For now, links to reports from the Associated Press and National Public Radio, and to commentary from the Washington Post and from an Australian observer; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli shelling strikes a crowd waiting for aid in Gaza City, killing at least 20. From AP. Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli shelling hit a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid at a roundabout in Gaza City today, killing at least 20 and wounding 150. The Israeli military says it is looking into the reports. Meanwhile, the death toll from . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 24  In Israel, anger at Netanyahu is getting louder. Reported by Daniel Estrin | NPR  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he’ll face questions about responsibility for Palestinian deaths when the war is over, but there are signs that that reckoning is already approaching. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Israeli mother keeps hope alive that her son, held hostage by Hamas, will be freed. Reported by Geoff Brumfiel | NPR  Alon Ohel was taken hostage on Oct. 7 in a village near Gaza, his family recently held a concert in the hopes that he might hear it. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Watch: UN Security Council on Gaza massacres. From Consortium News  On Tuesday and Wednesday, more than 70 speakers debated the ongoing attacks on Gaza by Israel, whose “clear and repeated rejection” of the two-State solution “is unacceptable,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who opened the two-day debate. He said “this . . . Click HERE for introduction and video.

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FROM JAN. 24  Israel and Hamas probe for a pause, by David Ignatius | The Washington Post  Israel and Hamas are groping toward a resumption of negotiations to trade Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, accompanied by an extended pause in fighting, as well as a sharp increase in aid for desperate civilians in Gaza. These deadlocked issues are . . . READ MORE . . .

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Gaza is exposing Western liberals for the frauds they are, by Caitlin Johnstone | caitlinjohstone.com.au  The entire western liberal worldview is currently balanced on the ability to psychologically compartmentalize away from the mass atrocities in Gaza and what Western governments are doing to perpetuate them. Everything that mainstream liberals claim to oppose . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, the Associated Press, Tass and, via Consortium News, Declassified UK; others 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 claims overnight attack on Russia oil refinery. From AFP. Ukrainian security services orchestrated an overnight drone attack on an oil refinery in the southern Russian town of Tuapse, a Ukrainian security source said today. Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russian oil and gas . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia says Ukraine had 15-minute warning on PoW flight; Kyiv demands international probe. From Reuters. MOSCOW / KYIV — A senior Russian lawmaker said Ukrainian military intelligence had been given a 15-minute warning before a Russian military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war entered an area where it was shot down on Wednesday. Russia accuses Ukraine of downing the plane, killing all . . . READ MORE . . .

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Flight recorders reportedly found from the plane that Russia says crashed with Ukrainian POWs aboard. From AP. Investigators have found the flight recorders of a Russian military transport plane that crashed in a border region near Ukraine, Russian media reported today, a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting down the aircraft, which it said was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. The Il-76 . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 24  Russia says its forces destroyed Ukraine’s French-made SAMP-T air defense system. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces have destroyed a French-made SAMP-T air defense system in service with the Ukrainian armed forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The strikes also hit . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 23  The UK’s new security pact with Ukraine, by Mark Curtis | Declassified UK / Consortium News   A new agreement signed by U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky on 12 January provides U.K. “security commitments” to Ukraine in the event of “new aggression” by Moscow. It states: . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

For today, links to reports from Reuters and the Associated Press and to commentary from Scheer Post; other articles are accessible by clicking on their sources’ names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

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‘Mass casualties’ at UN complex as Israeli forces advance through Khan Younis, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Fadi Shana and Dan Williams | Reuters  GAZA / JERUSALEM — A U.N. training centre sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people was hit today, causing “mass casualties” as buildings blazed, a senior U.N. relief official said as Israeli forces advanced through southern Gaza’s main city. They also cut off southern Gaza’s main hospitals in their . . . READ MORE . . .

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Heavy fighting in Gaza’s second-largest city leaves hundreds of patients stranded in main hospital, by Najib Jobain and Melanie Lidman | AP  RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants today near the main hospital in Gaza’s second largest city where medics said hundreds of patients and thousands of displaced people were trapped by the fighting. Israel has ordered . . . READ MORE . . .

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The four horsemen of Gaza’s apocalypse, by Chris Hedges | Scheer Post / Consortium News / Popular Resistance  Joe Biden’s inner circle of strategists for the Middle East — Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan and Brett McGurk — have little understanding of the Muslim world and a deep animus towards Islamic resistance movements. They see Europe, the United States and Israel as involved in a clash of civilizations between the enlightened West and a barbaric Middle East. They believe that violence can bend Palestinians and other Arabs to their will. They champion . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Tass, followed by commentary from Scheer Post; other articles are accessible by clicking on their sources’ names or initials below. (GAZA entry to this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

