plastic waste valorization. More broadly, the findings suggest that insects may possess unexpected evolutionary flexibility to adapt to anthropogenic polymers, offering a new paradigm for sustainable bioremediation in a plastic-dominated world.

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References

DOI

10.1016/j.ese.2026.100679

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ese.2026.100679

Funding information

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Science Foundation of the National Engineering Research Center for Safe Disposal and Resources Recovery of Sludge (Harbin Institute of Technology) (No. K2024A007), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52170131), and the State Key Laboratory of Urban-rural Water Resource and Environment (Harbin Institute of Technology) (No. 2025TS44).

About Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology (ISSN 2666-4984) is an international, peer-reviewed, and open-access journal published by Elsevier. The journal publishes significant views and research across the full spectrum of ecology and environmental sciences, such as climate change, sustainability, biodiversity conservation, environment & health, green catalysis/processing for pollution control, and AI-driven environmental engineering. The latest impact factor of ESE is 14.3, according to the Journal Citation ReportsTM 2024.

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Journal

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

DOI

10.1016/j.ese.2026.100679 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Host metabolic integration enables superior polystyrene degradation in cockroaches