Links to reports from National Public Radio and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM SEPT. 24  Banned Books Week: Effort to document and highlight support of the freedom to read. Steve Inskeep of NPR talks with Jennie Pu, New Jersey’s librarian of the year, about new estimates on the number of book bans happening across the country, and what’s being done to offset them. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM SEPT. 24  Israeli forces closed Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau, but its coverage is undeterred. Reported by Aya Batrawy | NPR  Al Jazeera’s bureau in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is closed after Israeli forces stormed its offices over the weekend. Click HERE to listen and read. Click HERE for Sept. 22 report from AP.

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For today, links to 13 reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, the Moscow Times, Tass, the Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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UN chief condemns ‘get out of jail free’ card on wars, by Michelle Nichols | Reuters  UNITED NATIONS — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today denounced a growing number of governments and other groups who feel they are “entitled to a get out of jail free card,” citing wars in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and Sudan. “They can trample international . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AP.

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Russian forces storming Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, bloggers and media say. From Reuters. Russian forces have begun storming the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a stronghold that has resisted Russian attack since the beginning of the 2022 war, according to Russian war bloggers and state media. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Moscow Times.

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Russian attack on Ukraine’s Poltava region disrupts power supply, authorities say. From Reuters. KYIV — Russia’s overnight attack on Ukraine’s central region of Poltava damaged energy infrastructure, cutting power to 20 settlements, authorities said today. Debris from falling drones . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian forces hit Ukrainian facility producing gas turbine engines for combat aircraft. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces have hit a Ukrainian facility producing gas turbine engines for combat aircraft, the Russian Defense Ministry said today in its bulletin. According to the bulletin . . . READ MORE . . .

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Belarusian Yak-130 fighter jet spotted in Kyiv region. From Kyiv Post. A Belarusian Yak-130 fighter jet likely breached Ukrainian airspace from Belarus on Monday, sparking an air alert in northern Ukraine. At 2:28 p.m. local time, Ukrainian authorities detected . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia moves to allow criminal defendants to fight in Ukraine.  From the Moscow Times. Russian lawmakers adopted a bill today allowing criminal defendants to serve in the military, closing a loophole that previously limited enlistment to suspects and convicts. The lower-house State Duma . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 23  Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says U.S. decisive actions could end Russian war next year, by Kanishka Singh and Costas Pitas | Reuters  Decisive actions by the United States now could hasten the end of the Russian war against Ukraine next year, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday after telling the ABC News that his country was “closer to the end of the war.” READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 23  Biden-Zelensky talks: Ukrainian soldiers want firepower to win but question if U.S. wants Russia defeated, by Asami Terajima | The Kyiv Independent  As President Volodymyr Zelensky kicked off a visit to the U.S. this week in a bid to secure more firepower for his army, Ukrainian soldiers on the ground monitored the news with half-hearted hope, questioning whether Kyiv’s top Western ally would provide enough to help them defeat Russia. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 23  From Gaza to Ukraine, why do so many modern wars last so long? Greg Myre of NPR shares the perspectives of four observers of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Can Biden tell the U.N. that the world is safer now than it was a few years ago? Steve Inskeep of NPR speaks with Jon Finer, President Biden’s deputy national security adviser, about Biden’s final address as president to the United Nations General Assembly. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM SEPT. 23  Ukraine accuses Russia of seeking to illegally control strategic sea as arbitration hearings, by Mike Corder | AP  THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Ukraine on Monday accused Russia of seeking to illegally seize control of the strategically important Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait, as hearings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration opened in a high-stakes arbitration case between Kyiv and Moscow. READ MORE . . .

 

For today, links to six reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press and National Public Radio, and via Popular Resistance to an interview from MintPress News and to commentary from an Australian observer; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date an a MEDIA entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Israel strikes Gaza as heavy rain worsens misery of displaced Palestinians, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  CAIRO — Two strikes by Israeli forces killed at least 10 Palestinians, including four children, in the central Gaza Strip today, medics said, as heavy rains flooded displaced residents’ tent encampments. The assault on Gaza carried on even as international attention turned to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 100 people. That would make it the deadliest day since October, by Melanie Lidman | AP  JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it struck 300 targets today in Lebanon in one of the most intense barrages of airstrikes in nearly a year of fighting against the Hezbollah militant group. The Lebanese Health Ministry said 100 people were killed and more than 400 wounded . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Israel warns civilians in southern Lebanon to evacuate as it launches strikes. Reported by Steve Inskeep | NPR  As attacks between Israel and Hezbollah escalate, fears mount over prospects for an all-out war. NPR’s Steve Inskeep talks with Lina Khatib of the University of London. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is escalating step by step. Reported by Daniel Estrin and Steve Inskeep | NPR  The Israeli military is calling on residents of southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate homes and other buildings where Hezbollah stores weapons and said it was carrying out “extensive strikes.” Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM SEPT. 22  After a week of attacks, Lebanon braces for more. Reported by Jane Arraf and Scott Detrow | NPR  After a week of unprecedented Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Hezbollah counterattacks, Lebanon is bracing for more attacks to come. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM SEPT. 20  Scott Ritter: Israel’s collapse is imminent amid escalation in Lebanon. Mnar Adley of MintPress News talks with former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter about the war between Israel and Hezbollah and Hamas and its continually changing dynamics since last Oct. 7 — in the Middle East and internationally. Click HERE to watch, listen, and read introduction.

