International News Briefs for Monday, June 2, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – Here are some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Monday, June 2, 2025.
Russia and Ukraine Hold Talks in Istanbul as Ukraine War Intensifies
Jun 02, 2025
Russian and Ukrainian peace talks are taking place in Istanbul a day after Ukraine launched 117 drones in an unprecedented attack hitting Russian military bases as far away as Siberia. The attack reportedly damaged or destroyed about 40 Russian warplanes — about a third of Russia’s strategic missile bombers that are capable of carrying cruise and nuclear missiles. The strikes reportedly resulted in an estimated $7 billion in damage. Some commentators in Moscow have described the attack as Russia’s Pearl Harbor. The Ukrainian drones had been reportedly smuggled into Russia hidden inside containers on long-haul trucks. The attack came a day after Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of the war. On Sunday, Russia also struck a Ukrainian military training base, killing at least 12 soldiers and injuring 60 others.
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Israel Accused of Opening Fire on Palestinians Waiting for Aid in Gaza, Killing at Least 31 People
Jun 02, 2025
Health officials and witnesses in Gaza say at least 31 people were killed Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on crowds headed to an Israeli-controlled aid distribution point near Rafah. Over 170 people were wounded. Israel denied responsibility. This is a Palestinian woman named Asmaa Abu Salah speaking in a hospital room next to her brother-in-law, who had been shot while trying to get aid.
Asmaa Abu Salah: “You can see his condition. He’s between life and death. He went for food and drinks for his children. His children need food. They say, ‘We want food, Dad.’ This is the most difficult word. As you can see, here he is.”
The attack came a day after the U.N. humanitarian agency called Gaza “the hungriest place on Earth,” and accused Israel of “drip feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger.”
Israel Demolishes Only Dialysis Facility in Gaza Amid Ongoing Destruction of Health Infrastructure
Jun 02, 2025
Israel is continuing to attack medical facilities and doctors in Gaza. Earlier today, Israel destroyed the only facility for kidney dialysis patients in northern Gaza. Drop Site News is reporting an Israeli attack killed Dr. Aya Al-Madhoon, who was nine months pregnant. The attack near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah also killed her husband. Meanwhile, a funeral was held Sunday for Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar, who died from injuries from an Israeli attack last week that also killed nine of his children.
Hamas Submits Ceasefire Proposal Demanding Complete End to Israel’s Attacks
Jun 02, 2025
Negotiations continue over a possible ceasefire. Over the weekend, Hamas submitted its response to a proposal by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas is offering to release 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas is also seeking a complete end to Israel’s attacks and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, but Witkoff has called Hamas’s response “totally unacceptable.”
Suspect in Custody over Incendiary Attack on Boulder, Colorado, Event for Israeli Hostages
Jun 02, 2025
In Boulder Colorado, authorities have arrested a man accused of using a makeshift flamethrower and another incendiary device to attack a crowd of people taking part in a weekly walk to honor Israeli hostages in Gaza. Eight people were injured with burns. Two of the victims were flown to a burn unit in Aurora, Colorado. The victims ranged in age from 52 to an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. The attack occurred near Boulder’s courthouse on Sunday. The FBI said the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Mark Michalek: “This attack happened at a regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event. Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd. … The suspect was heard to yell ‘Free Palestine’ during the attack. The subject has been identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, and he’s 45 years old.”
SCOTUS Allows Trump Admin to Strip Legal Protections for Half a Million Immigrants as Courts Hear Case
Jun 02, 2025
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration can strip for now temporary legal protections for 500,000 individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who had been granted protection by the Biden administration. The Supreme Court’s ruling is only temporary as lower courts consider the legality of Trump’s move. Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor dissented. Justice Jackson said, “The Court has now apparently determined … that it is in the public’s interest to have the lives of half a million migrants unravel all around us before the courts decide their legal claims.”
In other legal news, a federal judge in San Francisco has blocked the Trump administration from revoking the temporary protected status of roughly 5,000 Venezuelans who are in the United States.
Armed ICE Agents Wreak Havoc as They Descend on San Diego Restaurant During Service
Jun 02, 2025
In San Diego, California, over 20 armed and masked ICE agents in full tactical gear raided a popular restaurant on Friday. The agents handcuffed the staff, demanded IDs and then arrested at least three workers. Local residents reacted angrily to the raid and attempted to block ICE vehicles from leaving the scene. ICE agents responded by throwing flash-bang smoke grenades at the crowd.
Community Outcry in Milford, MA, After ICE Takes Local High School Student Marcelo Gomes
Jun 02, 2025
Image Credit: TikTok/@jaydee9748
In Milford, Massachusetts, hundreds of community members rallied Sunday in support of Marcelo Gomes, an 18-year-old high school student who was detained by ICE while he was on his way to volleyball practice. Gomes, who was born in Brazil, had lived in the Milford area since he was 5 years old. He was also a member of the school band and was scheduled to perform at his school’s graduation ceremony on Sunday. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey condemned his arrest, saying, “The Trump Administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it’s making us all less safe.”
Extreme Flooding in Nigerian Town Kills Over 200 People
Jun 02, 2025
In Nigeria, severe flooding in the north-central state of Niger has killed at least 200 people, wiping out homes and businesses in the bustling market town of Mokwa. This is resident Adamu Yusuf.
