For today, links to five reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, and the Anadolu Agency, and to commentary from Indian Punchline and Peoples Dispatch; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli tanks push deeper into Gaza, as Biden urges peace, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  CAIRO — Israeli forces pressed deeper into areas of the central and southern Gaza Strip as they battled Hamas fighters, while Palestinian health officials said on Thursday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 22 people across the enclave. The new escalation . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for Aug. 21 report from AP.

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Israeli strikes kill at least 16 in Gaza, Palestinian officials say. From AP. Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes have killed at least 16 people in the Gaza Strip. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital received the bodies, including the remains of a woman and three children, after strikes overnight and into today. An Associated Press reporter at the hospital counted the bodies. READ MORE . . .

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Netanyahu insists on full control of Philadelphi Corridor ahead of Gaza cease-fire talks in Egypt, by Abdelraouf Arnaout | Anadolu Agency  JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still insists on maintaining control over the Philadelphi Corridor in the southern Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, the public broadcaster KAN said today. READ MORE . . .

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Blinken ‘sentenced ceasefire talks to death’ with Hamas, Netanyahu remarks. From Middle East Eye.  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sentenced the Gaza ceasefire negotiations to death by implying Hamas was the obstacle to a deal and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted it, Israeli officials told local media. Blinken’s comments . . . READ MORE . . .

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Iran will hit Israel, ball is in U.S.-Israeli court, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  Tehran’s grit to push back western bullying is at an all-time high level. Iran will not submit to western diktat. In today’s circumstances . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 20  Why Palestinians question the recent U.S. proposal, by Aseel Saleh | Peoples Dispatch  For many, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s current tour in the region, his ninth with the stated purpose of ending the Israeli aggression in Gaza, has proved to be propaganda to serve Israel’s strategic goals and interests, and to place the blame on . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to 10 reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Agence France-Presse, the Anadolu Agency, Tass, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from ScheerPost; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine conducts drone attack on Russian airbase in Volgograd region, source says. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukraine conducted a drone attack on Russia’s Marinovka military airfield in the southern Russian region of Volgograd, striking a storage site for fuel and glide bombs, a security source in Kyiv said today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from AP and the Moscow Times.

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Ukraine captures new settlement in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Zelensky says while visiting border, by Martin Fornusek | The Kyiv Independent  Ukraine captured another Russian settlement in Kursk Oblast, as well as Russian prisoners of war, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 22 while visiting the border areas in Sumy Oblast. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from AFP and the Anadolu Agency.

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Russian forces destroy U.S.-made Abrams tank in borderline Kursk area — commander. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces destroyed a U.S.-made Abrams tank of the Ukrainian army in the borderline Kursk Region, Deputy Head of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department, Akhmat Special Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Apty Alaudinov said today. READ MORE . . .

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Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs frozen Russian assets for ‘real defense assistance,’ Burç Eruygur | Anadolu Agency  ISTANBUL — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday his country needs the Russian assets confiscated in the West for “real defense assistance.” In June, leaders of the Group of Seven agreed . . . READ MORE . . .

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Poorly trained recruits contribute to loss of Ukrainian territory on eastern front, commanders say, by Samya Kullab | AP  KYIV — While Ukraine presses on with its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, its troops are still losing precious ground along the country’s eastern front — a grim erosion that military commanders blame in part . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 21  On a river between Ukraine and the EU, border guards search for draft evaders. Reported by Joanna Kakissis and Hanna Palamarenko | NPR  The Ukrainian military is managing troop shortages through the mass conscription of men ages 25-60. Though draft-age men are banned from leaving the country . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Zelensky’s misadventures in Kursk, by Patrick Lawrence | Original to ScheerPost  It has been three weeks since ground units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine crossed into the Kursk province in southwestern Russia, surprising — or maybe not surprising — the U.S. and its clients in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Two days later . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to four reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Middle East Monitor, and to commentary from Common Dreams via Consortium News; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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NEWER  Key mediator Egypt expresses skepticism of Gaza cease-fire proposal as more details emerge, by Samy Magdy | AP  CAIRO — Key mediator Egypt expressed skepticism today as more details emerged of the proposal meant to bridge gaps in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, a day before negotiations were expected to resume in Cairo. The challenges . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza after Blinken ends visit with truce deal still elusive, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and James Mackenzie | Reuters  CAIRO / JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least 50 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, Palestinian health authorities said today, as the military said troops continued to target militants and seize weapons and ammunition. As last-ditch diplomatic . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from AP.

