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UK takes centre stage in Red Sea action, targeting Yemen’s Houthis

UK takes centre stage in Red Sea action, targeting Yemen’s Houthis

As an ally of Ukraine, the United Kingdom has been an outspoken opponent of Russian aggression and moved first to provide Ukraine with tanks and long-range missiles. As a participant in the multinational naval force working to neutralise the threat from Yemen-based Houthis to international shipping, it has raised its own military profile on the world stage. “We’ve acted at the forefront of global responses to maintain regional stability,” UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in a speech to Lancaster House on Monday. In October, after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel, the UK was among the first countries to send a Royal Navy task group, marines and surveillance planes off Israel. Last December, after Yemen-based Houthis attacked international shipping in support of Hamas, the UK joined the US to lead the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea. On Friday, that force struck Houthi military sites after the Houthis targeted HMS Diamond and US Navy vessels with 21 drones and missiles. The UK used four RAF Typhoon FGR4s to drop Paveway IV guided bombs on two facilities, a site at Bani used to launch reconnaissance and attack drones, and the airfield at Abbs, used to launch cruise missiles and drones. “Early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow,” said the Ministry of Defence in a statement. The UK has been raising its military profile globally and its defence budget at home. Shapps said defence spending, already at 50 billion pounds ($63bn) this year, would rise to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as soon as possible, and he called on other NATO allies to follow suit. The justification for the Red Sea action has been to protect global trade. Some 15 percent of the world’s marine traffic passes through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Indian Ocean from the Reds Sea. From there it reaches Europe through the Suez Canal. Among the most affected are container ships, bringing manufactured products from China to the European market. When Moller-Maersk, the world’s largest operator of container ships, said it was diverting its vessels around Africa on January 5, it prompted other shippers to do the same. The diversion adds about 10 days shipping time, increases costs and could inflate prices. Maersk made its decision after Houthis attacked the Maersk Hangzhou on January 2. Oil tankers have been the other large category of ships affected, since they use Suez to bring Middle Eastern oil to European refineries. One-third of the world’s oil is moved by Greek-owned ships. “Greek tanker businesses have been monitoring the situation in the Red Sea for some time now – well before the most recent events,” an adviser to a Greek tanker operator told Al Jazeera, preferring to remain anonymous. “Incidents that were widely reported off Yemen in the last quarter of 2022 alerted everyone to the need to adopt a prudential stance.” Not everyone in Europe has seen a similar need for the use of force. “There’s a wider question about the extent to which this was legal self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” international relations professor at Panteion University in Athens Angelos Syrigos told Al Jazeera. “Nothing … shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations,” the article says. “Italy is hiding behind the need for parliamentary approval [of military force],” said Syrigos. “France and Spain are saying, ‘We don’t want to solve this through force because that risks escalation,’” he said. “It is a huge problem, it is a consequence of other [war] outbreaks. I would not like to open a third front of war at this time,” Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto told Reuters, in a reference to current conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Crosetto has also called on Ukraine to open negotiations with Russia. The risk of escalation is certainly present. Both Hamas and the Houthis are armed by Iran. A third Iran proxy, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, has also threatened to attack Israel. And there is the risk of Iranian direct involvement. On January 11, Iran seized an oil-filled tanker in retaliation for the confiscation by US authorities of a sanctioned Iranian oil cargo last year. An escalation could be a significant military challenge. The Israeli army is still fighting Hamas after more than three months of bombing and commando operations. Hezbollah is said to possess 150,000 rockets. And the Houthis may still have powerful weapons. They attacked a US-owned ship three days after the punitive attacks by the US and UK. The London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies believed Iran had provided the Houthis with Sayyad and Quds 800km (500-mile) range missiles as well as 500km (300-mile) range missiles with 300kg (660-pound) warheads. “Although the Houthis have linked their campaign against shipping to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas, the weapons were being provided by Iran well before the Israeli–Hamas conflict erupted in October 2023,” wrote the IISS’s Fabian Hinz in an IISS blog. “That suggests a strong, long-term Iranian focus on strengthening Houthi anti-ship capabilities and a potential attempt to export Iran’s model of naval coercion from the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the geopolitically important Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait.” The UK has nonetheless determined that an advance defence is the best deterrent against possible future hostilities by other actors. “The era of the peace dividend is over,” said Shapps, referring to the post-Cold War years. “In five years time, we could be looking at multiple theatres involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.” “Ask yourselves – looking at today’s conflicts across the world – is it more likely that the number grows, or reduces? I suspect we all know the answer – it’s likely to grow.” The UK is about to field 36,000 soldiers overseas – its highest number of land forces in 40 years. There may be other reasons, too, why the British government is putting itself

