International News Briefs for Thursday, October 9, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Thursday, October 9 2025.
Trump Says Israel and Hamas Have Agreed to Gaza Ceasefire Deal
Oct 09, 2025
President Trump says Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal. Trump announced the breakthrough in a post to his social media site Truth Social Wednesday, writing, ”ALL the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel withdraws their troops to an agreed upon line.” Details of the first phase have not yet been officially released.
The Israeli government is meeting this afternoon to formally vote on the ceasefire deal. Far-right ministers including Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir said they will not vote in favor of the plan, but have withdrawn threats to withdraw from Netanyahu’s coalition government. If Israel’s security cabinet approves the ceasefire as expected, it will go into effect immediately.
Israel Continues Attacks on Gaza Even as Palestinians Celebrate News of Ceasefire
Oct 09, 2025
Israel is continuing its attacks on Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours have killed 10 people, including two aid seekers, while injuring nearly 50 others. Despite the continuing assault, Palestinians across Gaza erupted in celebrations overnight as news of a ceasefire deal spread by word of mouth, due to an internet and communications blackout.
Hussein Shaladan: “I don’t have a spoon nor a fork in my house. It is just some stones. Others lost their families. Some lost everything they own, and some had their families wiped out from the civil registry, and they stayed alone. Others lost their legs and limbs. Some lost everything, and some went missing, as well. We ask God for safety, and may safety, security, goodness and peace prevail.”
After headlines, we’ll go to Gaza for the latest.
Spanish Parliament Approves Israel Arms Embargo as Dutch Protesters Hold Sit-Ins for Gaza
Oct 09, 2025
Spain’s parliament has approved a formal arms embargo on Israel, permanently banning the sale of weapons and military equipment.
Meanwhile, protesters across the Netherlands have held sit-in protests at 20 train stations in several cities demanding the Dutch government end its support for Israel. This comes after an estimated 250,000 demonstrators joined a “Red Line” protest last weekend against Israel’s assault on Gaza. It was the largest antiwar protest in the Netherlands since the anti-nuclear rallies of the 1980s.
GOP Defeats Senate War Powers Resolution to Limit Trump’s Strikes on Alleged Drug Traffickers
Oct 09, 2025
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bipartisan resolution that would have limited President Trump’s authority to launch military strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean. The resolution was led by Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Tim Kaine, with backing from Republican Senator Rand Paul. Here’s Senator Kaine.
Sen. Tim Kaine: “Letting a single individual take us to war based on a secret list that he won’t even reveal to the public or to Congress sets such a dangerous precedent. And if my colleagues, as they stated, believe we should be at war in the Caribbean or at war with nations in the Americas over the narcotraffickers, they’ve had the ability the entire time to bring a resolution before us and have that debate in front of the American public.”
This comes as 60 organizations, including Oxfam America and Human Rights First, sent a letter to Congress Wednesday condemning the recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean, writing, “We fear, barring decisive action by members of Congress, there will be more strikes, more extrajudicial killings, and potentially a full-blown limitless war with one or more countries in the region, with likely devastating humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.”
Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claimed his forces halted a “false flag operation” to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.
IRS to Furlough Nearly Half Its Workers as Government Shutdown Enters Second Week
Oct 09, 2025
In Washington, the U.S. government shutdown has entered its ninth day. The Senate failed to pass two funding bills that would have ended the shutdown. The Democrats’ bill included more than $1 trillion in healthcare funding, which include Affordable Care Act subsidies. Congressional Democrats have introduced another bill that would pay child care fees for federal workers during the shutdown. On Wednesday, the IRS announced it will furlough about 34,000 workers — nearly half of its workforce — because of the shutdown.
Meanwhile, Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Rubén Gallego confronted House Speaker Mike Johnson for failing to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva.
Speaker Mike Johnson: “I am anxious to administer the oath to her, as soon as you guys vote to open the government.”
Sen. Rubén Gallego: “How much is this actually to do with you just don’t want her to be on the Epstein — you don’t want her to be on the Epstein discharge? How much? Because you’re” —
Speaker Mike Johnson: “That’s totally absurd. You guys are experts at red herrings and distractions.”
Sen. Rubén Gallego: “No, it’s not, because you keep on moving the — moving the line.”
Speaker Mike Johnson: “No, I’m not. This has nothing to do with Epstein.”
Click here to see our interview with Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva.
500 National Guard Troops Arrive in Chicago as Trump Calls for Mayor and Governor to Be Jailed
Oct 09, 2025
The Pentagon’s Northern Command says 500 National Guard soldiers from Illinois and Texas have arrived in the Chicago region, despite opposition from local officials who have sued to stop the deployment. Their arrival came as President Trump wrote on his social media site that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect ICE Officers.” On Wednesday, Governor Pritzker rejected Trump’s threats, saying, “Come and get me.” He said Trump had deployed the troops without any advance notice.
Gov. JB Pritzker: “I’ve said over and over again the federal government has not communicated with our state in any way whatsoever about what their troop movements are going to be. I can’t believe I have to say ‘troop movements’ in a city in the United States, but that is what we’re talking about.”
