INTERNACIONAL
Starmer and Macron accused of ‘playing at being relevant’ with Strait of Hormuz plan
Emmanuel Macron pushes back against Trump’s NATO criticism
Matt Finn reports on global efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as French President Emmanuel Macron criticizes NATO alliances. General Jack Keane analyzes escalating tensions after reported U.S. airstrikes collapse an Iranian bridge.
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As British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron convene a summit Friday on the future of the Strait of Hormuz, the two leaders are pushing a European-led plan to reopen the vital shipping lane after the war, without U.S. leadership.
The proposal envisions a post-conflict naval mission made up of Britain, France and other «non-belligerent» countries that would deploy only after fighting ends. Unlike President Donald Trump’s current strategy of blockading Iranian ports with U.S. naval power, the Anglo-French initiative is intended to be separate from the warring parties and focused on restoring commercial shipping.
A senior European official insisted the initiative is not meant to go around Washington, telling Fox News Digital that Paris began discussing a future maritime mission «from day one» of the conflict and is now formalizing those plans jointly with London.
NATO CHIEF SIGNALS ALLIES MAY ACT ON HORMUZ, WARNS OF ‘UNHEALTHY CODEPENDENCE’ ON US
Starmer and Macron are two chiefs of state partners in the European «Coalition of the Willing» in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia War. (Tom Nicholson/Getty Images)
Macron and Starmer are expected to host a summit to advance what both governments describe as a «coordinated, independent, multinational plan» to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once the fighting ends.
«France and the United Kingdom will also host a conference in Paris this Friday, bringing together by video conference non-belligerent countries ready to contribute, alongside us, to a multilateral and purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait when security conditions allow,» Macron wrote on X.
Starmer similarly described the effort as a «coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends,» saying Britain had already convened more than 40 nations around the initiative, Reuters reported. Washington was not part of those earlier talks.
The European senior official said the proposed force would be «strictly defensive» and would only deploy after active fighting and bombardment have ended, with the goal of restoring normal shipping rather than enforcing a wartime corridor.
«What we want in the end is no blockade, no toll, no nothing that blocks the fluidity of what is going through the Strait of Hormuz,» the official told Fox News Digital, while stressing that Iran remains «the first problem.»
The official also rejected suggestions that Paris and London are trying to sideline the Trump administration, saying the U.S. has been kept informed and that there is extensive coordination with Washington even if the emerging mission is currently limited to «non-belligerent» countries.
WATCH: EX-NATO CHIEF DRAWS RED LINE AS TRUMP FUMES ALLIANCE ABANDONED US DURING IRAN WAR
Iran seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, allegedly carrying 1 million liters of smuggled fuel. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP)
«We’re coordinating a lot with them,» the official said, adding that the goal is to create a framework that can operate once the conflict is over.
Macron has repeatedly emphasized that France’s envisioned mission would be «strictly defensive» and ruled out escorting ships while «bombings» are ongoing. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said «several dozen countries» already had participated in preparatory discussions led by military chiefs of staff, and that any future mission would also require coordination with Gulf coastal states, according to Reuters.
The Anglo-French initiative comes as Trump has taken a far more aggressive approach, ordering the U.S. Navy to blockade Iranian ports and continue operations aimed at securing the strategic waterway after ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran collapsed in Pakistan.
Critics argue that without American military power, the European proposal risks being largely symbolic.
PAKISTANI GENERAL SAYS IRAN DIPLOMACY STILL ‘ALIVE, DESPITE US BLOCKADE, FAILED TALKS
A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world’s oil and gas passes on March 1, 2026. (Sahar Al Attar/AFP)
Britain and France are overstating what they can realistically achieve, The Henry Jackson Society analyst Barak Seener said.
«Britain and France are playing at being relevant as so-called ‘Middle Powers’ in international affairs,» Seener told Fox News Digital.
«Keir Starmer’s assertion ‘We’re not getting dragged into the war’ disguises the embarrassing fact that the Royal Navy is facing a hollowed out crisis, causing the initiative to be ‘strictly defensive’,» he said.
