First, a link to a report from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for today’s UKRAINE, IRAN and LEBANON so far, and for WEST BANK 5-25-26.) — MCM

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Israeli settlers, soldiers attack and loot West Bank villages, by Oren Ziv | Middle East Eye  JILJILYA, occupied West Bank — While settlers frequently raid Palestinian communities and steal livestock, in cases here and elsewhere on the West Bank last week operations were carried out in coordination with — and under the protection of — the Israeli army, which secured the theft and assisted the settlers throughout. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to two reports and an analysis: from or via the Associated Press, Reuters, and the Floutist via Consortium News; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for today’s WEST  BANK, IRAN and LEBANON so far, and down for UKRAINE 5-26-26.)

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Russian lawmakers want banks and their staff to help fight Ukrainian drones. From AP. Russian bank staff and branches could be joining the fight against Ukrainian drone attacks under an ambitious plan approved by the country’s lower house of parliament. The banks would bear the cost of . … READ MORE . . .

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Senior Ukrainian commander sees imminent ‘turning point’ in war. From Reuters. KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine —Ukraine has a six-month window in which to . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 26  The cokehead of Kiev, exposed, by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist / Consortium News  Let this be a season of revelations across the board, when the heavy drapes of mis- and disinformation that obscure so many 21st century realities are at last rent. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to EIGHT reports and analyses: from the Associated Press, Middle East Monitor, Consortium News, the Cradle, and National Public Radio, and to analyses from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for this date’s WEST BANK, UKRAINE and LEBANON so far, and down for IRAN 5-26-26.) — MCM

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NEWER  Trump says Iran ‘negotiating on fumes,’ insists that midterm elections won’t impact his war strategy, by Aamer Madhani | AP  WASHINGTON — Speaking today at the start of a Cabinet meeting at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the nearly three-month war with Iran, President Donald Trump expressed confidence that a deal is near. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish.

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Former State department official discusses Trump’s negotiating tactics with Iran. Steve Inskeep of NPR talks with Jennifer Gavito, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Iran and Iraq during the Biden administration, about President Trump’s negotiating tactics. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Iran is quietly turning Hormuz into a political checkpoint, by Umud Shokri | Middle East Monitor  Iran is no longer using the Strait of Hormuz only as a crisis weapon. Tehran is trying to turn the waterway into a lasting source of political and economic leverage. READ MORE . . .

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Challenging Western supremacy, by Joe Lauria | Consortium News  Only someone living in a cave wouldn’t know by now the history of carnage and enslavement left behind by more than five centuries of Western dominance of the world. Unfortunately the West is led today largely by men and women in business, politics and the media who deny this truth. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 26  U.S. violates truce, bombs Iranian port amid claims peace deal possible ‘within days.’ From the Cradle. The U.S. military renewed its violations of the so-called ceasefire with the Islamic Republic of Iran late on Monday, launching fresh airstrikes on areas in the country’s south. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 26  Iran condemns U.S. strikes as a show of ‘bad faith’ and begins restoring internet after long shutdown. From AP. DUBAI — Iran on Tuesday denounced the most recent U.S. strikes as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations pressed on toward a possible deal to end the war, and the Islamic Republic began restoring internet access after one of the longest nationwide shutdowns ever. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.

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FROM MAY 26  As Trump touts progress on Iran talks, major obstacles remain. Reported by Aya Batrawy and Franco Ordoñez | NPR  President Trump heralded an advance in making a deal with Iran to end the war, but the way forward remains unclear. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. Click HERE for separate print report from NPR.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to FOUR reports: from Middle East Eye, the Cradle, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll up for today’s WEST BANK, UKRAINE and IRAN so far, and down for LEBANON 5-26-26.) — MCM

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Strikes hit Lebanon’s Tyre city. From Middle East Eye. Air strikes hit an area near southern Lebanon’s Tyre city following Israel’s forced displacement order issued earlier on Wednesday, according to reports from AFP and Lebanese media. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and scroll down for today’s previous Lebanon-related Middle East Eye reports.

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Hezbollah battles at ‘zero distance’ with invading Israeli troops, thwarts attempts to expand occupation of Lebanon. From the Cradle. Direct confrontations between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli occupation troops were reported this morning on the outskirts of Zawtar al-Sharqiya in southern Lebanon, amid a brutal carpet-bombing campaign that has killed dozens of Lebanese over the past 48 hours. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 26  Israel intensifies Lebanon offensive, expands ground operations beyond security zone.  From Reuters. Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed at least 11 people and wounded 15 others on Tuesday, as Israel sharply intensified its military campaign against Hezbollah despite a fragile ceasefire brokered last month. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for later report from Middle East Eye.