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FROM SEPT. 21  Biden didn’t ‘fail’ to get a ceasefire; he never tried, by Caitlin Johnstone | caitlinjohnstone.org.au / Popular Resistance  The Wall Street Journal reports that senior U.S. officials don’t think the Biden administration will secure a ceasefire in Gaza before Biden’s term is up. Anyone who told you that Biden or Harris were seriously working on a ceasefire lied to you. READ MORE . . .

 

For today, links to nine reports: from the Kyiv Independent, Tass, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, the Kyiv Post, National Public Radio, and RT, and to commentary from Indian Punchline; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (GAZA entry for this date and a MEDIA entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Next few months will be ‘decisive,’ Zelensky says during speech in U.S., urges allies to act faster, by Kateryna Denisova | The Kyiv Independent  The next few months will be “decisive” in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said today in Washington at the beginning of a nearly week-long trip to the U.S. READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts roughly 105 enemy casualties in past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Units from Russia’s Battlegroup North have struck two Ukrainian brigades in the Kharkov Region in the past day, inflicting roughly 105 enemy casualties, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 22  21 wounded in Russian strikes that hit apartment buildings in Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, by Samya Kullab | AP  KYIV — Russia launched new strikes in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that hit high-rise apartment buildings, leaving at least 21 wounded in a second consecutive nighttime attack, authorities said. The bombs fell Saturday night on the district of . . . READ MORE . . .

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1 killed, 23 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine. From AFP.  At least one person was killed and 23 others were injured in Russia’s latest strikes on Ukrainian, officials said today. In the Kherson region on Sunday READ MORE . . .

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Russia says 56 civilians killed in Ukraine’s 7-week incursion in Kursk region. From Reuters. — At least 56 civilians have been killed and 266 wounded during Ukraine’s seven-week-old incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today. READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian strike on ammo dump could disrupt Russian operations for months. From Kyiv Post. The destruction of a major Russian ammunition depot by a Ukrainian strike on Sept. 18 could significantly disrupt Russian military operations in the coming months, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, D.C. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy heads to U.S. with ‘victory plan’ at perilous moment, by Tom Balmforth | Reuters  KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskiy travels to the United States to set out a “victory plan” to his closest ally this week, in an urgent attempt to influence White House policy on Ukraine’s war with Russia no matter who wins the U.S. elections in November. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 22  Weapons systems continue to be a sticking point between the U.S. and Ukraine. Reported by Scott Detrow and Tom Bowman | NPR  Since the war began, the U.S. and its NATO allies have slowly and incrementally provided military assistance to Ukraine. The U.S. is cautious, hoping to prevent escalating the war that Russia started. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Zelensky’s Victory Plan is his survival kit, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  Strana, one of the top online newspapers in Ukraine, which is banned in Russia since 2022, reported on Friday that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is planning to dismiss Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and the powerful military intelligence chief Gen. Kirill Budanov from their posts as part of his continuing surge of the military establishment in Kiev. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from RT.

Link to an article from Nader.org; others are accessible by the writer’s website name below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE and HERE.)  — MCM

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FROM SEPT. 20  Public radio, public media and local news deserts — our new report, by Ralph Nader | nader.org  Public media escapes scrutiny and higher expectation levels by its audience because comparisons with the rancid commercial radio/TV stations makes it look good. NPR and PBS do have . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for SEPT. 19 news release from the Center for Study of Responsive Law.

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MAY BE CONTINUED

For today, links to seven reports: from National Public Radio, Reuters, and the Associated Press, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM   

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After almost a year of war, Israel-Lebanon border fighting sees major escalation. Reported by Daniel Estrin and Ayesha Rascoe | NPR  Rocket fire and airstrikes across the border are producing the most significant uptick of violence there since last year’s Oct. 7 attacks. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Israeli strike kills seven in Gaza school compound, Palestinian medics say, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  CAIRO — An Israeli airstrike killed seven people in a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City today, Palestinian health officials said, with the Israeli military saying it had targeted “militants” operating from the compound. READ MORE . . .

