International News Briefs for Tuesday, August 26, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Tuesday, August 26, 2025.
Three More Palestinians Starve to Death in Gaza as Israeli Forces Kill 75 in a Day
Aug 26, 2025
In Gaza, three more Palestinians have starved to death over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths from Israel’s siege to 303, including 117 children. Since Monday, Israeli forces have killed at least 75 Palestinians, including 17 people seeking food.
This comes as press freedom groups are blasting Israel for the double-tap strike Monday that killed at least 21 people, including five journalists, at Nasser Hospital. Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City attended funerals for the victims. This is Adli Abu Taha, the brother of slain journalist Moaz Abu Taha.
Adli Abu Taha: “Take a picture of me, guys. I do not have a single photo with him. We worked together so much, yet I never took even one picture with him.”
Meanwhile, Israeli forces killed a sixth journalist in Gaza on Monday. Hassan Douhan was a correspondent with Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. He died after he was shot while sheltering in a tent in al-Mawasi, which Israel has designated as a “safe zone” despite near-constant attacks on the area.
Thousands of Protesters Block Roads Across Israel During Nationwide “Day of Disruption”
Aug 26, 2025
In Israel, thousands of protesters have blocked roads around the country, including a major highway in Tel Aviv, burning tires, calling for the return of the hostages still held in Gaza and an end to Israel’s war on the besieged strip. The protests were led by families of hostages, and part of a nationwide “Day of Disruption.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s military chief clashed with far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir about Israel’s Gaza City operation, with Smotrich reportedly saying, “Whoever doesn’t evacuate, don’t let them. No water, no electricity, they can die of hunger or surrender.”
Israeli Minister Says Annexation of West Bank Will Begin This Month
Aug 26, 2025
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces injured 24 Palestinians during a raid in Ramallah, which is ongoing at the time of this broadcast. This comes as Israeli far-right minister Orit Strook has called on Israel to start annexing the West Bank sometime this month.
According to a report published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Palestinian boys say they have been sexually assaulted and tortured in Israeli custody. The network published photos showing visible signs of torture from shackling and featured accounts of Palestinian teenagers accusing Israeli troops of taking nude photos and mocking and touching their bodies.
Scottish Police Arrest Screenwriter Paul Laverty over T-Shirt Opposing Gaza Genocide
Aug 26, 2025
Scottish police have arrested the award-winning screenwriter Paul Laverty for wearing a T-shirt reading “Genocide in Palestine, time to take action.” The arrest of the 68-year-old took place during a protest in Edinburgh on Monday against the U.K. government’s support of Israel’s war on Gaza. In the U.K., public support of the protest group Palestine Action is a criminal offense under the Terrorism Act. Paul Laverty is a long-term collaborator of the filmmaker Ken Loach. Laverty spoke after he was processed and released with an order to appear in court on September 18 to face terrorism charges.
Paul Laverty: “Although we have the law on our side, we cannot implement it. So I think we have to change the narrative. I think we’ll have to remember is that the most important court in the world is the court of public opinion. Ordinary people are appalled to see starvation and genocide and the selling of arms to the apartheid state in Israel, and are just appalled by it.”
Australia Expels Iranian Ambassador, Accuses Iran of Organizing Antisemitic Attacks
Aug 26, 2025
Australia has expelled the Iranian ambassador after its spy agency accused Iran’s government of orchestrating two antisemitic attacks in the country. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Australia has “credible intelligence” that Iran was responsible for the arson attacks against a synagogue in Melbourne and a kosher restaurant in Sydney. It’s the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.
“Absolutely Forbidden”: Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda
Aug 26, 2025
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia, following his rearrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Monday morning, agents at ICE’s office in Baltimore took Abrego Garcia back into custody after he presented himself for a check-in. He had been free for just three days, following more than five months of detention, including time in the notorious CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador, to which the Trump administration admitted he was wrongfully deported in an “administrative error.”
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the Trump administration not to follow through with its plans to send Abrego Garcia to Uganda — a country he has no ties to. She told prosecutors, “Your clients are absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States.”
U.S. Immigrant Population Down by More Than 1 Million Since Trump’s Return to Office
Aug 26, 2025
A new study finds the population of immigrants living in the United States shrank by more than 1 million people after President Trump retook the White House and imposed new mass deportation policies. The Pew Research Center found a record 53.3 million immigrants were living in the U.S. in January; by June, that number had dropped to just 51.9 million. About three-quarters of a million immigrants have dropped out of the U.S. labor force since Trump’s second inauguration.
Libyan Coast Guard Fires on Rescue Ship Searching for Refugee Boat in Distress
Aug 26, 2025
Image Credit: SOS Méditerranée
The humanitarian aid group SOS Méditerranée said Monday Libya’s Coast Guard fired at its rescue vessel while the crew aboard searched for a refugee boat in distress in the Mediterranean Sea. The organization charters the Norwegian ship Ocean Viking in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. No injuries were reported, but the group said the vessel was damaged. Before the attack, the ship had rescued nearly 100 refugees stranded at sea, many fleeing war-torn Sudan. Libya’s Coast Guard has received funding, equipment and training from the European Union to crack down on refugees.