Adamu Yusuf: “I have 15 family members in my household. Unfortunately, nine of them have died in the flood, and eight are still missing — only one body has been recovered. And our house was completely washed away. I’m currently standing in the spot where my room used to be. I’ve lost everything. My wife, mother, children and other relatives are all missing. The flood has taken everything from us.”
Hundreds remained missing as of Sunday as rescue missions continue. Nigeria is prone to heavy rains and floods, but their magnitude has increased with the climate crisis.
Nationalist Karol Nawrocki Defeats Liberal Candidate in Polish Presidential Election
Jun 02, 2025
In Poland, the Trump-backed nationalist candidate Karol Nawrocki won Sunday’s presidential runoff election, narrowly beating out his rival, the liberal mayor of Warsaw. Nawrocki could clash with Poland’s liberal government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, including on social issues and Ukraine.
3 Ex-Paramilitaries in Guatemala Get 40-Year Sentences for Rape of Maya Achi Women
Jun 02, 2025
A Guatemalan court sentenced three former paramilitaries each to 40 years in prison for crimes against humanity for raping six Indigenous Maya Achi women between 1981 and 1983, at the height of Guatemala’s bloody, U.S.-backed genocide. This is survivor Paulina Ixpata, speaking after the sentence was announced.
Paulina Ixpata: “I feel very good because we achieved justice, because we are not lying. We lived through it — not just me, other women, too. There are other women who are no longer with us. They died. They didn’t have the opportunity to see this justice. But we also hope that we get dignified reparations, because it is a government obligation.”
A separate trial in 2022 convicted five other paramilitaries for raping Maya Achi women. At least 36 Maya Achi survivors have come forward to accuse U.S.-funded paramilitaries and soldiers of rape during the war. Twenty-nine survivors are still alive, including those in this most recent case.
Laila Soueif Hospitalized After Nearly 250 Days on Hunger Strike for Jailed Son Alaa Abd El-Fattah
Jun 02, 2025
Image Credit: X/@Monasosh
Laila Soueif, the mother of jailed British Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, was hospitalized Friday after 242 days on hunger strike, with doctors warning she’s at risk of “sudden death” if her blood sugar drops any further. The 69-year-old has lost over 40% of her body weight since starting her strike to protest her son’s continued detention in Egypt and the failure of the British government to secure his release despite pledging its commitment to free him. Last week, a U.N. working group concluded Egypt’s imprisonment of El-Fattah is arbitrary and illegal under international law and that he should be immediately released. He’s spent most of the past decade behind bars over his human rights advocacy.
“We’re All Going to Die”: Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst Dismisses Constituent Concerns over GOP Medicaid Cuts
Jun 02, 2025
Image Credit: X/@SenJoniErnst
Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst is facing intense criticism over her comments on Republican plans to slash spending on Medicaid while giving major tax breaks to the rich. During a town hall on Friday, a member of the audience yelled out that the Medicaid cuts would result in people dying. Ernst responded by saying, “We all are going to die.”
Audience member 1: “People will die!”
Sen. Joni Ernst: “People are not” —
Audience member 2: “People will die.”
Sen. Joni Ernst: “Well, we all are going to die. So, for heaven’s sakes.”
On Saturday, Senator Ernst doubled down on her remarks by posting a sarcastic video recorded at a cemetery.
Sen. Joni Ernst: “I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth. So, I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy, as well.”
PBS Sues Gov’t over Funds Withdrawal; WNET Removes Episodes on Trans Identity
Jun 02, 2025
Image Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
PBS and a Northern Minnesota public television station filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Friday over Trump’s order withdrawing federal funding from the 330-station public television system. Earlier last week, NPR filed a similar lawsuit. Both NPR and PBS are challenging Trump’s claims of anti-conservative bias.
This comes as The Intercept reports PBS station WNET has removed at least three episodes of the show “Let’s Learn” that featured a drag artist and a transgender character and that discuss trans identity. In March, right-wing Republicans attacked PBS during a heated congressional testimony for featuring drag performers on its shows.
Gaza Freedom Flotilla Sets Sail from Italy One Month After First Vessel Came Under Attack
Jun 02, 2025
A group of 12 activists have set sail from a Sicilian port in Italy carrying aid for Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had initially planned to sail from Malta last month, but the group’s ship was damaged in a drone attack. Passengers on board the flotilla include the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Greta Thunberg: “A month after our latest attempt to go on with this mission, the boat was bombed twice. All evidence suggests Israel. And we are doing this because we have to keep our promise to the Palestinians to do everything in our power to protest against the genocide and to try to open up a humanitarian corridor.”
The passengers on the flotilla have faced many threats, including from U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who wrote on X, “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Backs Arms Embargo, Import Ban on Israel in Address to Congress
Jun 02, 2025
Chilean President Gabriel Boric has voiced support for an arms embargo on Israel and a ban on imports from “illegally occupied territories.” He made the remarks in his final State of the Union address.
President Gabriel Boric: “These principles have led me to raise the voice against the genocide and ethnic cleansing that the government of Israel is committing against the Palestinian people.”