First, a link to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, and a POETRY entry are HERE and HERE, or scroll down. GAZA 3-24-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Israeli strikes in Gaza targeted key hospital and journalists, by Aya Batrawy | NPR  Israel’s war against Hamas has killed tens of thousands of people, with the latest strikes targeting a hospital and journalists. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, a link to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (GAZA entry for this date, so far, and a POETRY entry are HERE and HERE, or scroll down.  UKRAINE 3-24-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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U.S. officials hold separate negotiation talks with Russia and Ukraine. Reported by Charles Maynes and Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are meeting separately with U.S. officials in the capital of Saudi Arabia to discuss a ceasefire and other issues. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For today, a lyrical poem from Ireland, written to fit a melody composed years before. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, is HERE, or scroll down.  POETRY 2-14-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Teddy Bears’ Picnic
By Jimmy Kennedy

If you go down to the woods today
You’re sure of a big surprise.
If you go down to the woods today
You’d better go in disguise!

For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain,
Because today’s the day the
Teddy Bears have their picnic.

Picnic time for Teddy Bears
The little Teddy Bears are having
A lovely time today.
Watch them, catch them unawares,
And see them picnic on their holiday.

See them gaily gad about.
They love to play and shout,
They never have any care;
At six o’clock their Mommies and Daddies
Will take them home to bed,
Because they’re tired little Teddy Bears

Every Teddy Bear who’s been good
Is sure of a treat today.
There’s lots of marvelous things to eat
And wonderful games to play.

Beneath the trees where nobody sees
They’ll hide and seek as long as they please
‘Cause that’s the way the
Teddy Bears have their picnic.

. . .

If you go down to the woods today,
You’d better not go alone!
It’s lovely down in the woods today,
But safer to stay at home!

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For today, links to four reports: from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and Reuters, and to commentary from Jonathan-Cook.net via Consortium News; headlines of others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, is HERE, or scroll down. GAZA 3-23-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Israel’s latest war plans: To occupy Gaza and rule Palestinians. Reported by Daniel Estrin, Itay Stern, Anas Baba and Michel Martin | NPR  TEL AVIV — The Israeli military has drawn up plans for a major ground invasion into Gaza to fully occupy the territory within a few months and establish military rule there, according to two people who reviewed the war plans.  Click HERE to listen and read. 

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Israeli strikes kill scores in Gaza as Egypt offers new ceasefire proposal. From AP. Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed more than 60 Palestinians, including women and children, the Gaza Health Ministry said today, nearly a week after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas with a surprise bombardment. Meanwhile, officials say . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel has struck the territory’s south, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s military on Sunday night struck the largest hospital in southern Gaza, killing two people, wounding others and causing a large fire, the territory’s Health Ministry said. The strike hit the surgical building of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, days after . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 20  Israel doesn’t care about the captives, by Jonathan Cook | Jonathan-Cook.net / Consortium News  The excuses has Israel given for renewing the genocide:  1. Israel says it is trying to force Hamas to release the captives . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to nine reports: from Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Tass, and the Floutist via Natylie’s Place; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. Also, a map from WorldAtlas.com; a map from Map-Library.com is HERE.  (GAZA entry for this date, so far, is HERE.  UKRAINE 3-22-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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The Ukrainian army invades the Russian Federation – again, by Stefan Korshak | Kyiv Post  Ukrainian tank and armored infantry units invading Russia’s western Belgorod Oblast have held a modest but sensitive chunk of Russian Federation territory against Kremlin counterattacks for the past 96 hours, official and independent news sources said today. READ MORE . . .

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Russian missile strike on Sumy injures 74, including 13 children, by Martin Fornusek | The Kyiv Independent  A Russian missile strike that hit the northeastern regional capital of Sumy today injured 74 civilians, including 13 children, according to the Sumy City Council. The acting mayor said the attack was launched against residential areas and infrastructure facilities, including a children’s hospital. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for earlier report from Reuters.

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U.S. holds separate talks with Russians after meeting Ukrainians to discuss a potential ceasefire, by Illia Novikov and Jon Gambrell | AP  DUBAI — U.S. negotiators worked on a proposed partial ceasefire in Ukraine today, meeting with representatives from Russia a day after holding separate talks with the Ukrainian team. Each side . . . READ MORE . . .   Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Ukraine holds ceasefire talks with U.S. officials. Reported by Michel Martin and Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  Ukrainian met with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss a possible ceasefire, a day before Russia’s representatives do the same. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Russia says a Ukrainian drone attack damaged another gas distribution station on Saturday. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Ukraine conducted two drone strikes on the Valuika gas distribution station in the Belgorod region on Saturday, damaging equipment there, the Russian Defence Ministry said today. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Tass.

