For today, links to reports from Reuters and the Associated Press, and to commentary from Indian Punchline and Judging Freedom; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli strikes batter Beirut in heaviest bombardment so far, witnesses say, by Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and Alexander Cornwell | Reuters  BEIRUT / JERUSALEM — Israeli air attacks battered Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight and early today in the most intense bombardment of the Lebanese capital since Israel sharply escalated its campaign against Iran-backed group Hezbollah last month. During . . . READ MORE . . .

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A strike on a mosque kills 19 as Israel bombards northern Gaza and southern Lebanon, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early today killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon in a widening war with Iran-allied militant groups across the region. READ MORE . . .

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FROM OCT. 5  West Asian crisis prompts Biden to break ice with Putin, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  The U.S. president Joe Biden sprang a surprise during a press gaggle with reporters outside the White House on Thursday when he essentially didn’t rule out a potential meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM OCT. 3  Going up the escalation ladder. Andrew Napolitano of Judging Freedom talks with University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer of Substack about Israel’s war against Hezbollah and the consequences of Iran’s strike against Israel on Oct. 1, and about “how profoundly committed the Biden administration is to supporting Israeli aggression across the Middle East.” Click HERE and scroll down, or HERE, for video.