ANALYSIS: Author/caolan magee - Critical Update

Caolán Magee

Reporter

About the author

Caolan writes news and features with a particular focus on the arms industry, big tech and human rights. He is based between London, UK and Beirut, Lebanon and has previously reported for The Guardian, CNN, The Times and the Independent. In 2026, he won Amnesty International’s Gaby Rado Award for his reporting from Syria on disappearances under the Assad government, after being shortlisted for the same award in 2025 for his reporting on weapons sales to Israel. He has also covered the Israel-Lebanon war from Beirut, migration from Morocco and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the French elections from Paris.

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‘They broke his neck’: Families of Syria’s disappeared still seek closure

Najwa, 60, and Ghada, 55, sitting in a living room in Damascus.

Meta profits as ads promote illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank

Heavily armed Israeli soldiers at a barbed-wire barrier.

Orphaned by Israel, two child amputees find each other in Lebanon

A closeup of Omar's face, where the extensive scarring to the left side of his face is visible. He still smiles at the camera, the scars on the left puckering around his large eyes

Latest Posts

Despite ICJ genocide warnings, 51 nations kept arming Israel, even after pledging to halt support.

An Israeli soldier rides in a tank

Poland’s right-wing president has welcomed Trump’s announcement.

Trump and Nawrocki

Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez is expected to travel to India next week to discuss oil sales.

These were the updates on the US-Israel war on Iran and Israel’s attacks on Lebanon for Thursday, May 21, 2026.

An Iranian woman walks past a banner depicting the US-Israel military attacks on Iran, in the capital Tehran.

The indictment against Raul Castro echoes earlier US criminal cases targeting Latin American leaders.

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference announcing the indictment of former Cuban president Raul Castro, at the Freedom Tower in Miami, Florida, on May 20, 2026.

Nearly all flotillas over 20 years have been intercepted by Israel. Hundreds remain missing after latest interdiction.

A boat bearing symbols of one of the vessels belonging to the Gaza-bound aid flotilla (L) and intercepted by the Israeli navy, is motored towards the Israeli port of Ashdod, about 40 kilometres south of Tel Aviv, on May 19, 2026.

Vladimir Putin’s arrival was announced just a day after United States President Donald Trump left Beijing.

FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin during a ceremony at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China August 31, 2025. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo

Elon Musk’s planned appeal suggests the legal battle is far from over.

Elon Musk and Sam Altman

Attacks come days after Lebanese and Israeli officials agreed to extend a ceasefire by 45 days.

TOPSHOT - Emergency workers inspect the damage following an Israeli strike on an apartment building in Baalbek on May 18, 2026.

These were the updates on the US-Israel war on Iran and Israel’s attacks on Lebanon for Thursday, May 14, 2026.

FILE PHOTO: The Galaxy Globe bulk carrier and the Luojiashan tanker sit anchored as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

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