ADVISORY  Watch: The World This Week — ‘Chaos of the old order,’ at 8 p.m. EDT. Joe Lauria of Consortium News talks again with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter. From CN intro: Chinese and Russian presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin “say unilateral efforts to rule the world ‘have failed’ and ‘a new type of international relations’ emerges despite ‘neocolonial tendencies’ bringing the ‘law of the jungle.'” U.S. President Donald Trump “mad over Iran and mulls Cuba invasion.” Click HERE later today for Lauria’s analytical article and tonight at 8 to livestream discussion; video to follow after live discussion is over.

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Links to reports and analyses from the Associated Press and El País; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials. NOTE: Three of the four items below link to articles in English or Spanish only, not both.  (Scroll down for UKRAINE, LEBANON, WEST BANK and IRAN, and for CUBA 5-22-26.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 22  Rare public appearances, low profile mark Raúl Castro’s life since stepping down as Cuba’s president, by Andea Rodríguez | AP  HAVANA — Former President Raúl Castro was last seen surrounded by tens of thousands of people attending a state-organized rally for International Workers’ Day along Havana’s famed seawall. The 94-year-old stood . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 22  Trump applies Venezuela playbook to Cuba, but results may differ, by Ben Finley, Matthew Lee, Farnoush Amiri and Konantin Toropin | AP  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s strategy against Cuba is looking a lot like the playbook for Venezuela: An oil blockade, a growing U.S. military presence, federal charges and repeated threats of intervention. But experts say . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same report in Spanish.

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Mistrust between the Cuban exile community and the island’s internal opposition complicates a post-Castro transition, by Juan Carlos Espinosa | El País  Fratricidal infighting makes the task of governing Cuba — should a regime that has ruled it with an iron fist for the past 67 years finally fall — an enormous challenge. Added to this are the chronic ills of an economy in freefall. READ MORE . . .

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La desesperación de los cubanos, entre la asfixia de Trump y la del régimen: ‘¿Cómo vas a resistir si no tienes nada?’ por Silvia Blanco | El País  HABANA — El Gobierno cubano se enroca ante la apabullante ofensiva en todos los frentes de Estados Unidos y se muestra cada vez más desconectado de la ciudadanía. LEA MÁS . . .

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ADVISORY  Watch: The World This Week — ‘Chaos of the old order,’ at 8 p.m. EDT. Joe Lauria of Consortium News talks again with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter. From CN intro: Chinese and Russian presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin “say unilateral efforts to rule the world ‘have failed’ and ‘a new type of international relations’ emerges despite ‘neocolonial tendencies’ bringing the ‘law of the jungle.'” U.S. President Donald Trump “mad over Iran and mulls Cuba invasion.” Click HERE later today for Lauria’s analytical article and tonight at 8 to livestream discussion; video to follow after live discussion is over.

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Links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for CUBA, LEBANON, WEST BANK and IRAN, and for UKRAINE 5-21-26.) — MCM

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A link to a report from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll up or down for CUBA, UKRAINE, WEST BANK and IRAN, and down for LEBANON 5-22-26.) — MCM

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Hezbollah: Lebanon ceasefire included in latest Iranian proposal to U.S. From Middle East Eye. Hezbollah says it has received a message from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stating that Lebanon’s inclusion in any agreement with the United States was explicitly emphasised in Tehran’s latest proposal presnted to Pakistani mediators. READ MORE . . .

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A link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll up or down for CUBA, UKRAINE, LEBANON and IRAN, and down for WEST BANK 5-22-26.) — MCM

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Netherlands to suspend all trade with illegal Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank, Golan Heights. From the Cradle. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced on Friday that his country will suspend all trade in goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights. The decision aims . . . READ MORE . . .

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ADVISORY  Watch: The World This Week — ‘Chaos of the old order,’ at 8 p.m. EDT. Joe Lauria of Consortium News talks again with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter. From CN intro: Chinese and Russian presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin “say unilateral efforts to rule the world ‘have failed’ and ‘a new type of international relations’ emerges despite ‘neocolonial tendencies’ bringing the ‘law of the jungle.'” U.S. President Donald Trump is “mad over Iran and mulls Cuba invasion.” Click HERE later today for Lauria’s analytical article and tonight at 8 to livestream discussion; video to follow after live discussion is over.

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Links to TEN reports or analyses: from CBS News, Reuters, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, and the Cradle; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for today’s CUBA, UKRAINE, LEBANON and WEST BANK so far.  Scroll down for IRAN 5-22-26.) — MCM

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NEWER  Trump says U.S. will only sign agreement with Iran ‘if we get what we want, by Tucker Reals, Jennifer Jacobs, Mark Osborne, Nancy Cordes and Frank Andrews | CBS News  President Trump said today that negotiators for U.S. and Iran are “getting a lot closer” to finalizing an agreement between the two countries with the latest proposal including . . . READ MORE . . .

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NEWER  Iran’s top negotiator says Tehran will not compromise in talks with U.S., by Jana Choukeir | Reuters  Iran’s top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, told Pakistani army chief Asim Munir during talks in Tehran on today that the U.S. was not an honest party in negotiations to end their war and Iran would not compromise on its national rights, state television reported. READ MORE . . .

