HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Thursday, March 5 2026.
Senate Votes 53-47 to Reject Resolution Reining In Trump’s War Powers
Mar 05, 2026
The United States Senate rejected a resolution Wednesday that would have directed the removal of U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran, as Iran’s government said the death toll from joint U.S.-Israeli attacks passed 1,200. Fifty-two Republicans were joined by Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman on a procedural vote opposing the war powers resolution. This is Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker.
Sen. Roger Wicker: “I’ll vote no on the pending resolution. President Trump decided to attack Iran. That decision was profound, deliberate and correct.”
Forty-four Democrats and two independents voted to advance the war powers resolution, joined by Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul. That fell short of the 51 votes needed to pass. Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock spoke ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
Sen. Raphael Warnock: “The declaration of war is not a power that the president of the United States has. The Constitution makes it clear the declaration of war is the authority and the responsibility of Congress.”
Meanwhile, Politico reports some Democrats aren’t ruling out voting in favor of a multibillion-dollar infusion of new funding to the Pentagon. The White House is reportedly considering asking Congress for $50 billion in new funding — on top of $990 billion in military funding already approved by Congress in recent months.
Pentagon Chief Says U.S. and Israel Will Continue to Attack Iran “Without Mercy”
Mar 05, 2026
Sri Lanka’s Navy says it rescued 32 Iranian sailors and brought them to a hospital for treatment after an Iranian warship was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lankan officials said they’d recovered 87 bodies from the ship’s wreckage after it was struck without warning in international waters near Sri Lanka’s coast. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth celebrated the attack on Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: “An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”
Secretary Hegseth added that the U.S. and Israel are in the process of crushing Iran’s government “without mercy.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry says U.S. and Israeli attacks have struck 33 civilian sites across Iran, including hospitals, schools, residential areas and historic sites. Earlier today, airstrikes “destroyed” Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, which has hosted international soccer matches. Meanwhile, two Iranian Red Crescent Society paramedics told Middle East Eye last weekend’s bombing of an elementary school in southern Iran was a so-called double-tap airstrike, with the second strike coming after the school’s principal called parents and told them to come and pick up their children. The strikes killed about 175 people, most of them young girls.
Meanwhile, Iranian missiles reportedly targeted a base housing an Iranian Kurdish force in neighboring Iraq on Thursday. The base is one of several where Iranian Kurdish separatists say they’re preparing to launch an insurgency — with U.S. backing — against Iran’s government.
Iran Denies Striking Azerbaijan and Turkey as Its Missiles Target U.S. Bases and Oil Tankers
Mar 05, 2026
Iran is continuing to strike at U.S. military bases across the Middle East, and the countries that host them. Iraqi forces say they shot down a drone targeting a U.S. base near Baghdad International Airport. Saudi Arabia’s military says it intercepted and destroyed 10 drones and two cruise missiles. In Kuwait, an 11-year-old girl was killed when the remnants of a rocket hit her home. In the United Arab Emirates, six people were injured by falling debris from drones that were intercepted in the skies over Abu Dhabi. In Kuwait, an oil tanker anchored in the port of Mubarak al-Kabeer reported a large explosion Wednesday — one of five ships in the region that reported attacks over the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan said Iranian drones struck its territory on Thursday, hitting an airport terminal and falling near a school building. Two civilians were wounded. Azerbaijan summoned Iran’s ambassador, demanding a “clear explanation” and threatening a response. Iran’s Foreign Ministry later denied targeting Azerbaijan.
Elsewhere, Iran’s armed forces have denied firing any missile toward Turkish territory, after Turkey’s military said a ballistic missile fired toward Turkish airspace was shot down by NATO air and missile defense systems.
Israel Continues Bombing Beirut and Expands Forced Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon
Mar 05, 2026
Israel’s military has ordered tens of thousands of additional residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate dozens of villages — or face death. An Israeli military spokesperson posted a message in Arabic on X reading, “Residents of southern Lebanon — you must move immediately to areas north of the Litani River.” Some 200,000 people live in the region. On Thursday, there were massive traffic jams as panicked residents piled personal belongings into cars and headed north. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed eight more people across the country, with several airstrikes overnight in southern Beirut neighborhoods where Israel had issued forced evacuation orders.
CodePink Disrupts Heritage Foundation Gathering to Protest Support for Iran War
Mar 05, 2026
On Capitol Hill, a Marine Corps veteran suffered a broken arm after he disrupted a Senate hearing to protest the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The veteran, Brian McGinnis, resisted as he was aggressively pulled by Capitol Police officers. Republican Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana joined the altercation. McGinnis’s arm was broken after his hand became stuck in a door frame.
Elsewhere in Washington, D.C., demonstrators with the antiwar group CodePink Wednesday disrupted a Heritage Foundation conference, protesting the think tank’s role in crafting policies that boost military funding and support U.S. interventions overseas.
bq. Sen. Jim Banks: “When they see a” —
bq. Bita: “While my people are pulling” —
bq. Sen. Jim Banks: “When they see a flawless” —
bq. Bita: — “children out from under the rubble, you stand up there talking about patriotism?”
bq. Sen. Jim Banks: “When they see flawless” —
bq. Bita: “You don’t care about Americans. You don’t care about your constituents. You care about that $500,000 in your pocket from AIPAC.”
bq. Sen. Jim Banks: “Hogwash.”
bq. Bita: “Don’t hide. Your constituents want healthcare and housing. They don’t want to send their children to kill other children. They don’t want their money used” —
bq. Sen. Jim Banks: “Ladies and gentlemen, we live in the greatest country in the history of the world, don’t we?”
