International News Briefs for Monday, March 3, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – Here are some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Trump and Vance Attack Ukrainian President Zelensky in Chaotic, Unprecedented Oval Office Clash
Mar 03, 2025
Leaders in Europe held an emergency summit in London Sunday, two days after an unprecedented public clash at the White House between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Zelensky had traveled to the White House to sign a deal giving the United States partial control over Ukraine’s raw earth minerals. But the deal imploded following a dramatic televised press conference where Trump accused Zelensky of gambling with World War III, after Zelensky insisted Ukraine could only back a Russia peace deal if it included a security guarantee from the United States. The press conference ended with Trump and JD Vance openly criticizing Zelensky.
President Donald Trump: “You’re not in a good position.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Mr. President, I was in the” —
President Donald Trump: “You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “I’m not playing cards.”
President Donald Trump: “But right now you don’t — yeah, you’re playing cards.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “I’m very serious, Mr. President.”
President Donald Trump: “You’re playing cards.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “I’m very serious.”
President Donald Trump: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “I am the president in a war. You think” —
President Donald Trump: “You’re gambling with World War III.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “What are you thinking about?”
President Donald Trump: “You’re gambling with World War III.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “What are you thinking about?”
President Donald Trump: “And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country” —
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “I am with all respect to your country.”
President Donald Trump: — “that’s backed you, far more than a lot of people said they should have.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “I am very respectful.”
Vice President JD Vance: “Have you said ‘thank you’ once?”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “A lot of times.”
Vice President JD Vance: “This entire meeting? No, in this entire meeting” —
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Even today.”
Vice President JD Vance: — “have you said ‘thank you’?”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Even today.”
Vice President JD Vance: “You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Oh my” —
Vice President JD Vance: “Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America” —
President Volodymyr Zelensky: “What — what are you speaking about?”
Vice President JD Vance: — “and the president who’s trying to save your country.”
Shortly after this exchange, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz asked Zelensky to leave the White House.
Trump’s treatment of Zelensky shocked many in Washington. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said, “I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested that Zelensky may need to step down following the White House meeting.
Zelensky Receives Warm Welcome from European Leaders After White House Debacle
Mar 03, 2025
After leaving Washington, Zelensky traveled to London to meet on Saturday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who warmly greeted Zelensky outside of 10 Downing Street. On Sunday, Starmer hosted an emergency meeting of European leaders. He called for a coalition of the willing to be formed to support Ukraine if a peace deal is reached.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer: “We will go further to develop a coalition of the willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace. … The U.K. is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others. Europe must do the heavy lifting, but to support peace in our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong U.S. backing.”
Meanwhile, France is pushing for a one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine. While almost all of Europe is backing Ukraine, Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán praised Trump, saying, “Strong men make peace, weak men make war. President Trump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest.”
In other fallout from the White House meeting, a major Norwegian fuel supplier, Haltbakk Bunkers, has announced it is halting fuel sales to U.S. ships. The company said, “Today, we witnessed the biggest disgrace ever put on display by the current U.S. president and his vice president.”
Pentagon Suspends U.S. Cyber Operations Targeting Russia
Mar 03, 2025
In other news on U.S.-Russian relations, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to suspend offensive cyber operations targeting Russia. The Pentagon has not publicly discussed the policy change, but national security adviser Mike Waltz told CNN that the United States would use “all kinds of carrots and sticks to get this war to an end.”
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Russian state television aired an interview with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov talking about Trump. He said, “The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely aligns with our vision.”
On Friday, a member of Russia’s state-owned news agency TASS gained access to the Oval Office during the meeting with Zelensky while reporters from the Associated Press and Reuters were excluded. The White House said the Russian reporter was not approved and was eventually removed.
Israel Blocks Gaza Aid as It Continues to Derail Ceasefire; U.S. Expedites $4B Israeli Arms Transfer
Mar 03, 2025
The United Nations and many Arab nations have condemned Israel for cutting off all food and humanitarian aid into Gaza. Egypt and Qatar accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the blockade as Israel attempts to pressure Hamas to agree to a new proposal by the United States that would force Hamas to release all remaining hostages without Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza. Hamas has accused Israel of trying to derail the original ceasefire agreement. Over the past two days, Israeli troops have killed at least nine Palestinians in Gaza. Residents in Gaza denounced the new Israeli blockade.
Hisham Nagi: “Suffering will increase after the occupation’s decision to close the crossings. Frankly, since the beginning of the war, they have been trying to starve us, and we fear the people will starve due to the lack of aid and food supplies. Additionally, people are afraid of the return of war and facing death again. Isn’t it enough that the occupation has killed 50,000 or 60,000 martyrs so far?”
