International News Briefs for Monday, October 6, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Monday, October 6, 2025.
Gaza Ceasefire Talks Begin in Egypt Today
Oct 06, 2025
Negotiations are set to begin in Egypt today after Hamas and Israel agreed to parts of President Trump’s 20-point plan for a Gaza ceasefire. On Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!” Trump made the comment after Hamas issued a response to Trump’s plan without accepting all of the conditions. The deal calls for a swap of all remaining hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, as well as an eventual Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza. But major questions remain over what both Israel and Hamas will agree to.
Israel Kills Seven Palestinians in Gaza Today
Oct 06, 2025
Despite Trump’s call for Israel to stop bombing Gaza, the death toll continues to rise. On Sunday, Israeli forces killed at least 24 Palestinians. Another seven have been killed so far today. Displaced Palestinians in Gaza City expressed hope that a deal to end the two-year war could be reached.
Mahmoud Rihan: “We urge the negotiators, we urge the United States president, Donald Trump, even the state of Israel, the state of Palestine, all states of the world and the Arab states, to end this suffering we are living in completely and to start the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. We are displaced in the streets. We are living in the streets. Women are humiliated. Our children are humiliated. There are no schools. There is no life.”
Tens of Thousands Rally in Tel Aviv in Support of Hostage Deal
Oct 06, 2025
In Israel, tens of thousands rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday to support a deal to free the hostages. On Sunday, hostage families set up a protest tent outside the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Federal Judge Blocks Trump from Deploying National Guard Troops to Oregon
Oct 06, 2025
For the second time in two days, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Oregon has blocked the president from sending National Guard troops to the state, saying his claims about unrest in Portland were “untethered to facts.” In a ruling on Sunday night, Judge Karin Immergut blocked Trump from sending the California National Guard to Portland. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised the ruling, saying, “This is not just about Oregon or a handful of states anymore — it’s about the integrity of our democracy.”
White House adviser Stephen Miller has accused the judge of engaging in a “legal insurrection” by blocking the deployment of the National Guard. Miller’s comment comes as the White House considers a plan to send the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to Portland.
Trump Admin Plans to Send Hundreds of National Guard Troops to Chicago
Oct 06, 2025
New court filings show the Trump administration plans to send hundreds of National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas to Chicago. On Sunday, Governor JB Pritzker said, “We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion.”
This comes as federal immigration agents expand their violent crackdown in Chicago amid growing protests. On Saturday, federal agents shot a woman in Chicago allegedly after a group of cars boxed in patrolling officers. The woman is now facing numerous charges. Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez denounced the federal response.
bq. Byron Sigcho-Lopez: “We’re in Brighton Park in Chicago on 39th and Kedzie. There was a shooting earlier, an ICE-involved shooting. We want to demand an investigation because they are escalating violence. They are escalating violence in the city. This is not making anyone safer. These raids, I mean, you saw that the raids they just did a few days ago, they were innocent people. They have not — they have not shown the need to go and terrorize families in the middle of the night, zip-locking kids, getting people naked in the middle of the street. Is that public safety? Is this public safety, ended up with a shooting, some being chased and now wrecked in a few blocks away from here? This is not keeping nobody safe, and they know that.”
Trump Uses Shutdown to Withhold Federal Funding from Democratic-Led Cities and States
Oct 06, 2025
The government shutdown has entered its sixth day. President Trump is using the shutdown to withhold federal funding from Democratic-led cities and states. Russell Vought, the White House budget director, announced that the administration would pause $2.1 billion in funding for Chicago’s infrastructure projects, writing on social media that the move is to “ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.” It follows a similar announcement last week, when the administration halted $18 billion in infrastructure funding for New York.
WaPo: Trump Admin Looking to Change Age Requirements for Social Security Disability Payments
Oct 06, 2025
The Washington Post is reporting that the Trump administration is working on a plan to change age requirements for Americans to qualify for Social Security disability payments by raising the qualifying age to 60 or eliminating age as a factor entirely. The Post cited a paper showing that 750,000 fewer people would receive benefits in the next decade if the proposed rule change goes into effect.
U.S. Forces Bomb Another Boat Off the Coast of Venezuela, Killing Four People
Oct 06, 2025
U.S. forces have bombed another boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing four people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the boat was transporting drugs, but offered no evidence. President Trump recently declared the U.S. to be in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, in a move to give the president extraordinary power to launch attacks in Latin America. On Sunday, Trump spoke at a celebration of the Navy’s 250th anniversary and threatened to begin launching attacks on Latin America.
President Donald Trump: “Well, they’re not coming in by sea anymore, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land, because they’ll be forced to go by land. And let me tell you right now: That’s not going to work out well for them, either.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced the U.S. attacks in Latin America.
bq. President Gustavo Petro: “Why did they fire missiles? That’s called murder. And it’s the murder of young people who should have other opportunities, which we must give them.”
