Taylor Luck

In Gaza, military offensive and civilian chaos hinder food aid The arrival of more food sparked hope in Gaza that famine might be avoided. But supplies are insufficient and distribution hard to organize.

The contradiction at the heart of #Gaza’s hunger crisis is stark.

On paper, aid deliveries are rising; in practice, #Israeli bombardments, displacement, and collapsing infrastructure mean families still go hungry.

It means #famine still stalks #Palestinians

www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle...

Just walking around the hellscape that is my Chicago neighborhood this morning

Four journalists among 20 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital, say health officials Deaths take the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023 to at least 192

Foreign media outlets rely on Gazans to risk their lives daily for their reporting, yet absolutely nothing is done to protect them from being killed in Israeli strikes.

Any journalist worth the title should be ashamed.

#journalismisnotacrime #gaza #israel

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Israel has the power to avert famine in Gaza. Will it use it? Humanitarian professionals say famine can be averted in Gaza, but only if Israel allows much more food and other aid into the strip.

#Israel has the power to avert #famine in #Gaza. Will it use it?

@csmonitor.bsky.social

www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle...

Iran’s top security body to decide on Hormuz closure after parliament approval: Iran’s Supreme National Security Council must make the final decision on whether to close the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Press TV said on Sunday, after

Iran state TV reports that the Iranian parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint in the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the worlds oil and thousands of cargo ships pass through.

#Iran #Israel #US #Trump

english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-...

In the line of fire, Arab states urge Trump to de-escalate Israel-Iran war Despite their competition for regional influence, Arab states are not rooting for the Iranian regime’s fall. Led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, they are urging President Trump to seek a ceasefire, and a...

President #Trump is reportedly leaning towards entering the #US into #Israel's war on #Iran. Can #Arab states, led by the Gulf, change his mind?

@csmonitor.bsky.social #SaudiArabia #UAE #Gulf #Jordan
www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle...

"You have to run to the center or you'll lose"

(Loses election)

"You have to run to the center or you'll lose"

(Country is overthrown)

"You have to run to the center or you'll lose"

(Is drifting through space alongside Earth's remains)

"You have to run to the center or you'll lose"

don't forget #Gaza

that is all.

The next 24 hours will determine whether President #Trump’s “military strikes as negotiation leverage” with #Iran will become a strategic success or a historic failure that haunts the Mideast, and America, for year to come.

After a period of emergency, calm has returned to #Amman. The #Jordan army reports it has knocked down #Iranian drones and missiles over the kingdom (heading to #Israel).

But make no mistake: #Arab countries are in the direct firing line of #Israel-#Iran war and have the most to lose.

Lawrence of Arabia bombed the Hejaz Railway. Syria wants it to run again. More than a century after Arab revolutionaries blew up the Ottomans’ prized Hejaz Railway, located in the geographic heart of the Middle East, Syria’s new government is pushing full steam ahead on its...

Lawrence of Arabia bombed the Hejaz Railway.
#Syria is working to get it running again.

My latest in @csmonitor.bsky.social

www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle...

Trump promised to bring jobs to the Rust Belt. The Sun Belt may get them instead. Donald Trump was elected partly on the promise of a factory renaissance. Made-in-America may come back, but not necessarily in the places that led U.S. manufacturing 80 years ago.

Donald Trump was elected partly on the promise of a factory renaissance. Made-in-America may come back, but not necessarily in the places that led U.S. manufacturing 80 years ago. #jobs #factories #RustBelt
www.csmonitor.com/Business/202...

Despite all its flaws, the emotional beats landed and were well-earned. Ncuti gave a tour de force performance in his final outing. Can't ask much more from a Doctor's swansong.

But some threads were left dangling. What about Rogue? No Susan reunion? Felt 15's short era has unfinished business.

Across Arab Mideast, a new alignment rises: An axis of cooperation A new regional alignment rising in the Middle East shifts power away from Iran’s “Axis of Resistance.” Moderate Sunnis seeking stability and prosperity now have friendly governments in Beirut, Damascu...

A new regional alignment is rising in the Middle East signaling a shift in power away from Iran’s weakened “Axis of Resistance.” Moderate Sunnis seeking stability and prosperity now have friendly governments in Beirut, Damascus, and Baghdad. #MiddleEast #Iran #cooperation

In the Ashes of the Axis of Resistance, a Mideast Axis of Cooperation Rises Iran’s axis of resistance is no more.

