For today, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (SYRIA, YEMEN, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, and a NOTICE are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down.  WEST BANK 3-26-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Hamas slams Israel’s ‘colonial’ road project meant to split West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem. From the Cradle. Hamas has strongly condemned Israel’s approval of a new road project connecting Jerusalem to the Ma’ale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank, calling it a colonial effort to expand illegal settlements and displace Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to five reports: from the Cradle, Reuters, the Associated Press, and Anadolu Agency; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (WEST BANK, YEMEN, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date and a NOTICE are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  SYRIA 30-29-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Syrian interim president appoints new transitional government, promises ‘new state.’ From the Cradle. Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced the formation of the country’s new transitional government late on Saturday. Several of his top officials have . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE, HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters, AP and Anadolu Agency.

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FROM MARCH 28  Behind Syria’s silent, sectarian slaughter, by Hamide Rencus | The Cradle  The massacres and repression of Alawites and Christians in Syria began immediately after the fall of Damascus and have continued for the past three and a half months. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to four reports, from the Cradle, the Associated Press, and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (WEST BANK, SYRIA, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, and a NOTICE are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  YEMEN 3-28-25 is HERE,  or scroll down.) — MCM

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FROM MARCH 28  Millions rally in Yemen to mark Quds Day in defiance of U.S.-led war. From the Cradle. Millions of Yemenis took to the streets of the capital Sanaa and other areas of the country on March 28 to commemorate International Quds Day, which falls annually on the last Friday of every Ramadan. The mass rallies came one day after . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 29  New U.S. strikes against Houthi rebels kill at least 1 in Yemen, by Jon Gambrell | AP  DUBAI — Suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded Yemen overnight into today, reportedly killing at least one person as the American military acknowledged earlier bombing a major military site in the heart of Sanaa controlled by the Houthi rebels. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 29  Ansarallah leaders says U.S. escalation in Yemen ‘will not affect’ pro-Palestine ops. From the Cradle. Ansarallah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Friday that the ongoing U.S. aggression against Yemen will not succeed in forcing the Yemeni Armed Forces to halt its operations in support of Palestine. READ MORE . . .

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Ten years after the air strikes began, Yemenis hope for an end to ‘journey of suffering.’ From Middle East Eye. YEMEN — With the 10th anniversary this month of the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen, Middle East Eye spoke to Yemenis across the country about how they have carried on in the face of loss and what they hope for 10 years on. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to six reports: from the Cradle, the Associated Press, the Anadolu Agency, and Reuters; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (WEST BANK, SYRIA, YEMEN and UKRAINE entries for this date and a NOTICE are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down. GAZA 3-29-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Red Crescent recovers bodies of missing paramedics, civil defense workers killed by Israel in Gaza’s Rafah. From the Cradle. The Palestine Red Crescent Society announced the retrieval today of the bodies of 14 crew members killed by Israeli forces while under siege in Rafah’s Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood. Rescuers from OCHA, the Red Cross, and the Civil Defense reached the neighborhood today to search for the crew members, who had been missing for eight days. READ MORE . . .

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Hamas accepts Egyptian ceasefire proposal, Israel seeks further concessions. From the Cradle. A senior Hamas official said late on Saturday that the resistance movement has accepted a new Egyptian proposal to resume the truce in the Gaza Strip, coming as Israel has rejected Cairo’s plan and put forward its own counteroffer. READ MORE . . .

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‘Eid of sadness’: Palestinians in Gaza mark Muslim holiday with dwindling food and no end to war, by Wafaa Shurafa, Mohammad Jahjouh and Tia Goldenberg | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinians began marking a normally festive Muslim holiday with rapidly dwindling food supplies and no end in sight to war. Israeli strikes overnight into today killed at least 19 people, mostly women and children, health officials said. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Anadolu Agency.

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Gaza’s bakeries could shut down within a week under Israel’s blockade of all food and supplies, by Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, Sarah El Deeb and Lee Keath | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s bakeries will run out of flour for bread within a week, the U.N. says. Agencies have cut food distributions to families in half. Markets are empty of most vegetables. Many aid workers cannot move around because of Israeli bombardment. READ MORE . . .

