International News Briefs for Wednesday, August 27, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.
Ten Palestinians Starve to Death in Gaza as Israeli Forces Kill 76 in a Day
Aug 27, 2025
Ten Palestinians, including two children, have starved to death in Gaza in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of starvation-related deaths in the besieged strip to 313; 119 are children. Officials in Gaza say that only 14% of essential food items were allowed into the enclave last month. At least 76 Palestinians have also been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since dawn, including 18 people seeking food. This comes as Al Jazeera reports Israeli forces are leveling entire blocks of Gaza City.
The Israeli government is claiming Monday’s deadly strike on Nasser Hospital targeted a camera used by Hamas for surveillance, but Israel provided no evidence to back up the claim. The double-tap strike killed 21 people, including five journalists.
Reuters Journalist Resigns over Outlet’s Response to Israel’s Killing of Journalists at Nasser Hospital
Aug 27, 2025
Image Credit: X/@valeriezink
In media news, a Reuters photojournalist has resigned over her outlet’s response to Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza, including Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, who was killed in the Nasser Hospital attack. In a statement, Valerie Zink said, “By repeating Israel’s genocidal fabrications without determining if they have any credibility … Western media outlets have made possible the killing of more journalists in two years on one tiny strip of land than in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, and Ukraine combined.”
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch is saying that U.S. forces and personnel can be held liable for Israeli war crimes for “providing intelligence for Israeli strikes and conducting extensive coordination and planning.”
More Than 350,000 Israelis in Tel Aviv Call for Gov’t to Accept Ceasefire Deal
Aug 27, 2025
Image Credit: AVIV ATLAS
In Israel, nationwide protests are continuing. On Tuesday, more than 350,000 people gathered at Tel Aviv’s public plaza calling on the government to accept a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. Large protests were also held in Jerusalem. This is Michal Gomel Blank, a protester in Jerusalem.
Michal Gomel Blank: “We are here demonstrating in front of the Cabinet, the government meeting that is supposed to discuss a deal, a deal for returning the hostages and end the fighting and the war. And we are here to remind our government that the deal needs to be sealed. All the hostages need to come back home, and we need to stop the war in order to do this.”
Israeli Forces Raid West Bank as Senators Van Hollen and Merkley Visit Church Attacked by Settlers
Aug 27, 2025
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces are conducting a raid on Nablus. At least 80 Palestinians have been injured. This comes a day after Israeli forces raided Ramallah and al-Bireh. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 58 people were injured, eight by live fire and 14 by rubber-coated bullets. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that a child had to receive surgery after being hit by live fire. Israeli forces detained three Palestinians in the raid.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley visited the West Bank Tuesday and stopped at a Palestinian church in Taybeh that was attacked by Israeli settlers. Senator Van Hollen called for an end to settler violence.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “Well, we’re here, overall, because we want to focus on the really terrible situation throughout this area, including the war in Gaza. And one of our messages, we need to end the war in Gaza and bring the hostages home. But we also need to end this continued settler violence on the West Bank, which people here in this town of Taybeh witnessed and experienced firsthand.”
Rights Groups Urge the Release of Palestinian American Teen Held in Israeli Prison
Aug 27, 2025
A coalition of 100 human and civil rights groups are calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to secure the release of Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian American who has been held in Israeli prison for six months. The coalition includes the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights and Pax Christi USA.
In a joint letter, the groups say, “Mohammed is suffering from scabies and has not received any medication; he has also lost over 30 pounds due to Israel denying him food and medical treatment.” He was abducted from his family home in the West Bank over allegations of rock throwing and is currently being held in Israel’s Ofer Prison, known for its human rights abuses. Mohammed Ibrahim is the cousin of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian American who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July.
DNC Rejects Resolution Calling for an Arms Embargo on Israel
Aug 27, 2025
Image Credit: Democractic National Committee
A Democratic National Committee panel has rejected a resolution calling for an arms embargo on Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. The vote came during a DNC meeting in Minneapolis. A second resolution on Israel was initially approved but then withdrawn by its author, DNC Chair Ken Martin. Martin then called for a task force to be formed to help build party unity on the issue. We will speak to the sponsor of the arms embargo resolution later in the program.
Protesters Occupy Microsoft President’s Office to Protest Company’s Work with Israel
Aug 27, 2025
A group of current and former Microsoft workers occupied the office of Microsoft’s President Brad Smith on Tuesday to protest Microsoft’s work with the Israeli military in Gaza. The tech workers accused Microsoft of “powering the genocide in Gaza and the mass surveillance of Palestinians.” Seven protesters were arrested. This comes as Bloomberg reports Microsoft has asked the FBI for help tracking pro-Palestinian protests targeting the company.
CBS News: U.S. Resumes “Neighborhood Checks” to Vet Citizenship Applicants
Aug 27, 2025
The Trump administration is making major changes to the U.S. citizenship application process by reinstating “neighborhood checks” to vet immigrants. In a memo obtained by CBS News, the administration detailed plans to interview neighbors and colleagues of citizenship applicants, reviving a procedure last used by the George H.W. Bush administration. The government had previously waived neighborhood investigations, instead relying on the FBI to conduct background checks of immigrants. The investigations would focus on the moral character of applicants and whether applicants are “well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.”