Governor Pritzker also said Wednesday he believes Trump is normalizing the use of the military ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when Pritzker believes Trump may have soldiers stationed outside polling places to “assume control of the ballot boxes and count the votes himself.”
Pastor Shot in Head by “Less Lethal” Round at Chicago-Area ICE Protest Joins Lawsuit
Oct 09, 2025
A pastor is one of several plaintiffs suing the Trump administration after he was shot directly in the head by a pepper ball fired by ICE agents on a roof during protests at the Broadview ICE facility just outside Chicago. Video of the assault shows Pastor David Black of the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago immediately falling to the ground; just before the attack, he was praying.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for the woman who was shot multiple times by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Chicago says that she did not ram her car into the agents as they claimed, and that her gun was stored in her purse. Marimar Martinez was arrested for assaulting a federal officer after DHS claimed that the agent fired their weapon in self-defense.
Trump Holds Roundtable on Antifa, Claims to Go After Its “Funders”
Oct 09, 2025
President Trump led a roundtable on antifa Wednesday, hosting far-right activists posing as “independent journalists.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem compared antifa to MS-13, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State. This follows President Trump’s executive order last month designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization.” Here’s Trump on Wednesday claiming without evidence that antifa is paid and funded.
President Donald Trump: “The epidemic of left-wing violence and antifa-inspired terror has been escalating for nearly a decade. At universities, antifa has organized riotous mobs to attack campus speakers. I see it all the time. And these are — these are agitators, anarchists, and they’re paid. … We’re going to be very threatening to them, far more threatening to them than they ever were with us. And that includes the people that fund them.”
Antifa Expert to Flee with Family to Spain Following Death Threats
Oct 09, 2025
Rutgers University history professor Mark Bray says his family is moving from New Jersey to Spain after receiving death threats, including at their home address. Bray was teaching courses on anti-fascism and terrorism at Rutgers and is the author of the 2017 book “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.” His planned flight from the U.S. comes after the Rutgers chapter of the campus conservative group Turning Point USA circulated a petition labeling him “Dr. Antifa” and calling for him to be fired. In an interview with Newsweek, Bray said, “This is reflective of the broader trend in the country. The Trump administration, I believe, is moving the country in a markedly authoritarian direction and that takes a number of forms — but one of those forms is an attack on academic freedom and higher education.”
Former FBI Director Comey Pleads Not Guilty to Charges He Lied to Congress
Oct 09, 2025
Former FBI Director James Comey appeared in federal court in Virginia Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress. The trial is set to begin on January 5, and federal prosecutors expect it to last two to three days. Comey’s lawyer Patrick Fitzgerald said he would ask the judge to dismiss the case, claiming “selective, retaliatory prosecution at the direction of President Trump to silence Comey.”
WaPo: One-Quarter of FBI’s Agents Assigned to Immigration Enforcement
Oct 09, 2025
In immigration news, The Washington Post reports nearly a quarter of the FBI’s roughly 13,000 agents are currently assigned to immigration enforcement, with the number climbing to upward of 40% in the largest FBI field offices. Data show agents have been pulled from investigations into cybercrimes, drug trafficking, terrorism, counterintelligence and more.
Meanwhile, Apple has quietly removed the citizen reporting app DeICER from its App Store. The app is used by activists and immigrant communities to track ICE activity. Migrant Insider reports the decision effectively treats federal immigration agents as a protected class — a novel interpretation of Apple’s hate speech policy that shields one of the most powerful arms of the federal government from public scrutiny.
Tennessee Lawmaker Justin Pearson Launches Primary Challenge to Incumbent Rep. Steve Cohen
Oct 09, 2025
In Tennessee, Democratic state Representative Justin Pearson announced Wednesday he will launch a primary challenge against Democratic Representative Steve Cohen of Memphis. Pearson was a member of the “Tennessee Three” who were expelled by Republicans from the Tennessee General Assembly after participating in a gun control protest on the state House floor.
Rep. Justin J. Pearson: “We’ve got a gun violence epidemic that is quite literally taking the lives of our loved ones away. The number one killer of children in our communities is not cancer. It is not car accidents. It’s bullets. And if people want to do something about crime, pass some gun safety laws. If people want to do something about crime, pass violence intervention programs and money and resources for our beloved and beautiful communities. Don’t occupy us. Eradicate poverty.”
2025 Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to Hungarian Novelist László Krasznahorkai
Oct 09, 2025
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai. The Nobel Committee called him “a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterized by absurdism and grotesque excess.”
Jordanian-American Omar Yaghi, Son of Palestinian Refugees, Wins 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Oct 09, 2025
This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to a trio of researchers including Omar Yaghi, a Jordanian American chemist at the University of California, Berkeley, for pioneering work on porous molecular structures that can be used to trap greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Yaghi was born in Amman to Palestinian refugee parents who fled their homes in Gaza in 1948, when those establishing the state of Israel violently expelled over 700,000 Palestinians.