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Hamas slams U.S. statements as ‘coup’ against 2 July agreement. From Middle East Monitor. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, on Tuesday condemned claims by U.S. President Joe Biden that it is backing away from a Gaza truce deal, hours after his Secretary of State, Antony Blinken called on the movement to accept the new proposal. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 20  Biden’s cruel & Orwellian remarks on Gaza at the DNC, by Norman Solomon | Common Dreams / Consortium News  President Joe Biden’s speech about Gaza at the Democratic convention Monday night was a journey into an alternative universe of political guile. Six days earlier he had approved sending $20 billion worth of more weapons to Israel. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to seven reports: from the Moscow Times, the Associated Press, Reuters, Tass, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from AP; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine says destroyed Russian army pontoon bridges in Kursk Region. From the Moscow Times. Ukrainian special forces said today that they destroyed several Russian military pontoon bridges along a river in the Kursk region, coming days after authorities in Russia said Kyiv’s military blew up three bridges spanning the waterway.  READ MORE . . .

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Moscow sees one of Ukraine’s largest drone attacks as fighting rages in Kursk and eastern Ukraine. From AP. MOSCOW — Moscow came under one of the largest attacks yet by Ukrainian drones since the start of fighting in 2022, Russian authorities reported Wednesday, saying they destroyed all of those headed toward the capital. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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In Kursk Region, Ukraine forces regroup, suffer losses. From Tass. MOSCOW — Ukrainian troops lost up to 300 servicemen and 26 armored vehicles in the Kursk area over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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Attack on Kursk Region a priori cancels possibility of talks with Kiev — Russian MFA. From Tass. MOSCOW — Ukraine’s attack on the Kursk Region a priori reduces to nothing the chances of any negotiations with the current regime in Kiev, according to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. READ MORE . . .

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What does Ukraine’s incursion into Russia say about a so-called ‘red line’? Reported by Steve Inskeep | NPR  Former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Evelyn Farkas, now at the McCain Institute, talks about Ukraine’s incursion into Russia, and implications for U.S. and allied policy. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM AUG. 20  Ukraine civilians try the army for a week. Reported by Polina Lytvynova | NPR  Ukraine needs more soldiers as its troops hold the defense on Ukrainian territory and carry out an offensive in Russia. An elite Ukrainian military unit offers civilians a one-week tryout as soldiers. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Putin’s slow response to the Kursk attack could test the patience of some of his backers in Russia, by Emma Burrows | AP  Russian President Vladmir Putin has a history of responding slowly to various crises in his tenure, and he has so far played down Ukrainian forces’ attack in the Kursk Region. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to a report from the Associated Press, and to commentary from nader.org and, via Consortium News, Telegram; other articles may accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre, has died, by Julie Carr Smyth | AP  Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre that brought success to Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others, has died. He was 88. Dubbed “the king of . . . READ MORE . . .

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On the passing of Phil Donahue (1935-2024), by Ralph Nader | nader.org  Given the frequency of his programs and the size of his live television audiences, Phil Donahue gave early national voice to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Remembering Phil Donahue, by Scott Ritter | Telegram / Consortium News  I got to know Phil in 2002, when he returned to the television talk show circuit on MSNBC as the host of “Donahue.” America was, at that time . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to eleven reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, and Middle East Monitor, and to a profile from The New Yorker; 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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Blinken visits Gaza mediators in pursuit of cease-fire deal. From AP. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead today with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza. Hamas in a new statement called the latest proposal presented to it . . . READ MORE . . .

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Blinken in Egypt seeking progress towards Gaza ceasefire deal, by Humeyra Pamuk | Reuters  ALAMEIN, Egypt — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed for progress towards a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal as he visited Egypt today, but major areas of dispute are still to be resolved in talks planned for later this week. He flew to Egypt from Tel Aviv, where . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli military retrieves bodies of six hostages from Gaza, by Maytaal Angel | Reuters  JERUSALEM — Israel has retrieved the bodies of six hostages from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza, the military said today, as negotiations continued in an effort to bring back more than 100 who remain in the besieged enclave. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AP.