Florida Asks Federal Appeals Court to Keep Operating “Alligator Alcatraz”
Aug 27, 2025
Image Credit: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has asked a federal appeals court to put on hold a judge’s ruling last week that could force the closure of a new immigration jail in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The judge had ordered the Trump administration to stop transferring immigrants to the jail. Meanwhile, weekly vigils are continuing to be held outside the immigration jail to protest what organizers have described as the inhumane treatment of people detained inside.
GOP Governors in 19 States Mobilize National Guard to Assist ICE
Aug 27, 2025
Republican governors in 19 states have begun mobilizing the National Guard to assist ICE with immigration enforcement efforts. The Pentagon has confirmed reports up to 1,700 National Guard members will be deployed in the states. This comes as President Trump is threatening to send the National Guard to police Chicago against the wishes of local officials.
In other immigration news, The Lever reports ICE is shielding details about its deportation flights by taking advantage of a regulatory loophole that was designed to make it harder to track the private flights of celebrities, including Taylor Swift. In recent months, a number of private charter airlines working with ICE have added their planes to a special list developed by the private jet lobby to keep flight data more secret.
Trump Calls for Death Penalty in All D.C. Murder Cases
Aug 27, 2025
On Tuesday, during a three-hour Cabinet meeting, President Trump said that his administration will seek the death penalty in all murder cases in Washington, D.C. He failed to provide any details on the policy, considering the fact that the District of Columbia does not authorize capital punishment.
President Donald Trump: “Anybody murders something in the capital, capital punishment. Capital? Capital punishment. If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty.”
Trump Says U.S. Would Accept Up to 600,000 Chinese Students
Aug 27, 2025
During the Cabinet meeting, President Trump also said the U.S. would accept up to 600,000 Chinese students — an announcement that quickly drew backlash from his MAGA base, including from Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer. Trump said he liked having Chinese students in the U.S.
President Donald Trump: “But I like that their students come here. I like that other countries’ students come here. And you know what would happen if they didn’t? Our college system would go to hell very quickly. You’d have — and it wouldn’t be the top colleges. It would be colleges that struggle, on the bottom. And you take out 300,000 or 600,000 students out of the system.”
The president’s comments are a shift from his administration’s policy. Back in May, the State Department announced that it was vetting Chinese students for connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to File Lawsuit Against Trump’s Attempt to Fire Her
Aug 27, 2025
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook says she will file a lawsuit against President Trump’s attempts to remove her from her post. Cook is the first Black woman to sit on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Trump is claiming, without evidence, that Cook committed mortgage fraud. Cook’s attorney says the president “lacks any factual or legal basis” to fire her. Trump has also repeatedly threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has been pressured by the president to lower interest rates. We’ll have more on this story after headlines.
Lebanese Journalists Demand Apology from U.S. Envoy over His Demeaning Comments
Aug 27, 2025
Lebanese journalists are demanding an apology from Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria, for demeaning comments he made at a press conference in Beirut.
Tom Barrack: “The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone. So, you want — you want to know what’s happening? Act civilized, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what’s happening in the region.”
The Union of Journalists in Lebanon called for a boycott of all future events with Barrack unless he apologizes for his comments, saying, “the content of his remarks reflects ingrained colonial arrogance towards the peoples of the region and constitutes a blatant violation of basic diplomatic etiquette and the values that diplomacy should represent — chief among them respect for press freedom and the people’s right to knowledge.”
FEMA Suspends Staff for Signing Letter Criticizing Trump Administration
Aug 27, 2025
Image Credit: standupforscience.net
FEMA is suspending staff members who signed a letter criticizing the Trump administration for gutting the agency’s ability to handle natural disasters. 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. On Tuesday, FEMA told the staffers that they were put on administrative leave in a “non-duty status while continuing to receive pay and benefits.”
Whistleblower Claims DOGE Put Americans’ Social Security Records at Risk
Aug 27, 2025
The Social Security Administration’s chief data officer has said the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans was uploaded onto a vulnerable cloud server by members of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. The claim appears in a whistleblower complaint filed Tuesday. In the complaint, the official, Charles Borges, writes, “Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital health care and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for reissuing every American a new Social Security number at great cost.”
Denmark Summons Top U.S. Diplomat over Allegations of Greenland Espionage
Aug 27, 2025
Denmark’s foreign minister has summoned the top U.S. diplomat in the country after a news report alleged that three American citizens linked to President Trump were conducting covert influence operations in Greenland. Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to capture Greenland from Denmark due to its strategic location and wealth in critical minerals. According to recent polls, most Greenlanders do not want to join the U.S.
Trump’s 50% Tariffs on India Take Effect as Penalty for Indian Imports of Russian Oil
Aug 27, 2025
U.S. tariffs on Indian imports have doubled to 50%. The Trump administration imposed secondary tariffs on India as a penalty for buying oil and weapons from Russia. The Global Trade Research Initiative has warned the tariffs could endanger hundreds of thousands of jobs in India.