Russia Fires More Than 50 Missiles and Nearly 500 Drones at Ukraine
Oct 06, 2025
Ukraine says Russia fired more than 50 missiles and nearly 500 drones in an overnight attack on Sunday, killing five people, including a 15-year-old girl. The attacks also left tens of thousands of Ukrainians without power. Meanwhile, Poland deployed fighter jets to secure its airspace.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Less Than a Day After Forming His Cabinet
Oct 06, 2025
France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, less than a day after forming his Cabinet and less than a month since being appointed as prime minister. That leaves French President Emmanuel Macron to decide on whether to dissolve Parliament and call another snap election. It comes as tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent demonstrations led by trade unions denouncing budget cuts.
Global Sumud Flotilla Activists Allege Mistreatment by Israel in Detention
Oct 06, 2025
Israel is facing accusations of mistreating international activists who were detained when Israeli forces raided a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid boats, detaining over 435 passengers last week. Several activists who have been deported say they witnessed Israeli officers mistreating the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. One Turkish journalist who was deported from Israel said Israeli authorities “dragged little Greta by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others.” Thunberg is expected to be deported today.
On Sunday, the Spanish activist Rafael Borrego spoke in Madrid after being deported from Israel.
Rafael Borrego: “At any time that any of us called a police officer in prison, we risked that seven or more fully armed people would enter our cell, as they did on mine, pointing us with weapons at our heads, with dogs ready to attack us, and being dragged on the floor. This happened on a daily basis. … They didn’t let us speak to our lawyers at any time. They impeded consular assistance. They didn’t let us call our families — all of this under a very humiliating treatment.”
In other flotilla news, CBS is reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly approved military operations on two vessels from the flotilla while it was in Tunisia last month. Two U.S. intelligence officials told CBS that Israeli forces launched drones from a submarine and dropped incendiary devices on the boats.
Major Pro-Palestinian Protests Erupt All Over the World
Oct 06, 2025
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took part in pro-Palestinian rallies this weekend across the globe. In the Netherlands, about 250,000 marched in Amsterdam. Major protests were also held in Istanbul, Paris, Rabat and other cities.
In London, police arrested over 440 protesters for supporting Palestine Action, a group that was designated as a terror organization in July, making it illegal for anyone to show support for the group. This is the longtime British peace activist Angie Zelter.
Angie Zelter: “I’m disgusted by the police, actually. They shouldn’t be arresting nonviolent protesters here. We have a right to protest, and Palestine Action is not a violent organization, should never have been proscribed in the first place. They should be arresting the real criminals, OK, which is the people colluding with the genocide, which includes our government, unfortunately.”
Here in the United States, about 100 activists blocked the main entrance to Port Elizabeth in New Jersey to protest the shipment of weapons to Israel. This is Jim Keady, director of Educating for Justice.
Jim Keady: “As you can see, this is a peaceful, nonviolent demonstration. Yes, it is inconvenient for the people that are in these trucks and in the cars that are in front of me here, but, as you can see, there are people that are just exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech. … This slaughter, this genocide needs to stop. Our elected officials have done nothing to stop the flow of weapons to Israel. In fact, they’ve increased the weapons flow over the course of two years. They have given Israel billions of dollars of our tax money, and they have given them the moral and political cover to commit a genocide that we are seeing in high def on our phones every day.”
NYT: Trump Set to Lower Refugee Admissions, Supporting Mostly White South Africans
Oct 06, 2025
The New York Times is reporting that President Trump is expected to lower refugee admissions to 7,500 people, a sharp reduction from the cap of 125,000 set by the Biden administration last year. The new limit would support mostly white South Africans. Speaking to the Times, Mark Hetfield, the president of HIAS, a Jewish resettlement agency, said, “Such a low refugee ceiling would break America’s promise to people who played by the rules. Trump isn’t just putting the Afrikaners to the front of the line. He is kicking years-long-waiting refugees out of the line.”
Journalist Mario Guevara Deported to El Salvador After Being Detained by ICE for Over 100 Days
Oct 06, 2025
Journalist Mario Guevara was deported to El Salvador on Friday after being detained by ICE for over 100 days. Guevara, who founded the outlet MG News, where he received awards for his coverage on immigration, has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years. He was arrested and jailed in June for live-streaming an anti-Trump “No Kings” demonstration near Atlanta. Guevara spoke to reporters in El Salvador.
Mario Guevara: “Maybe I made a mistake, but I did it for my family. I did it because I held on, because I had hope. I trusted in the United States justice system, because it had always been fair to me. I trusted the United States, right? One of its slogans in the pledge to the flag is ‘liberty and justice for all.’ That no longer exists. Liberty and justice is only for American citizens. … Journalists who are American citizens can do the work. A journalist like me who is an immigrant with a work permit, no. That’s the new reality in the United States.”
Authorities Probing Alleged Arson Attack at Home of South Carolina Judge Criticized by Trump Admin
Oct 06, 2025
Authorities in South Carolina have launched an investigation after the home of South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein was set on fire. The judge was not home at the time, but three members of her family have been hospitalized, including her husband, a former Democratic state senator. Judge Goodstein had received death threats recently after President Trump’s Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon criticized the judge for temporarily blocking the state’s election commission from releasing its voter files to the Department of Justice.