For today, links to six reports: from Middle East Monitor, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Reuters, and Middle East Eye, and to commentary from Jonathan-Cook.net via Middle East Eye, and from X via Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date and a NATURE entry are HERE and HERE.  GAZA 2-14-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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UN’s Arab Group: ‘We want a free Palestinian Riviera.’ From  X via Middle East Monitor. In a statement today, Arab ambassadors rejected any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, calling it a blatant violation of international law. “We want to see . . . Click HERE for video.

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Israel and Hamas complete their latest exchange as ceasefire’s first phase has just 2 weeks left, by Mohammad Jahjouh, Melanie Lidman and Jamal Bwaitel | AP  KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel and Hamas completed the sixth exchange of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners today with just over two weeks remaining in the initial phase of their fragile Gaza ceasefire. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for reports from NPR and Middle East Eye.

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FROM FEB. 14  Arab proposal for Gaza in works, but Jordan can’t take more Palestinians: minister. From Reuters. Arab countries are putting together a plan that would rebuild Gaza without displacing its people, guarantee security and governance, Jordan’s foreign minister said on Friday, adding that his country could not take more Palestinians. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 13  Egyptian firm charges commercial trucks entering Gaza $20,000 in ‘bribes,’ by Ahmed Abdeen | Middle East Eye  Ibrahim al-Organi, a Sinai businessman, politician and Egyptian tribal leader allied with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, continues to exercise de facto control over the entry of commercial and aid trucks into Gaza . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 14  Trump didn’t invent the Gaza ethnic cleansing plan. It’s been U.S. policy since 2007, by Jonathan Cook | Jonathan-Cook.net / Middle East Eye  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intention from day one of his “revenge” attack on Gaza, launched 16 months ago, was either ethnic cleansing or genocide in Gaza. His ally in genocide for the next 15 months was then U.S. President Joe Biden. His current U.S. ethnic cleansing ally . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘The inhumane is being perpetrated on our watch,’ by Tilda Swinton | X / Middle East Monitor  The British actor at the Berlin Film Festival condemns “state-perpetrated and internationally enabled mass murder,” and the complacency of “greed-addicted governments” — while acceptig the Golden Bear for lifetime achievement. Click HERE for intro and video. 

For today, links to eight reports: from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, National Public Radio, Kyiv Post, the Moscow Times, the Associated Press, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (GAZA entry for this date and a NATURE entry are HERE and HERE. UKRAINE 2-14-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM   

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‘No decisions’ on Ukraine without Kyiv and Europe, says Zelensky. From AFP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today insisted that no decisions should be made on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine without Kyiv and Europe, as the United States pushes to open talks with Moscow.  READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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Zelenskiy calls for European army to deter Russia, earn U.S. respect, by Andrew Gray, Lili Bayer and Tom Balmforth | Reuters  MUNICH — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called today for the creation of a European army, arguing the continent could no longer be sure of protection from the United States and would only get respect from Washington with a strong military. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from NPR.

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Ukrainian EOD operator killed by another Russian proxy bombing in Mykolaiv, by Steve Brown | Kyiv Post  An explosion in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv today killed two people, including an explosive ordnance disposal operator, and injured eight others, police said. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 14  Trump administration presses Ukraine for a rare metals deal in exchange for aid. Reported by Joanna Kakissis | NPR  As President Trump presses Ukraine to quickly end a war started by Russia, the Ukrainian government readies an agreement to sell rare-earth metals to the U.S. in exchange for continued aid. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM FEB. 14  Vance threatens sanctions, U.S. troops in Ukraine if Putin rejects peace deal. From the Moscow Times. Washington could impose tougher sanctions on Moscow and send U.S. troops to Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin fails to negotiate a Ukraine peace deal in good faith, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance toldthe Wall Street Journal in an interview published Friday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 14  Europe quietly works on a plan to send troops to Ukraine for post-war security, by Lorne Cook | AP  BRUSSELS — Increasingly alarmed that U.S. security priorities lie elsewhere, a group of European countries has been quietly working on a plan to send troops into Ukraine to help enforce any future peace settlement with Russia. READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian army controls 20% of Chasov Yar in DPR — expert. From Tass. LUGANSK — Only 20% of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic is controlled by units of the Ukrainian armed forces, according to military expert Andrey Marochko. READ MORE . . .

Links to an essay from Resilience and reports from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 5  Putting nature at the center, by Richard Heinberg | Resilience / Post Carbon Institute  Stopping humanity’s war on nature will require . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 13  The truth behind your Valentine’s Day flowers. Reported by Ruth Sherlock | NPR  CUNDINAMARCA, Colombia — Buying flowers on Valentine’s Day is a classic gesture of love. But the beauty of these bouquets comes at a cost. High in the Andes Mountains . . .  Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM FEB. 13  The Panama Canal needs more water. The proposed solution would displace thousands. Reported by Ari Shapiro, Alejandra Marquez Janse, Courtney Dorning, Karen Zamora and Rolando Arrieta | NPR  Every time a ship passes through the Panama Canal, more than 50 million gallons of fresh water from Lake Gatun pour out into the ocean.  Click HERE to listen and read.