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Russia accuses Ukraine of shooting down a military transport plane, killing 65 Ukrainian POWs aboard. From AP. Russia’s Defense Ministry today accused Ukrainian forces of shooting down a military transport plane, killing all 74 people aboard, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war being swapped. Throughout the 700-day war . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 65 of its own POWs by shooting down plane. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Russia accused Ukraine today of deliberately shooting down a Russian military transport plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange in what it called . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia is acting to thwart Ukrainian attacks on civilians, infrastructure  — Kremlin. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Russia is taking all “necessary measures” to defend its citizens and key infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks, the Kremlin said on Monday, a day after Moscow accused Kyiv’s forces of killing 27 people in shelling of a Russian-held city in eastern Ukraine. Also . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 18  Key points of Sergey Lavrov’s press conference. From Tass. MOSCOW — In 2024, Russia set a goal to remove any dependence from the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference on Russian diplomatic work in 2023. The foreign minister . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s turn from the West, by Patrick Lawrence | Scheer Post  / Consortium News / Popular Resistance  Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s steady, able, intellectually quick foreign minister, last week held one of those wide-ranging press conferences he and his boss favor. Lavrov’s remarks are subtly delivered but of a significance we must not miss. Here are a few . . . READ MORE . . .

Below are links to a documentary film and a video, both connected to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The introduction to the film is from its director, a retired United Airlines pilot. The video features the Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth CEO speaking to a group in Idaho in February 2023, challenging the official government position on the collapse of Building 7 at the World Trade Center. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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‘9/11 – The Advent of the Ninth Crusade.’ A film. From intro: “9/11 Pilot Whistleblowers has released this documentary, directed by me [Dan Hanley] and produced through the collaboration of many 9/11 truthers from around the world. If you do not want to watch it, at least repost so that others may do so.” Click HERE for film.

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Structural engineer Roland Angle, P.E., delivers WTC facts: Building 7. A video. AE911Truth’s Roland Angle, P. E., spoke at two separate meetings of Stand Up for Idaho — a political organization of Idaho citizens. This first presentation focused on World Trade Center 7 (the second, made a week later and not seen here, concerned the Twin Towers’ destruction). Click HERE for video.

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date and a 9/11 TRUTH entry are HERE and HERE. ) — MCM

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21 Israeli troops are killed in the deadliest attack on the military since the Gaza offensive began, by Josef Federman, Jajib Jobain and Samy Magdy | AP  JERUSALEM — Palestinian militants carried out the deadliest single attack on Israel’s forces since the Hamas raid that triggered the war, killing 21 soldiers, the military said today. The soldiers died from . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli troops cut off Khan Younis after suffering worst Gaza loss, by Arafat Barbakh, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose | Reuters  GAZA / JERUSALEM — Twenty-four Israeli soldiers were killed in Israel’s worst day of losses in Gaza, the military said today, as its forces encircled southern Gaza’s main city, trapping Palestinian residents trying to flee. Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said 21 soldiers were killed when two buildings they had mined for demolition exploded. Earlier, three . . . READ MORE . . .

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Hamas health ministry says Israeli tanks fire on Gaza hospital. From AFP.  The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said today the Israeli army fired directly at a hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, where civilians are caught amid heavy fighting. A ministry statement said Israeli tanks were “firing heavily on the upper floors of the specialised surgery building and the emergency . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli military has had its deadliest single incident so far in the war in Gaza. Reported by A Martínez and Geoff Brumfiel | NPR  The Israeli military confirmed the deaths of 21 soldiers on Monday near Israel’s border with Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu announced an investigation into the deaths. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Can Israel accomplish 2 goals: recovering hostages and attacking Hamas? Steve Inskeep of NPR talks with former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas about how Israel’s government is balancing its goal of destroying Hamas with the desire to save hostages held by the group. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

For today, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, Reuters,the Kyiv Post, Tass, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date and a 9/11 TRUTH entry are is HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Russian strikes kill 7, create new panic across Ukraine, by Jonathan Brown, Stanislav Doshchitsyn and Sergey Bobok | AFP  A wave of Russian missiles hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities today killing seven people and wounding dozens, setting ablaze and toppling apartment blocks and creating new panic among exhausted residents. Rescue workers in Kharkiv . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian missiles strike Ukrainian cities again, killing at least 6 and wounding dozens, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV  — Russian missiles struck three Ukrainian cities today, including its two biggest, killing at least six people and wrecking apartment buildings after Moscow shunned any deal backed by Kyiv and its Western allies to end the nearly 2-year-old war. The barrage . . . READ MORE . . .

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Six killed in Russian air strike on Ukrainian cities, by Yurii Kovalenko Sergiy Karazy | Reuters  KYIV — Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital and other cities today, local officials said, killing at least six people and wounding more than 70 as Moscow’s war approaches its third year. Five of the dead as well as 51 wounded were in the eastern city of Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Synehubov said. Rescue . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian army gains ground on multiple axes, Kyiv claims punishing losses inflicted, by Stefan Korshak | Kyiv Post  The Russian army has retaken the initiative in its war in Ukraine, launching renewed assaults and gaining ground in multiple sectors across the 1,600-kilometer fighting front at the price of, in some battles, punishing losses, particularly in hard-to-replace high-tech weapons systems. The most . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian forces carry out group strike on Ukraine’s ammunition production facilities. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces have carried out a high-precision group strike on Ukraine’s ammunition production facilities, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a daily bulletin of the special military operation. “This morning, the . . . READ MORE . . .