My latest on #Substack: In the Ashes of the Axis of Resistance, a Mideast Axis of Cooperation Rises

open.substack.com/pub/taylorlu...

Across Arab Mideast, a new alignment rises: An axis of cooperation A new regional alignment rising in the Middle East shifts power away from Iran’s “Axis of Resistance.” Moderate Sunnis seeking stability and prosperity now have friendly governments in Beirut, Damascu...

Amid the ashes of #Iran 's Axis of Resistance, a new Mideast alignment rises: the Axis of Cooperation

www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle...
#Syria #SaudiArabia #UAE #Jordan #Iraq #Lebanon

Across Arab Mideast, a new alignment rises: An axis of cooperation A new regional alignment rising in the Middle East shifts power away from Iran’s “Axis of Resistance.” Moderate Sunnis seeking stability and prosperity now have friendly governments in Beirut, Damascu...

For me as a reader, some relief and hope in this desire for peace, 5,000 miles away. I’ll take it. Thank you, @taylorluck.bsky.social

www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle...

Polling from Pew & Gallup shows that most Americans now hold unfavourable views of Israel & Hamas.

But our leaders remain woefully out of step with mainstream opinion.

The time is ripe for leaders who Sister Souljah pro-Oct. 7 nuts but chart a dramatically different course on Israel.

As sanctions fall, long-suppressed Syrian economy is poised to take off After Syrian businesses toiled for years to turn a profit, the announced dropping of U.S. and EU sanctions is sweeping the country with rare optimism. The government’s intent to open the long-closed e...

Syrian business owners who for years worked around sanctions to turn a profit by hook or by crook are now eyeing a meteoric rise.

"We are in a transition from North Korea to South Korea,” says Mohamed Al Hafi, of Al Hafi Cousins Trading Company.

#Syria #Trump
www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle...

Trump meets Syria’s ‘attractive, tough’ president after lifting US sanctions Meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia seen as step towards recognition of new Syrian authority’s legitimacy

I am open minded, but even I didn't have Trump calling Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa an "attractive guy" on my Middle East Bingo card.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This @axios.com report by @barakravid.bsky.social suggests the United States is fully on board with the Israeli aid-control plan, whereas every single humanitarian group or UN agency working in Gaza have declared that they won’t touch it. www.axios.com/2025/05/04/u...

The Popemobile of Peace: Pope Francis’ final gift to Gaza - Vatican News Pope Francis requests that his popemobile be turned into a health clinic for the children of Gaza.

Pope Francis's final wish was to transform his popemobile into a mobile health clinic for the children of Gaza. Caritas Jerusalem is now making it happen.

🕊️ Well after his death, he continues to bless us with his beautiful heart. Rest in peace, gentle soul. www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

Fearing Trump’s Visa Crackdown, College Students Race to Scrub Op-Eds Campus newspapers are confronting ethics debates as foreign students ask that their names and views be removed from past articles.

"Is it risky to have my name on this article" is a question I've asked myself living in authoritarian countries. Now it's a question college students in America are asking. Trump is carrying out a shameful and un-American assault on one of our core values www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Looking forward to the next column where Tom Friedman asks ChatGPT how McDonalds and Starbucks have fundamentally altered its national and religous identity.

Tom Friedman showing once again why he's still the GOAT: he has updated his "columns based on taxi rides" shtick for the era of self-driving taxis

Trump’s red-hot war on terror Strikes against jihadis are surging. Is it 2001 all over again?

Since Trump returned to office, American air strikes in the Middle East and Africa have surged: at least 19 in Somalia (compared to 11 in all of 2024), 37 consecutive days of bombing in Yemen, and a hard-to-count number in Syria and Iraq. www.economist.com/internationa...

I am aware of what the law says. It is not a rush to say that police have surrounded the IAF headquarters. They have.

The law which authorities are citing criminalizes any ties or contacts with the "illegal association."

Already police are surrounding the IAF party headquarters in Amman.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Islamic Action Front was, up until today, the largest party in #Jordan 's parliament with 31 out of 138 seats.

Now not only is Brotherhood political activity banned--any "promotion" of Brotherhood ideology by media or social media is criminalized.

In the wake of militant cell activity, #Jordan bans the Muslim Brotherhood as an "illegal movement", seizes its property and bans any political or media entity from working with the dissolved Brotherhood or spreading its ideology.

Jordan's largest opposition movement is banned. Expect arrests.