International News Briefs for Tuesday, September 2, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
Appellate Court Rules Most of Trump’s Tariffs Were Unlawfully Imposed
Sep 02, 2025
President Trump has vowed to take his tariff fight to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that most of the tariffs imposed by the White House on nearly every other country have no legal basis. This includes the “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed in April, as well as earlier tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China. The decision upholds an earlier ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade. In its decision, the appeals court called tariffs “a core Congressional power.” After headlines, we’ll speak with the former Solicitor General Neal Katyal, who argued the legal challenge to the tariffs, as well as Oregon’s attorney general, who brought the case.
Landslide Kills Over 1,000 in Darfur Mountains Where Many Sought Refuge from Civil War
Sep 02, 2025
Image Credit: Sudan Liberation Movement/Army
A landslide in Sudan’s Darfur region killed more than 1,000 people on Sunday. That’s according to the Sudan Liberation Movement, an armed rebel group that controls the region. The landslide destroyed a village in the Marra Mountains, where residents had sought refuge to escape fighting between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary faction, the Rapid Support Forces. The Darfur region is largely inaccessible to international aid groups due to the civil war, which is now in its third year.
Afghans Appeal for International Help as Earthquake Death Toll Tops 1,400
Sep 02, 2025
In Afghanistan, the death toll from Sunday’s earthquake in a remote mountainous area near the Pakistan border has topped 1,400 and is expected to rise, with thousands more injured by the disaster. It’s one of the deadliest earthquakes to hit Afghanistan in over a decade, with aftershocks felt in neighboring Pakistan and as far away as India. Roads have been blocked, and communications have been disrupted. Aid workers are forced to walk for hours to reach affected communities. Here’s one of the survivors, Mohammad Ibrahim.
Mohammad Ibrahim: “A total of 25 people from my family were martyred, and they’re still under the rubble. I ask the international community to provide us with aid, and God will grant them rewards.”
The U.S. offered its condolences on X, without pledging any aid. An official from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan told Reuters that U.S. aid cuts have hampered the response to the earthquake, saying, “The number of people we have on the ground is much less than we would have had six months ago.” Meanwhile, China, India, Pakistan, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates have all pledged disaster relief assistance to Afghanistan.
Amid Famine and Israeli Attacks, Gaza’s Children Face Third Consecutive Year Without Education
Sep 02, 2025
In Gaza, Israeli attacks since dawn have killed at least 54 Palestinians, including people seeking food. The attacks came as Gaza health officials recorded another 13 deaths due to starvation — three of them children. That brings the number of hunger-related deaths in Gaza to more than 360. According to a leading global monitor, more than half a million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are suffering “catastrophic” levels of hunger due to Israel’s blockade. On Monday, a steady stream of Palestinians fled northern parts of Gaza City as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip’s largest urban area, home to about 1 million people.
Khaled al-Masry: “I want to find a place where I can stay with my sons and daughters. I don’t know where to go. Moving out requires money. I can’t even find something to eat. It has been two months without food. I don’t know where to go. I borrowed money from here and there. No one is standing by me to give me anything. No one is standing with the Palestinian people.”
On Monday, millions of Israeli students returned to their classrooms to begin the new school year. Meanwhile, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees warns of a “lost generation” of more than 660,000 Palestinian children in Gaza deprived of schooling for a third consecutive year.
International Scholars’ Association Declares Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza
Sep 02, 2025
The world’s leading genocide scholars’ association has approved a resolution establishing that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide as found in the Genocide Convention, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity. Melanie O’Brien is president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
Melanie O’Brien: “This resolution declaring what is happening in Gaza as genocide passed by an overwhelming majority, far beyond the two-thirds majority required.”
This comes after hundreds of staffers at the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights signed a letter urging the U.N. agency to declare Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide and calling on U.N. member states to suspend arms sales to Israel.
Dozens of Ships Set Sail for Gaza Carrying Humanitarian Aid, Seeking to Break Israel’s Siege
Sep 02, 2025
In Spain, dozens of ships carrying civilian activists and loaded with humanitarian aid departed Barcelona on Monday, bound for the Gaza Strip. The Global Sumud Flotilla is the largest attempt yet to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg helped to organize the flotilla.
Greta Thunberg: “Israel are very clear about their genocidal intent. They want to erase the Palestinian nation. They want to take over the Gaza Strip. And if that doesn’t make people act, if that doesn’t make people go out of their couch and take action, fill the streets, get organized, then I don’t know what will.”
