First, links to two reports: from the Associated Press and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 1-11-26, and up or down for today’s UKRAINE, SYRIA, WEST BANK, IRAN and VENEZUELA so far.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 11  Hamas says it will dissolve its government in Gaza when new Palestinian body takes over, by Samy Magdy and Julia Frankel | AP  CAIRO — This would happen once a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee takes over the territory, as mandated under the U.S.-brokered peace plan. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM JAN. 11  Trump promised a Gaza endgame. Palestinians say they are still living the war. Reported by Michele Kelemen | NPR  Three months after Trump’s Gaza plan, Palestinians say the war is still not over and no international force has arrived. Click HERE to listen and read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to three reports: from National Public Radio and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking their initials below. (Scroll down for VENEZUELA 1-11-26, and scroll up for today’s UKRAINE, SYRIA, WEST BANK, IRAN and GAZA.) — MCM

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Venezuela releases political prisoners days after U.S. removes Nicolas Maduro. Reported by John Otis | NPR  Venezuela has begun releasing political prisoners in what the government calls a goodwill gesture, days after the U.S. seized President Nicolás Maduro. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM JAN. 11  Latin American left responds to Trump’s pledge to take over of Venezuelan oil. Reported by Carrie Kahn | NPR  Latin America’s left is in disarray after the seizure of Nicolas Maduro and the U.S.’s pledge to take over Venezuela’s oil industry. Many on the left are changing their rhetoric about President Trump. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM JAN. 11  Trump ‘inclined’ to keep Exxon-Mobil out of Venezuela after White House meeting, by Seung Min Kim and Julia Nikhinson ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE  — President Donald Trump said Sunday he is “inclined” to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after its top executive was skeptical about oil investment efforts in the country after the toppling of former President Nicolás Maduro. “They’re playing too cute.” he said. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For today, links to seven reports: from the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and the Cradle; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (Scroll down for IRAN 1-4-26, and up or down for MEDIA, WEST BANK, GAZA, VENEZUELA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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NEWER  Death toll in crackdown on protests in Iran spikes to at least 538, activists say, by Jon Gambrell | AP  DUBAI — A crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has killed at least 538 people and even more are feared dead, activists said today, while Tehran warned that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. Click HERE and HERE for a second AP report, and another from Middle East Eye.

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‘Rioters’ must not disrupt Iranian society: President Pezeshkian on state TV. From AFP. In his first remarks after three nights of protest against the authorities, President Masoud Pezeshkian told state broadcaster IRIB that “people should believe that we [the government] want to establish justice.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same brief AFP report in French, and HERE for headlines of others.

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Son of Iran’s toppled Shah seeks a role as protests expand. From Reuters. TEHRAN — Reza Pahlavi, 65, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran has become a prominent voice spurring on protesters staging the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 10  Iranian police arrest 100, dismantle ‘terror cells’ amid riot crackdown. From the Cradle. Iranian police announced on 10 January the arrest of 100 people accused of “rioting and disrupting security” and the dismantling of two armed cells in western Iran, according to semi-official news agency Tasnim. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 9  Khamenei slams ‘arrogant’ Trump, vows Iran ‘will not back down’ as violent riots spread. From the Cradle. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed in a speech on Friday that Tehran “will not back down” in the face of U.S. pressure and threats, while strongly condemning foreign-backed rioters causing unrest in the country. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to an article of commentary from MintPress News, and to three reports: from National Public Radio, Middle East Eye, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 1-7-26 and up or down for IRAN, WEST BANK, GAZA, VENEZUELA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 9  Kidnapping, or ‘capture’? by Alan MacLeod | MintPress News  U.S. President Trump said “kidnapping” was an appropriate term for the Jan. 3 abduction of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, but corporate media around the world refrain from using the word. And managers at BBC instructed its staff to “avoid using ‘kidnapped’” in their reports. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 10  How does NPR report on Venezuela? Reported by Sarah McCammon and Eyder Peralta | NPR  Eyder Peralta, NPR international correspondent, on racing to the Venezuela border after the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro, and the obstacles keeping journalists from getting into the country. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Israeli social media erupts with calls for overthrowing Iran’s government, by Nadav Rapaport | Middle East Eye  TEL AVIV — Israeli social media has filled with open calls for the overthrow of the Iranian government, as protests spread across the Islamic Republic and authorities imposed a near-total internet blackout. READ MORE . . .