The Trump administration is fast-tracking another $4 billion in weapons to Israel, including more than 35,000 2,000-pound bombs, as well as 4,000 Predator warheads. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed an emergency declaration that bypasses Congress to expedite the arms shipment. The Trump administration has approved $12 billion in arms for Israel over the past five weeks.
Trump’s Foreign Aid Cuts Could Lead to Half a Million AIDS Deaths in South Africa
Mar 03, 2025
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is urging the Trump administration to reverse its sweeping cuts to international humanitarian programs, saying it will make the world “less healthy, less safe and less prosperous.”
Secretary-General António Guterres: “The consequences will be especially devastating for vulnerable people around the world.”
South Africa is one nation that could be particularly hard hit by Trump’s foreign aid cuts. An official at the Desmond Tutu HIV Center is warning the funding cuts to HIV projects could lead to 500,000 deaths in South Africa over the next 10 years. Meanwhile, an adviser to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation said Trump’s halt to foreign aid amounts to a “death sentence for mothers and children.”
In related news, a high-ranking official at USAID has been placed on leave after warning in a memo that the administration has failed to protect programs that deliver lifesaving assistance despite a promise of waivers by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Nick Enrich, USAID’s acting assistant administrator for global health, had written in a memo, “This will no doubt result in preventable death, destabilization, and threats to national security on a massive scale.”
U.S. Judge Says Gov’t Watchdog Illegally Fired; DNC Sues Trump over Attack on Election Commission
Mar 03, 2025
In other Trump news, federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson has ruled the head of a key government watchdog was illegally fired. The ruling centered on Trump’s firing of Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, which handles whistleblower complaints. In her ruling, Berman Jackson warned against giving Trump a “constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will.”
In other legal news, the Democratic National Committee and related groups have sued Trump over his attempt to strip the bipartisan Federal Election Commission of its independence.
WaPo: DHS Seeking Personal IRS Data of 700,000 Suspected Undocumented People
Mar 03, 2025
In immigration news, The Washington Post is reporting the Department of Homeland Security has asked the IRS to hand over detailed information on about 700,000 suspected undocumented immigrants, including their home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. According to the Post, the Internal Revenue Service initially refused the request, but the agency’s new acting commissioner is reportedly exploring how to comply. Federal law bars the IRS from sharing personal tax information with other government agencies.
Meanwhile, President Trump has signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. The move comes weeks after the White House took down the Spanish-language version of the official White House website.
Landlord Who Killed 6-Year-Old Wadea al-Fayoume Found Guilty of Murder and Hate Crime
Mar 03, 2025
In Illinois, a jury found landlord Joseph Czuba guilty of murder and hate crimes for killing 6-year-old Palestinian American child Wadea al-Fayoume and wounding his mother, Hanan Shaheen, in October 2023 in the town of Plainfield. He now faces life in prison without parole. After the verdict was announced, Wadea al-Fayoume’s father Oday al-Fayoume spoke at a press conference, his words translated here by CAIR-Chicago’s Executive Director Ahmed Rehab.
Oday al-Fayoume: “For me as a father, I feel like I’m discovering Wadea and learning about Wadea more every day. And suffice for me as a father to know that his pride in being who he was as a Palestinian, as a Muslim, as an Arab, and being killed and targeted for that, was sufficient for him to live through, even though it caused his death, and that, for me, I will always remember him with pride.”
Disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo Enters New York City Mayoral Race
Mar 03, 2025
Here in New York, former Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced he is running for New York City mayor. This comes three years after Cuomo was forced to resign as governor in the wake of 11 accusations of sexual misconduct. Cuomo was also found by a New York ethics board to have improperly used state funds to write his coronavirus pandemic memoir, and has been accused of deliberately underreporting and covering up the number of nursing home deaths during the pandemic.
Cuomo joins a crowded field ahead of the Democratic primary on June 24 as calls grow for New York City Mayor Eric Adams to resign. Adams has been widely accused of accepting a quid pro quo with the White House to enact Trump’s immigration crackdown in exchange for the Justice Department pushing for Adams’s corruption charges to be dropped.
At Least the 5th New York Prisoner Has Died in Weeks Since Wildcat Strike Started
Mar 03, 2025
Image Credit: USA Today NETWORK via Reuters Connect
In other news from New York, another prisoner has died. An unnamed 22-year-old at the Mid-State Correctional Facility near Utica was pronounced dead on Saturday. Nine fellow detainees said the deceased was brutally beaten by prison officers. This comes two days after a prison guard union reached a tentative deal with Governor Kathy Hochul to end a wildcat strike that started two weeks ago. The deal suspended parts of the HALT Act, which limits the use of solitary confinement. Four other prisoners died during the strike.