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Iran and U.S. signal some progress in talks as Trump weighs striking again. From AP. JERUSALEM — Iran today signaled “narrowing differences” in negotiations with the U.S. after Pakistan’s army chief held more talks in Tehran and the United States weighs a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE and HERE for two reports from Middle East Eye.

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Three months in, is Trump losing the Iran war? From Reuters. With Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, its resistance to nuclear concessions and its theocratic government largely intact, doubts are growing that U.S. President Donald Trump can translate tactical military successes into an outcome he can frame convincingly as a geopolitical win against the Islamic Republic. READ MORE . . .

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Tehran demands Arab states pay ‘full compensation’ for facilitating U.S.-Israeli war. From the Cradle. Iran issued a letter to the UN demanding that Persian Gulf states and Jordan pay reparations for facilitating the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic, Fars News Agency reported today. READ MORE . . .

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Dozans of nations scramble for World Bank financing amid U.S.-Israeli created global shock. From the Cradle. Twenty-seven countries have moved to activate emergency World Bank financing mechanisms since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February, Reuters reported on Friday. Three nations have already received approval for . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 22  Iran destroyed 20 percent of U.S.’s MQ-9 Reaper drone fleet: report. Middle East Eye. Iran has destroyed $1bn worth of MQ-9 Reaper Drones, or roughly 20 percent of the US’s pre-war inventory of the sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a report by Bloomberg on Friday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 22  Top U.S. intelligence official resigns over war in Iran. From the Cradle. Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, a top U.S. intelligence official, is stepping down this week from two key posts due to her opposition to US President Donald Trump’s war on Iran, the Washington Post reported on Friday. READ MORE . . .

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Links to two reports from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for WEST BANK, IRAN, CUBA and MEDIA, and for LEBANON 5-20-26.) — MCM

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Israeli strikes on south Lebanon kill eight paramedics within hours. From the Cradle. An Israeli strike this morning killed four more paramedics in south Lebanon, bringing the number of Lebanese health workers killed by Israel up to eight since midnight. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 21  ‘A Viking army.’ From the Cradle. Israeli soldiers occupying southern Lebanon report systemic looting of civilian homes and businesses, along with the widespread destruction of villages and infrastructure, while commanding officers look the other way, according to testimonies Haaretz published on Wednesday. READ MORE . . .

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A link to a commentary via Middle East Monitor; other published material is accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll up or down for LEBANON, IRAN, CUBA and MEDIA, and down for WEST BANK 5-19-26.) — MCM

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‘First apartheid, then transfer’: Israeli columnist warns of West Bank expansion plans. From Middle East Monitor. Israel is clearing Palestinians from the illegally occupied West Bank village by village, using state-backed settler violence to drive communities from their land and prepare the ground for mass expulsion, a veteran Israeli columnist has warned. READ MORE . . .

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Links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Cradle, and CNN News; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for LEBANON, WEST BANK, CUBA and MEDIA, and for IRAN 5-21-26.) — MCM

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Qatari negotiating team in Tehran to try to help secure U.S.-Iran deal to end war. From Reuters. A Qatari negotiating team arrived in Tehran today in coordination with United States to try to help secure a deal to end the war with Iran and resolve outstanding issues, according to a source ‌with knowledge of the matter. READ MORE . . .

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Washington hits pause on $14bn Taiwan arms deal to divert weapons to West Asia. From the Cradle. Washington will halt a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan to redirect the munitions toward its war effort against Iran, Taiwanese acting navy secretary Hung Cao told lawmakers during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee session on Thursday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 21  Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to U.S. intel, by Zachary Cohen and Natasha Bertrand | CNN  Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded by U.S.-Israeli strikes, according to two sources familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments. READ MORE . . .

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Links to reports from the Associated Press and National Public Radio, and to commentaries from Counter-Currents and MintPress News, both via ScheerPost. (Scroll up or down for LEBANON, WEST BANK, IRAN and MEDIA, and down for CUBA 3-26-26.) — MCM

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Trump’s interest in Cuba is political — and personal.Reported by Franco Ordoñez and Leila Fadel | NPR  The U.S. government’s indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro came as President Trump also hinted at military action. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM MAY 21  Cuba is not a failed state — it is a besieged state, by Roger D. Harris and Sara Flounders | Counter-Currents / ScheerPost  The symbolism of International Workers’ Day was not lost on the White House. President Trump chose that day, May 1, to impose yet more sanctions on top of the already draconian illegal measures immiserating Cuba. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 15  USAID, NED & Open Society quietly bankroll Cuba’s ‘independent’ media in push for regime change, by Alan MacLeod | MintPress News / ScheerPost  The U.S. government has been covertly funding a huge network of Cuban media outlets that claim to be independent in a push for regime change against the independent socialist government. READ MORE . . .

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Links to reports from National Public Radio and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for LEBANON, WEST BANK, IRAN and CUBA.  Scroll down for MEDIA 5-20-26.) — MCM

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CBS Radio signs off after decades on the air, ending historic chapter in broadcasting. Reported by Scott Horsley | NPR  Tonight’s newscast will be the the network’s last after almost a century of helping define how news is delivered on the radio. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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