In Australia, peace activists held a nonviolent protest Monday blocking the entrance of Port Melbourne, demanding Australia suspend trade with Israel. Meanwhile, in Colorado, dozens of Jewish peace activists and allies rallied on Friday outside the Denver office of Senator Michael Bennet. Protesters are calling on Bennet and Colorado’s other Democratic senator, John Hickenlooper, to join 27 other Senate Democrats and independents who voted in support of a resolution to block arms transfers to Israel.
Thousands Gather in Yemen’s Capital for Funeral of Houthi Leaders Killed in Israeli Strike
Sep 02, 2025
In Yemen, thousands of mourners gathered at the largest mosque in the capital Sana’a Monday for the funerals of the prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi-run government, Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi, and 11 other Houthi leaders. We’ll have more on this story later in the broadcast.
Judge Rules Over 600 Unaccompanied Guatemalan Children Can Stay in the U.S.
Sep 02, 2025
The Trump administration tried to deport over 600 unaccompanied Guatemalan children over Labor Day weekend, but a federal judge temporarily halted their removal, ruling the action was unlawful. The National Immigration Law Center filed an emergency request to stop the deportation flights, saying the children “face abuse, neglect, persecution, or torture” if deported to Guatemala. As the children were loaded onto planes in Texas and waiting on the tarmac, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan was woken at 2:35 a.m. to address the case. She later issued a 14-day restraining order allowing the children to stay in the U.S., for now, to challenge their removal. We’ll have more on this story after headlines.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott Signs New Congressional Map into Law
Sep 02, 2025
In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has signed a new congressional map into law which is aimed at giving Republicans five more seats in the House of Representatives. In response, Indivisible’s national advocacy director Andrew O’Neill said, “Governor Abbott’s mid-decade redistricting effort is anti-democratic and discriminatory. He’s not just rigging the maps in Texas — he’s attempting to undermine the midterm elections and diluting the power and voice of communities of color in Texas while doing so.” Meanwhile, in Utah, a judge tossed out the state’s current congressional map and ordered the Republican-led state Legislature to draw a new one by September 24. The move could favor Democrats, as the party could pick up a seat in Salt Lake City.
Xi Jinping Warmly Greets Putin and Modi at Security Summit
Sep 02, 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed leaders of Asian nations to Tianjin for a regional summit on Sunday, warmly greeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as friends — and opposing what he called the “bullying” and “Cold War mentality” of the United States under President Trump. It was the first visit by Prime Minister Modi to China in seven years, signaling a thaw in relations between India and China. In a joint statement following the talks, members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization strongly condemned recent U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. The group made no mention of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia Blamed for Jamming Navigation System of Plane Carrying EU Chief
Sep 02, 2025
The European Commission says a plane carrying European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen was left circling above an airport in southern Bulgaria Sunday after an apparent GPS jamming attack on the plane. According to the Financial Times, the plane’s pilots were forced to land using paper maps. The European Commission blamed Russia for jamming the plane’s navigation system and said the incident would “ramp up our defense capabilities and support for Ukraine.”
Seven Dead in Anti-Government Protests in Indonesia
Sep 02, 2025
In Indonesia, at least seven people are dead and hundreds more injured amid a crackdown on anti-government protests that erupted in Jakarta a week ago, before spreading across the country. The uprising began with protests outside Indonesia’s parliament against salaries and housing allowances for lawmakers that are nearly 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta. Protests spread nationwide after footage showed a paramilitary police unit using an armored vehicle to ram a group of protesters, killing a 21-year-old delivery driver. Protesters have since burned or ransacked buses, subways and the homes of several prominent politicians.
Over 1,000 Demonstrations Held Across the U.S. for Labor Day
Sep 02, 2025
More than a thousand demonstrations were held across the United States Monday for Labor Day, as protesters came out against what the AFL-CIO called a “government by, and for, the CEOs and billionaires.” The protests came after President Trump stripped nearly a half a million federal workers of their union protections in August.
On New York’s Long Island, workers, community organizers and climate activists marched through the streets of the Hamptons to expose billionaire donors who are bankrolling the mayoral campaigns of former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, labor leaders joined Mayor Brandon Johnson to denounce Trump’s threats to blanket Chicago with National Guard troops and federal immigration agents. Stacy Davis Gates is president of the Chicago Teachers Union.
Stacy Davis Gates: “In Chicago, right now we are reconstructing school libraries so we can teach the truth and media literacy. In Chicago, we are reopening mental health clinics, abolishing subminimum wage, making sure that workers get paid time off. We are in a reconstruction with a Black mayor whose family escaped Sallis, Mississippi, and imagined his leadership. We’re doing it with an organizer, not a billionaire. We are a government of the people, for the people, not a government of billionaires, for billionaires.”