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Hezbollah hits back with more than 100 rockets across a wider and deeper area, by Natalie Melzer and Kareem Chehayeb| AP  NAHARIYA, Israel — Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets early today across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon. The sides appeared to be spiraling toward all-out war . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Hezbollah targets base near Haifa after Israeli strike in Beirut killed 37, including top commander, by Bassem Mroue and Abby Sewell | AP  BEIRUT — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 21  Israel’s strike on Beirut killed 37, Lebanon says, by Timour Azhari and Emily Rose | Reuters  BEIRUT / JERUSALEM — Rescue workers in Beirut searched on Saturday for people still missing in rubble after an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah commanders the previous day killed at least 37 people in a suburb of the Lebanese capital, according to authorities. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 21  In northern Israel, life is transformed by threat of war. Reported by Ruth Sherlock | NPR  Northern Israel is on edge after mass attacks across the border in Lebanon. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM SEPT. 20  The Israeli war on Lebanon’s hidden goal: Gaza’s full erasure, by Mohammed Mourtaja | Middle East Eye  This week, Lebanon was rocked by deadly explosions targeting the communication devices of Hezbollah members, killing at least 32 people. It marks a new escalation in the war of attrition between Hezbollah and Israel. And it will turn the world’s attention away from Gaza and allow Israel to complete . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to eight reports: from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, and Reuters, and to commentary from Consortium News and ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.)  — MCM

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FROM SEPT. 21  Russia says will not attend Ukraine peace summit. From AFP. Russia said Saturday it would not attend a possible second Ukraine peace summit in November, despite Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky signaling that this time he would invite Moscow’s representatives. Moscow rejected the idea . . . READ MORE . . .

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21 wounded after Russia strikes apartment buildings in Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, by Samya Kullab | AP  KYIV — Russian launched new strikes in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that hit high-rise apartment buildings, leaving at least 21 wounded in a second consecutive nighttime attack. local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said the bombs fell Saturday night on the district of Shevchenkivsky . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AFP.

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Ukraine’s air defence units destroy 71 Russian drones, Ukraine’s air force says. From Reuters. Ukraine’s air defence units destroyed 71 out of 80 attack drones that Russia launched overnight, and s ix more were lost after getting neutralised by electronic warfare, Ukraine’s air force said today. READ MORE . . .

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Russia says battlegroup West struck 4 Ukrainian brigades. From Tass. MOSCOW — The Russian battlegroup West struck four Ukrainian brigades and caused the enemy to lose up to 420 troops, the Russian Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 21  Kyiv says struck ammo depots in southern and western Russia. From AFP. Kyiv said Saturday it struck two weapons depots in southern and western Russia — including a key site for Moscow’s forces — with Russian authorities announcing some evacuations and declaring a local emergency situation. Kyiv also said a Russian nighttime strike on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s home city of Kryvyi Rih killed . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 21  Russian strike on apartment block in Kharkiv injures 12. From Reuters. Russian forces struck a multi-storey apartment building in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, on Saturday evening, injuring at least 12 people and prompting an evacuation of some of its residents, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. He said the Russians had deployed a guided bomb, and that . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 21  Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will visit a Pennsylvania ammunition factory to thank workers, by Tara Copp | AP  WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday will visit the Pennsylvania ammunition factory that is producing one of the most critically needed munitions for his country’s fight to fend off Russian ground forces. His U.S. visit will also . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 20  The madness of Antony Blinken, by Joe Lauria | Special to Consortium News  On March 7, 2022, two weeks after Moscow entered the civil war in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS News from Moldova that the U.S. would give NATO-member Poland a “green light” to send Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine to enforce a no-fly zone against Russian aircraft. Within days . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 18  The ‘war party’ makes its plans, by Patrick Lawrence | ScheerPost / Consortium News  On Sept. 4, Liz Cheney surprised Washington and, I suppose, most of the rest of us when she announced she would support Harris’s run for the presidency. The onetime Wyoming congresswoman, a coup-cultivating warmonger who remains among the hawkiest of right-wing foreign-policy hawks . . . READ MORE . . .

Link to an article from Substack; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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RFK Jr and the slinging of mud, by Naomi Wolf | Substack  It’s difficult even to follow the trajectory of the story, since legacy media propaganda and hit-piece campaigns are so co-ordinated now, and so universalized. But on Friday . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

For today, links to six reports: from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, the Anadolu Agency, Middle East Eye, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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What’s next after a tumultuous week in the Middle East? Reported by Scott Simon, Ruth Sherlock and Jane Arraf | NPR  Deadly attacks have intensified the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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An Israeli strike on a school kills at least 22 people, Gaza Health Ministry says. From AP. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a school in northern Gaza today killed at least 22 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, while the Israeli army said it targeted a Hamas command center in what used to be a school. Another 30 were wounded . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from Anadolu Agency and Middle East Eye.

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FROM SEPT. 20  Prospects for a Gaza ceasefire dim even as U.S. keeps hope, by Trevor Hunnicutt, Matt Spetalnick and Humeyra Pamuk | Reuters  WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have not given up hope of landing a Gaza cease-fire and hostage deal but are increasingly pessimistic that a breakthrough can come soon, according to sources and officials familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 20  Israel submits legal challenge to ICC warrants, arguing it should investigate itself. From Middle East Eye. In two legal briefs filed on Friday, Israel says it is challenging both the legality of the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the court’s jurisdiction. In May, the court’s . . . READ MORE . . .