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FROM JULY 1, 2024  Report from Donbas, Part 2 (Excerpt), by Guy Mettan | The Floutist / Natylies’s Place  To destroy the shared past of a people is to go some way toward destroying a people—the coherence and solidity of their identity, their ability to think and act collectively, their collective confidence in themselves, altogether their place in the world. READ MORE . . .  NOTE: Part 1, posted on this website, is HERE, or scroll down.

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First, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (YEMEN, WEST BANK, GAZA, LEBANON and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down.   SYRIA 3-22-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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FROM MARCH 21  Turkiye confirms long-term presence in Syria, ‘deeper cooperation’ with Damascus. From the Cradle. The Turkish Ministry of Defense said on Friday its military forces will continue their presence in Syria, as well as the possible appointment of military advisors to the Syrian army or liaison officers within the two countries’ Defense Ministries. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For today, links to a report from the Anadolu Agency and to commentary from Indian Punchline; other articles are accessible by clicking on their name below. (SYRIA, WEST BANK, GAZA, LEBANON and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down. YEMEN 3-20-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Yemen’s Houthis report fresh U.S. airstrikes on Al-Hudaydah airport, Marib province, by Yusuf Alioglu and Rania Abu Shamala | Anadolu Agency  ISTANBUL — The Houthi group said Saturday that new U.S. airstrikes targeted the Al Hudaydah International Airport in western Yemen and Marib province in the east. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 17  Trump hypes up tensions with Iran, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  On March 15, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon “to launch a decisive and powerful military operation” against the Houthis of Yemen with “overwhelming lethal force” in the most significant military action of his second term, to date. The two days of U.S. attacks on the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other areas . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to reports from Reuters and Middle East Eye; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names below. (SYRIA, YEMEN, GAZA, LEBANON and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down. WEST BANK 3-18-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Israel’s security cabinet approves independence for 13 West Bank settlements. From Reuters. JERUSALEM – Israel’s security Cabinet approved a plan to separate 13 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from their neighbouring communities, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said today. The settlements, he posted, will . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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For today, links to six reports: from Middle East Monitor, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, YEMEN, WEST BANK, LEBANON and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down. GAZA 3-22-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Palestinians flee Gaza’s southern city of Rafah under Israeli fire. From Middle East Monitor.  Thousands of Palestinians began to flee their areas in Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip today after an Israeli evacuation order, Anadolu Agency reports. READ MORE . . .

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Israel strikes southern Gaza and orders new evacuation as Palestinian death toll climbs past 50,000, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes across the southern Gaza Strip killed at least 26 Palestinians overnight into today, including a Hamas political leader and several women and children. Residents said tanks .  . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli airstrikes kill Hamas leader in southern Gaza, Hamas says. From Reuters. CAIRO — An Israeli air strike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis killed Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel today, Hamas officials said, as residents described the escalation in the Israeli military campaign that began on March 18. READ MORE . . .

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‘This is on Hamas,’ U.S. special envoy Witkoff says of new Gaza fighting, by Phil Stewart | Reuters  WASHINGTON — The Hamas militant group is responsible for the renewed fighting in Gaza after rejecting efforts to move forward with what had been an “acceptable deal,” U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said today, even as he said he would be open to new outreach. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 22  Fatah urges Hamas to relinquish power to safeguard Gaza Palestinians’ ‘existence.’ From AFP. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement called on its rivals Hamas on Saturday to ‘step aside from governing’ in the Gaza Strip in order to safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians there. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 22  As Israeli bombs fell, wounded children overwhelmed this Gaza hospital. Dozens died, by Samy Magdy and Lee Keath | AP  When the first explosions in Gaza this week started around 1:30 a.m., a visiting British doctor went to the balcony of a hospital in Khan Younis and watched the streaks of missiles light up the night before pounding the city. Torn bodies soon streamed in . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to three reports: from the Cradle, Reuters and National Public Radio; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, YEMEN, WEST BANK, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.  LEBANON 3-22-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Israel continues deadly attacks on south Lebanon under pretext of ‘protecting civilians.’ From the Cradle. Israeli attacks continued to hit the south of Lebanon for the second consecutive day after Tel Aviv launched a massive and deadly campaign against the country.. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 23  Truce shaky as Israel hits Lebanon in response to rocket fire. From Reuters. Israeli artillery and air strikes hit south Lebanon on Saturday after Israel said it had intercepted rockets fired from across the border, endangering a shaky truce that ended a year-long war between Israel and Hizbollah. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE for March 23 report from NPR.

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