For today, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA, WEST BANK, COVID ETC. and UKRAINE entries for this date and a POETRY entry are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. IRAN 2-10-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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Israel ready to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities ‘with or without’ U.S. backing: report. From the Cradle. “Israel wants to seize the moment,” Israeli officials told the Washington Post, the newspaper reported today. “If Iran won’t agree to a Libya-style abandonment of its nuclear facilities . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, a link to a report from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (IRAN, GAZA, COVID ETC. and UKRAINE entries for this date and a POETRY entry are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. WEST BANK 2-13-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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Israel to confiscate a thousand hectares of Palestinian land in West Bank, by Fayha Shalash | Middle East Monitor  RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank  — The Israeli army issued two edicts on Feb. 10 to confiscate more than 10,000 dunums (1,000 hectares) of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Referred to as . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to five reports: from Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (IRAN, WEST BANK, UKRAINE and COVID ETC. entries for this date and a POETRY entry are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. GAZA 2-13-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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The Hind Rajab Foundation: Pursuing Israeli soldiers worldwide for Gaza war crimes, by Sondos Asem | Middle East Eye  For over 15 months, Israeli soldiers have taken to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms to show off their handiwork in Gaza. Now . . . READ MORE . . .

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3 Israeli men named as latest to be freed in hostage release. From AP. The families of Israeli hostages still held by the Hamas militant group today welcomed the “joyous news” that three men, all taken from the same kibbutz on Oct. 7, 2023, are expected to be freed on Saturday. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Saudi Arabia spearheads Arab scramble for alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan. From Reuters. Draft ideas will be discussed at a meeting in Riyadh this month of countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Proposals may involve . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 10 and 13  Palestinian refugees in Syria have a message for Gazans: Don’t leave your land. Reported by Greg Myre and Jawad Rizkallah | NPR  DAMASCUS — Khadija al-Ali was just 3 years old when her family fled their home in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and came to this Palestinian refugee camp in Syria.  Click HERE to listen and read.

For now, a link to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (IRAN, GAZA, WEST BANK and UKRAINE entries for this date and a POETRY entry are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. COVID ETC. 1-31-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 13  RFK Jr. confirmed as Trump’s health secretary, over Democrats’ loud objections, by Selena Simmons-Duffin | NPR  Despite millions of dollars spent by groups opposed to his nomination, the Senate voted to install Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to six reports: from the Moscow Times, Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (IRAN, GAZA, WEST BANK and COVID ETC. entries for this date and a POETRY entry are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. UKRAINE 2-13-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM   

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Zelensky says ready for direct talks with Moscow after common position is reached with U.S, From the Moscow Times. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today he was ready for direct talks with Moscow once Kyiv reached a common position with the United States and Europe on how to end the Ukraine war. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from AFP.

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Putin assembling veteran negotiators for talks on ending Ukraine war, Bloomberg reports, by Tim Zadorozhnyy | The Kyiv Independent  Russian President Vladimir Putin is assembling a team of veteran negotiators to engage with U.S. President Donald Trump’s representatives in potential talks to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported today, citing . . . READ MORE . . .

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A drone damaged the outer shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant. Radiation levels are normal, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — A drone armed with a warhead hit the outer protective shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant early tday, damaging the structure and briefly starting a fire, in an attack Kyiv blamed on Russia. The Kremlin denied it was responsible. READ MORE . . .

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European leaders unhappy U.S. and Russia excluding them from conversation on Ukraine. Reported by Michel Martin | NPR  European leaders are meeting in Munich to discuss threats to global security. And they are not happy about the U.S. and Russia excluding them from the conversation about Ukraine.. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM FEB. 13  Trump administration signals that it expects Kyiv to make hard concessions to Moscow. Reported by Joanna Kakissis | NPR  President Trump is pressing Ukraine to quickly end a war started by Russia. Ukrainians, meanwhile, are responding with dread as their government scrambles to find leverage. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

For today, a poem courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts; others are accessible by clicking on its name and subscribing to their free newsletter. (IRAN, GAZA, WEST BANK, UKRAINE and COVID ETC. entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. POETRY 1-17-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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For today, link to reports from Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA, LEBANON and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE. WEST BANK 2-12-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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3 Palestinians killed Israel amid West Bank assault. From Middle East Monitor. Three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli occupation forces in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank Wednesday evening, the military said today. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 12  Israel calls up reservists as fears for fragile Gaza ceasefire rise, by James Mackenzie, Jana Choukeir and Maha El Dahan | Reuters  Israel’s military has called up reservists in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet a Saturday deadline to release more Israeli hostages and a nearly month-old ceasefire breaks down. READ MORE . . .