HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
Houthis Warn of “Swift and Painful” Response If U.S. Joins Saudi-Led Attacks on Yemen
Oct 13, 2026
A leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement has warned the U.S. will face a “swift and painful” response if it joins Saudi Arabia’s attacks on Houthi-controlled territory. The warning came after President Trump said he was considering joining the Saudi-led counteroffensive aimed at ousting Houthi fighters from Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government says Houthi strikes over the past 24 hours killed at least five civilians and left over a dozen wounded. That includes an attack on a hospital in Yemen’s third-largest city of Taiz, which is encircled by Houthi fighters. Residents of Taiz are reportedly rationing food and essential goods amid growing warnings of a humanitarian disaster.
Elsewhere, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it had intercepted missiles fired by Houthis toward southwestern Saudi Arabia and the capital, Riyadh, where Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport in recent days killed 18 people and injured over 300. The continuing attacks came as the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said U.S. citizens had been arrested for taking photos of recent events in Saudi Arabia — though it did not specify how many people were detained.
139 Migrants Die and 84 Go Missing as Yemen-Bound Boat Capsizes Off Djibouti
Oct 13, 2026
The U.N. reports at least 139 people are dead and 84 others remain missing after an overcrowded boat capsized while sailing from Djibouti to Yemen. The International Organization for Migration said in a statement, “Despite the violence in Yemen, migrants are still making the perilous journeys hoping to make it to the Gulf countries.” This is U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
Stéphane Dujarric: “This tragedy is yet another stark reminder of the dangers people face in search of safety, in search of work, and just in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Since the fighting escalated on Yemen’s west coast, more than 217,000 people have been displaced from their homes.”
We’ll have more on the violence in Yemen after headlines.
Iran’s IRGC Says It Struck Another Tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Oct 13, 2026
In the Persian Gulf, the U.K.’s Maritime Trade Operations Center reports an oil tanker was struck by a projectile while exiting the Strait of Hormuz Monday. All crew members are reportedly safe and accounted for. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took credit for the attack, saying it was the third ship it had struck in two days. Since the start of October, there have been at least 18 attacks on ships in or around the Strait of Hormuz.
Bulgaria Summons Russian Ambassador as Drones Attack Black Sea Ships
Oct 13, 2026
Image Credit: Bulphoto Agency
In Ukraine, a Russian strike on a residential high-rise in a Kyiv suburb killed at least two people Monday evening, while Russian attacks on other parts of Ukraine killed another six people. The deadly strikes came as Ukrainian officials said Russia continues to bomb energy sites despite President Trump’s insistence on Saturday that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to cease such attacks. Both sides denied Trump’s claim, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was willing to halt attacks on energy infrastructure if Russia reciprocated.
Meanwhile, 11 sailors went missing in the Black Sea today after an apparent drone attack on two cargo ships off the coast of Bulgaria, one of which sank. It was the second deadly attack of its kind in the past week and prompted Bulgaria to summon Russia’s ambassador. This is Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev: “We do not possess solid, clear evidence to level an accusation against any specific party. However, logic suggests that the outcome works to the advantage of the Russian Federation. For this reason, I am summoning the Russian ambassador for a meeting today.”
Bipartisan Group of Senators Calls on Trump to Reverse Plans to Buy Diesel from Russia
Oct 13, 2026
A bipartisan group of senators is calling on President Trump to reverse plans to purchase diesel fuel from Russia as part of an effort to lower fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections. In a statement, the senators wrote that Trump is violating a 2022 law that explicitly banned Russian energy imports, adding, “The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The Administration must immediately reverse course.” Four Republican senators signed the statement: Susan Collins of Maine, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Curtis of Utah. On Monday, President Trump defended the Treasury Department’s waiver allowing Russian fuel imports through next April, writing on his Truth Social website, “I made the right choice for the American People — ALWAYS, AMERICA FIRST!”
Homeland Security Agents Raid Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. Home Amid Trump’s Attacks
Oct 13, 2026
Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security raided the Washington, D.C., home of Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Monday. The raid came less than a month before the midterm elections. The Justice Department has traditionally tried not to take public investigative actions involving a candidate in the 60 days before a primary or general election.
In a statement, Congressmember Omar said, “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.”
Ilhan Omar was born in Somalia and came to the U.S. as a child. She became one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018. Trump has repeatedly attacked her — and Somali Americans — as “garbage.” Over the weekend, Trump signaled he had pushed for the federal raid of Omar’s home. Trump said, “She comes from Somalia. JD Vance and our people are looking at it very strongly.”
Trump also posted on his Truth Social platform, “The Somalians should not be allowed to get away with what they are doing. They view you as weak and stupid people. Fight back Minnesota, fight back! If you need, the Federal Government will come to your rescue.” Trump’s apparent call to violence drew condemnation from religious and interfaith leaders. This is Abdulahi Farah, an imam at a mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota, which was bombed by a far-right militia in 2017.
