International

The US considers the request for an ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu shameful

The United States called it “intolerable” and “shameful” on Monday that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested that an arrest warrant be issued by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, along with the leaders of Hamas for war crimes.

“The ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is scandalous,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

The president stressed that regardless of what the prosecutor says “there is no possible comparison between Israel and Hamas” and promised that the United States will always support the Jewish State in the face of “threats to its security.”

The ICC Attorney General, Karim Khan, on Monday requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and his political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The United States has not ratified the Rome Statute with which the ICC was constituted and has traditionally opposed several investigations by this body.

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“We reject the equivalence that the prosecutor makes between Israel and Hamas. It’s embarrassing,” said U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in another statement.

The head of American diplomacy claimed that “Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization” that on October 7 “carried out the worst massacre since the Holocaust and that still holds dozens of people hostage.”
Likewise, Blinken opined that the ICC “has no jurisdiction over this matter” and denounced that there are “deeply worrying procedural issues” in the investigation.

According to the Secretary of State, the Israeli Government “was willing to cooperate” despite the fact that Israel is not part of the court and even a visit by the ICC Attorney General to the Jewish State was planned next week.

However, Blinken continued, a team of the prosecutor canceled by surprise a trip to Israel scheduled for Monday to prepare for the prosecutor’s visit at the same time that Khan appeared on television to announce the charges.

“These and other circumstances cast doubt on the legitimacy and credibility of this investigation,” he said.

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In addition, for the head of US diplomacy, the decision of the ICC prosecutor “could endanger” the negotiations of an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the kidnapped.

The Israeli authorities, as well as the leaders of the Palestinian Islamist group, were outraged on Monday by Karim Khan’s request.

International

Trump orders U.S. control of Strait of Hormuz after failed Iran talks

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the United States will take control of the Strait of Hormuz“effective immediately,” following the collapse of negotiations with Iran held in Islamabad.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Navy to block vessels attempting to enter or exit the strategic waterway, a key route for global energy trade.

“The meeting went well, agreement was reached on most points, but the only really important one — nuclear weapons — was not approved,” Trump said, referring to the talks with Iranian representatives.

The president also stated that he had instructed authorities to intercept ships in international waters that had paid tolls to Iran to transit the strait, calling such payments “illegal.” He further accused Tehran of hindering an agreement by deploying mines in the area, describing the move as “international extortion.”

Trump added that the United States will undertake efforts to clear mines from the strait and expressed confidence that a future agreement ensuring free navigation could eventually be reached.

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The announcement came after Vice President JD Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed the president on the outcome of the negotiations, considered the highest-level contacts between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

While Trump acknowledged that enough progress had been made to maintain a temporary truce, he criticized Iran for remaining unwilling to abandon its nuclear ambitions, calling its position “very inflexible” on the central issue.

International

Child Found Malnourished in Van in France; Father Admits Confinement

French gendarmes discovered a child in a van in Hagenbach, in northeastern France, after a neighbor reported hearing what she described as “childlike noises” coming from the parked vehicle.

After unlocking the van, officers found the boy lying in a fetal position, unclothed and covered with a blanket, surrounded by garbage and near human waste, according to a statement from the Mulhouse prosecutor, Nicolas Heitz.

Authorities said the child appeared pale and severely malnourished. Due to prolonged confinement in a seated position, he was no longer able to walk. He was immediately taken to a hospital in Mulhouse for medical care.

The boy’s father, who lived with his partner and two daughters aged 10 and 12, admitted to keeping the child confined and depriving him of proper care.

According to the prosecutor, the man said he placed the child in the van in November 2024, claiming he wanted to “protect him” because his partner intended to have the boy admitted to a psychiatric facility.

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The suspect also stated that he allowed the child out of the vehicle in May 2025 and permitted him to enter the family apartment around mid-year, when the rest of the family was on vacation.

The man’s partner—who is not the child’s mother—also faces charges, including failure to report abuse. However, she has denied all accusations.

International

Europe Faces Jet Fuel Shortage Risk Amid Hormuz Disruption

The Airports Council International Europe has warned of a potential “systemic shortage” of jet fuel if maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is not restored within the next three weeks, according to a letter reviewed by AFP on Friday.

In the document, addressed to the European Commission and first reported by the Financial Times, the European airport lobby stated that a “systemic jet fuel shortage will become a reality” in the European Union unless stable and significant transit through the strait resumes soon.

The association, which represents around 600 airports across 50 countries, called on Brussels to implement “urgent monitoring of fuel availability and supply” over the next six months.

Jet fuel prices have surged amid the conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy transport.

The conflict escalated on February 28 following joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran.

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In response, Tehran imposed several countermeasures, including blocking maritime traffic through the strait, a route through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil, jet fuel, and gas supply passes.