INTERNACIONAL
Mass tanker blackout rattles Gulf ahead of 1.35M-barrel oil transfer amid US-Iran talks: firm
Trump pushes Iran for toll-free Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump insists on a toll-free Strait of Hormuz, pushing back against Iran’s claims of a ‘controlled maritime zone’ and potential tolls. The U.S. maintains total control through blockade measures, while economic sanctions and diplomatic efforts with Gulf allies intensify pressure on Iran’s nuclear program and regional ambitions.
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Maritime tracking transmissions collapsed near the UAE’s main oil hub, rattling Persian Gulf shipping hours before President Donald Trump announced progress was made on a bilateral peace deal with Iran, according to an AI maritime firm.
Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI first detected the blackout in Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmissions near Fujairah, suggesting heightened electronic warfare, jamming, deliberate AIS shutdowns and intense cyber interference near the key UAE oil port.
«Fujairah goes dark: AIS transmissions collapse after Iran’s PGSA announcement,» Windward warned in a post shared on X.
«Vessels are still in the area. They are loading less, and a meaningful number have gone dark,» the firm said.
GULF SHIPPING OPERATIONS GRIND TO HALT NEAR IRAN, US QUIETLY PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE STRIKE: ‘HEIGHTENED RISK’
A tanker sits at the Port of Fujairah, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran limits marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. (Reuters/Amr Alfiky/File Photo)
As Trump announced that an Iran deal was «largely negotiated» and would see a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Fujairah went on to move 1.35 million barrels of crude Sunday aboard a single tanker bound for South Korea.
«Today, May 24, the port moved 1.35 million barrels, a single VLCC, destined for South Korea,» Windward said before reporting a tense, ongoing «ceasefire posture» and blockade footprint quickly being set into place.
«One cargo doesn’t mark a return to baseline, but it’s the first signal of flow resuming out of Fujairah since the announcement,» Windward said.
Ahead of the barrel transfer, Trump had stated that Washington and Tehran had «largely finalized» a memorandum of understanding for a peace agreement. He posted an AI-generated image depicting exploding IRGC fast boats in the strait.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN DEAL ‘LARGELY NEGOTIATED’ AS 84-DAY WAR NEARS POSSIBLE END
A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz on April 22, 2026. (AP Photo)
Iran responded directly by continuing to declare the strategic maritime choke point stays under Tehran’s absolute control.
«We reaffirm that the Strait of Hormuz will remain under full Iranian administration and sovereignty, even in the event of reaching any future agreement,» Iran’s official military spokesperson, Ibrahim Al-Fiqar, said in a statement shared on X.
«The Islamic Republic emphasizes that the authorities to determine transit routes, timing, and issuance of maritime licenses are an absolute sovereign right exclusively in the hands of Tehran.»
The tanker blackout, crude transfer activity and movement toward a U.S.-Iran deal accelerated following the launch of Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority on May 20.
Overseen by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, the PGSA functions as a sovereign regulator by requiring ships to submit vessel, cargo, insurance and crew details — along with mandatory payments — for «safe passage» through the strait.
Regional analysts told Fox News Digital that, ahead of deal progression, Iran’s territorial claims had even been stretching beyond its own waters into areas tied to Oman and the UAE.
US EYES IRAN FAST BOATS WITH ‘KILL’ TACTICS TESTED IN VENEZUELA DRUG-BOAT STRIKES
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboat sails in the Persian Gulf near the Bushehr nuclear power plant during a marine parade marking Persian Gulf National Day in Bushehr, Iran, on April 29, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto)
Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital that enforcement «relies on the IRGC Navy’s asymmetric playbook.»
«This includes fast boats, drones, radar tracking, coastal missiles and selective intimidation rather than constant physical interdiction,» Vatanka said.
«Tehran wants Gulf states and major importers to gradually accept Iranian oversight of Hormuz as a new geopolitical reality,» he added.
While nuclear issues are dominating the current negotiations amid reports of a 60-day ceasefire, the PGSA has quickly emerged as an economic leverage tool threatening global oil and shipping markets.