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FROM AUG. 19  Blinken says Israel OKs a plan to break the cease-fire impasse and urges Hamas to do the same, by Matthew Lee | AP  TEL AVIV — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns cited by the militant group had been addressed. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 19  The latest on Blinken’s cease-fire negotiations in Israel. Reported by Michele Kelemen and Kat Lonsdorf | NPR United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza as soon as possible. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Blinken heads to Egypt and Qatar to try to seal Gaza cease-fire deal. Reported by Kat Lonsdorf and Steve Inskeep | NPR  Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Israel has agreed to a cease-fire proposal for the war in Gaza. That announcement came after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu in Jerusalem. Click HERE later to listen and, still later, read.

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Why is Israel demanding control over 2 Gaza corridors in the cease-fire talks? by Joseph Krauss | AP  Israel’s demand for lasting control over two strategic corridors in Gaza, which Hamas has long rejected, threatens to unravel cease-fire talks aimed at ending the 10-month-old war, freeing scores of hostages and preventing an even wider conflict. Officials close to . . . READ MORE . . .

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What is happening in Gaza is not a war, but massacres committed by the Zionists, Algeria says. From Middle East Monitor. Algeria is ready to build three field hospitals in Gaza if the border between Egypt and the enclave is reopened, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Sunday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 3  The life of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, by David Remnick | The New Yorker  In the archives of Israel’s military courts, there is a six-page document, handwritten in Hebrew, that records an interrogation of Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. The document . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE to report from NPR.

For today, links to seven reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, Tass, the Moscow Times, and the Kyiv Post; 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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A massive fire rages for a third day at a Russian oil depot targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Russian authorities struggled today to put out a massive fire in the southern Rostov region for a third consecutive day after an oil depot was hit by Ukrainian drones as Ukrainian forces push into Russia’s Kursk region. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 19  Civilians flee Pokrovsk as Russia’s army bears down on the key eastern Ukraine city, by Alex Babenko | AP  POKROVSK, Ukraine — Civilians with small children in their arms and lugging heavy suitcases fled Monday from Ukraine’s eastern city of Pokrovsk, where the Russian army was bearing down fast . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine air defences down 3 missiles, 25 drones fired by Russia, Ukrainian air force says. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukraine’s air defences shot down three missiles and 25 drones fired by Russia in an overnight attack today, the Ukrainian air force said. READ MORE . . .

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Russia preparing new attacks in Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, military says, by Martin Fornusek | The Kyiv Independent  Russia has increased aerial reconnaissance and is preparing new assault operations in Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine’s Kharkiv group of forces said today. Vovchansk is an embattled town some 60 kilometers . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s steady advance in DPR indicates weakness of Kiev’s strategy — WaPo. From Tass. WASHINGTON, August 20. /TASS/. The advance of Russian troops in DPR indicates potential miscalculations in the Kiev’s strategy in the Kursk Region, The Washington Post said. The newspaper notes, citing experts, that . . . READ MORE . . .

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17 killed, 140 injured since Ukraine launched border incursion – Tass. From the Moscow Times. At least 17 people have died in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region in the two weeks since Ukrainian forceS stormed across the border, the state-run news agency TASS reported Tuesday, citing unnamed medical personnel. “The latest figures . . . READ MORE . . .

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My time in the Ukrainian-occupied Kursk Region of Russia, by Jason Jay Smart | Kyiv Post  Due to the noise, chatting in the back of an American-made Humvee of the Ukrainian military as it rolled into Russia was challenging. But the ride still proved to be informative. As hundreds of Ukrainian military vehicles fly back and forth on . . . READ MORE . . .

 

For now, links to six reports: from Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, and to commentary from Middle East Monitor and Mondoweiss; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for Aug. 18 are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Egypt agrees to Israeli control of Gaza border in return for Rafah reopening, by Ahmed Abdeen | Middle East Eye  Egypt and Israel have reached an understanding that would allow an Israeli security presence along the Egyptian-Gaza border in exchange for the Rafah crossing reopened and operated by Palestinians, according to three senior Egyptian sources. READ MORE . . .

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Blinken, in Israel, says now is ‘maybe the last’ chance for a Gaza cease-fire deal, by Matthew Lee | AP  TEL AVIV — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today the time is now to conclude a Gaza cease-fire agreement that would return hostages held by Hamas and bring relief to Palestinian suffering after 10 months of devastating fighting in Gaza. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from NPR. 

