International News Briefs for Wednesday, October 15, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
Pressure Grows on Israel to Allow More Aid into Gaza
Oct 15, 2025
Pressure is growing on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza as the ceasefire continues to hold. On Tuesday, Israel told the United Nations it would allow only half of the 600 daily aid trucks called for under the deal. Israel had accused Hamas of moving too slowly to release the bodies of dead captives as part of the deal. On Tuesday night, Hamas handed over four more bodies. Israel said three of the bodies have been identified, but the fourth body did not match any of the known hostages.
Meanwhile, Israel has returned the remains of 45 deceased Palestinians. Health officials in Gaza say the bodies arrived with their hands and legs cuffed. In a statement, Nasser Hospital said, “Some are blindfolded, and there are signs of gunshot wounds in some cases, while others have been run over by tanks.”
This comes as negotiations have begun for the second phase of President Trump’s 20-point plan. On Tuesday, Trump threatened the United States would disarm Hamas if the group does not do so itself.
President Donald Trump: “But we have told them we want disarm, and they will disarm. And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. And it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently. But they will disarm.”
In other news from Gaza, the group Handicap International is warning that Palestinians face “enormous” risk from unexploded bombs and mines. The group estimates Israel dropped more than 70,000 tons of explosives on Gaza over the past two years.
Amazon Fires Software Engineer Who Criticized Cloud Computing Project with Israel
Oct 15, 2025
Amazon has fired a software engineer who had criticized the company’s work with Israel. Ahmed Shahrour had publicly opposed Project Nimbus, Amazon’s $1.2 billion cloud computing project that Israel has used to store surveillance information on Gaza’s population.
Pro-Palestinian Protesters Clash with Authorities During Soccer Match Between Israel and Italy
Oct 15, 2025
In Italy, more than 10,000 protesters marched for Palestinian rights Tuesday ahead of a World Cup qualifying soccer match between Italy and Israel. Police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Italy won the game 3-0.
ICE Agents Disperse Protesters with Tear Gas After High-Speed Chase in Chicago
Oct 15, 2025
Image Credit: The Washington Post/Joshua Lott
In Chicago, ICE agents were involved in a high-speed chase to pursue an individual. The federal agents then arrested the person in a residential street when protesters gathered in the area. ICE agents used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called the treatment of the protesters “abominable,” saying they were simply “holding signs and expressing themselves.” Meanwhile, Facebook is suspending the popular ICE Sighting-Chicagoland group at the Trump administration’s request. The group has been used over the past month during “Operation Midway Blitz” to warn neighbors when ICE agents are near schools, grocery stores and other community locations. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, county officials voted on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency over immigration raids.
bq. Janice Hahn: “We will be urging our colleagues today to declare a state of emergency, because what’s happening across Los Angeles County is an emergency. It may not be a wildfire or an earthquake, but it is a man-made emergency created by our own federal government. ICE raids are spreading fear and confusion in every corner of our county.”
State Department Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals over Charlie Kirk Comments
Oct 15, 2025
The U.S. State Department says it’s revoking the visas of six foreign nationals over social media comments they made about the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. On X, the State Department posted, “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans. The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.” The thread then went on to list examples of posts by the foreigners, identifying them as citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa. It comes as President Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk during a White House Rose Garden ceremony on Tuesday.
“I Love Hitler”: Racist Messages by Young Republican Leaders Exposed in New Leak
Oct 15, 2025
Image Credit: Politico
Leaked Telegram messages published by Politico show leaders of Young Republican groups from New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont sharing racist, sexist, antisemitic, violent language and praise for Hitler in more than 28,000 messages over seven months. One message by Joe Maligno, the general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans, read, “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic.” Another message by Peter Giunta, the chair of the New York State Young Republicans, who was responding to chat members watching an NBA playoff game, read, “I’d go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkey play ball.” In response to the leaked messages, Vice President JD Vance posted on X, “I refuse to join the pearl clutching.”
Speaker Johnson Continues to Delay Swearing-In of Rep.-Elect Adelita Grijalva
Oct 15, 2025
Arizona’s attorney general is threatening legal action if House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to delay the swearing-in of Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva. In a statement, Attorney General Kris Mayes said, “We are keeping every option open to us, including litigation, to hold him accountable and make sure that Adelita is able to begin her work as Arizona’s newest member of Congress.” Grijalva would be the final 218th vote on a discharge petition to release the Epstein files. Last week, Speaker Johnson was asked whether he was delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in over the Epstein files, to which he replied, “It has nothing to do with that at all.”
Senate Fails to Pass Funding Bill as Federal Government Shutdown Enters Its 15th Day
Oct 15, 2025
The federal government shutdown has entered its 15th day. On Tuesday, the Senate failed again to pass a funding bill, as Republicans continue to refuse to agree to extend expiring healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
President Trump is threatening to cut more funding for projects in Democratic-led areas if the shutdown continues. According to The New York Times, the Trump administration has already frozen or canceled over $27 billion projects in Democratic-led areas.
In other news from Capitol Hill, congressional Democrats are pushing new legislation to fully fund the supplemental nutrition program WIC, the Women, Infants and Children program.