Report Finds Global Heating Is Driving Sea Level Rise Far Faster Than Previously Believed
Mar 05, 2026
In climate news, new research suggests that human activity is causing ocean levels to rise far faster than government planners previously thought, with tens of millions more people at risk of losing their homes to rising seas. Researchers reviewed hundreds of scientific assessments, finding most of them underestimated baseline coastal water heights by 12 inches, or 30 centimeters.
More Than a Dozen Measles Cases Detected at Texas ICE Tent Camp
Mar 05, 2026
A Texas Democratic congressmember warns there are at least 14 active measles cases at Camp East Montana, a hastily constructed tent camp in El Paso where more than 3,000 immigrants are imprisoned. Another 112 people are being isolated. The ICE jail has recently had outbreaks of COVID-19 and tuberculosis and is rife with reports of inadequate medical care. Democratic U.S. Congressmember Veronica Escobar warns the outbreaks threaten the greater El Paso community, yet she has never seen guards wearing masks to prevent the spread of highly infectious diseases. This comes as The Washington Post reports ICE is drafting a letter to terminate the facility’s $1.2 billion contract.
ICE Slashed Basic Training to Speed Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign
Mar 05, 2026
ICE dramatically cut its basic training program amid a hiring spree meant to speed up the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. That’s according to records obtained by The Washington Post which corroborate the claims of an ICE whistleblower who warned that ICE last year removed about 240 hours from its basic training program, or more than 40% of instructional time.
Minnesota Gov. Walz Condemns ICE Crackdown and Medicaid Funding Freeze as “Political Retribution”
Mar 05, 2026
On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem returned to Capitol Hill, where she was grilled by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee about the killing of Renee Nicole Macklin Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. Once again, Noem refused to apologize for calling Good and Pretti “domestic terrorists” almost immediately after they were shot dead.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz appeared before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday, where he fended off charges from Republicans that he’d failed to prevent a social welfare fraud scandal, which the Trump administration used as a pretext to freeze Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota. Walz said Minnesotans had been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale.
Gov. Tim Walz: “Under the guise of combating fraud, the federal government has flooded Minnesota with masked, untrained and unaccountable agents who are wreaking havoc in our communities. On the streets of Minnesota, federal agents have entered U.S. citizens’ homes who have committed no crimes. They have violated the constitutional rights of our citizens. They have ignored court orders. They have shot first and asked questions later. Time and again, they have gaslit us by demanding that we ignore what we see before our very eyes. But the American people are not so easily fooled.”
Cuba Suffers Another Massive Blackout as U.S. Oil Blockade Worsens Humanitarian Crisis
Mar 05, 2026
A massive blackout in Cuba has left most of the island, including Havana, without power. Cuban officials said the island’s largest plant unexpectedly went offline. A U.S. oil blockade has cut off the Cuban government from accessing desperately needed fuel as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Cuba. President Trump recently raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”
Meanwhile, Ecuador has expelled Cuba’s ambassador and diplomatic staff, declaring them to be “persona non grata.” On Wednesday, Ecuadorian opposition lawmaker Héctor Rodríguez criticized the move.
Héctor Rodríguez: “These kinds of measures undermine Latin American integration and undermine the possibility of having a union of neighboring countries that are brothers. We share a history, and not only language and a cultural identity, but a way of seeing the world. Cuba and Ecuador have had relations for over 150 years.”
Ecuador’s decision to expel the Cuban diplomat came as the U.S. announced it had deployed Special Forces to Ecuador to conduct joint military operations with Ecuadorian commandos.
Venezuela Announces Mining Law Reforms Granting Access to U.S. Companies
Mar 05, 2026
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced Venezuela will reform its mining laws in a move that will give the U.S. greater access to Venezuela’s natural resources. Rodríguez made the announcement next to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who was in Caracas along with executives from more than two dozen U.S. mining companies. Axios reports Trump officials have already brokered a massive U.S.-Venezuela gold deal. This all comes two months after the U.S. attacked Venezuela and abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who are being held in a New York jail.
House Committee Subpoenas Attorney General Pam Bondi to Testify About Epstein Files
Mar 05, 2026
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has voted to subpoena U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify about her handling of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s case. Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has voluntarily agreed to testify. Last month Lutnick admitted he and his family had traveled to Epstein’s private island in 2012, contradicting earlier claims that he had cut off ties to Epstein in 2005.
The House Oversight Committee has also asked Bill Gates, billionaire Leon Black and Goldman Sachs’s departing general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler to testify about Epstein.
Report Finds Catholic Priests in Rhode Island Sexually Abused Hundreds of Children for Decades
Mar 05, 2026
A multiyear investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, has found Catholic priests sexually abused hundreds of children for decades and were protected by bishops who put the reputation of the church above the well-being of survivors. The report by Rhode Island’s attorney general found 75 Catholic priests molested more than 300 victims since 1950, though the true number of victims — and abusive priests — is likely much higher. Only a quarter of those named in the report — or just 20 people — faced criminal charges; of those, just 14 were convicted.
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