International News Briefs for Tuesday, December 2, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Tuesday, December 2, 2025.
White House Defends “Double Tap” Strike on Alleged Drug Boat, Says Admiral Gave Order to Kill
Dec 02, 2025
The White House is defending the Pentagon over allegations it carried out war crimes during an attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. Last week, The Washington Post reported U.S. forces sank a vessel with 11 people aboard during a September 2 strike, then launched a second strike to kill two survivors as they clung to the smoldering wreckage of their ship. On Monday, the White House confirmed the second strike occurred, but claimed the order to kill the survivors of the initial attack came not from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as The Washington Post reported, but from Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who at the time was the head of JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command. This is White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: “With respect to the strikes in question on September 2nd, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.”
On Monday evening, Secretary Hegseth wrote on social media, “Let’s make one thing crystal clear: Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support.” His comments came after Democrats and some Republican lawmakers said Hegseth may have committed war crimes if he ordered U.S. forces to attack survivors. We’ll have more about war crimes on the high seas after headlines, when we’ll speak with Georgetown law professor David Cole.
Israeli Forces Kill 2 Palestinian Teens During Raids Across Occupied West Bank
Dec 02, 2025
Israeli forces killed two Palestinian teenagers in separate incidents Monday as they carried out raids across the occupied West Bank. In Hebron, soldiers fatally shot 17-year-old Muhannad Tariq Muhammad al-Zughair, whom they accused of carrying out a car-ramming attack that injured an Israeli soldier. Elsewhere, 18-year-old Muhammad Raslan Mahmoud Asmar was shot during a raid on his village northwest of Ramallah. Witnesses say the teen was left to bleed out as Israeli forces barred Red Crescent medics from approaching. The soldiers then seized his lifeless body. Last week, the United Nations reported more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, 2023.
Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian in Gaza Refugee Camp in Latest Ceasefire Violation
Dec 02, 2025
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israeli forces killed at least one person in the Bureij refugee camp in the latest violation of the ceasefire deal that took effect on October 10. In another violation of the truce, Palestinians report Israeli forces continue to cross the so-called yellow line on a near-daily basis. This week, a coalition of 12 Israeli human rights groups concluded in a new report that 2025 has already become the deadliest and most destructive year for Palestinians since 1967.
Pope Leo Visits Lebanon, Urging Peaceful Coexistence Across Middle East
Dec 02, 2025
Pope Leo is in Lebanon, the nation with the highest proportion of Christians in the Middle East, as part of his first foreign trip as pontiff. Earlier today, he held Mass at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, which killed hundreds of people and injured thousands. Pope Leo also met with the families of those killed in the explosion.
Pope Leo XIV: “In an age when coexistence can seem like a distant dream, the people of Lebanon, while embracing different religions, stand as a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word and that unity, reconciliation and peace are possible.”
Before arriving in Lebanon, Pope Leo over the weekend said that a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must include a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu Asks Israeli President to Pardon Him over Corruption Charges
Dec 02, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant him a pardon from corruption charges and to bring an end to his trial. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging political favors with wealthy supporters. On Monday, protesters gathered outside the Tel Aviv courthouse where Netanyahu’s trial is being held.
Paula Keusch: “There’s no such thing as being exonerated from files, from being a criminal. And he is a criminal, and he should be standing on trial just like every other citizen in Israel.”
Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to stand trial.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner Meet Vladimir Putin as U.S. Pushes for Ukraine Peace Deal
Dec 02, 2025
Image Credit: Vyacheslav Prokofyev via Reuters
President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today. Witkoff and Kushner are expected to offer Putin a U.S.-backed peace proposal that was revised during negotiations between American and Ukrainian officials in Miami over the weekend. This follows reporting from The Wall Street Journal on Witkoff’s October meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and Putin’s handpicked negotiator. Dmitriev reportedly offered a plan for U.S. companies to tap nearly $300 billion of Russian central bank assets, frozen in Europe.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met French President Emmanuel Macron Monday and is in Ireland today for meetings. Amid the diplomatic activity, Russia launched a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing four people and injuring 40. Meanwhile, Putin is claiming victory after Russian forces captured the Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donbas region after fierce fighting for over a year. Pokrovsk was once a strategic logistics hub for the Ukrainian army.
Trump Threatens “Hell to Pay” in Honduras If Presidential Election Results Change
Dec 02, 2025
President Trump vowed that there will be “hell to pay” in Honduras if election officials tampered with the results of Sunday’s presidential elections — after threatening to cut off U.S. aid to Honduras if his favored candidate doesn’t win. As of Tuesday morning, just over half of ballots have been counted, and it’s not clear when a final result will be announced. Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura of the right-wing National Party held a razor-thin lead of just 515 votes over his rival Salvador Nasralla.