Iowa Enacts Bill Ending Civil Rights Protections for Transgender People
Mar 03, 2025
Image Credit: Iowa State Senate
Iowa’s Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill ending civil rights protections based on gender identity, becoming the first state to repeal civil rights protections for transgender people. Last week, protesters flooded the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines to defend trans rights as lawmakers voted to curtail them.
Vermont Protesters Greet JD Vance with Pro-Trans, Pro-Ukraine, Pro-Palestinian Messages
Mar 03, 2025
Image Credit: Mid River Valley
Protesters lined the streets of Waitsfield, Vermont, as Vice President JD Vance arrived for his ski vacation at the Sugarbush Resort this weekend. Protesters held signs expressing anger at the Trump-Vance administration over everything from its attacks on trans rights, the climate and Palestinian rights, as well as the pair’s treatment of Ukrainian President Zelensky and its mass firing of federal workers. Vance and his family reportedly had to move their stay to an “undisclosed location” because of the demonstrations. Several protests were also held at Sugarbush Resort.
Protesters Across U.S. Target Elon Musk’s Businesses, Trump’s Crackdown on National Parks
Mar 03, 2025
Image Credit: Courtesy of Chauncey Dandridge
Protests targeting Elon Musk also took place over the weekend. In New York, nine people were arrested as they demonstrated outside a Tesla dealership. Rallies also took place in front of Tesla retailers in Jacksonville, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; and other cities as protesters held signs reading messages like “No Dictators in the USA.” In Los Angeles, hundreds of people demonstrated at the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne. SpaceX has received billions of dollars in government funding and has been apparently trying to take over a $2.4 billion Federal Aviation Administration contract that had already been awarded to Verizon.
Meanwhile, thousands gathered at national parks across the country to condemn the firings of at least 1,000 National Park Service employees and to defend public lands.
“End Ceaseless War Provocations”: Activists Denounce U.S.-Led Drills in Korea
Mar 03, 2025
In New York City, hundreds gathered outside of the United Nations headquarters Saturday demanding the Trump administration cancel next week’s huge military drills, known as Freedom Shield, on the Korean Peninsula.
Miyeon Jang: “My name is Miyeon. I’m with Nodutdol for Korean Community Development. And I’m here today alongside thousands of Koreans and their allies in the U.S. to declare an end to the U.S.-led Freedom Shield war exercises and to demand an end of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund endless war in Korea. The Korean War has not ended. We’re still in a ceasefire, just like in Palestine, except for Korean history has told us, 75 years later, the U.S. is still in our homeland, it’s still dividing Korea, so we need to demand a complete end to ceaseless war provocations and war games.”
South Korea is the site of Camp Humphreys, the world’s largest overseas U.S. military installation.
Palestinian-Israeli Film “No Other Land” Makes History as It Takes Home Best Documentary Oscar
Mar 03, 2025
Image Credit: Courtesy A.M.P.A.S. 2025
The Oscars were held on Sunday. History was made in the best documentary category.
Samuel L. Jackson: “And the Oscar goes to ‘No Other Land.’”
The Palestinian-Israeli film “No Other Land” won for best documentary. The film follows the struggles of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank community of Masafer Yatta to stay on their land amid violent attacks by Jewish settlers aimed at expelling them. The film was made by a team of Palestinian-Israeli filmmakers, including the Palestinian journalist Basel Adra, who lives in Masafer Yatta, and the Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham. They both spoke at the ceremony, beginning with Basel Adra, who became the first Palestinian filmmaker to win an Oscar.
Basel Adra: “Thank you to the Academy for the award. It’s such a big honor for the four of us and everybody who supported us for this documentary. About two months ago, I became a father. And my hope to my daughter, that she will not have to live the same life I am living now, always fearing — always — always fearing settlers’ violence, home demolitions and forceful displacements that my community, Masafer Yatta, is living and facing every day under the Israeli occupation. ‘No Other Land’ reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.”
Yuval Abraham: “We made this — we made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other; the atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end; the Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, which must be freed. When I look at Basel, I see my brother. But we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life and he cannot control. There is a different path: a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people. And I have to say, as I am here: The foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path. And, you know, why? Can’t you see that we are intertwined, that my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe? There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living. There is no other way. Thank you.”
Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra, co-directors of “No Other Land,” which just won the Oscar for Best Documentary. Click here to see our interviews with both of them.