Links to a report from New England Public Media, an article from richardheinberg.com, and another from the Aotearoa Permaculture Workshop via resilience.org, and a report from ScienceDaily; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials. — MCM

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FROM APRIL 30  UMass forestry expert explores ‘hidden cogs’ of an old forest. Reported by Carrie Healy | NEPM  We’re walking into a forest in Plainfield, Massachusetts. It’s quiet here, but far from empty. “This is what I would call an old forest,” says Paul Catanzaro, coauthor of Tending Your Forest. Click HERE for audio, a transcript, and photos, and for previous reports in Healy’s series. Click HERE for the book publisher’s online promotion.

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FROM APRIL 2026  The future of forests, by Richard Heinberg | richardheinberg.com  Our species’ origin and destiny are entangled with the roots and branches of trees. We evolved in and around trees, and we’ve learned . . . READ MORE . . .

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Forest gardening for resilience, by Gary Marshall | Aotearoa Permaculture Workshop / resilience.org  Forest gardening has been practised by indigenous people around the world for millennia. Click HERE to read this second article in a two-part series.

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FROM DEC. 15, 2022  Early humans may have first walked upright in the trees. From ScienceDaily. In a new study published today in the journal Science Advances, researchers explored the behaviours of wild chimpanzees — our closest living relative — living in the Issa Valley of western Tanzania. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

A link to a “Museletter” from richardheinberg.com; others are accessible by clicking on the author’s address. (Scroll down for POWER, HEINBERG 9-28-22 or HEINBERG 11-29-22 (not practical; click on them instead), IRAN, LEBANON and WEST BANK.) — MCM

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FROM FEBRUARY 2026  The empire crumbles, Part 1, by Richard Heinberg | richardheinberg.com or Post Carbon Institute  Systems scientists have been warning for decades that the current growth-based world economic order is unsustainable, and that it will inevitably become smaller and more simplified during the remainder of the 21^st century. READ MORE . . .

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Links to SEVEN-plus reports, analyses, commentaries and interviews (12 or more): from the Cradle, PressTV, Reuters, Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN 4-29-26, and up or down for HEINBERG, LEBANON and WEST BANK.)

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Iran’s supreme leader declares ‘new chapter’ for Strait of Hormuz. From the Cradle. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei made a statement today declaring the start of a “new chapter” for the Strait of Hormuz and the beginning of a “bright future without” the U.S. in the Persian Gulf region. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Iran’s state-owned PressTV.

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Iran threatens painful response if U.S. resumes attacks, oil prices seesaw. From Reuters. WASHINGTON / DUBAI / ISLAMABAD — Iran said today that if Washington renewed attacks it would respond with “long and painful strikes” on U.S. positions, complicating U.S. plans for an international coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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Iran’s supreme leader vows to protect nuclear and missile capabilities, by Jon Gambrell | AP  DUBAI — Iran’s supreme leader said today that the Islamic Republic will protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset, likely seeking to draw a hard line as U.S. President Donald Trump presses for a wider deal to cement the war’s shaky three-week ceasefire. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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A link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll down for LEBANON 4-29-26, and up or down for HEINBERG, IRAN and WEST BANK.)

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With mass evacuation warnings, Israel upends lives and reshapes south Lebanon, by Isabel Debre | AP  HARET SAIDA, Lebanon — The warnings to flee come suddenly: Texts pinging thousands of phones, automated calls from strange numbers, hard-to-read maps shared on social media by an Israeli military spokesperson. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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A link to an analysis from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 4-28-26.  Scroll up for HEINBERG, IRAN and LEBANON.)

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How ceasefires enable Israel’s quiet annexation, by Farwa Imtiaz | Middle East Monitor   While fragile ceasefires hold in Gaza and Lebanon and attention shifts to Iran, Israel is pressing ahead with its settler-colonial project in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Click HERE to read more including three comments.

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For now, links to EIGHT reports, analyses and commentaries: from or via Middle East Monitor, the Associated Press, the Cradle, Reuters, and Middle East Eye; other published material is accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for IRAN 4-28-26 and today’s GAZA, LEBANON and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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Trump tells aides to prepare for extended blockade of Iran: WSJ. From Middle East Monitor. Citing U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal report said that in recent meetings, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Cradle.

