International News Briefs for Monday, December 22, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Monday, December 22, 2025.
U.S. Pursues Two Oil Tankers Near Venezuela, Ramping Up Pressure on Maduro
Dec 22, 2025
Image Credit: X/@Sec_Noem
The U.S. military pursued two oil tankers near Venezuela over the weekend, as it ramps up its pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted and seized the Chinese-owned, Panamanian-flagged vessel named Centuries that was not under U.S. sanctions. Meanwhile, the U.S. attempted to intercept another tanker called the Bella 1, which was on its way to pick up oil in Venezuela. Earlier this month, the U.S. seized an oil tanker called the Skipper, with soldiers rappelling from helicopters and pointing weapons at sailors. It comes as President Donald Trump has declared a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Since September, the Trump administration has bombed at least 28 boats allegedly transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing more than 100 people. On Sunday, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky slammed the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuela.
Sen. Rand Paul: “I consider it a provocation and a prelude to war, and I hope we don’t go to war with Venezuela. Look, at any point in time, there are 20, 30 governments around the world that we don’t like, that are either socialist or communist or have human rights violations. We could really, literally, go through a couple dozen. But it isn’t the job of the American soldier to be the policeman of the world. So I’m not for confiscating these liners. I’m not for blowing up these boats of unarmed people that are suspected of being drug dealers. I’m not for any of this.”
Trump Appoints Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as U.S. Special Envoy to Greenland
Dec 22, 2025
President Trump announced that he’s appointing Republican Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana to serve as the U.S. special envoy to Greenland. In response, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen said Monday he would summon the U.S. ambassador to Copenhagen. Landry thanked Trump on social media, saying, “It’s an honor to serve in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S.” President Trump has repeatedly called for the U.S. to take over Greenland using military force.
WHO Declares Gaza No Longer Faces Famine, But Progress Remains Extremely Fragile
Dec 22, 2025
The World Health Organization declared Gaza no longer faces famine, following the ceasefire agreement signed on October 10, but warns that progress remains extremely fragile, as Israel continues to severely restrict humanitarian operations, with Palestinians facing collapsed livelihoods and massive destruction to Gaza’s infrastructure, including farmland. The WHO has warned more than 100,000 Palestinian children and 37,000 PBWs — that’s pregnant and breastfeeding women — are projected to suffer acute malnutrition through April of next year. Meanwhile, Israel continues near-daily violations of the ceasefire.
On Saturday, Palestinians held a funeral for five people killed after Israel attacked a school sheltering displaced people in the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City.
Abdalla al-Nadar: “We were inside the school, in a safe place. We were surprised with rockets and missiles falling over us. They hit the innocent civilians in an extreme massacre. Those were innocent civilians, children, women, elderly and young people, 3-year-old, 5-year-old. They have nothing to do with any movement or anything.”
Israel’s Security Cabinet Approves 19 New Jewish Settlements in the Occupied West Bank
Dec 22, 2025
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including a child, during separate raids in Jenin governorate. Witnesses say 16-year-old Rayyan Abdel Qader was shot at close range by Israeli soldiers who blocked medics from reaching him, leading the boy to bleed out. His body was then seized by Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, Israel’s security cabinet has approved 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in its latest breach of international law. It brings the number of new settlements approved by Israel over the last three years to 69. We’ll have more on this story later in the broadcast.
U.S. Military Launches Airstrikes Against ISIS in Syria
Dec 22, 2025
Image Credit: X/@centcom
The U.S. military launched strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, following the killing of two American soldiers and their interpreter earlier this month. A U.S. military official told The Wall Street Journal that over 70 targets were struck by U.S. warplanes, using more than 100 precision-guided munitions. It’s the largest American assault against ISIS in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last year.
Russian Missile Strike on Odesa Kills 8 People as a Russian General Dies in Car Bomb Explosion
Dec 22, 2025
In southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike Saturday targeted port infrastructure in the Black Sea city of Odesa, killing eight people and wounding 27 others. The attack came as Russia’s military claimed control over two more villages in the Donetsk and Sumy regions of Ukraine.
In Moscow, a senior Russian general died Monday morning in a car bomb explosion outside a block of apartment buildings. Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov led the Russian military’s operational training department. His assassination comes a year after Ukraine claimed responsibility for blowing up the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical weapons defense forces.
In Miami, Florida, President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff praised talks aimed at ending Russia’s war on Ukraine as “productive and constructive” after separate meetings with Ukrainian, European and Russian negotiators over the weekend. President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined the talks, which showed no obvious signs of a breakthrough. Reuters reports U.S. intelligence assessments continue to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his aims of capturing all of Ukraine and expanding Russia’s influence over former Soviet bloc states.
