International News Briefs for Wednesday, November 19, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.
Congress Overwhelmingly Passes Legislation Compelling DOJ to Release Epstein Files
Nov 19, 2025
Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday to compel the Justice Department to release all files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In the House, the vote was nearly unanimous at 427-1, with Republican Congressmember Clay Higgins of Louisiana being the only lawmaker to vote no. Just hours later, the Senate unanimously passed the House bill. President Trump had opposed the bill for months but dramatically reversed course over the weekend, when he encouraged Republicans to support the measure. He has vowed to sign the bill into law. Epstein and Trump were once close friends. On Monday, Epstein’s brother Mark told NewsNation, “Jeffrey definitely had dirt on Trump.” Several Epstein survivors sitting in the House gallery cheered and embraced one another as the final vote tally was read. We’ll hear from the survivors who spoke ahead of the House vote after the headlines.
Trump Calls for ABC’s Broadcast License to Be Revoked
Nov 19, 2025
While hosting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House yesterday, President Trump called for ABC’s broadcast license to be revoked, after ABC News White House correspondent Mary Bruce asked him why he had not released the Epstein files.
Mary Bruce: “Mr President, why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now?”
President Donald Trump: “You know, it’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions. … I think the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake, and it’s so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, the chairman, who should look at that, because I think when you come in and when you’re 97% negative to Trump and then Trump wins the election in a landslide, that means obviously your news is not credible, and you’re not credible as a reporter.”
Trump Defends MBS over 2018 Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
Nov 19, 2025
President Trump defended Prince Mohammed bin Salman when ABC News White House correspondent Mary Bruce asked about the Saudi crown prince’s involvement in the 2018 murder of Washington Post opinion columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
President Donald Trump: “As far as this gentleman is concerned, he’s done a phenomenal job. You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”
Trump’s comments contradict a U.S. intelligence report which found that Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing. Back in 2018, Khashoggi was lured into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where a 15-person team led by a close associate of Prince Mohammed drugged, murdered and dismembered Khashoggi with a bone saw. Following the press conference, Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, issued a statement saying, “Trump’s shameful and disgusting comments about the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi cannot be separated from Trump’s personal business interests with the Saudi regime. Trump and his family are receiving, at a minimum, tens of millions annually from branding deals with Saudi Arabia — payments for doing nothing more than permitting their name to be attached to Saudi projects.”
On Tuesday night, Trump held a black-tie dinner for MBS at the White House. Dozens of CEOs attended, including Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Hamas Rejects U.S.-Backed U.N. Plan to Place Gaza Under International Stabilization Force
Nov 19, 2025
Hamas and other factions inside Gaza are rejecting the U.S.-backed U.N. plan to place Gaza under the control of a U.S.-led board and an international stabilization force. In a statement, the Palestinian groups likened the plan to a “deep international partnership in the war of extermination waged by the [Israeli] occupation against our people.” This is Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem.
Hazem Qassem: “This resolution fully adopts the Israeli position and completely ignores the Palestinian position and the interests of our Palestinian people here in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu does not want to continue with the ceasefire agreement, but rather wants to impose his vision on the Gaza Strip and the entire region.”
This comes as Israel continues to carry out airstrikes in Gaza. Officials in Gaza say Israel has killed 279 Palestinians since the ceasefire came into effect in October.
Israel Launches Airstrike on Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon, Killing 13 People
Nov 19, 2025
In Lebanon, Israel launched an airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp Ein el-Hilweh, killing 13 people and wounding several others. Another Israeli attack targeted a vehicle in southern Lebanon, killing one person. Established in 1948, Ein el-Hilweh is the largest of 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and is home to at least 64,000 people. Tuesday’s attack is the latest violation of Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah, which went into effect a year ago. According to the U.N., Israel has been targeting Hezbollah in near-daily attacks since the ceasefire, resulting in at least 100 civilian deaths.