«France’s navy is also facing structural and budgetary pressures that strain its ability to conduct high-tempo operations.»
«It is laughable that a European coalition of ‘non-belligerent’ countries that are only willing to engage once hostilities have ended can even speak of protecting its shipping lanes,» Seener added.
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TOPSHOT – France’s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer before an informal summit of European leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine and European security at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on February 17, 2025. European leaders were due to meet in Paris on February 17, 2025 to address Washington’s shock policy shift on the war in Ukraine, as Britain declared itself ready to dispatch peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images) (Ludovic Marin/AFP)
«Ultimately, the U.S.’s deployment of hard power, consisting of carrier strike groups and fighter aircraft to blockade Iranian ports and clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, can protect shipping lanes.»
The U.K. government and the White House did not reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment before publication.
war with iran, us navy, france, emmanuel macron, iran, united kingdom
INTERNACIONAL
«Se atragantó con comida»: una madre buscó explicar por qué había muerto su hijo, pero quedó detenida tras una pericia clave
Un caso estremecedor sacudió a la ciudad de Clearwater, Kansas: la justicia acusó a Shanna Kay Whitton por la muerte de su hijo de apenas 15 meses, Matthew Jon Whitton, ocurrida en agosto de 2025. La mujer fue imputada este lunes de homicidio en primer grado, abuso infantil, poner en peligro a un menor y provocar un incendio agravado.
Todo comenzó el 25 de agosto, cuando los servicios de emergencia llegaron a los Mimosa Arms Apartments, en la cuadra 700 de East Janet Street, tras un llamado por un bebé inconsciente que, según la madre, “se había atragantado con comida”. El nene no respiraba y, pese a los intentos médicos, murió tres días después en el hospital.
Sin embargo, el relato de la madre no convenció a los investigadores. “No creímos la historia que la madre nos dio sobre el supuesto atragantamiento”, afirmó el sheriff del condado de Sedgwick, Jeff Easter.
La autopsia desmintió la versión de la madre y destapó un historial alarmante
La autopsia fue contundente: Matthew murió por complicaciones de encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica causada por asfixia intencional.
El informe forense descartó la presencia de restos de comida en las vías respiratorias del niño y la muerte fue catalogada como homicidio.
Un incendio previo y más sospechas
Durante la investigación, la policía también revisó un incendio ocurrido el 26 de julio en el mismo departamento. Según el comunicado del sheriff, el fuego se inició en la habitación de Matthew mientras él estaba adentro. Los peritos concluyeron que el incendio fue provocado de manera intencional y que, en ese momento, había varios departamentos ocupados en el edificio.
Por este hecho, Whitton fue arrestada en octubre bajo cargos de incendio agravado y permanece detenida desde entonces.
Un historial de incidentes bajo la lupa: sospechas de abuso y negligencia
El caso de Matthew no fue el único en la familia. El informe del Centro Regional de Ciencias Forenses de Sedgwick reveló que la hermana mayor del nene, Gypsy Rose, de 2 años, también murió en 2024 tras supuestamente atragantarse con una uva. Aunque en un principio se consideró un accidente, la policía reabrió la investigación tras las nuevas pruebas.
Ahora investigan si Shanna Kay Whitton mató también a su hija, Gypsy Rose, en 2024. (Foto: gentileza KAKE News).
Los registros médicos y policiales detallan una larga serie de episodios sospechosos:
- Mayo 2024: Matthew nació con problemas respiratorios y debió ser internado en neonatología.
- Julio 2024: Su hermana fue hospitalizada por asfixia accidental y, días después, murió por una presunta obstrucción de la vía aérea con una uva.
- Agosto y septiembre 2024: Whitton reportó caídas, dificultades respiratorias y episodios de hipotermia en Matthew, pero los médicos no hallaron causas claras.
- Octubre 2024: Matthew fue internado por asfixia tras compartir la cama con su madre, quien se despertó encima de él.
