International News Briefs for Thursday, August 21, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Thursday, August 21, 2025.
Israel Calls Up 60,000 Reservists as It Begins Gaza City Invasion
Aug 21, 2025
Israel has announced plans to call up 60,000 reservists as it escalates its operation to seize all of Gaza City and to forcibly remove the city’s entire population. Al Jazeera reports Israel is carrying out “systematic demolitions” of Palestinian homes across Gaza City. On Wednesday, Israel killed at least 81 Palestinians, including five in an attack on a tent in the Shati camp in Gaza City. The attack killed three children, ages 4, 7 and 9, along with their parents. Israel has killed another 20 Palestinians since dawn today. At least two more Palestinians have starved to death, bringing the total to 271.
Meanwhile, an Israeli newspaper has revealed the Israeli military has a “Population Relocation Unit” to oversee the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.
Earlier today, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Israel’s escalation in Gaza City.
Secretary-General António Guterres: “I must reiterate that it is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause.”
Israel Approves Settlement Splitting West Bank in Two and Further Dooming Palestinian State
Aug 21, 2025
Israel’s government has granted final approval to a settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively split Palestinian territory in two, sabotaging efforts at creating a future Palestinian state. The “E-1” settlement would see the construction of about 3,400 new housing units and would sever one of the few remaining territorial links between major Palestinian cities like Ramallah in the northern West Bank and southern cities including Bethlehem. Approval of the E-1 settlement quickly drew international outrage. The U.N. secretary-general condemned the plan as an “existential threat to the two-State solution,” while British Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned it as “a flagrant breach of international law.”
State Department Fires Officer Who Expressed Condolences for Journalists Killed by Israel in Gaza
Aug 21, 2025
The U.S. State Department has fired its top press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs. The Washington Post reports the officer, Shahed Ghoreishi, was fired days after he recommended expressing condolences for journalists killed in Gaza and for opposing the forced displacement of Palestinians. In one case, Ghoreishi had drafted a press statement that read, “We do not support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza,” but the State Department vetoed the language.
State Department Sanctions More ICC Officials for Investigating U.S. and Israeli War Crimes
Aug 21, 2025
The U.S. State Department has sanctioned four more officials at the International Criminal Court. It’s the latest move by the Trump administration to retaliate against the court for issuing an arrest warrant last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. On Wednesday, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric condemned the U.S. actions.
Stéphane Dujarric: “The decision imposes severe impediments on the functioning of the office of the prosecutor and respect for all the situations that are currently before the court. Judicial independence is a basic principle that must be respected, and these types of measures undermine the foundation of international justice.”
Russia Escalates Attacks on Ukraine, Casting Doubt on Trump’s Call for a Putin-Zelensky Summit
Aug 21, 2025
Russia escalated its assault on Ukraine overnight, firing 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles in one of its biggest aerial attacks of the year. At least one civilian was killed and 15 injured in the latest Russian attack. Russia also hit an American electronics manufacturer in western Ukraine near the Hungarian border.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has yet to commit to talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky despite calls for a summit by President Trump. Russia is also demanding to be part of any future security guarantees for Ukraine — a position strongly opposed by Kyiv and European leaders. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, “Seriously discussing issues of ensuring security without the Russian Federation is a utopia, a road to nowhere.”
Colombia’s President Warns U.S. Against Invading Venezuela
Aug 21, 2025
The Wall Street Journal reports President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to send three U.S. Navy warships to South America, including near the coast of Venezuela. This comes after Trump recently signed a secret directive authorizing the U.S. military to carry out attacks in Latin America to target drug cartels. On Tuesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned the U.S. against using military force in the region.
President Gustavo Petro: “The Americans are wrong if they think that by invading Venezuela, they are solving their problems. They’re putting Venezuela in the same situation as Syria, but they would drag Colombia into the same, because these groups would take over underground resources and minerals, and this means more economy of death, not of life. So I told the United States, through its envoys, that invading Venezuela would be the worst mistake.”
