First Thing: US indicts former Cuban president Raúl Castro as it seeks to oust regime

Good morning. On Wednesday, the US issued a federal criminal indictment against Raúl Castro, Cuba’s former president, and five others, in a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign to oust the country’s communist regime. The indictment, filed in US district court for the southern district of Florida, comes at a time of heightened tension between the US and Cuba. Donald Trump has threatened military action against the Cuban government, and an energy crisis created by a tight US oil embargo has caused rolling blackouts and prompted protests in the capital. Trump was asked by reporters on Wednesday if there could be an arrest similar to that of the ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January. “I don’t want to say that,” he said. What are the details? Castro, 94, was charged with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft related to an incident in 1996 – in which four men were killed by the Cuban military, when two small planes were shot down during a humanitarian mission in the Florida Straits. How has Cuba reacted? Miguel Díaz-Canel, the Cuban president, condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to “justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba”. Israeli security minister stirs diplomatic outrage with flotilla activist abuse video 1:03 Israeli minister Ben-Gvir posts video taunting detained Gaza flotilla activists – video Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid. Three activists were taken to hospital as a result of Israeli violence, lawyers representing the group said. They were subsequently discharged. Dozens of others have suspected broken ribs, resulting in breathing problems. The rights group Adalah said there had been “widespread physical and psychological abuse by Israeli authorities”. What does the video show? Images of dozens of men and women kneeling in rows, with their foreheads to the ground and their hands zip-tied behind their back. Ben-Gvir posted it on his social media account. He appears waving an Israeli flag, mocking and taunting the detainees. What are global leaders saying? The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, one of the country’s staunchest allies, described Ben-Gvir’s behaviour as “despicable” and said the minister had “betrayed the dignity of his nation”. Others criticizing the video were Italy, Spain, the European Council, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and others. The Spanish foreign minister called the treatment “monstrous, disgraceful and inhumane”. US employers spend more than $1.5bn a year to fight labor unions View image in fullscreen Starbucks employees on strike as part of a nationwide push for improved wages and benefits, in Seattle, November 2025. Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters US employers spend more than $1.5bn a year on labor union opposition efforts, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Economic Policy Institute. “This is millions or even billions of dollars that’s not going towards workers and investing into their workplace,” said Margaret Poydock, a co-author of the report and a senior policy analyst at the EPI. Where is the money going? Employers spent company money hiring consultants and law firms specializing in union avoidance and on legal counsel, representation and litigation services during union elections and organizing campaigns. What might be the impact? Poydock said the role of these union-avoidance law firms and consultants has, in part, contributed to the decline of unionization membership and density over several decades. Union density in the US is at 10%, compared with 20.3% in 1983. Despite this decline, Gallup polls report nearly 70% of Americans approve of labor unions. In other news … View image in fullscreen A health worker takes the temperature of a woman amid an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photograph: Arlette Bashizi/Reuters An American doctor who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been flown to Germany for treatment, along with his wife and four children, as the World Health Organization warned of the “scale and speed” of the outbreak. Trump said on Wednesday he would speak to Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, a break from diplomatic norms for a US leader, which could roil US relations with China. A man in Tennessee, who was jailed for 37 days over a Facebook post, has won an $835,000 settlement, after he posted about the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The US has ordered its Jerusalem embassy to press the Palestinian leadership into dropping a bid for a senior position at the UN general assembly, anxious that the role could allow Palestinians to chair high-profile debates on the Middle East. Stat of the day: SpaceX reveals plan for $1.75tn st