Speaker Johnson praises Trump for ‘decisive’ Iowa caucus victory; Mitch McConnell silent

The top two Republicans in Congress had two very different approaches to former President Donald Trump’s commanding victory in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., praised the ex-president and said he was key to the GOP winning back the Senate, White House and retaining the House in November. On the other side of the U.S. Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is not expected to release a statement, having been silent for most of the 2024 Republican presidential primary so far.  “Congratulations to President Donald Trump for a resounding victory in Iowa! Today, Republican voters turned out amid harsh conditions and showed their resolve to bring an end to the failed economic and open border policies of President Biden,” Johnson’s statement said. “We appreciate every candidate, volunteer, and voter who braved the elements and participated in the great caucus tradition.” GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY BATTLE MOVES ON TO NEW HAMPSHIRE AFTER TRUMP DOMINATES IN IOWA “Tonight’s vote was an endorsement of President Trump’s extraordinary record and his ongoing vision to fix our economy, secure our border, and defend the freedoms and values that make America great.” Trump swept the Iowa caucues with more than 50% of the vote despite spending less time campaigning in the state than his primary opponents. Johnson suggested Monday night that it was time for the GOP to unite around Trump after his “decisive” victory. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE IOWA CAUCUS UPDATES FROM FOX NEWS “With President Trump in the White House and with Republican Congressional majorities, we will work together to build the wall and end the Biden Border Crisis for good, curb inflation and restore our booming economy, rebuild our military, secure our elections, and create prosperity that will last for generations,” Johnson said. “His decisive and historic victory tonight should move our Party closer to uniting so we can achieve the ultimate victory in November.” Earlier this month, Trump scored the endorsement of House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., sending him into the Iowa caucuses with the backing of all the senior House GOP leadership. Johnson had endorsed Trump in November. QUESTIONS SWIRL ABOUT DESANTIS CAMPAIGN AFTER GOVERNOR LANDS SECOND-PLACE FINISH IN IOWA It’s a stark contrast with their colleagues in the Senate, where the top two Republicans – McConnell and Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D. – have stayed largely out of the race.  However, Trump has been endorsed by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the No. 3 Senate Republican, as well as Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., the head of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm. Fox News Digital has reached out to McConnell’s office for comment.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson ends Republican campaign for president after finishing 6th in Iowa

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson ends Republican campaign for president after finishing 6th in Iowa

Former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is bowing out of the race for the White House after finishing sixth in the Iowa caucuses. Hutchinson on Tuesday suspended his long-shot campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. “I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa,” Hutchinson said in a statement. He emphasized that “I stand by the campaign I ran. I answered every question, sounded the warning to the GOP about the risks in 2024 and presented hope for our country’s future.” REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION PRIMARY BATTLE MOVES ON TO NEW HAMPSHIRE AFTER TRUMP ROMPS IN IOWA According to the unofficial tabulation, Hutchinson won less than 200 votes out of more than 110,000 cast in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses. Former President Donald Trump won a resounding victory on Monday night, topping 50% and winning a majority of the vote and shattering the previous margin of victory in a the Iowa GOP caucuses as he cruised to a crucial first victory as he aims to recapture the White House in November’s election. TRUMP RUNS THE TABLE IN IOWA’S CAUCUSES WITH MASSIVE VICTORY Hutchinson put his criticism of Trump front-and-center in his 2024 campaign. At a major GOP presidential nomination cattle call in Florida in early November, Hutchinson was jeered for over a minute by the crowd after reiterating that “there is a significant likelihood that Donald Trump will be found guilty by a jury on a felony offense next year.”  “That may or may not happen. Before you vote in March and it might not make any difference to you, but it will make a difference for our chances to attract independent voters in November. It will make a difference for those down ticket races for Congress and Senate, and it will weaken the GOP for decades to come. As a party, we must support the rule of law,” he emphasized. Hutchinson, a former federal attorney turned two-term congressman who served as Drug Enforcement Administration administrator and Department of Homeland Security undersecretary during then-President George W. Bush’s administration, launched his presidential campaign in late April in his hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST VOTE COUNT IN THE IOWA CAUCUSES While he showcased his credentials as a conservative whose “mettle has been tested” over his decades of political service, Hutchinson struggled with fundraising and his poll numbers never rose above the low single digits.  Hutchinson reached the polling and donor thresholds at the last minute to qualify for August’s first GOP presidential nomination debate, but failed to make the stage at the ensuing showdowns. And he struggled to stay relevant in a Republican presidential primary dominated by Trump and other rivals with great name recognition and larger war chests. In late October, his campaign manager parted ways with Hutchinson over disagreements on the feasibility of a pathway towards the nomination. But Hutchinson marched on, with the help of just one or two staffers. Hutchinson is the latest Republican presidential candidate to drop out of a race that now only has three major candidates left – Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who also struggled with fundraising, suspended his presidential campaign on Oct. 28, during his address to the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina ended his bid in November and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum suspended his campaign in early December. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped out last week, and multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy called it quits Monday night after finishing fourth in Iowa’s caucuses. Four lesser known candidates who all failed to qualify for the debates had already suspended their campaigns. There are former CIA spy and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, Florida, business leader and quality control expert Perry Johnson, and 2021 California gubernatorial recall election candidate and former conservative talk radio host Larry Elder. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Bernie Sanders to force Senate vote on resolution that could freeze aid to Israel