Texas House Approves Congressional Map Gerrymandered to Help GOP in 2026 Midterms
Aug 21, 2025
Image Credit: Texas House of Representatives
Texas’s Republican-led House of Representatives has approved a new congressional district map designed to flip five Democratic-held U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections. A bill redrawing the maps to favor Republicans passed along party lines Wednesday, advancing the legislation to Texas’s Republican-controlled Senate, where its approval is all but guaranteed. This rare instance of mid-decade redistricting came at the behest of President Trump. Its passage was held up for weeks after more than 50 Democratic lawmakers fled Texas to deny Republicans quorum for a vote; they returned to Austin this week amid threats by Republican leaders to have them arrested or removed from office and replaced. Houston Representative Jon Rosenthal said he and fellow Democrats will sue to block the gerrymandered map once it’s signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott.
Rep. Jon Rosenthal: “It’s not just a power grab. It’s the fact that because they’re going to lose, they want to pick up more votes, but it’s the way they’re going about it, by dismantling Black and Brown districts. And let’s face it: This is a racist power grab that especially, especially goes after our African American representatives in Congress.”
Appeals Court Clears Path for Trump to End TPS for Immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua
Aug 21, 2025
A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to revoke temporary protected status for 60,000 people from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua. Immigrants rights advocates warn the decision could lead to the deportation of families who have lived lawfully in the United States for decades.
In other immigration news, New York lawmakers have condemned the Trump administration for deporting a 6-year-old New York elementary school student. The girl and her mother were detained at an ICE check-in last week and then deported to Ecuador on Tuesday. The girl’s elementary school principal had urged ICE to halt the deportation, saying her “unexpected removal will cause significant disruption to her learning and will likely have a deep emotional impact on her classmates and our entire school community.”
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, federal immigration agents tackled and zip-tied a protester outside San Francisco’s ICE office on Wednesday. Officers also pepper-sprayed a number of people, including a journalist.
Trump Administration Officials Visit National Guard Troops in D.C., Drawing Jeers and Protests
Aug 21, 2025
In Washington, D.C., Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump adviser Stephen Miller were repeatedly booed and heckled Wednesday as they visited National Guard troops stationed at Union Station. Some in the crowd chanted, “From D.C. to Palestine, occupation is a crime.” This comes as the National Guard is expanding its presence in the nation’s capital after six Republican governors deployed troops to support Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police.
Topics:
Trump Calls on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to Resign
Aug 21, 2025
President Trump has called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign, in his latest attack on the Fed’s independence. Cook, who is the first Black woman to ever serve as a Fed governor, has rejected Trump’s call, saying she won’t be bullied into stepping down. Trump has also repeatedly threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump’s threat against Cook came after a Trump official alleged that she once committed mortgage fraud by claiming two properties to be her primary residence.
Judge Rejects DOJ Request to Unseal Grand Jury Transcripts Related to Jeffrey Epstein
Aug 21, 2025
Another federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury testimony related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case. Judge Richard Berman wrote, “The government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files.”
Missouri Community Defeats Secretive Project to Build Massive AI Data Center
Aug 21, 2025
Image Credit: realcrg.com
St. Charles, Missouri, has become the latest community to fight off plans to build a massive AI data center. The developer of the project withdrew the plans this week amid growing community opposition to the secretive project. The community never even learned which company was behind the proposal.
“No Azure for Apartheid”: 18 Arrested at Protest of Microsoft’s Work with Israel’s Military
Aug 21, 2025
Image Credit: No Azure for Apartheid
Police in Redmond, Washington, arrested 18 people at a protest encampment at Microsoft’s headquarters on Wednesday. The protest was organized by the group No Azure for Apartheid, which is made up of current and former Microsoft workers opposed to Microsoft’s work with the Israeli military. Microsoft provides AI and cloud technology used by Israeli forces in Gaza. Microsoft has also helped Israel carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians.