Rania Khalek (2023-05-27). How China's Rise Has the Middle East Declaring Independence from US, w/ Ali Abunimah. thealtworld.com It's a new era of global power dynamics where countries sometimes have the option to say no to the U.S. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Middle East. | Almost 12 years after being kicked out of the Arab League, Syria has been welcomed back into the fold by many of the U.S.-allied countries that tried to destroy it. | All this time Israel was banking on normalization with Saudi Arabia and the opposite happened, with China overseeing a Saudi peace deal with Iran. | Why? What does this multipolarity mean for the region? And how might it impact Palestine and the broader resistance axis? | To discuss this and…

infobrics (2023-05-26). Brown University studies find US post-9/11 aggression killed, displaced up to 65 million people. infobrics.org According to the University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, illegal and truly unprovoked US invasions of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Pakistan in the last over two decades have resulted in at least 4.5-4.6 million deaths, while anywhere between 38 and 60 million people have been displaced.

Heather Digby Parton (2023-05-26). Amid Trump's Legal Woes, Why Are His Business Ties to Saudi Arabia Overlooked? truthout.org There's a lot of Trump legal news these days, what with the E. Jean Carroll verdict, the Manhattan hush money indictment, the news that Fulton County, Georgia, D.A. Fani Willis has put local authorities on notice to anticipate "something" coming in August, and a cascade of reporting on special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case… |

Areeb Ullah (2023-05-26). Hajj: UK quota cut to create fairer system, Saudi ambassador tells MPs. middleeasteye.net

MEE staff (2023-05-26). 'Jamal Khashoggi Way': Los Angeles votes to rename Saudi consulate street. middleeasteye.net 'Jamal Khashoggi Way': Los Angeles votes to rename Saudi consulate street | The decision comes year after street outside Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington DC was renamed 'Jamal Khashoggi Way' | Fri, 05/26/2023 – 18: 03 | A street sign for Jamal Khashoggi Way is unveiled during a ceremony outside of embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington DC, on 15 June 2022 (AFP) | The Los Angeles City Council voted to rena…