Meanwhile, Honduras’s former President Juan Orlando Hernández walked free from a federal prison in West Virginia Monday, after he was granted a pardon by President Trump. He’d been serving a 45-year jail term in the U.S. for cocaine trafficking. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, President Trump was asked about why he would pardon a convicted drug trafficker.
Reporter: “You’ve made so clear how you want to keep drugs out of the U.S.”
President Donald Trump: “Right.”
Reporter: “Can you explain more about why you would pardon a notorious drug trafficker?”
President Donald Trump: “Well, I don’t know who you’re talking about. Which one?”
Reporter: “Juan Orlando Hernández.”
President Donald Trump: “Well, I was told — I was asked by Honduras, many of the people of Honduras. They said it was a Biden setup.”
Heavily Armed Gangs Kill Nearly a Dozen People in Haiti as Trump Admin Cancels TPS for Haitians
Dec 02, 2025
In Haiti, heavily armed gangs killed nearly a dozen people as they set fire to homes and forced hundreds of survivors to flee over the weekend. The attack took place in Haiti’s central region; half of the area is now under gang control. One of Haiti’s police unions called it one of “the greatest security failures in modern Haitian history.” This comes as the Trump administration announced that it was ending temporary protected status for 340,000 Haitians living in the U.S. by February 3.
Indiana Lawmakers Unveil New Voting Map to Allow GOP to Win All Nine House Seats
Dec 02, 2025
In Indiana, Republican lawmakers have unveiled a new voting map that’s designed to hand their party all nine of Indiana’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The new map would divide districts in Indianapolis and the Chicago suburbs that have consistently voted for Democrats and are home to Indiana’s largest concentrations of nonwhite voters. Indiana Democrats blasted the maps as “racially gerrymandered” and introduced a bill seeking to ban mid-decade redistricting. This comes amid Republican efforts to redraw maps in Texas, Missouri, Utah, Ohio, North Carolina and elsewhere; meanwhile, some Democratic-controlled states, led by California, are moving to redistrict congressional maps in favor of Democrats.
Speaker Johnson and Trump Try to Prevent Upset House Loss in Tennessee Special Election
Dec 02, 2025
Image Credit: Vivian Jones/USA Today Network via Reuters
In Tennessee, voters in the state’s 7th Congressional District are casting ballots today in a special election to replace Republican Congressmember Mark Green, who resigned from Congress in July to pursue a business venture. Republican Matt Van Epps faces a strong challenge by Democratic state Representative Aftyn Behn in a district that President Trump won by 22 percentage points last November. On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson flew to Tennessee to rally support for Van Epps, with President Trump calling in via speakerphone to endorse him.
Appeals Court Rules Trump’s Personal Attorney Alina Habba Is an Unlawful U.S. Attorney
Dec 02, 2025
A federal appeals court has ruled that President Trump’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba, is serving unlawfully as U.S. attorney for New Jersey. In their unanimous ruling on Monday, three judges with the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Trump administration broke the law as it maneuvered to keep Habba installed as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey after her 120-day interim appointment expired in July. This comes just days after a federal judge ruled that acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan — another former Trump lawyer with no experience prosecuting criminal cases — was also installed to her position unlawfully.
Senate Minority Leader Schumer Says His Offices Received Emailed Bomb Threats
Dec 02, 2025
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that three of his offices in New York were targeted with emailed bomb threats, alleging the “2020 election was rigged” with the subject line ”MAGA.” This comes as Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly announced that he and his wife Gabby Giffords have been receiving more death threats since President Trump called for his execution, after Senator Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers urged U.S. service members to refuse illegal orders.
Sen. Mark Kelly: “We take these threats very seriously, and I take, you know, the threats from this president seriously. How many times in our country’s history have you heard a president of the United States say that members of the Senate and the House should be hanged and executed? I mean, I can’t think of one.”
Trump Commutes Seven-Year Prison Sentence of Private Equity CEO Convicted of Fraud
Dec 02, 2025
Image Credit: GPB Capital
President Trump has commuted the seven-year prison sentence of private equity executive David Gentile, who defrauded over 10,000 investors of around $1.6 billion. Gentile was convicted of securities and wire fraud last year and was just days into serving his prison sentence. According to prosecutors, Gentile’s victims were described as small business owners, farmers, veterans, teachers and nurses.