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Iran’s currency hits record low as ceasefire holds, by Amir Vahdat | AP  TEHRAN — Iran’s national rial currency hit a record low today of 1.8 million to the dollar as a shaky ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel holds. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same report in Spanish.  Click HERE for report from the Cradle. 

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Iran’s Guards seize wartime power, weakening Supreme Leader’s role, by Samia Nakhoul, Parisa Hafezi and Asif Shahzad | Reuters  DUBAI — Two months into a war with the U.S. and Israel, Iran no longer has a single, undisputed clerical arbiter at the pinnacle of power — an abrupt break with the past that may be hardening Tehran’s stance as it weighs renewed talks with Washington. READ MORE . . .

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Report: 52 Iranian ships breach U.S. blockade within 72 hours. From Middle East Monitor. Iran’s Fars News Agency cited satellite tracking data covering the three days leading up to 10 p.m. local time on Monday, saying the vessels included 31 oil tankers and 21 cargo ships. READ MORE . . .

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How St. Petersburg became Tehran’s last strategic lifeline, by Jannus TH Siahaan | Middle East Monitor  The Iran crisis of 2026 has become a high-stakes geopolitical marketplace where sovereignty is collateral, alliances are transactional, and survival depends less on ideology than on access to patrons with leverage. READ MORE . . .

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FROM APRIL 28  Trump’s threats to steal Iran’s oil continue a long history of U.S. pillage, by Joseph Massad | Middle East Eye  The U.S. pillage of Third World resources is hardly a new development. It has continued U.S. imperialist policies since the Second World War, and long predates it in the case of U.S. theft of Latin America‘s resources, let alone . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, a link to a report from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for GAZA 4-28-26 and today’s IRAN, LEBANON and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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In Gaza, life flickers as power cuts shatter livelihoods and healthcare, by Nada Nabil | Middle East Eye  GAZA CITY, occupied Palestine –Gaza’s sole power plant shut down on Oct. 11, 2023, after running out of fuel amid the blockade on energy supplies. Since then, the territory has been plunged into near-total darkness, with residents relying on limited solar power or costly . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to reports from Middle East Eye and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for LEBANON 4-28-26, and up or down for today’s GAZA, IRAN and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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Israeli strike kills five from same family in southern Lebanon town. From Middle East Eye. The nighttime raid hit a residential building in Jebchit’s Jabal neighbourhood, destroying it and killing members of the Bahjat family, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. READ MORE . . .

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He once struck a peace deal with Israel and says Lebanon’s leaders should try again now, by Kareem Chehayeb | AP  BIKFAYA, Lebanon — Former Lebanese president Amin Gemayel, who once signed a short-lived deal with Israel ending decades of a state of war, now says the time is right to try again. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to an essay from Liberties via ScheerPost; to a report from from Declassified UK via Consortium News, and to an analysis from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting via ScheerPost; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for MEDIA 4-19-26.  Scroll up for today’s GAZA, IRAN and LEBANON so far.) — MCM

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FROM WINTER 2026 and APRIL 28  The rise and fall and rise of American publishing, by Steve Wasserman | Liberties / ScheerPost  I’ve been invited by Robert Scheer to write a monthly column. This inaugural essay will give you a sense of my commitment to the world of books and publishing and, more broadly, to the notion that ideas matter. I’m a former editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review and have headed up several publishing companies, both in New York and California. READ MORE . . .

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For U.S. commentators in Iran, mass murder is magic, by Gregory Shupak | FAIR / ScheerPost  In the wake of the temporary U.S./Iran ceasefire, hawkish commentary in leading American newspapers advanced the premise that the U.S. can dictate terms to Iran in negotiations, with a faith in the power of Washington’s military might that was hard to justify by . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM APRIL 27  How UK media shields the Israel lobby, by Mark Curtis | Declassified UK / Consortium News  Britain’s national media fails to recognise the influence – and even the existence – of an Israel lobby, our new media analysis of two years of reporting from seven media outlets shows. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

A link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name as highlighted. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 4-16-26 and GAZA, IRAN and LEBANON.) — MCM

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Israeli army launches massive arrest, eviction campaign in occupied West Bank. From the Cradle. The raid into the Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, began overnight on Sunday and extended into Monday, when Israeli troops stormed several Palestinian homes, evicting over a dozen families and transforming an entire civilian area into a military interrogation zone. READ MORE . . .

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