International News Briefs for Friday, January 23, 2026
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Friday, January 23, 2026.
Economic Blackout: Businesses Close for Day in Minnesota to Protest ICE Crackdown
Jan 23, 2026
In Minnesota, hundreds of businesses are expected to close today as part of a one-day economic blackout to protest the ongoing ICE immigration crackdown. Organizers of today’s strike include faith leaders and unions. They are calling for people to not work, go to school or shop. Businesses closing include the famed Walker Art Center.
Minnesota Activists Arrested for Anti-ICE Church Protest; White House Posts Doctored Photo
Jan 23, 2026
Image Credit: X/@Sec_Noem
On Thursday, the prominent Twin Cities civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong and two others were arrested on federal charges for their role in peacefully protesting inside a St. Paul church where a top ICE official serves as a pastor. The three face charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a law written to protect abortion clinics. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Levy Armstrong’s arrest, and then the White House posted an AI-generated image to make it appear Levy Armstrong was crying after her arrest. Her skin was made to look darker. The Justice Department also attempted to bring charges against the journalist and former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who covered the church protest, but a federal magistrate judge rejected the request. We will speak to Levy Armstrong’s lawyer and get an update on today’s economic blackout after headlines.
Outrage Grows over ICE Detaining 5-Year-Old Liam Ramos
Jan 23, 2026
Image Credit: Columbia Heights Public Schools
Outrage is growing in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, after ICE agents detained a 5-year-old boy named Liam Ramos and his father, who is an asylum seeker. Photos from the scene show a masked agent standing next to Liam, who was wearing his backpack and a blue winter hat with bunny ears. He had just returned from preschool. The father and son were then quickly sent to a detention facility in Texas.
On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance visited Minneapolis and defended ICE for targeting the boy’s father and detaining the preschooler.
Vice President JD Vance: “So, the story is that ICE detained a 5-year-old. Well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?”
Local officials in Columbia Heights condemned the detention of 5-year-old Liam Ramos. Rachel James serves on the Columbia Heights City Council. She described efforts by neighbors to protect the boy.
Rachel James: “I heard one neighbor say, ‘I live in this house. I’m part of this family. I can take him. Let him come to me.’ I heard another neighbor on the other side say, ‘I have the forms. His mom signed the forms. Let me have him. I know him. I know him.’ … I kept saying, ‘Stop. Wait. He can go with us. He can go with the teachers.’ And then they took him over to the car, and he was just standing there. And then they quickly put him in the back seat and drove away.”
On Thursday, the lawyer for the Ramos family, Marc Prokosch, said Liam and his father had come to the U.S. in 2024 from Ecuador to seek asylum.
Marc Prokosch: “Liam and his dad did enter the United States at a port of entry to seek asylum through the CBP One app at the Brownsville border crossing. So they did everything right when they came in. They used the app. They made an appointment. They came to the border and presented themselves to Customs and Border Patrol. They’ve shared all of their information with the government, and they were following the process. They were just trying to secure safety and persecution for their family from their home country. But ICE didn’t care about the fact that they had those pending claims, and then just arrested them.”
Seven Democrats Back Spending Bill to Fund DHS & ICE
Jan 23, 2026
On Capitol Hill, seven Democratic lawmakers joined Republicans to pass a $1.2 trillion government funding package that includes $64 billion more for the Department of Homeland Security and $10 billion more for ICE. The Democrats voting for the measure were Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both of Texas; Jared Golden of Maine; Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington; Don Davis of North Carolina; and Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi, both of New York.
Israel Kills 4 in Gaza as Kushner Lays Out Plan for Turning Gaza into Seaside Resort
Jan 23, 2026
In news from Gaza, Israeli tank shelling killed four Palestinians on Thursday. The killings came as President Trump was launching his so-called Board of Peace in Davos, Switzerland. At the ceremony, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner outlined his vision for turning Gaza into a glitzy seaside resort filled with futuristic high-rise buildings.
Jared Kushner: “In the Middle East, they build cities like this in — you know, 2-3 million people, they build this in three years. And so, stuff like this is very doable, if we make it happen.”
Kushner said the first phase of the project would be rebuilding the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which was leveled by Israel. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt is expected to reopen next week.