«Now Hormuz is Iran’s main non-nuclear leverage tool,» Vatanka said as the PGSA he claimed gives Tehran a «mechanism to pressure rivals, favor allies and normalize IRGC oversight of one of the world’s most critical energy routes.»
According to Vatanka, the system was functioning as a wartime extortion mechanism.
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«Ships submit cargo and crew data for approval, while reports point to quiet ‘facilitation payments,’ preferential treatment for friendly states and uncertainty for everyone else,» Vatanka warned.
«Iran keeps the penalties deliberately vague. Noncompliant ships risk delays, harassment, drone surveillance, IRGC interception or denial of safe passage — enough pressure to encourage compliance without outright closing the strait.»
wars, conflicts, us navy, iran, trade
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An island-wide blackout plunged Cuba into darkness Monday as the country’s deepening energy crisis continues to strain its fragile power system.
The outage affected roughly 10 million people before limited electricity service was restored in some areas.
«A total disconnection of the National Electric Power System is occurring,» Cuba’s state-run Electric Union said Monday morning. «The causes are being investigated.»
Cuba has faced increasingly frequent power outages in recent years as the country struggles with chronic fuel shortages and deteriorating electrical grids. The crisis worsened when President Donald Trump imposed additional sanctions in January and threatened tariffs on countries that provide oil to the island.
MILLIONS LOSE POWER ACROSS CUBA AS TRUMP SANCTIONS CONTINUE TO FUEL ONGOING ENERGY CRISIS
People walk on the street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)
During Monday’s blackout, public transportation was largely halted, and officials said tens of thousands of surgeries were canceled nationwide, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Authorities later said one generating unit had resumed operations roughly two hours after the collapse.
«Microsystems are already operational throughout the country, to ensure protection for vital services,» the Electric Union said.
RUSSIAN ‘DARK FLEET’ TANKER BELIEVED TO BE DELIVERING OIL TO CUBA, DETECTED OFF US COAST AMID TRUMP BAN
A child walks with a bottle of oil past a solar panel set up on the street to charge batteries during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)
The energy minister said officials were working to restore power while accusing the U.S. of contributing to Cuba’s energy struggles.
«Vital services continue to be protected, amidst this complex situation exacerbated by the energy blockade we face,» Vicente de la O Levy said.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel also blamed U.S. policies, describing the energy blockade as a «genocidal» measure imposed by Washington.
«While the U.S. tries to induce a social explosion through asphyxiation by blocking fuel access to #Cuba, the UNE mobilizes to reverse the SEN outage,» Díaz-Canel said, referring to Cuba’s National Electric Power System.
«What the electrical workers are doing in the midst of a genocidal energy blockade is heroic.»
A woman with her son signals a car on a dark street during a blackout in Bauta municipality, Artemisa province, Cuba, on March 18, 2024. (YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Cuba’s energy crisis intensified earlier this year after a U.S. military operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and halted Venezuelan oil exports, cutting off a key source of fuel for the island.
While Cuba produces only about 40% of the fuel it needs, a Russian tanker delivered roughly 730,000 barrels of oil to the country in March, supplies that were depleted by the end of April, according to The AP.
To conserve fuel, the Cuban government has imposed scheduled power outages that have lasted more than 24 consecutive hours in some areas, the outlet said.
A blackout in early March affected Cuba’s western provinces, while a separate outage in mid-March plunged the entire island into darkness.
cuba, energy, sanctions
Inversionistas extranjeros están comprando deuda pública chilena a un ritmo récord, impulsados por un peso más débil, la perspectiva de recortes de las tasas de interés y el regreso de un gobierno de derecha más favorable al mercado.
Las tenencias de bonos soberanos denominados en pesos en manos de no residentes aumentaron un récord de US$ 2.930 millones, hasta US$ 20.200 millones en mayo, el último mes para el que el Banco Central dispone de cifras. Con ello, el incremento acumulado desde comienzos de año alcanzó el 36%, muy por encima del registrado en cualquier otro país de América Latina.