“I Will Not Resign”: Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook Rejects Trump’s Claim He Fired Her
Aug 26, 2025
Image Credit: Federal Reserve/Flickr
In a major escalation against the independence of the Federal Reserve, President Trump said Monday he is firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to sit on the central bank’s board. Trump is claiming that she committed mortgage fraud and that he’s removing her immediately. Cook is holding firm, saying that she intends to stay in her position.
In a statement to Politico, she said, “President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so. I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.” Trump has also repeatedly threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell as he pressures the Fed to lower interest rates.
Trump Orders Creation of “Specialized” National Guard Units to Quell Civil Unrest
Aug 26, 2025
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday that would establish “specialized” National Guard units to be quickly deployed in Washington, D.C., and all 50 states. Under the order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will oversee the National Guard assisting local law enforcement in “quelling civil disturbances.” Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice said, “Having soldiers police protests, as this order envisions, threatens fundamental liberties and public safety, and it violates a centuries-old principle against involving the military in domestic law enforcement.”
This comes just weeks after Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, despite the fact that the district’s violent crime rate is at its lowest level in years. Trump has also threatened to send troops to cities like New York, Baltimore and Chicago. On Monday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker joined Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other city officials to condemn Trump’s threats.
Gov. JB Pritzker: “Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a U.S. city, punish his dissidents and score political points. If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is: a dangerous power grab.”
FEMA Employees Warn Cuts and Mismanagement Threaten a Catastrophe on Par with Hurricane Katrina
Aug 26, 2025
Image Credit: FEMA
More than 180 Federal Emergency Management Agency employees sent a letter to Congress Monday warning FEMA’s Trump-appointed, inexperienced leaders are putting the agency’s work at risk, which could result in disasters as catastrophic as Hurricane Katrina. The dissenting staffers say Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson lack the qualifications and authority to oversee FEMA’s operations. The letter came just days before the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in U.S. history. At least 36 employees have signed their full names to the letter, titled the “Katrina Declaration,” and about 150 others have signed the letter anonymously.
Trump Touts “Great Relationship” with Kim Jong-un at Meeting with South Korean Leader
Aug 26, 2025
At the White House, President Trump repeatedly praised the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un during a meeting with South Korea’s leader Monday, saying that he would like to meet with Kim again some time in the future.
President Donald Trump: “I have a great relationship with Kim Jong-un. I hope it stays that way. I think it will. I have a — I have a very good relationship. I understand him. I spend a lot of free time with him talking about things that we probably aren’t supposed to talk about. And, you know, I just — I get along with him really well. I think he has a country of great potential, tremendous potential.”
Trump Executive Order Seeks to Impose Cash Bail on Criminal Suspects
Aug 26, 2025
A series of executive orders signed by President Trump Monday are drawing nationwide backlash, including a measure that aims to eliminate cashless bail and threatens to cut federal funding to Washington, D.C., as well as other jurisdictions that continue to implement the policy. Cashless bail is a system in which people accused of minor offenses are released from jail while awaiting trial without having to pay a specific cash amount. We’ll have more on this later in the broadcast.
Trump Orders “Vigorous Prosecution” of People Who Burn U.S. Flag
Aug 26, 2025
Image Credit: Jennifer Parr/Wikimedia Commons
On Monday, Trump signed a separate executive order mandating that federal agencies “vigorously prosecute” anyone who burns the United States flag. The order also directs administration officials to revoke the visas of immigrants accused of desecrating the U.S. flag. Trump’s order defies a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that determined the burning of a U.S. flag is protected speech under the First Amendment. After Trump signed the executive order, Secret Service agents arrested a person who set a U.S. flag on fire on Lafayette Square, across from the White House. The man identified himself as a combat veteran who served for 20 years. His protest was captured in a video posted to social media by the news outlet The Bulwark.
U.S. Army veteran: “No president can make a law, period. No Congress shall make a law infringing on First Amendment rights. I’m burning this flag as a protest to that illegal, fascist president that sits in that house.”
Alex Acosta, Who Gave “Sweetheart Deal” to Jeffrey Epstein, Agrees to Testify to House Panel
Aug 26, 2025
President Trump’s former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta will testify in front of a House Oversight panel next month about brokering a plea deal with the dead serial sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta was the former U.S. attorney for South Florida when he offered a nonprosecution agreement to Epstein back in 2008, allowing him to plead guilty to a single state charge, which ended the FBI’s investigation without federal charges. In his first term, Trump appointed Acosta as labor secretary; he was forced to resign in 2019 following criticism of his handling of Epstein’s plea deal.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer has also issued a subpoena to Epstein’s estate for a “birthday book” compiled by his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, which reportedly contains birthday messages from Epstein’s wealthy and connected friends. Comer is also requesting “any document or record that could be reasonably construed to be a potential list of clients.”