Many Palestinians fear Israel and the U.S. will move to forcibly displace them from Gaza. On Thursday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met in Davos with the leader of Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region. Israel recently became the first nation to recognize Somaliland as an independent nation. There have been reports Israel wants to expel Palestinians en masse from Gaza to Somaliland.
This all comes as Palestinians in Gaza struggle to survive with little food or shelter. This is Mohammed Al-Qudra in Khan Younis speaking about Trump’s plan for Gaza.
Mohammed Al-Qudra: “No matter how much he says, it’s all in vain. Why? Because we, as citizens, aren’t seeing any real change on the ground. The suffering remains the same. Rain. There are no tents, no shelters, as you can see, the destruction. Wood, we don’t have that. … President Trump announced that the second phase had begun, but we haven’t seen anything. People in al-Mawasi are living in tents, displaced. People in the east can’t reach their homes. You can hear the shooting, the shelling, day and night, martyrs.”
Russia, Ukraine & U.S. Negotiators Hold Trilateral Talks in Abu Dhabi
Jan 23, 2026
Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators have begun meeting in Abu Dhabi for the first trilateral talks since Russia invaded Ukraine almost four years ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he hopes the talks are a step toward ending the war. On Thursday, Zelensky met with President Trump in Davos, while Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Moscow.
WSJ: U.S. Seeks Cuban Collaborators to Help Topple Government
Jan 23, 2026
The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Trump administration has been plotting ways to topple the Cuban government in the wake of the U.S. abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Journal reports the U.S. is “searching for Cuban government insiders who can help cut a deal” to push out the current leadership.
On Thursday, The Guardian reported the U.S. used a similar model in Venezuela. Four sources told the paper that Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, and her powerful brother, Jorge, had pledged to cooperate with the Trump administration if Maduro was removed from power. Rodríguez is now serving as Venezuela’s interim leader.
Public Health Advocates Decry U.S. Leaving World Health Organization
Jan 23, 2026
The United States officially left the World Health Organization on Thursday. Public health experts fear the U.S. decision will hinder global public health initiatives. Dr. Thomas Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called the withdrawal a “grave error.” He said, “Health threats do not respect borders, and weakening global cooperation makes Americans less safe.”
Trump Orders Review of All Federal Funding Going to Democratic-Led States
Jan 23, 2026
The Trump administration has ordered a review of almost all federal funding going to more than a dozen Democratic-led states. The move comes just days after President Trump threatened to suspend federal funding for sanctuary cities and states at the end of the month. States that could be impacted include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, as well as Washington, D.C.
Ex-Special Counsel Jack Smith: Not Holding Trump Accountable for Trying to Steal Election Could Be “Catastrophic”
Jan 23, 2026
Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before Congress Thursday and defended his decision to indict Donald Trump for seeking to overturn the 2020 election and removing classified documents from the White House.
Jack Smith: “I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including the decision to bring charges against President Trump. Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity. If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Democrat or a Republican. No one — no one — should be above the law in this country, and the law required that he be held to account. So that is what I did.”
During the hearing, Congressmember Pramila Jayapal questioned Jack Smith about the importance of accountability.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal: “How would you describe the toll on our democracy if we do not hold a president accountable for attempting to steal an election?”
Jack Smith: “My belief is that if we do not hold the most powerful people in our society to the same standards of the rule of law, it can be catastrophic.”
Larry Ellison’s Oracle Part of New Deal to Own U.S. Version of TikTok
Jan 23, 2026
A major Trump billionaire ally is now the partial owner of the social media platform TikTok. A group of investors including Larry Ellison’s company Oracle agreed to a $14 billion deal to give them control of the U.S. version of the platform being spun off from ByteDance, a Chinese-owned company. In 2024, Congress banned TikTok, claiming national security concerns over its ties to China. But Trump had allowed the platform to keep operating as a deal was worked out. Ellison is also the largest shareholder of Paramount, the parent company of CBS.
Filipino Radio Journalist Sentenced to Up to 18 Years in Prison
Jan 23, 2026
In the Philippines, a radio journalist has been sentenced to between 12 and 18 years in prison in a case widely condemned by press freedom groups. Frenchie Mae Cumpio has been jailed since February 2020, when she and four others were arrested for allegedly having ties to the Communist Party of the Philippines. She was convicted of terror financing. U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion Irene Khan has criticized Cumpio’s prosecution, saying the charges were filed “in retaliation for her work as a journalist.”