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Saudi Arabia has been ranked one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes, and is frequently placed among the “worst of the worst” in Freedom House’s survey of political and civil rights. Amnesty International says that despite a massive global “image laundering” campaign, “the human rights situation in the Kingdom has deteriorated exponentially.” It has no national elections, and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS) uses imprisonment, torture, and execution to quash even mild dissent against the government. People can be sentenced to death over their tweets, and women who protest being kept as chattel by men can be thrown into prison and tortured. The resulting climate of fear can result in absurdities—the Financial Times recently reported that Saudi engineers and designers have been too afraid to tell MBS that his ludicrous plan for a utopian city is literally physically impossible. 

Drop Site Daily: November 25, 2025

88-year-old Stephen Kapos also explains why he believes he needs to speak out against Israel’s genocide on Gaza.

As the Trump administration escalates pressure on Venezuela, U.S. military activity across the Caribbean continues to grow. The U.S. has deployed more than 15,000 troops to the region and carried out airstrikes on over 20 boats, killing at least 83 people in operations the White House has justified, without providing evidence, as targeting drug traffickers. On Monday, the administration also designated the so-called Cártel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, alleging President Nicolás Maduro leads the group. “It’s certainly not a cartel,” says Phil Gunson, senior analyst for the Andes region with the International Crisis Group. He explains that while some parts of the Venezuelan military are involved in the drug trade, “these people are in it for the money,” and declaring them terrorists is “ridiculous.” We also speak with Alexander Aviña, associate professor of Latin American history at Arizona State University, who says the anti-Maduro campaign is part of a “broader plan” to remake the entire region. “It’s not just about Venezuela.”

Understanding what happens to Antarctica’s ice matters, because as it melts, sea levels rise, affecting lives and economies around the world.

GOP Lawmaker Presses U.S. to Invade Venezuela, Promising “Field Day” for U.S. Oil Companies, Sudan’s RSF Announces Unilateral Ceasefire as Military Rulers Reject U.S.-Backed Ceasefire Plan, Israel Continues to Violate Gaza Ceasefire as GHF Closes Aid Sites Condemned as “Death Traps”, Sen. Van Hollen Calls for Release of Mohammed Ibrahim, a Florida Teen Jailed for Months by Israel, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee Met Secretly in July with Convicted Spy Jonathan Pollard, Russia Launches Deadly Attacks on Ukraine Even as Peace Talks Continue, Trump Administration to Review Status of Refugees Admitted to U.S. Under Biden, Federal Appeals Court Ruling Limits Trump’s Plans to Fast-Track Deportations, Costa Rica Rebuts Trump Administration’s Claims It Would Not Accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 31 Arrested While Protesting Inhumane Conditions at Miami-Dade ICE Jail, Marjorie Taylor Greene to Quit Congress After Break with Trump over Gaza, Healthcare and Epstein, Pentagon Threatens Court-Martial of Sen. Mark Kelly, Who Told Service Members to Disobey Illegal Orders, Judge Tosses Indictments Against James Comey and Letitia James over Unlawfully Appointed Prosecutor, EPA Approves Pesticides Containing “Forever Chemicals” and Rolls Back Drinking Water Standards, Viola Ford Fletcher, Oldest Survivor of Tulsa Race Massacre, Dies at 111

Cheaper oil, and the effect of US and European sanctions, are expected to push Russia’s oil and gas revenue down 35%, Reuters reported.