- Junio 2025: El nene fue hospitalizado por un “casi ahogamiento” en la bañera.
- Julio 2025: Se desató un incendio en el departamento, con origen en la habitación de Matthew. La investigación determinó que el fuego fue intencional y Whitton enfrenta cargos por incendio agravado
Sospechas de “abuso médico infantil” y advertencias previas
El informe forense y los documentos de los servicios sociales de Kansas detallaron que varios profesionales de la salud y asistentes sociales habían manifestado su preocupación por la seguridad de los chicos bajo el cuidado de Whitton. Las dudas apuntaban a si los reiterados incidentes eran producto de negligencia o de lo que antes se conocía como “síndrome de Munchausen por poder”, hoy denominado abuso médico infantil, cuando un cuidador (generalmente la madre o el padre) exagera, inventa o provoca síntomas de enfermedad en un niño para hacerlo parecer enfermo. Esta conducta busca obtener atención médica, procedimientos diagnósticos o tratamientos innecesarios que pueden poner en riesgo la salud y la vida del menor.
La investigación reveló que la familia tenía un “historial extenso” con el sistema médico, el Departamento de Familias de Kansas y la policía. Las reuniones del equipo de Evaluación de Niños en Riesgo ya habían documentado sospechas de abuso antes del desenlace fatal.
La investigación y la voz de la justicia
“Estas investigaciones llevan tiempo porque tenemos la responsabilidad de hacerlas bien”, explicó el sheriff Easter. “Nuestros detectives están comprometidos a reconstruir los hechos y a ser la voz de los niños que no pueden defenderse”.
La acusada sigue detenida con una fianza de 500.000 dólares, según informaron las autoridades locales. Mientras tanto, la justicia reabrió la investigación por la muerte de su hija mayor.
Estados Unidos, Crimen, Homicidio
INTERNACIONAL
Australia’s most decorated veteran walks free on bail on war crimes charges related to Afghan deaths
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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s most decorated living veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, walked free on bail from a Sydney prison on Friday, 10 days after he was charged with war crimes in the killings of five people while serving in Afghanistan.
Judge Greg Grogin granted Roberts-Smith bail in a Sydney court around five hours earlier, ruling the former Special Air Service Regiment corporal had established exceptional circumstances to justify his release from custody. Prosecutors had opposed bail and argued there was a risk that Roberts-Smith would flee Australia or interfere with witnesses and evidence.
Roberts-Smith, 47, was arrested on April 7 and charged with five counts of war crime murder involving the deaths of five Afghans in Uruzgan province in 2009 and 2012.
AUSTRALIA’S MOST DECORATED LIVING SOLDIER CHARGED AMID FIERCE DEBATE OVER WAR CRIMES ALLEGATIONS
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 07: Ben Roberts-Smith departs the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney on June 07, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Ben Roberts-Smith is suing three Fairfax newspapers for defamation over reports he committed war crimes while serving in the Australian Special Air Services in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith is Australia’s most decorated living soldier and a Victoria Cross recipient. (Sam Mooy / Getty Images)
Australian law defines war crime murder as the intentional killing in a context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part in the hostilities, such as a civilian, prisoner of war or a wounded soldier.
Roberts-Smith was driven away from Sydney’s Silverwater Correctional Complex late Friday apparently wearing the same clothes he wore when police escorted him from a commercial airliner at Sydney Airport last week, news media images showed.
Roberts-Smith was awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan and is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.
The charges follow a military report released in 2020 that found evidence elite SAS and commando regiment troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and other noncombatants. Around 40,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, of whom 41 were killed.
Similar allegations against Roberts-Smith were found credible in a civil court case in 2023 when a judge rejected his claims that newspaper articles defamed him.
AUSTRALIA’S MOST DECORATED WAR VETERAN APPEALS COURT RULING THAT BLAMED HIM FOR UNLAWFUL KILLING OF AFGHANS
At that trial, Roberts-Smith testified he had never killed an unarmed Afghan and denied ever committing a war crime. He claimed he has the victim of spiteful fellow soldiers’ lies and of others’ envy of his medals.
Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC, MG attends a Victoria Cross and George Cross Association Reunion Service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church on May 30, 2012 in London, England. (Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images)
But while the civil court found the war crimes allegations were mostly proven on a balance of probabilities, the war crime murder charges would have to be proved in a criminal court to a higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt.
Roberts-Smith is accused of personally shooting dead two victims. He allegedly ordered subordinates to shoot the other three victims.
In opposing bail, prosecutor Simon Buchen described the charges against Roberts-Smith as «among the most serious known to the criminal law.»
Buchen said Roberts-Smith had been «on the cusp of relocating overseas» without telling authorities when he became aware that prosectors were considering charges.
Roberts-Smith had made «advanced plans to relocate overseas. Consideration was being given to moving to various destinations overseas,» Buchen told the court.
Roberts-Smith faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison on each conviction. He has yet to enter pleas.
JUDGE RULES AUSTRALIA’S MOST DECORATED WAR VETERAN UNLAWFULLY KILLED POWS, COMMITTED WAR CRIMES IN AFGHANISTAN
Defense lawyer Slade Howell told the bail hearing Roberts-Smith’s case «may properly be described as exceptional in the sense that it is out of the ordinary.»
«The use of domestic courts to prosecute alleged war crimes committed by a highly decorated Australian soldier deployed overseas repeatedly by the Australian government to fight a war on its behalf is unprecedented and is uncharted legal territory of the common law of this country,» Howell said.
FILE – Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney on June 9, 2021. Australia’s most decorated living war veteran lodged an appeal on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, against a civil court ruling that blamed him for the unlawful killings of four Afghans. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File) (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
Howell also said Roberts-Smith’s «proceedings will be beset by a multitude of delays, many of which are peculiar to these proceeding.»
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Potential delays could arise if prosecutors decide to charge one or more of Roberts-Smith’s fellow veterans, some of whom now live overseas, Howell said.
Roberts-Smith took part in the bail hearing by video link from prison and spoke only when asked by the judge to confirm that he could see and hear proceedings.
australia, afghanistan, armed forces, military trials, veterans
INTERNACIONAL
Minnesota Republicans reveal which far-left candidate they want to challenge in open Senate race
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Republican strategists and lawmakers are hoping that when voters head to the polls in November to elect the next U.S. Senator of Minnesota, they’ll be forced to choose between either a Republican candidate — or Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
In a Democratic primary that has yet to play out, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., believes Flanagan would give Republicans better odds than her opponent, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn.
«You’ve got the radical Left that is really upending the party. It’s that crazy Marxist anarchist group that is in Minneapolis, especially with a primary,» Emmer said in an interview with local media.
«Think about this. You’ve got Angie Craig, who will have all the money. But she knows that her numbers are in the tank against this radical, wild, wild-eyed Peggy Flanagan, the current lieutenant governor. So, guess who shows up [to the primary]? All the crazies from Minneapolis.»
EX-NFL REPORTER LAUNCHES GOP SENATE BID, REVEALS HOW SHE WILL FLIP SCRIPT ON STATE’S ‘CRISIS OF LEADERSHIP»
Minnesota Lt. Gov. and candidate for U.S. Senate Peggy Flanagan, left, pictured alongside her Democratic challenger Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., right. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; David Berding/Getty Images)
«Peggy Flanagan is likely going to be their candidate, and that is good for us,» Emmer said.
The assessment isn’t unique to Emmer.
The Democratic race began in February of last year when Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., sparked a four-way Democratic primary with news that she would not pursue reelection in 2026.
In addition to Craig and Flanagan, Billy Nord, an anti-establishment activist, and Melisa López Franzen, a former minority leader of the Minnesota Senate, announced bids for the seat. But it didn’t take long for Craig and Flanagan to emerge as the clear-cut frontrunners.
Craig, a former journalist, businesswoman and a current four-term U.S. congresswoman, has $4.8 million in cash on hand, according to FEC records.
Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor for the past seven years, has $1.1 million cash on hand.
Nord has not reported contributions with the FEC and López dropped out of the race in May of last year.
DEMOCRAT IN KEY SENATE PRIMARY SAYS SHE ‘REGRETS’ VOTE ON LAKEN RILEY ACT, DRAWS GOP BACKLASH
ST. PAUL, MN. – NOVEMBER 2018: Minnesota DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Laborer Party) Lieutenant Governor-elect Peggy Flanagan and Governor-elect Tim Walz arrived at their transition offices in the State Capitol Thursday morning, November 8, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune)
While Republican onlookers believe both frontrunners can be described as «far-left,» many have pointed out Flanagan shares platform similarities with more polarizing, high-profile Democrats — such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and has shared the same platform as Gov. Tim Walz, who she has called an «incredible partner.» Walz was hammered during his failed 2024 vice presidential bid for all of his far-left proposals.
In the view of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that makes for a Republican advantage.
«She, too, supports Medicare for All, wants to ‘re-imagine’ policing and attended anti-ICE protests where she called on people to «put their bodies on the line» to defend illegal immigrants from ICE,» the NRSC said in a press release.
More notably, Republicans believe Flanagan’s greatest liability is a tenure that overlaps with recent revelations of up to $9 billion in fraud through government benefit programs.
Through scores of schemes, fraudsters in Minnesota allegedly siphoned funding from government programs like daycare centers and health clinics while returning no benefits, greatly exaggerating their services and pocketing government funding.
The fraud revelations made national news last year, raising questions about how state leadership could have missed the sheer size of the losses.
DFL party Chair Mike Erlandson told the Minnesota Star Tribune he believes fraud will remain front-and-center in the minds of voters.
«I don’t think there’s any way that this issue isn’t still being talked about in November. And anybody that was a party to it, whether you’re a legislator or Lt. Gov. Flanagan, if she’s the nominee, is going to have to answer questions around it,» Erlandson said.
NRSC Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., echoed that sentiment.
«From allowing billions of dollars in fraud to vilifying law enforcement, the Walz-Flanagan administration has failed Minnesotans,» Scott wrote in a post to X.
For her own part, Flanagan’s campaign told Fox News Digital she likes her chances to win in a general election, pointing to Minnesota’s solidly-blue track record of sending Democrats to the U.S. Senate.
«Minnesota hasn’t voted for a Republican statewide in over 20 years – with Trump in the White House and the chaos ICE inflicted on Minnesotans, this is not going to be Craig’s or the GOP’s year,» Alexandra Fetissoff, a Flanagan campaign spokeswoman, said.
«Peggy Flanagan is the only candidate in this race who has won statewide, the only candidate not taking corporate money and the only candidate that hasn’t enabled Trump’s ICE. Minnesotans know Peggy and trust her leadership and that’s why she’ll be the next Senator from Minnesota.»
MICHELE TAFOYA SAYS MINNESOTA NEEDS POLITICAL OUTSIDER ‘WITH A SPINE’ IN REPUBLICAN SENATE BID
ST. PAUL, MN. – JUNE 2022: Minnesota DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Laborer Party) Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan speaks during a press conference Saturday, June 25, 2022 in St. Paul, Minn. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith joined Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan at the State Capitol for a Press Conference with Planned Parenthood North Central States CEO and President Sarah Stoesz a day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune)
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When asked if he stood by his comments on the Minnesota primary, Emmer said he believes Republicans will run a competitive race, regardless of the Democratic nominee.
«Minnesotans will reject both of these far-left, fraud-enabling radicals who would only dig our state into an even deeper hole than it’s already in. Good luck to Flanagan and Craig as they continue fighting tooth and nail to win over the cop hating, open-border extremist base while alienating commonsense Minnesotans,» Emmer said.
Craig and Flanagan will face off in the primary on Aug. 11. Fox News Digital reached out to Craig for comment.
primary results, republicans elections, minnesota fraud exposed, tim walz, campaigning
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