La demanda comenzó a repuntar a principios del año pasado, cuando el hoy presidente, el conservador José Antonio Kast, empezó a subir en las encuestas, y ganó aún más impulso tras su victoria en la segunda vuelta de diciembre, que dio paso al gobierno más derechista desde el retorno de Chile a la democracia en 1990. La última vez que la inversión extranjera aumentó a un ritmo comparable fue tras la elección del también conservador Sebastián Piñera a fines de 2017. Si a eso se suman un peso debilitado y las crecientes expectativas de un recorte de tasas, resulta fácil entender por qué Chile volvió a atraer a los inversionistas.
“Un gobierno favorable al mercado y las persistentes expectativas de consolidación fiscal hacen que Chile vuelva a ser un mercado atractivo para los inversionistas extranjeros”, dijo Christopher Mejia, analista de deuda soberana de mercados emergentes en T. Rowe Price. “Los mercados esperan reformas orientadas al crecimiento”.
El gobierno de Kast presentó un proyecto de ley destinado a impulsar el crecimiento que incluye reducciones de impuestos corporativos, invariabilidad tributaria para grandes proyectos de inversión y subsidios al empleo. Kast espera que el Congreso apruebe la ley este mes, con una meta de crecimiento del 4% para el final de su mandato. Sin embargo, su imagen pública no deja de caer (Ver aparte).
El peso chileno se debilitó hasta un 7 por ciento después de que EE.UU. comenzó sus ataques aéreos contra Irán a fines de febrero. Aunque ha recuperado parte de las pérdidas desde entonces, aún cotiza cerca de 920 por dólar, muy por encima de los 852 pesos por dólar registrado en febrero, su mejor nivel en tres años.
Además, es poco probable que el peso se fortalezca en el corto plazo. Mientras persiste la presión para que la Reserva Federal eleve las tasas en EE.UU., las menores expectativas de inflación y los débiles datos de crecimiento en Chile refuerzan apuestas por un recorte de tasas dentro de un año.
Todo ello hace que Chile se destaque en la región. Las tenencias extranjeras de deuda soberana de Colombia cayeron un 8,5% en los primeros cinco meses del año, después de que el gobierno desmantelara un programa de swaps en francos suizos que había dejado a algunos bancos extranjeros con bonos soberanos como garantía. En Brasil, donde la inflación se ha acelerado, las tenencias de no residentes aumentaron apenas un 2,5% en el mismo período. En México, retrocedieron alrededor de un 3,5%.
Entre finales de 2019 y finales de 2024, los inversionistas extranjeros redujeron en un 43% sus tenencias de deuda soberana local chilena, pese a que el gobierno aumentó las emisiones. La deuda chilena perdió atractivo tras el estallido social de 2019, que dio lugar a dos intentos fallidos de reescribir la Constitución y a sucesivos retiros de fondos de pensiones que redujeron la profundidad del mercado de capitales del país.
En el cuarto trimestre de 2024, los inversionistas extranjeros poseían apenas el 8% de la deuda pública denominada en pesos en circulación, la menor participación desde que existen registros, según datos del Ministerio de Hacienda.
Ahora, el presidente Kast llegó al poder con la promesa de reducir el gasto público, eliminar trabas burocráticas, bajar los impuestos corporativos e impulsar la inversión en infraestructura. También prometió endurecer la lucha contra la inmigración ilegal y la delincuencia. Esas políticas ayudaron a que el diferencial de los bonos chilenos en dólares frente a los bonos del Tesoro de EE.UU. cayera por debajo de 80 puntos básicos en mayo por primera vez desde 2007.
INTERNACIONAL
Top Platner ally turns on him after bombshell rape allegation rocks campaign: ‘Red line’
Maine voters speak out on Graham Platner’s controversies
Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is embroiled in controversy over his past behavior, including allegations of abuse from ex-girlfriends and a controversial tattoo he previously bore. Fox News correspondent Alexis McAdams details the divided opinion among Maine voters as Platner prepares for Tuesday’s primary against GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna’s support for Platner is also highlighted.
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Support for embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is cratering among Democrats, with one of his most prominent supporters calling on him to exit the race following a harrowing rape allegation.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., rescinded his endorsement and called on Platner to suspend his campaign following a bombshell Politico report detailing a rape allegation by Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated the scandal-plagued candidate.