Trump Conditions $20 Billion Bailout to Argentina on Milei’s Party Winning Elections
Oct 15, 2025
Amid the government shutdown that has furloughed and fired tens of thousands of workers here in the U.S., President Trump has offered a $20 billion bailout for Argentina. Earlier this year, Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei attended the conservative CPAC conference in the U.S., where he gifted billionaire Elon Musk a chainsaw. On Tuesday, Trump hosted Milei at the White House and conditioned Argentina’s bailout funds on Milei’s party winning legislative elections this month.
President Donald Trump: “We’re going to work very much with the president. We think he’s going to win. He should win. And if he does win, we’re going to be very helpful. And if he doesn’t win, we’re not going to waste our time, because you have somebody whose philosophy has no chance of making Argentina great again.”
It comes as critics point out that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s friends who lead major financial firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity and PIMCO, are heavily invested in Argentina and would benefit financially.
Reuters: China Buying Argentine Soybeans Amid U.S. Tariffs
Oct 15, 2025
Reuters is reporting that China is buying at least 10 cargoes of Argentine soybeans after Argentina removed grain export taxes. The move further shuts out U.S. soybean farmers from the Chinese market as the U.S. threatens 100% tariffs on China. Caleb Ragland, a farmer and president of the American Soybean Association, told Reuters, “Every time China turns to South America instead of the U.S., soybean farmers and our farm families here at home lose out. Without a trade deal that removes retaliatory tariffs, farmers like me are left watching key opportunities slip away.”
U.S. Strikes Another Boat Off Coast of Venezuela, Killing 6 People
Oct 15, 2025
President Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. has attacked another boat allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela, killing six people. It’s the fifth deadly strike on boats in the Caribbean since September. It comes weeks after an internal Trump administration memo classified drug cartels as “non-state armed groups” whose actions “constitute an armed attack against the United States.” NBC News is reporting that congressional lawmakers from both parties are growing frustrated about the lack of information about the strikes. One source told NBC, “The Republicans were mad that the briefers were unable to answer questions about the legal basis for the operations.”
Five Major Broadcast Outlets Refuse to Sign Pentagon’s New Press Policy
Oct 15, 2025
Five major broadcast news outlets have refused to sign the Pentagon’s new press policy by yesterday’s deadline. The policy states that media outlets and reporters cannot obtain any information that the Pentagon does not explicitly authorize. Fox News, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s former employer, stated that they will not sign on to the new press policy. In a joint statement, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and Fox News all said, “We join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues.”
Elite Military Unit Seizes Power After Ouster of Madagascar President
Oct 15, 2025
In Madagascar, an elite military unit says it has seized power after weeks of Gen Z-led protests led to the ouster of President Andry Rajoelina. Reuters reports the president left Madagascar on Sunday aboard a French military aircraft. A crackdown on dissent by military forces killed at least 22 people, according to the United Nations. The army colonel reportedly announced a committee led by the military would rule the country for up to two years, instituting a transitional government, before calling new elections. On Tuesday, protesters celebrated the military’s takeover.
Faniry Ramanantoanina: “The military’s stance is something we have been waiting for for a very long time. First, there was the gendarmerie and all that, fighting alongside the government. Meanwhile, we saw that the people were at the end of their tether. It was truly wonderful that the army took part in the people’s demands.”
Reuters: Assad Regime Moved Mass Graves to Cover Up Killings
Oct 15, 2025
Image Credit: Reuters/ Khalil Ashawi
A new investigation by Reuters has concluded the former Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad secretly moved tens of thousands of bodies to hide evidence of mass killings. Between 2019 and 2021, the Syrian government removed bodies from a mass grave in al-Qutayfah and then reburied them in a secret site in the desert east of Damascus. The project was done as Assad attempted to regain his international standing.
Tens of Thousands of Kaiser Permanente Frontline Medical Staff Go on Strike
Oct 15, 2025
Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses, pharmacists, midwives, rehab therapists and other frontline medical staff are going on strike. Organizers say the five-day strike across 500 medical centers and offices in California, Hawaii and Oregon could be the largest in the history of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals. They’re asking for a 25% increase in salaries over four years, claiming that wages have not kept up with inflation. Here’s pharmacist Jackie Hua.
Jackie Hua: “During COVID, we were called heroes with capes on. But now that COVID is over, you know, we’re being thrown under the bus. We’re being told, ‘No, we don’t want to negotiate anymore. We don’t want to come to the table and negotiate anymore and give you guys a contract.’”
Transgender Activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy Dies at 78
Oct 15, 2025
Image Credit: Flickr/Quinn Dombrowski
The pioneering transgender activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy has died at the age of 78. In 1969, she took part in the Stonewall uprising that launched the modern LGBT rights movement. For more than five decades, she was a tireless advocate for the Black trans community and trans people behind bars. Kierra Johnson, president of the National LGBTQ Task Force, said, “She was a revolutionary, a visionary, a legend — a foundational mother of our movement and an inspiration to those fighting for liberation.”