Abdulahi Farah: “Instead of bringing Minnesotans together to find solutions, President Trump chose to make sweeping accusations against my Somali American community and telling people to fight back. Fight back against whom? What exactly is the president asking people to do? These words are reckless. They are dangerous, and they have consequences.”
NYT: Elon Musk Gives GOP $366M in Campaign Contributions During 2025-26 Election Cycle
Oct 13, 2026
The richest person in the world, far-right trillionaire Elon Musk, has quietly funneled $276 million into Republican groups and his super PAC since the start of July to boost the GOP in the midterms — that’s according to reporting by The New York Times. He gave $158 million this summer to the Senate Leadership Fund to help Republicans hold on to the Senate. It’s one of the largest political donations in American history, and it’s more than the Democrats raised from all of its donors that quarter for its efforts in the Senate. In total, Musk has given Republicans $366 million in campaign contributions during the 2025-2026 election cycle.
Meanwhile, corporations that have benefited from the Trump administration’s cancellation of federal enforcement actions have given more than $210 million in contributions to MAGA Inc. and other Trump-aligned super PACs, according to Public Citizen. The group tallied the Trump administration’s cancellation of 212 federal enforcement actions involving 205 corporations.
GOP Senator Graham Spars with Democratic Opponent Annie Andrews
Oct 13, 2026
Republican Senator Darline Graham of South Carolina, the sister of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, sparred with her Democratic opponent, Annie Andrews, for their first and likely only debate on Sunday. The GOP’s Senate Leadership Fund is directing $5 million into the contest, signaling surprising Democratic strength in the race. The polls have tightened in recent weeks. This is Graham defending Israel in Sunday’s debate.
Sen. Darline Graham: “I fully believe that we need to stand with Israel. The same people that want to hurt and attack Israel want to come after us. The terrorists that were close to getting a nuclear weapon will come here. So we need to stand with our strongest ally in the Middle East, where there’s a lot of unrest.”
Dr. Andrews blasted Graham for her support for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Dr. Annie Andrews: “My opponent is the only one on this stage who had the opportunity to vote to end the war, but three times in a row she voted to continue it. And several days after one of those votes, she had the audacity to walk out onto this stage and admit that national security isn’t really her thing. South Carolina, if your surgeon said that appendectomies aren’t really his thing, would you still hand him a scalpel? No. So, why would we hand Darline Graham a full term in the U.S. Senate? She is unserious and unqualified.”
Israeli Forces Raid Offices of Palestinians NGOs in Occupied West Bank
Oct 13, 2026
Image Credit: Reuters/Ali Sawafta
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces raided the offices of several Palestinian NGOs and the courtyard of the Palestine Medical Complex today. The NGOs raided include the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in Ramallah. Israeli snipers were also reportedly dispatched around the entrances to the Palestine Medical Complex in the city.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, at least four Palestinians, including a 4-year-old child, were killed in Israeli attacks on Monday. Since last October’s so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed over 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza.
Netanyahu Seeks to Identify and Prosecute IDF Soldiers in Investigative Documentary NAZA
Oct 13, 2026
Image Credit: CHARADES
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed Israel’s attorney general and domestic intelligence chief to identify the soldiers and officers who appeared in the award-winning investigative documentary ”NAZA” and to bring charges against them for allegedly damaging Israel’s security interests. The Israeli government has also attacked ”NAZA” filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, threatening to strip them of their citizenship. In a statement, The Guardian, which produced the documentary, said, “These moves are all attempts to distract from the urgent questions the film asks about the mass killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Journalists should be free to pursue public interest investigations without threats or harassment.”
Meanwhile, Haaretz is reporting that after the October 7 attacks, the Israeli military drastically loosened its rules for confirming and targeting Hamas members, allowing strikes to kill hundreds of Palestinian civilians to target even low-ranking members of Hamas. For example, on October 31, 2023, IDF warplanes dropped 2,000-pound bombs supplied by the U.S. on the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza in order to kill one Hamas commander. A veteran of the IDF told Haaretz, “I remember being stunned that we were bringing down several densely populated buildings, killing and injuring hundreds of people, to kill a battalion commander who, just a few weeks earlier, hadn’t even been someone we were supposed to gather intelligence on.”
Israeli Academic and Independent Analyst Ori Goldberg Dies at Age 50
Oct 13, 2026
The Israeli academic and independent analyst Ori Goldberg has died at the age of 50 after a long struggle with colon cancer. He was a frequent contributor to Al Jazeera English and Democracy Now!, writing and commenting on Israeli politics, Israel’s regional security plans and, most recently, Israel’s reaction to the documentary film ”NAZA.” He was one of the few critical voices from Israel willing to speak to international media. Here he is on Democracy Now! about a year ago, just before the start of the U.S.-brokered so-called ceasefire in Gaza.
Ori Goldberg: “There are Israelis who — especially religious ones, who celebrate overtly the killing of Palestinians. And they, of course, are disappointed. They wanted a total victory. They wanted Hamas destroyed. But the great majority of Israelis enable the genocide and support the genocide by not talking about the genocide.”