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Hamas, Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for bomb blast in Tel Aviv. From Reuters. JERUSALEM — The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility today for a bomb blast near a synagogue in Tel Aviv late Sunday that Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence agency described as a terrorist attack. A man who was carrying the bomb was killed . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from AFP and the Anadolu Agency.

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The Palestinian resistance groups have their finger on the trigger in negotiations, by Amira Abo el-Fetouh | Middle East Monitor  We hear conflicting news every day about the Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Doha that include senior U.S., Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari intelligence officials. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 16  A comparative study of the New York Times reporting in Ukraine and Gaza, by Writers Against the War in Gaza | Mondoweiss / ScheerPost  “Words like ‘slaughter,’ ‘massacre’ and ‘carnage’ often convey more emotion than information,” wrote New York Times standards desk editor Susan Wessling in a November 2023 memo to the staff of the “paper of record.” READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

For now, links to nine reports: from the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, Tass, National Public Radio, the Anadolu Agency, and the Kyiv Post, and to commentary from Mondoweiss via ScheerPost; other news and commentary are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for Aug. 18 are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Ukrainian officials issue an evacuation order for families with children from the city of Pokrovsk, by Hanna Arhirova | AP  KYIV — Ukrainian authorities today ordered families with children to urgently evacuate the eastern city of Pokrovsk, where the Russian army is bearing down after a six-month slog across Ukraine’s Donetsk region following the capture of Avdiivka. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Idependent.

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Russia says third bridge damaged in Ukrainian incursion in Kursk region, by Dan Peleschuk | Reuters  KYIV — Ukraine said today it was achieving its goals in its two-week-old incursion into Russia’s Kursk region after Moscow confirmed Ukrainian forces had damaged a third bridge after striking two others used to supply troops. Kyiv says it has seized . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s Battlegroup Center liberates Artyomovo community in DPR over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia’s Battlegroup Center liberated the settlement of Artyomovo (called Zaliznoye by Ukraine} in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 18  Ukraine’s incursion into Russia may have changed the course of the war. Reported by David Folkenflik | NPR  Strategic studies professor Phillips O’Brien of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland talks about the significance of Ukraine’s military incursion into Russia. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Ukrainian president says goal of Kursk incursion ‘establishment of buffer zone,’ by Elena Teslova | Anadolu Agency  MOSCOW — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the goal of the incursion into Russia’s Kursk region was to create a “buffer zone,” an area serving to separate Ukraine from Russia and delay Moscow’s military actions. READ MORE . . .

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Russia suspends peace talks efforts after Ukrainian troops’ incursion into Kursk region, by Elena Teslova | Anadolu Agency  MOSCOW — Russia said today that peace talks with Ukraine are currently impossible, citing Moscow’s peace proposal and Kyiv’s incursion into the western Kursk region. Presidential aide Yury Ushakov said . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine is now fighting Russia on 3 separate fronts. Reported by A Martínez | NPR  Ukraine’s incursion into Russia opens a third front that Kyiv is counting on to build leverage and morale. The Financial Times’s Ukraine correspondent Christopher Miller gives his perspective. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Russian personnel losses break 600,000 mark, says Ukraine. From Kyiv Post. Russia’s personnel losses during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian estimations, now exceed 600,000, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 16  A comparative study of the New York Times reporting in Ukraine and Gaza, by Writers Against the War in Gaza | Mondoweiss / ScheerPost  “Words like ‘slaughter,’ ‘massacre’ and ‘carnage’ often convey more emotion than information,” wrote New York Times standards desk editor Susan Wessling in a November 2023 memo to the staff of the “paper of record.” READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

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

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Israel strikes Gaza as Blinken heads to region to try to help close cease-fire deal, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 19 people overnight, including a woman and her six children, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the region today to try to seal a cease-fire deal after months of contentious negotiations. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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NEWER  Woman, her 6 children among 20 more Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. From Anadolu Agency. ANKARA — At least 20 Palestinians including a woman and her six children were killed todaY when the Israeli army targeted several areas in Gaza Strip. Medical sources . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 17Who is Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar? Reported by Michael Levitt and Adrian Ma | NPR  New Yorker editor David Remnick talks about his recent profile of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM AUG. 17  How U.S. policy in the Middle East is unravelling, by Jehad Abusalim | Middle East Eye  As we stand on the precipice of what could be a decisive turning point in the region’s history, it is essential to ask how we got here. Over the past 10 to 15 years . . . READ MORE . . .