Local Somali Media Report U.S. Airstrike Killed 12 Civilians, Including 8 Children
Nov 19, 2025
Local media outlets in Somalia are reporting that 12 Somali civilians, including eight children, were killed Sunday in a suspected U.S. airstrike. So far this year, the U.S. is believed to have carried out nearly 100 strikes in Somalia targeting the group al-Shabab.
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Trump Threatens Strikes on Drug Cartels Inside Mexico and Colombia
Nov 19, 2025
President Trump has voiced support for U.S. attacks inside Mexico and Colombia. This comes as Trump is refusing to rule out sending in ground troops to Venezuela. The New York Times reports Trump has also signed off on CIA plans for covert measures inside Venezuela, possibly to prepare the battlefield for a wider war. However, Trump has also reportedly reopened back-channel communications with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has recently amassed over 15,000 troops in the region and bombed over 20 boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. The U.S. has claimed the boats were carrying drugs, but no proof has been offered. On Tuesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Trump’s threats.
President Claudia Sheinbaum: “We’ve said this with the State Department, with Marco Rubio, and they have understood, so much so that the understanding we have with them is one of collaboration and coordination. And the first points make very clear the respect for sovereignty, respect for our territoriality, and that there is collaboration and coordination without subordination.”
Federal Agents Arrest More Than 200 Immigrants in Charlotte, North Carolina
Nov 19, 2025
Image Credit: The Charlotte Observer
Hundreds of protesters rallied in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday to protest new federal immigration raids in the city. This comes as federal agents continue to target Charlotte, where agents have arrested more than 200 immigrants since this weekend. The Department of Homeland Security has also announced plans to send 250 federal border agents to conduct immigration sweeps in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Federal Court Rules Texas Cannot Use New Congressional Map for the 2026 Midterm Elections
Nov 19, 2025
A federal court ruled that Texas cannot use its recently passed congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections and will instead have to rely on a previous map from 2021. Texas Republican state legislators over the summer pushed for a new congressional map that could garner the GOP five additional House seats. In his ruling striking down the new congressional map, Trump-appointed Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote, “The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics. To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the ruling.
Texas GOP Governor Abbott Declares Council on American-Islamic Relations a Foreign Terrorist Organization
Nov 19, 2025
Image Credit: CAIR
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott declared Tuesday the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country’s largest Muslim civil rights group, a foreign terrorist organization. In a statement, Governor Abbott said CAIR’s goal was “to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s mastership of the world.” Abbott also designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization and prohibited both groups from acquiring property in the U.S. Robert McCaw, CAIR’s director of government affairs, responded to Abbott in a letter, saying, “You do not have the authority to unilaterally declare any Americans or American institutions terrorist groups. Nor is there any basis to level this smear against our organization.”
Trump Administration Takes Steps to Dismantle the Department of Education
Nov 19, 2025
The Trump administration has taken more steps to dismantle the Department of Education by shifting several key programs to other federal agencies. In one move, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education will be transferred to the Labor Department. Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, criticized the moves. She said, “Donald Trump and his administration chose American Education Week, a time when our nation is celebrating students, public schools, and educators, to announce their illegal plan to further abandon students by dismantling the Department of Education.”
Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Meta in Antitrust Case
Nov 19, 2025
A federal judge has ruled in favor of Meta and against the Federal Trade Commission in an antitrust suit that claimed the social media giant was trying to establish a monopoly by buying up Instagram and WhatsApp. In his ruling, District Judge James Boasberg wrote, “The landscape that existed only five years ago when the FTC brought this antitrust suit has changed markedly. While it once might have made sense to partition apps into separate markets of social networking and social media, that wall has since broken down.” Earlier this year, President Trump called for the impeachment of Judge Boasberg after he ruled against President Trump’s ability to invoke wartime powers to deport migrants.
Brazil’s Supreme Court Sentences Military Officers Over Plot to Kill Lula
Nov 19, 2025
Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced high-ranking military officials and a federal police officer to 24 years in prison after finding them guilty for an assassination attempt against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It follows a similar ruling back in September against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a coup attempt against President Lula. Earlier this month, Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously rejected Bolsonaro’s appeal challenging his prison sentence.