For today, links to reports from the Associated Press and Tass, and to two articles of commentary from the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and MintPress News, both via Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 17  Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine quickly but Moscow and Kyiv are digging in before any talks. From AP.  President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to broker a peace deal in Ukraine, but as he prepares to take office, peace seems as elusive as ever. READ MORE . . .

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Russian army liberated Vozdvizhenka in Donetsk People’s Republic. From Tass. MOSCOW — The Russian army has liberated the settlement of Vozdvizhenka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Defense Ministry said in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 17  Ending the War in Ukraine, by Vijay Prashad Tricontinental Institute for Social Research / Consortium News  Mark Rutte, the secretary general of the NATO, gave a speech last Dec. 12 in Brussels as a poem rather than the typical bureaucratic prose. There are four stanzas that I wish to share: READ MORE . . . A longer version of the author’s commentary is HERE.

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FROM JAN. 17  L.A. fire cuts . . . billions for Israel & Ukraine, by Robert Inlakesh | MintPress News / Consortium News  Months before the wildfires ravaged Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass approved the budget for the next fiscal year which included a $17.5 million reduction to the fire department’s funding. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley cautioned that . . . READ MORE . . .