Bernie Sanders to force Senate vote on resolution that could freeze aid to Israel

The Senate will vote on a resolution Tuesday afternoon by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that could potentially freeze U.S. aid to Israel unless the Biden administration reports to Congress within 30 days about whether Israel committed human rights violations during its war with Hamas. Sanders’ resolution is based on the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 that requires the State Department to examine the human rights conduct of nations receiving U.S. aid. The law prohibits U.S. aid to any foreign government “which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” Upon receiving the report, Congress will have the authority to reduce or end aid to Israel if violations are found. Any subsequent votes to modify security assistance will need a simple majority for approval.  The resolution is reportedly opposed by the Biden administration, which has urged Congress to pass $60 billion more in aid to Israel, and many Democrats. But those in Congress who are part of the left’s more progressive flank have voiced support for a cease-fire and halting U.S. aid to Israel.  SEN. BERNIE SANDERS ADMITS IT’S ‘VERY HARD’ FOR AMERICANS TO BE EXCITED WHEN PRESSED ON BIDEN ISRAEL STANCE “This is a humanitarian cataclysm, and it is being done with American bombs and money. We need to face up to that fact – and then we need to end our complicity in those actions,” Sanders previously said in a statement.  The resolution, which faces an uphill battle that requires a simple majority needed to pass in the upper chamber, would request the administration’s 30-day report to detail steps taken by the U.S. government to promote human rights in Israel, limit risks to civilians, discourage harmful practices, and disassociate from such practices. Part of the resolution reaffirms Israel’s right to respond and defend itself against the deadly attack carried out by Hamas. It would also require an assessment of whether “extraordinary circumstances” exist to justify the continuation of security assistance aid for Israel, and if so, details of the circumstances that require ongoing funding.  Many humanitarian organizations and the United Nations rely heavily on death toll data published by Hamas-run ministries in Gaza, which estimate more than 20,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the war began on Oct. 7. SENATORS URGE BERNIE SANDERS TO HOLD A HEARING ON THE SCOPE OF ANTISEMITISM AT COLLEGE CAMPUSES ‘TERROR ATTACK’ IN ISRAEL LEAVES 1 DEAD, MORE THAN A DOZEN INJURED, POLICE SAY Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, has prompted unprecedented destruction in the tiny coastal enclave and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe that has displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population and pushed more than a quarter into starvation, according to the U.N. Israel blames Hamas for the high death toll, saying its fighters make use of civilian buildings and launch attacks from densely populated urban areas. After Hamas’ attack on Israel, 1,200 people were killed and around 250 people were taken hostage. As of this month, Israel believes more than 130 hostages are still in captivity in the Gaza Strip.  Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress remain divided on the war. While some support more aid to Israel, others have called for a complete cease-fire to limit civilian casualties. Republicans have remained largely united in backing Israel.  The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Ahead of March for Life, Mississippi unveils mobile app to help pregnant moms