Justice Department Under Fire over Incomplete and Heavily Redacted Release of Epstein Files
Dec 22, 2025
The Justice Department is under fire over its initial release of files related to the serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after it failed to publish thousands of documents ahead of last Friday’s congressionally imposed deadline. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the delay was due to the time it takes to carefully redact the names of Epstein’s victims from hundreds of thousands of documents, and said the missing documents would eventually be made public, on a rolling basis. The delay drew criticism from Epstein survivors and members of Congress. On Sunday, California Democrat Ro Khanna and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, who co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, said they’ll seek to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress. Some Democrats said they’re considering filing articles of impeachment against Bondi.
Of the pages turned over so far, more than 500 were entirely redacted, including all 119 pages of a document labeled “Grand Jury-NY.” Meanwhile, at least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage over the weekend before reappearing amid a public outcry. The files included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a photograph of Trump alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. This is Sky Roberts, the brother of Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre, whose death last April was ruled a suicide.
Sky Roberts: “You know, to be honest, in reviewing the documents that have been released, at least the first gauge, and what we understand is that it’s about 10%. And so, you look at it, and you say, ‘Well, I thought we asked for all the documents. I thought that this bill sort of alluded to the fact that we should be getting everything released.’ And so, there’s also this mixed feeling of: What are we hiding here?”
After headlines, we’ll speak with Congressmember Ro Khanna of California, who co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
GOP Congressmember Stefanik Drops Out of New York Governor’s Race
Dec 22, 2025
Republican Congressmember Elise Stefanik of New York, a staunch ally of President Trump, announced that she’s dropping out of the New York governor’s race and giving up her seat in Congress next year. Stefanik is the latest high-profile Republican to announce her departure from Congress, after Republican Congressmember Marjorie Taylor Greene announced that she’s leaving in January. It comes as Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming also announced that she would not seek reelection after serving one term.
CBS News Cancels Segment from “60 Minutes” on Deportations to El Salvador’s CECOT Prison
Dec 22, 2025
CBS News abruptly canceled a segment from Sunday’s episode of “60 Minutes” featuring the stories of Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s brutal CECOT prison. CBS pulled the segment three hours before the broadcast, after Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief of CBS News, requested multiple changes to the segment. CBS correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the segment, said in an internal note, “Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
ACLU Sounds Alarm over Surge of Deaths of Immigrants Jailed by ICE
Dec 22, 2025
The American Civil Liberties Union is sounding the alarm about the deaths of immigrants in ICE custody. Just this month, according to ICE press releases, four people in immigration detention have died over a four-day period. In 2025, 30 people died in ICE custody, the highest number since 2004. Eunice Cho, senior counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project, said, “There is no question in my mind that this represents a clear deterioration of medical care and the worsening conditions in ICE detention.”
Pakistani Court Sentences Ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan and Wife to 17 Years in Corruption Case
Dec 22, 2025
In Pakistan, a court has sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison after they were found guilty of retaining and selling state gifts. Khan was removed from power when he lost a no-confidence vote in 2022, and was then imprisoned in 2023 in a separate corruption case. Khan has long accused Pakistani authorities of politically persecuting him as part of a U.S.-backed conspiracy.
Tens of Thousands Join State Funeral of Assassinated Bangladeshi Student Leader
Dec 22, 2025
In Bangladesh, tens of thousands of mourners gathered Saturday at the state funeral for Sharif Osman Hadi, a leader of last year’s student-led uprising that toppled longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hadi was shot in the head by masked gunmen in Dhaka last week as he was preparing to announce plans to run as an independent candidate in national elections next February. Protesters at his funeral demanded justice.
Saifullah Muhammad Sayem: “The feeling is so sad, because still we don’t know who killed our brother. We don’t know what is going on in the coming days. And still we are not in hope that justice will be ensured in our country. So, we think we have to fight long. We have to fight more and more.”
Authorities have identified a suspect in Hadi’s killing. Faisal Karim Masud was a leader of a now-banned student wing of the ousted Awami League, the party of former Prime Minister Hasina. He remains at large.
Australian Prime Minister Booed at Memorial Service for Victims of Bondi Beach Massacre
Dec 22, 2025
In Sydney, Australia, thousands of mourners held a moment of silence Sunday evening to mark one week since a father and son opened fire on a Jewish festival marking the first day of Hannukah, killing 15 people and leaving dozens of others injured. This comes as Australian police say the attackers threw homemade bombs at a crowd at Bondi Beach before the mass shooting, but all four devices failed to detonate. Some members of the crowd on Sunday booed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as he arrived at the commemoration, and again when his name was mentioned in a speech. Jewish leaders have called for a federal royal commission to investigate the Bondi Beach massacre, something Albanese has resisted. He’s instead backing a state-level royal commission. Mourners also cheered the heroism of Ahmed al-Ahmed, a bystander who was wounded after wrestling a gun from one of the Bondi Beach attackers. This is David Ossip, the president of the New South Wales Board of Jewish Deputies.
David Ossip: “And, friends, Ahmed has asked me to pass on the following message to us all: quote, ‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted. Today I stand with you, my brothers and sisters.’ Thank you, Ahmed!”
In the wake of the shooting, lawmakers in the New South Wales state Parliament are debating an emergency set of laws to tighten gun laws. The legislation is expected to pass the upper house on Tuesday.