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Israeli PM Netanyahu vows to pressure Hamas after ceasefire proposal, by James Mackenzie and Nidal al-Mughrabi | Reuters  JERUSALEM / CAIRO — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged today to step up pressure on Hamas in Gaza while continuing negotiations to secure the release of hostages and working to implement U.S. President Donald Trump‘s “voluntary emigration” plan. Hamas says it has agreed to a ceasefire proposal from . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (WEST BANK, SYRIA, YEMEN and GAZA entries for this date and a NOTICE are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  UKRAINE 3-29-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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2 people killed and dozens injured in Russian attack on Kharkiv. From AP. KYIV — Russian drones hit a military hospital, shopping center, apartment blocks and other buildings in Kharkiv late Saturday, killing two people and wounding 35 others, Ukrainian officials said. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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For today, a link to an invitation to a conversation on Tuesday, from the Post Carbon Institute; its website is HERE. (WEST BANK, SYRIA, YEMEN, GAZA and UKRAINE entres for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE, or scroll up.  HEINBERG 3-28-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Event: Acceptance and agency at the end of modernity. From Post Carbon Institute. Authors Vanessa Andreotti and Dougald Hine — of Hospicing Modernity and At Work in the Ruins, respectively — will lead a free 90-minute live online conversation on  Tuesday, April 1, beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time,* “to explore the promise and consequences of modernity, the implications of its decline, and how we – individually and collectively – can hospice what is dying and give care to what may emerge.”  Click HERE to read more, possibly register, and possibly donate.

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* Note 10 a.m. Pacific time is 1 p.m. on the East Coast.

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For now, links to reports from the Cradle and CNN; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, and HERE, or scroll  down.  SYRIA 3-27-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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FROM MARCH 28  White House cuts funding for Al-Qaeda-linked NGO in Syria. From the Cradle. The White House has terminated tens of millions of dollars of funding for the White Helmets, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated NGO that played a key role in the U.S.-backed regime change war in Syria. CNN reported on Friday that a contract worth $30 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from CNN.

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For today, links to seven reports: from Agence France-Presse, the Cradle, Middle East Monitor, Reuters, Middle East Eye, and National Public Radio; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down. GAZA 3-28-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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FROM MARCH 28  Hamas says Gaza truce talks with mediators stepping up. From AFP. GAZA CITY — Hamas spokesman Basem Naim said Friday that talks over a ceasefire deal between the Palestinian Islamist movement and mediators are gaining momentum as Israel continues intensive operations in Gaza. “We hope that the coming days will bring a real breakthrough . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli army admits firing on Gaza ambulances as body of rescue worker found ‘executed, dismembered.’ From the Cradle. The Israeli military on Friday acknowledged attacking ambulances and fire trucks in the Tal Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where several members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society went missing last Sunday. READ MORE . . .

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Hamas: ‘Meshaal statements about giving up control of Gaza are false.’ From Middle East Monitor.  “The false remarks attributed to our mujahid brother Khaled Meshaal, head of the Hamas movement abroad, did not come from him,” Hamas said Thursday evening, “and are merely rumours spread by parties hostile to the movement and the resistance.” READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 28  Israel flouting international law with forced evacuations in Gaza, UN says. From Reuters. The UN Human Rights Office accused Israel on Friday of violating international law by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza. “These evacuations,” said spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said, “fail to comply . . . READ MORE . . .

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Palestinians starve as Israel continues full ban on humanitarian aid, by Ahmed Dremly | Middle East Eye  GAZA CITY, occupied Palestine  On March 2, Israel closed Gaza’s borders and halted the entry of all humanitarian aid, food, and goods. The renewed blockade has brought the enclave to the brink of famine once again. “We used to cook a variety of dishes every . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 28  Miscarriages in Gaza surge by 300 percent due to Israel’s aid blockade: report. From the Cradle. Miscarriages among pregnant women in the Gaza Strip have surged by 300 percent due to Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid shipments, according to figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry reported by Al-Akhbar. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 28  What Ramadan has been like this year in Gaza, from ceasefire to war. Reported by Anas Baba | NPR  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — It is 2 a.m. and three young men walk through the rubble of a neighborhood destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, beating a drum and singing Muslim chants. They’re loud, and that’s the point. They are waking people up, reminding them . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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For today, links to seven reports: from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, Tass, Kyiv Post, and the Moscow Times, and to two articles of commentary from Indian Punchline; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (SYRIA and GAZA entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up.  UKRAINE 3-28-25 entry is HERE,  or scroll down.) — MCM

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Ukrainians expect Russia to launch a fresh offensive to strengthen its negotiating position, by Samya Kullab | AP  KYIV — Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize the pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks, according to Ukrainian government and military analysts. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 28  Putin calls for Zelensky’s removal, ‘finish off’ Ukrainian troops. From AFP. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a “transitional administration” to be installed in Ukraine, vowing that his army would “finish off” Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 28  Russia says it reserves the right to resume striking Ukrainian energy targets if Kyiv flouts moratorium, by Dmitry Antonov | Reuters  MOSCOW — Russia reserves the right to withdraw from a U.S.-brokered moratorium on Moscow and Kyiv striking each other’s energy infrastructure if Ukraine continues to attack such targets, the Kremlin warned on Friday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 28  Russia’s drone attack on Dnipro kills 4, injures 24, by Olena Goncharova | The Kyiv Independent  The attack on Friday killed four people and injured at least 24 in the city of Dnipro, sparking a large fire at a hotel and restaurant complex as well as 11 private residences. Regional Governor Serhii Lysak said three of the wounded were in critical condition. READ MORE . . .

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Russian forces liberate Panteleymonovka, Shcherbaki — top brass. From Tass. MOSCOW — The Russian armed forces have liberated Panteleymonovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Shcherbaki in the Zaporozhye Region, the Defense Ministry said in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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Defense ministry lights the afterburner on air power, air superiority, by Christopher Stewart | Kyiv Post  Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has announced the creation of a separate vertical chain of command in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff that will focus exclusively on aviation development. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 28  Verified Russian deaths in Ukraine war exceed 100K: sources. From the Moscow Times. Of those killed, according to an independent tally by the BBC’s Russian service and the Mediazona news website, nearly one-quarter were volunteer soldiers, while more than 16% were convicted prisoners and over 11% were . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 28. A détente struggling to be born, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  Trump is prioritising and managing his political strings to achieve his overriding goal, which is a historic reset with Russia, a precondition for realising his vision of a new world order. Without ending the Ukraine war, he risks getting bogged down. READ MORE . . .

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India’s public diplomacy falls flat, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  Never once did India show the courage to call out the collective West for fuelling a proxy war that threatened Ukraine’s existence. We kept quiet when Joe Biden and Boris Johnson undermined the Istanbul agreement in April 2022. READ MORE . . .

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For todaylinks to six reports: from the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Tass, Reuters, the Moscow Times, and Kyiv Post; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA, YEMEN, LEBANON, and HEINBERG entries are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down.  UKRAINE 3-27-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Putin suggests putting Ukraine under UN-sponsored external governance, boasts of battlefield gains. From AP. Russian President Vladimir Putin today proposed putting Ukraine under external governance under United Nationa aegis as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement . . . READ MORE . . .   Click HERE and HERE for reports from the Kyiv Independent and Tass.

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Russia says it reserves the right to resume striking Ukrainian energy targets if Kyiv flouts moratorium, by Dmitry Antonov | Reuters  MOSCOW — Russia reserves the right to withdraw from a U.S.-brokered moratorium on Moscow and Kyiv striking each other’s energy infrastructure if Ukraine continues to attack such targets, the Kremlin said today. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE and HERE for reports from the Moscow Times and Kyiv Post.

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