International News Briefs for Thursday, October 23, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Thursday, October 23, 2025.
“Starvation as a Weapon of War”: ICJ Orders Israel to Restore Access to U.N.-Led Aid Agencies
Oct 23, 2025
The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to restore access to the United Nations to deliver food and other basic necessities into the Gaza Strip. The advisory opinion from the U.N.’s top court also found Israel had not provided evidence to back its claims that the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, lacked neutrality or that a significant number of its staff were members of Hamas. Yuji Iwasawa is president of the ICJ.
Judge Yuji Iwasawa: “In its final section on international humanitarian law, the court explains that custom international law prohibits the use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare.”
Israel condemned Wednesday’s ruling and said it would not abide by the court’s instructions. The Trump administration also condemned the opinion, with the State Department declaring it “Another corrupt ruling by the ICJ.”
Mass Funeral Held in Gaza for Unidentified Palestinians Whose Bodies Show Signs of Torture
Oct 23, 2025
In Gaza, an Israeli drone killed a Palestinian in Khan Younis earlier today. Officials in Gaza say nearly 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since a U.S.-brokered truce went into effect on October 10. Meanwhile, Palestinians in central Gaza on Wednesday interred the bodies of 54 unidentified Palestinians handed over by Israel in a mass grave. Many of the bodies showed clear signs of torture and execution. This is Rami al-Farra, who tried — and failed — to confirm if his cousin’s body was among those handed over by Israel Wednesday.
Rami al-Farra: “The signs of torture and brutal treatment on the body did not allow us to tell whether it was him or not. Our message and our demands to the world are to provide us with the means by which we can determine whether this person belongs to us or to someone else. … The Israeli army knows these bodies are connected to people, but instead of names, they put out numbers. They left something harsh in our hearts, feelings of grief. Honestly, it’s hard to bury a body when you don’t know whether it’s the right one or not.”
Israeli Lawmakers Advance Bills to Annex West Bank, Drawing Rare U.S. Criticism
Oct 23, 2025
Israel’s Knesset has advanced legislation that would effectively annex the occupied West Bank. The move prompted rare criticism from U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who departed for Israel Wednesday in a bid to prevent the U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire from further unraveling. Rubio’s trip comes on the heels of visits by Vice President JD Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Earlier today, Vance said he was “personally” insulted by the annexation vote, which came during his visit.
Vice President JD Vance: “It was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it. The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy. And if people want to take symbolic votes, they can do that, but we certainly weren’t happy about it.”
Separately, Israel’s Supreme Court Wednesday further delayed ruling on a petition calling on Israel to allow foreign reporters access to Gaza. The Foreign Press Association said it was “disappointed” by the additional monthlong delay, which it blasted as a “stalling tactic.”
U.S. Lawmakers Call on Israel to Release 16-Year-Old Palestinian American Held Months Without Trial
Oct 23, 2025
A group of 27 Democratic lawmakers has written to Secretary Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, urging them to secure the release of Mohammed Ibrahim, a teenage Palestinian American citizen from Florida. He was arrested by Israeli soldiers, who blindfolded and handcuffed him during an early-morning raid on his family’s West Bank home in February. Ibrahim spent his 16th birthday in an Israeli prison, where he’s been held without trial for nearly eight months.
Pentagon Says It Blew Up Two Boats Allegedly Carrying Drugs Near Colombia’s Pacific Coast
Oct 23, 2025
The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday that the U.S. launched strikes against two vessels in the Pacific off the coast of Colombia, killing five people, and claimed without evidence that the boats were carrying drugs. This follows seven strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. In the past month, at least 37 people have reportedly been killed in international waters in U.S. strikes. In response, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said, “It is murder. Whether in the Caribbean or Pacific, the U.S. government strategy breaks the norms of international law.”
Trump Administration Announces New Sanctions on Russia’s Largest Oil and Gas Companies
Oct 23, 2025
President Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House Wednesday, shortly after the Trump administration and the European Union announced new sanctions on Russia’s largest oil and gas companies. The announcement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Trump’s proposal to freeze the current frontlines in the war is “a good compromise.” Meanwhile, Ukraine launched a strike against a Russian chemical plant on Tuesday using British long-range cruise missiles. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Trump administration is lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of such weapons, allowing it to strike targets deeper inside Russia. This comes as the Norwegian Refugee Council is warning that millions of Ukrainian civilians could be left without heating, water and electricity this winter due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Federal Government Shutdown Enters Its 23rd Day
Oct 23, 2025
The federal government shutdown has entered its 23rd day. As a result, 60,000 aviation safety workers won’t receive a full paycheck in the coming days. The authority that operates the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is planning to provide nonperishable food items to federal employees who are struggling to buy groceries. Meanwhile, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency which oversees the nation’s nuclear stockpile, has announced that it has furloughed more than 1,400 employees — three-quarters of its staff.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate’s 12th attempt to end the shutdown failed Wednesday. Ahead of the vote, Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon delivered a 22-hour speech warning about President Trump’s agenda.