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Why the war in Ukraine is bad for climate science. Reported by Rebecca Hersher | NPR  Lack of data about conditions in the Russian Arctic is already hampering climate science, and will cause ever-growing gaps in our understanding of how climate change affects the fastest-warming region of the planet, scientists warn. The Arctic . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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

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Relatives of Gaza hostages storm Israeli parliament panel as protests mount, by Steven Scheer and Dan Williams | Reuters  JERUSALEM — A group of relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas militants stormed a parliamentary committee session in Jerusalem today, demanding that the lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones. The action by about 20 people . . . READ MORE . . .

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Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat says it won’t recognize Israel without a path to a Palestinian state, by Melanie Lidman and Wafaa Shurafa | AP  JERUSALEM — Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat, Prince Faisal bin Farman, said Sunday the kingdom will not normalize relations with Israel or contribute to Gaza’s reconstruction without a credible pathway to a Palestinian state — a nonstarter for Israel’s government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israel’s Netanyahu rejects Hamas ceasefire demand, opposes Palestinian statehood. Click HERE or HERE for brief video.

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EU pushes for Palestinian statehood, rejecting Israeli leader’s insistence it’s off the table, by Lorne Cook | AP  BRUSSELS — European Union foreign ministers argued today that the creation of a Palestinian state is the only credible way to achieve peace in the Middle East, and they expressed concern about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s clear rejection of the idea. “The declarations . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, the Kyiv Independent, Reuters and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names and initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE,)— MCM

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Zelensky publishes decree on ‘historically’ Ukrainian regions, Russia furious. From AFP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today angered Moscow by accusing it of “oppressing” Ukrainians living in parts of Russia “historically inhabited by Ukrainians”. Russia and Ukraine have for years . . . READ MORE . . .

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Polish PM Donald Tusk pledges unity, end to border blockade during Kyiv visit, by Nate Ostiller and news desk | The Kyiv Independent  Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv today during his first visit to Ukraine since assuming the position. One of Ukraine’s closest allies . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine shelling of Russian-controlled city of Donetsk kills 27, officials say. From Reuters. Twenty-seven people were killed and 25 injured when Ukrainian forces shelled the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the Donetsk region, said on Sunday. According to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Top adviser to Ukraine’s president makes the case for for the U.S. to resume aid. Steve Inskeep of NPR talks with Andriy Yermak, top aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tells NPR’s Steve Inskeep about Ukraine’s “urgent” need for sustained military aid. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, the Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, and the Grayzone; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

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At least 25 dead in a shelling of a market in Russian-occupied Ukraine, officials report. From AP. KYIV — At least 25 people were killed today by shelling at a market on the outskirts of the city of Donetsk in Russian-occupied Ukraine, local officials reported. A further 20 people were injured in the strike on the suburb of Tekstilshchik, including two children, said . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian strike on Donetsk kills 13: Russian authority. From AFP. A Ukrainian strike on a market in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine left 13 people dead and 10 more wounded today, said the head of the region, which is under Russian control. The Moscow-installed head of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said “at least 13 people were killed and ten injured following a terrible bombing on a market.” In a preliminary . . . READ MORE . . .

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NEWER  Ukraine’s SBU claims drone attack on Russian gas terminal near St. Petersburg, by Kateryna Zakharchenko and Alisa Orlova | Kyiv Post  Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) conducted a successful overnight drone attack on the Ust-Luga gas terminal in the Leningrad region of Russia, according to a source. The source said the operation saw direct hits . . . READ MORE . . .

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NEWER  Explosions, fires reported overnight deep in Russian rear in alleged long-range Ukrainian strikes. From the Kyiv Independent. Explosions and large fires were reported in several Russian cities overnight today, in an possible coordinated effort by Ukraine to strike key targets deep inside Russian territory. The terminal of Russia’s Novatek natural gas company caught fire in the port of Ust-Luga in Leningrad Oblast . . . READ MORE . . .

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Fire erupts at Russia’s Novatek Baltic Sea terminal after suspected Ukrainian drone attack. From Reuters. A fire broke out at a Baltic Sea terminal belonging to Novatek, Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas producer, after a suspected Ukrainian drone attack, forcing the company to suspend some operations there. The Ust-Luga complex, on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km west of St. Petersburg, processes . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 12  American citizen Gonzalo Lira dies from neglect in Ukrainian prison, by Alexander Rubinstein | The Grayzone  Chilean-American war commentator Gonzalo Lira died shortly before noon on Jan. 11 at a hospital in Kharkiv, where he had been imprisoned for eight months after being accused of justifying Russian war efforts in Ukraine. Lira had come to prominence in 2022 and was arrested in May 2023. A note written by him . . . READ MORE . . .