Ahead of March for Life, Mississippi unveils mobile app to help pregnant moms

FIRST ON FOX: One southern state is launching an app to help connect pregnant women and mothers with resources ranging from healthcare and adoption to food assistance and job opportunities. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch — who brought the case to the Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade — announced on Tuesday the launch of the Mississippi Access to Maternal Assistance (MAMA) mobile app. The app is a continuation of a state-run website, launched in October, that has attracted over 7,000 visitors and aims to connect mothers directly to services they need “in three clicks or less.”  “Our state is blessed with countless public and private resources, but it can be challenging to navigate while also adjusting to a changing family,” Fitch said in a press release. “Whether you are a mother-to-be or a mother of three, MAMA can quickly connect women and their children to the resources they need to thrive, including infant essentials, food, financial assistance, clothing, shelter, job opportunities and childcare.” PRO-LIFE LEADER ANTICIPATES MAJOR VICTORIES DESPITE RECENT BALLOT INITIATIVES EXPANDING ABORTION ACCESS The attorney general’s office has added more than 100 new resources to the MAMA service directory. They include public, private and faith-based entities that provide anything from healthcare, insurance, adoption services, food assistance, job training and more.  The announcement of Mississippi’s MAMA app comes days ahead of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. The theme of the 2024 March for Life is “with every woman, for every child.” It aims to address the confusion and show that being pro-life is not only about political fights without regard to the difficulties of an unplanned pregnancy, according to march organizers. FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE The MAMA app divides resources into nine categories, including pregnancy resources like ultrasounds, diaper banks and parenting classes’ health resources like Medicaid enrollment and mental health counseling; adoption services; food help like community kitchens and food banks; resources to find goods like car seats, strollers, diapers and maternity and infant clothing; safety resources like crisis centers, domestic abuse shelters and places to request legal aid; places to apply for financial assistance for rent, transportation and child care costs; child care centers; and even a place to search for job openings and career training. Mississippi is looking for more non-profits and businesses to add their services to connect with expectant mothers in the state. The MAMA app is one part of Fitch’s Empowerment Project, which she launched in 2023 to reform state policies to be more family friendly in post-Roe America. “When the Supreme Court gave us the Dobbs decision, they returned policymaking about very important issues to the people. The task now falls to us, and we must rise to this challenge,” Fitch said after launching the project in 2023. The March for Life, which has organized large events in the nation’s capitol since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision effectively legalized abortion in the U.S., will convene this Friday for its 51st march.

Trump delivers unifying message after landslide caucus victory, receives bipartisan praise

Trump delivers unifying message after landslide caucus victory, receives bipartisan praise

After a dominant victory in the Iowa caucuses, former President Trump delivered what some observers called a “measured” and “conciliatory” speech, pivoting to the general election.  “I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together,” Trump told exuberant supporters at his watch party in Des Moines, Iowa. “We want to come together, whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat or liberal or conservative. It would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that we’re witnessing.”  It was a “very calm, sort of forceful, measured speech,” Fox News host Martha MacCallum said after the confirmed Republican frontrunner finished his remarks. In a departure from his withering attacks on challengers Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — the respective second and third-place finishers — Trump congratulated his competitors and praised them as “very smart people, very capable people.”  REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY BATTLE MOVES ON TO NEW HAMPSHIRE AFTER TRUMP ROMPS IN IOWA “I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good, a good time together. We’re all having a good time together. And I think they both actually did very well, I really do,” Trump said.  Trump’s tone surprised critics like David Axelrod, the former chief strategist for President Obama, who posted on X it was a “Very un-Trump like victory speech.”  Former Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr., co-host of “The Five,” said, “I was shocked, how measured he was and how conciliatory he was tonight.”  “He sounded measured and sounded presidential,” Ford said.  VIVEK RAMASWAMY ENDS PRESIDENTIAL BID FOLLOWING IOWA CAUCUSES Though Trump finished first in Iowa with a record-smashing 51% of the vote, the combined support of his opponents represents nearly half of GOP primary voters in the Hawkeye State, who he will need to win over to mount a successful bid for the White House. Trump took a first step toward doing so by refusing to spike the football and directing all of his fire at President Biden. “I don’t want to be overly rough on the president, but I have to say that he is the worst president that we’ve had in the history of our country, is destroying our country,” Trump said.  His speech touched on American energy independence, border security, the economy and the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel — which Trump insists would not have happened if he was still president. He railed against crime in major U.S. cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles, vowing to work with local leaders to “rebuild our cities” and “make them safe.”  These themes are familiar to voters who followed Trump’s previous campaigns for the White House in 2016 and 2020. Aside from the brief mention of his rivals early on, Trump kept his focus on the problems he says America faces under Biden’s watch, posturing as the presumptive Republican nominee.  TRUMP WINS IOWA, FOX NEWS DECISION DESK PREDICTS DESANTIS WILL TAKE SECOND PLACE Despite multiple criminal indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, Trump has for months held a commanding lead for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination in public polls and shows no signs of slowing down ahead of the next contest in New Hampshire. Though Trump is unquestionably in the lead, the race is not over yet. Up next on Jan. 23 is New Hampshire, which has a more moderate electorate and has historically rebuffed the winner in Iowa. Trump also faces uncertainty with his multiple court cases — a conviction could severely weaken his position in the general election against Biden, or even remove him from the campaign trail entirely should he face jail time.  Biden acknowledged Trump as the “clear frontrunner” to face him in November after the Iowa results were called.  “Looks like Donald Trump just won Iowa. He’s the clear front runner on the other side at this point,” he posted on X. “But here’s the thing: this election was always going to be you and me vs. extreme MAGA Republicans. It was true yesterday and it’ll be true tomorrow.”