Platner immediately denied Racicot’s account — which alleges that he barged into her home in 2021 and forced her to have unprotected sex — but has said his campaign is determining its next steps.
«I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,» Khanna said in a post on social media Monday evening. «These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.»
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a town hall event on Feb. 20, 2026 in Stanford, California. The town hall focused on taxing billionaires and the future of AI. (Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)
DEMOCRATS BREAK WITH SCANDAL-PLAGUED GRAHAM PLATNER, WARN OF ‘CIVIL WAR’ IN PARTY
Khanna’s statement preceded Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., the head of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, issuing a joint statement calling on Platner to «immediately» leave the race, so the party can choose a new nominee.
The pair said the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) would not invest in Maine — a top pick-up opportunity for Democrats in November’s midterm elections — if he continued to seek the battleground seat held by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Both Schumer and Gillibrand supported Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, in the contentious primary and did not endorse Platner until he won the party’s nomination.
Meanwhile, Khanna, a far-left populist with likely presidential ambitions, had embraced Platner’s insurgent Senate campaign for months amid a patchwork of controversies.
Khanna personally campaigned with the Maine Senate hopeful in June shortly before Platner became the party’s nominee. The campaign stop came just one day after Lyndsey Fifield, a former Platner girlfriend, accused Platner of abuse — an allegation first reported by The New York Times that Platner has fiercely denied.
By that point, Platner was also facing scrutiny for sending sexually explicit messages to at least half a dozen women while married, making a plethora of offensive online statements over the period of a decade and getting a Nazi-linked tattoo that he wore for most of his adult life.
Shannon Watts, a Democratic strategist and founder of the gun control group Mom Demands Action, slammed the timing of Khanna’s statement.
«You flew to Maine to campaign with him AFTER he was accused of assault against another woman,» Watts wrote on social media.
Khanna previously appeared to dismiss the severity of Fifield’s account alongside many Democratic lawmakers, who seized on her background in Republican politics. He also argued that Platner, a combat veteran who has struggled with PTSD, had overcome a dark past and was deserving of redemption.
«Here you have a case of someone who had a dark chapter in his life, was in toxic relationships, was ashamed about it, who served this country, and the Maine voters are saying, ‘Look, let’s give him some grace, and his focus is stopping these wars, and it’s getting national health insurance, and it’s taking on economic inequality,» Khanna told CBS News in an interview.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at his primary election event in Blue Hill, Maine, on June 9, 2026. (CJ Gunther/Getty Images)
WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE
And Khanna told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum in June that he asked Platner if there were any credible allegations of sexual assault that had yet to be revealed. He said Platner denied it.
«I made it clear that, for me, is a red line,» the California lawmaker said. «And he said, no, there is not.»
«Now, obviously, he had texts that were allegedly consensual, and while he was married, And that’s a matter for him and his wife. And his wife came out and said that she forgave him. And so that is a different matter for me than abuse or assault or what people did in the Epstein class. It’s a very different matter.»
Khanna was not the only prominent Platner supporter to disavow the Senate hopeful following Monday’s rape allegation.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., an early Platner supporter, was the first prominent Democrat to rescind his endorsement after Politico’s report broke.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., rescinded his endorsement Monday evening, but stopped short of calling on Platner to exit the race.
Gallego, a former ally of disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has faced scrutiny over his past treatment of women. The Senate Ethics Committee recently dismissed a complaint brought by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., in a bipartisan manner.
His Arizona colleague, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who did not endorse Platner, also called on the Senate hopeful to suspend his campaign.
«Character and accountability matter regardless of party,» Kelly wrote on social media. «It’s time for Graham Platner to drop out and allow for someone else to be nominated and give Democrats the best chance to win this seat in November.»
Far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who has championed socialist candidates across the country, also distanced himself from Platner on Monday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., talks to reporters as he heads for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on Jun. 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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«This is beyond red flags. This is irredeemable,» Piker said during his livestream.
Fox News Digital reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment.
politics, graham platner, midterm elections, democrats elections, democratic party, sex crimes
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