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Retouched images of Netanyahu’s wife, distributed by the state, ignite a fiery ethics debate, by Julia Frankel | AP  Critics say the issue is that the circulation of the images in official government announcements distorts reality, violates ethical codes and risks compromising official archiving and record-keeping efforts. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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For today, a link to commentary from Middle East Eye; other articles are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 1-5-26, and up or down for IRAN, MEDIA, GAZA, VENEZUELA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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As genocide continues in Gaza, the West Bank is pushed into a new Nakba. From Middle East Eye.  Israel‘s genocide of the Palestinian people has never been confined to Gaza alone. READ MORE . . .

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For today, a link to commentary from the Floutist via Consortium News; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Scroll down for GAZA 1-5-26, and up or down for IRAN, MEDIA, WEST BANK, VENEZUELA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 8  An abyss of lawlessness, by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist / Consortium News  It is a long time now since the paying-attention among us began speaking of the fundamental lawlessness of our time. The Israelis prompted this discourse by their daily barbarities against the Palestinians of Gaza after Oct. 7, 2023. The Western powers compounded the shock of that savagery as they supported the Zionist terror machine — militarily, materially, politically, legally, diplomatically. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to two articles of commentary: from the Floutist via Consortium News, and from MintPress News; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Scroll down for VENEZUELA 1-10-26, and up or down for IRAN, MEDIA, WEST BANK, GAZA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 8  An abyss of lawlessness, by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist / Consortium News  Now the Trump regime, with its invasion of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on Jan. 3, its abduction of President Nicolás Maduro, and its plans to occupy the nation and appropriate its petroleum reserves, has cast aside all thought of law, American and international alike. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 9  A brief history of U.S. kidnappings of foreign leaders, by Alan MacLeod | MintPress News  The Trump administration’s abduction of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3 follows the kidnappings of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (2002); of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab (2020); of Panamanian President Manuel Antonio Noriega (1990); and of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (2004) — and the almost-kidnapping of Bolivian President Evo Morales (2013). READ MORE . . .

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For today, a link to commentary from the Floutist via Consortium News; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 1-10-26, and scroll up for IRAN, MEDIA, WEST BANK, GAZA and VENEZUELA.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 8  An abyss of lawlessness, by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist / Consortium News  Donald Trump is running the same empire that Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama, and Biden ran. He is merely running it differently — more openly coercive, more nakedly dependent on power alone — because we are in a different time, and imperial America is now late-imperial America. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to three reports and a video clip: from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, the Associated Press, and National Public Radio; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (Scroll down for VENEZUELA 1-9-26 and SYRIA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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Trump signs emergency order to protect U.S.-held revenue from Venezuela oil. From AFP. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order protecting U.S.-held money derived from sales of Venezuelan oil, after the ouster of Nicolas Maduro. Trump has made clear that tapping Venezuela’s vast oil reserves was a key goal in the U.S. ouster of Maduro. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AFP report in French, and HERE for headlines of others.

FROM JAN. 9  A reading list to better understand this moment in Venezuela. Reported by Alejandra Marquez Janse, Mary Louise Kelly and William Troop | NPR  Venezuelan journalist and author Paula Ramon in Caracas offers a reading list for anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of Venezuela at this moment. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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For today, links to two reports: from the Associated Press and the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for SYRIA 12-28-25 and up or down for VENEZUELA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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Syrian security forces enter Aleppo neighborhood after clashes with Kurdish fighters, by Ghaith Alsayed | AP  ALEPPO, Syria — Syrian security forces today began deploying in a neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo after days of intense clashes with Kurdish fighters that killed and wounded dozens. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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Turkiye seeks to join Saudi–Pakistan defense pact mirroring NATO: report. From the Cradle. Since the start of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, Turkiye has closely allied with Qatar. Both countries strongly supported the Muslim Brotherhood to destabilize the region, including in Syria, Libya, and Egypt. READ MORE . . .

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