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TO BE CONTINUED

Links to SEVEN reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, the Kyiv Independent, the Moscow Times, and Kyiv Post; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN and LEBANON, and for UKRAINE 5-24-26.) — MCM

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Links to FOUR reports: from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Reuters; and to commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for UKRAINE and LEBANON, and for IRAN 5-25-26.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 25  U.S. military says it carried out ‘self-defense’ strikes on Iran, including on missile launch sites, by Konstantin Toropin, Lindsay Whitehurst and Munir Ahmed | AP  WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations were “proceeding nicely.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM MAY 25  Why Israel is unhappy with the latest U.S. negotiations with Iran. Reported by Daniel Estrin and Mary Louise Kelly | NPR  Israeli officials have called the emerging U.S. deal with Iran a “bad” deal, over concerns that it does not force Iran to give up its nuclear program at the start. Click HERE to listen and, later, read; and HERE and HERE for related reports from NPR and Reuters.

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FROM MAY 25  Iran has won the war. Trump and Netanyahu now face a reckoning, by David Hearst | Middle East Eye  Each day brings a fresh turn in the tortured negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Each time an agreement on one point is close, Trump picks up the phone to call . . . READ MORE . . .

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For now, links to FOUR reports: from the Associated Press, the Cradle, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for UKRAINE and IRAN, and down for LEBANON 5-25-26.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 25  Israel’s military says it’s striking Hezbollah sites as Netanyahu vows to ‘increase the blows,’ by Bassem Mroue and Mattew Lee | AP  BEIRUT — Israel’s air force targeted sites belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including in the country’s eastern Bekaa Valley, late on Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify attacks on the Lebanese militant group. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.

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FROM MAY 25  Israeli finance minister demands carpet bombing of Beirut in response to Hezbollah’s use of deadly FPV drones. From the Cradle. During a heated five-hour security cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for large-scale strikes on Beirut’s infrastructure in retaliation for Hezbollah’s First-Person View drones, which have caused rising casualties among Israeli forces. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 25  Residents barred from Lebanon amid Israeli war use satellite images to check on homes. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  Residents of a village in southern Lebanon have resorted to buying satellite images to find out whether their homes have been destroyed by Israel. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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A link to an analysis from Jonathan-Cook.net via Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll down for LEBANON, WEST BANK, IRAN and MEDIA, and for ALL OF IT 5-13-26.) — MCM

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Western democracies? by Jonathan Cook | Jonathan-Cook.net / Consortium News  Two pronounced — and inverse — trends in Western societies have long been observable, and yet they are rarely noticed or discussed. There is a reason for that. READ MORE . . .

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Links to reports from Middle East Monitor and the Cradle, and to analyses from Middle East Eye and Jonathan-Cook.net; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll up or down for ALL OF IT, WEST BANK, IRAN and MEDIA, and down for LEBANON 5-23-26.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 24  Israeli strikes kill 14, wound several in southern Lebanon in latest ceasefire violation. From Middle East Monitor. At least 14 people were killed and several others wounded in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday amid continued violations of an ongoing ceasefire, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Cradle.

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Those who resist Israel are now called internal enemies of the state, by Amal Saad | Middle East Eye  As with previous rounds of negotiations, the latest U.S.-brokered talks between Lebanon and Israel, held in Washington earlier this month, signalled the laundering of war through diplomacy. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 1   The West’s bubble of illusion about Israel — and about itself — is finally being burst, by Jonathan Cook | Jonathan-Cook.net  For months, Israel has been blowing up village after village in south Lebanon. It is destroying Gaza’s water supplies, as it earlier did the tiny enclave’s hospitals and health system. It kills journalists and emergency crews in Gaza and Lebanon week after week, month after month, and it raises barely an eyebrow from the political and media class. READ MORE . . .

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Links to a report from Truthout via ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking on its names. (Scroll up or down for for ALL OF IT, LEBANON, IRAN and MEDIA, and down for WEST BANK 5-23-26.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 23  Israel ramps up demolitions of Palestinian homes ahead of fall elections, by Theia Chatelle | Truthout / ScheerPost  East Jerusalem is days away from its largest forced displacement since 1967. READ MORE . . .

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