Sen. Jeff Merkley: “Colleagues, I’m coming tonight to the floor of this Senate to ring the alarm bells, because we have become an authoritarian nation over the last nine months. We are deep into an authoritarian takeover.”
Trump Administration Dispatches More Than 100 Federal Agents to San Francisco Bay Area
Oct 23, 2025
The Trump administration is dispatching more than 100 federal agents to the San Francisco Bay Area as it seeks to ramp up immigration raids in Northern California. That’s according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which reports the deployment is a likely precursor to President Trump deploying National Guard troops to San Francisco. California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom blasted the deployment as “right out of the dictator’s handbook.”
Protesters Confront Masked Federal Agents Carrying Out Arrests in Illinois
Oct 23, 2025
In Illinois, protesters confronted masked federal agents Wednesday as they carried out multiple arrests in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and the bordering suburb of Cicero. The agents were joined by Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, whose forces were recently reprimanded by a federal judge for violating a prior court order restricting the use of tear gas and other “less lethal” weapons on peaceful demonstrators, journalists and clergy. Federal agents fired pepper spray at protesters who witnessed a car crash involving federal agents.
Baltazar Enriquez: “They wanted to show that they are thugs and they could do whatever they want. And they crashed into an individual, arrested him with no probable cause, no warrant. And instead of the police department assisting the guy that got crashed, seeing if he needed medical attention, they arrested him.”
Protesters in New York March in Solidarity with Street Vendors Detained by Federal Agents
Oct 23, 2025
Here in New York, protesters marched Wednesday in solidarity with street vendors who were harassed and detained Tuesday by federal agents during immigration sweeps targeting Manhattan’s Canal Street. This is Awa Ngam, a street vendor and U.S. citizen originally from Mauritania, who witnessed a friend’s arrest by ICE agents. She was ordered to show ID proving her immigration status.
Awa Ngam: “I always felt safe in America. I feel safe. I love coming to America. America is losing that, is losing that. And people have to say something. They have to not be scared. They have to stand up. It is — it is — the time is now.”
Cuban Man Deported to Eswatini Launches Hunger Strike
Oct 23, 2025
A Cuban man deported by the Trump administration to the southern African kingdom of Eswatini has gone on hunger strike to protest his imprisonment in a maximum-security prison there. Roberto Mosquera del Peral is among 11 “third-country deportees” sent by the Trump administration to Eswatini despite legal challenges by human rights groups who’ve called the deportations a violation of U.S. and international law.
North Carolina Lawmakers Approve New Congressional Map
Oct 23, 2025
Image Credit: ncleg.gov
The North Carolina House of Representatives has approved a new congressional map that could give Republicans an extra seat in Congress. According to state law, North Carolina’s governor, Democrat Josh Stein, cannot veto the redistricting plan. President Trump praised North Carolina’s map on social media last week, saying it would give voters in the state “the opportunity to elect an additional MAGA Republican in the 2026 Midterm Elections.” It follows a similar effort by Texas Republicans earlier this year, when lawmakers passed a congressional map that could give Texas’s congressional delegation up to five more House seats. A month later, the Republican-controlled Missouri state Legislature passed a congressional map that would turn Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver’s district into a Republican-leaning seat.
NYT: Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs with Robots
Oct 23, 2025
In labor news, The New York Times is reporting that Amazon is planning to replace more than half a million jobs with robots. The company’s internal documents also reveal that Amazon’s robotics team plans to automate 75% of the company’s operations. A Senate report released earlier this month, spearheaded by Senator Bernie Sanders, warned that artificial intelligence and automation could destroy nearly 100 million jobs over the next decade.
Peru’s Interim President José Jerí Declares 30-Day State of Emergency
Oct 23, 2025
Peru’s interim President José Jerí has declared a 30-day state of emergency after weeks of anti-government protests led to the impeachment of the previous president. The state of emergency gives the government the power to send the army to patrol the streets and curb the right to protest. Peruvians had been demonstrating over the rise in organized crime and extortion. Over the past month, more than 200 people were injured in the protests.
National Trust for Historic Preservation Asks to Pause Construction of White House Ballroom
Oct 23, 2025
White House officials say that the entire East Wing of the White House will be demolished for the ballroom which President Trump said yesterday will now cost $300 million, up from $250 million. That’s despite this pledge made by President Trump in July.
President Donald Trump: “It won’t interfere with the current building. It won’t be. It’ll be near it, but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of. It’s my favorite.”
The East Wing’s demolition comes as the National Trust for Historic Preservation has asked the Trump administration to pause construction until the National Capital Planning Commission has completed its review of the project. In a letter, the trust said it was concerned that the proposed 90,000-square-foot ballroom will “overwhelm the White House itself,” since the White House is 55,000 square feet.