May, 2022

• 19 May

  Hizbullah Appears Likely To Lose Majority Following Parliamentary Election

  

  Independent reformist candidates won at least 13 seats in elections for Lebanon’s parliament, and Hizbullah and its allies appear likely to lose their majority in the 128-member assembly, according to reports. The results of the weekend election were announced on Tuesday by Lebanon’s Interior Ministry; Voter turnout was historically low …

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• 19 May

  Iran ‘Weeks Away’ From Enough Material To Build Nuclear Bomb, Israel’s Gantz Says

  

  Iran is just “a few weeks away” from having enough enriched uranium to build its first nuclear bomb, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz told an Institute for National Security Studies conference at Herzliya’s Reichman University. The Islamic Republic has doubled its supply of 60% enriched uranium to 60 kilograms, Gantz …

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• 19 May

  Turkey Pushing Russia Out of Syria & Kazakhstan

  

  The latest developments, including:– Turkey moves to normalize with Assad government in Syria– Why Turkey needs Syria– The Kurdish question and the US– Turkey selling drones to Kazakhstan– The Russia-China-Turkey dynamic in Kazakhstan– Erdogan the opportunist– Turkey offers to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers from Mariupol

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• 19 May

  Congress Approves 40 Billion Dollar Ukraine War Bill

  

  Who will hold career politicians and the ruling class accountable? Rand Paul has never thought clearly about economics, and the relation between his morality and his partisan politics is not the subject of this column. No one needs a reminder that Rand Paul is an Ayn Randian “libertarian.” That is …

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• 19 May

  Iraqi Kurdistan government denies taking control of oil fields in Kirkuk

  

  An oil company run by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil alleged that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s forces took over some oil fields in the disputed northern province. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq has denied seizing oil fields in the disputed region of Kirkuk. On May 14, the North …

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• 19 May

  Iraqi Kurdistan government denies taking control of oil fields in Kirkuk

  

  An oil company run by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil alleged that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s forces took over some oil fields in the disputed northern province. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq has denied seizing oil fields in the disputed region of Kirkuk. On May 14, the North …

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• 19 May

  Wave of atrocities in Darfur tarnishes Sudan’s coup authorities

  

  Military leaders in Khartoum and their allies in armed groups from the western region have been accused of direct and indirect responsibility for the worst episode of atrocities since the generals’ seizure of power in October. The Sudanese town of Kereinik, in west Darfur, was plunged into a sort of …

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• 19 May

  Ethiopia faces new cyberattacks on its Nile dam

  

  Ethiopia said it foiled international cyberattack attempts targeting the works of its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Amid the stalled direct negotiations between the parties to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis, Ethiopia recently announced foiling cyberattacks aimed at obstructing the works at the dam. Shumete Gizaw, director-general of the …

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• 19 May

  New CENTCOM chief visits Israel as Iran nuclear talks drag on

  

  Gen. Michael Kurilla’s visit comes as Israel seeks a Plan B in case the Vienna talks fail. The newly confirmed commander of US military forces in the Middle East, US Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, arrived in Israel on Tuesday on his first official tour of the region since taking …

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• 19 May

  How long can Erdogan sustain threat to veto Finnish, Swedish NATO bids?

  

  Erdogan shakes up otherwise unified Western alliance on Ukraine war. Turkish President Recep Erdogan threatened to veto Finland and Sweden’s bid for NATO membership last week. Europe is at one of its most critical junctures in modern history as the West tries to consolidate its defense against Moscow after Russia’s …

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