Free Republic

South Africa’s reputation as top gun when it comes to air power in the southern African region could be shot down by Angola and its powerful new Russian fighters. The west African country is set to take delivery of the first tranche of Sukhoi Su-30K fighters in the next six months and will have 12 in service by the end of next year. Gauteng Afrikaans daily Beeld approached military analyst Helmoed Heitman, retired SAAF and Indian Air Force pilot colonel Rama Iyer and a former officer commanding 2 Squadron for their views on how the SA Air Force’s (SAAF) Gripens...

Why Is the Zika Outbreak Being Used to Legalize Abortion in Brazil? By Julio Severo In recent months, because of the Zika virus, which has had a strange connection with microcephaly in unborn babies of pregnant women in several Brazilian regions, many leftist groups, including the World Health Organization, are calling for the legalization of abortion in Brazil, the world's most populous Catholic country. But push for abortion legalization is creating a backlash, particularly among the families of disabled children. Many have taken to social media apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, where more than half of Brazil's 200 million...

A Baptist Church group in Brazil said it will consider supporting a growing push to legalize abortion for disabled babies in the South American country. Joel Zeferino, president of the Alliance of Baptists of Brazil, said his church is open to the idea of allowing abortions for women with the Zika virus, according to Premier. With the spread of the virus, some countries have noticed a huge increase in the number of babies born with microcephaly, a neurological disorder where a baby’s head is significantly smaller and the brain is abnormally developed, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition is...

Perhaps the oddest outcome of the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from her critical role as world policeman is unprecedented global opportunities for a neutral, strong, vital and unfettered Israel. As America shifts loyalties and becomes more "even-handed", Israel is forced (and freed) to seek help elsewhere. Remarkably, she can leverage her technological superiority and newly developed natural resources to gain support now threatened from increasing American pressure. She can offer other states some backup lost by American withdrawal. Israel may act autonomously in dealing with larger powers for several reasons. First, she has much vital to offer. Second,...

Juggling things is not what I would have you do so inquire of me and recognize the sound of my voice through others with great humility for as David waited for the sound of my heavenly army through the trees truly I will sound out through the mighty oaks I have placed in the forest of your life. So listen to the rustling of my spirit's breath moving through this garden of your life and be drawn to my fruit for truly there is no other fruit that bears my eternal fragrance and life and you can eat the leaves...

Mandla Mandela, grandson of uTata Nelson Mandela, has made waves after marrying for the fourth time, this time to a Capetonian Muslim woman. And that too, after reportedly converting to Islam two months ago. But there seems to be quite a bit of curiosity about what his new religious affiliation means for his role as tribal leader. Mandela, whose full name is Nkosi Zwelivelile 'Mandla' Mandela, is the chief of the Xhosa tribe which the Mandelas are a part of, the Mveso Traditional Council. He released a statement late on Sunday saying that he was 'honoured and delighted' to announce...

The president has nominated attorney J. Mark McWatters for the bank board. However, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, has said he's "in no hurry" to hold a hearing or a vote on the nomination. Other pending confirmations take precedence, he said.The last of the 2015 lobbying reports are in, and the top corporate spender turns out to have been the Boeing Company, at $21.9 million. Not coincidentally, the aerospace giant also outranks thousands of other firms in profiting from the subsidies doled out by the Export-Import Bank. Last year, Boeing benefitted...

The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) has recommended that any athlete or trainer concerned about the Zika outbreak in Latin America should consider not attending the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Two anonymous sources told Reuters that the USOC issued the suggestion late in January on a teleconference call. President and board chairman of USA fencing Donald Anthony said no person should travel if "they don't feel comfortable going. Bottom line." "One of the things that they immediately said was, especially for women that may be pregnant or even thinking of getting pregnant, that whether you are scheduled to...

Iran wants to recover tens of billions of dollars it is owed by India and other buyers of its oil in euros and is billing new crude sales in euros, too, looking to reduce its dependence on the U.S. dollar following last month's sanctions relief. A source at state-owned National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) told Reuters that Iran will charge in euros for its recently signed oil contracts with firms including French oil and gas major Total, Spanish refiner Cepsa and Litasco, the trading arm of Russia's Lukoil. "In our invoices we mention a clause that buyers of our oil...

ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb.3 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese influence in Tanzanian soil is increasingly becoming big and bold. This can be seen after the Asian nation built two ultra-modern primary schools in Tanzania. The schools have been built in Tanzania's University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and University of Dodoma (UDOM) campuses. China built the two schools under the Sino-Africa Friendship Primary Schools Project worth 3.23 million U.S. dollars. The schools are fully furnished with all modern teaching and learning facilities, and students enrolled in those schools will have chance of learning Chinese language and culture from Standard One to Standard...

Back in October, we previewed the “promised” battle for Aleppo, Syria’s largest city prior to the war. By the time Russia began constructing an air base at Latakia, the city - which is immensely important both from a strategic and psychological perspective - was controlled by a hodgepodge of rebels and militants including al-Qaeda, the Free Syrian Army, and ISIS. As we noted four months ago, if Russia and Hezbollah manage to recapture the city, it would effectively restore the Assad government in Syria even if the east of the country is still controlled by Islamic State. In many ways,...

Don’t mess with my man! Shocking moment a scorned wife beats up her husband’s alleged mistress before throwing her off a BRIDGEThis shocking video captures the moment a woman confronted her husband's alleged mistress and beat her up before throwing her off a bridge. The footage, filmed on a mobile phone in Brazil, shows the scorned wife viciously punching her love rival on the back of the head before dragging her along the pavement by her hair. The alleged mistress wails and pleads with the outraged woman as she is pulled out on to the road and tossed over the...

A tradition in Brazil has been stopped due to financial woes. At least 48 cities located in eight states all over the country decided to cancel their carnivals because of the recession. News.com reported that the current recession in Brazil has led to the bleeding of financial resources among municipalities, spurring them to cancel their carnivals to save money that can be used for other programs. Cities in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Goias, Tocantins, Rio Grande do Norte, Minas Gerais, Paraiba and Rondonia changed their plans to hold carnivals at the final moment.

Brazil is the new Greece, and 90% of government spending cannot be cut by law: At 70% of GDP, public debt is worryingly large for a middle-income country and rising fast. Because of high interest rates, the cost of servicing it is a crushing 7% of GDP. The Central Bank cannot easily use monetary policy to fight inflation, currently 10.5%, as higher rates risk destabilising the public finances even more by adding to the interest bill. Brazil therefore has little choice but to raise taxes and cut spending. Too often, at the popular level, there is a confusion between "austerity...

Solomon"s seal is coming into play, This is not just another day, For I have woven my body into one, And this is something that must be done, So stay within the fabric of my Word, Dismiss the lies that you have heard, For the eye of the needle waits for you, But only in true unity may you pass through, So let the child within begin,for a pure heart is free of sin, Allow my virtue to take you through, That is my spirit inside of you! Galatians 3:28 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor...

I am birthing a new thing in you my children that you may bear forth great multitudes of fruit for my glory for I am expanding my tent pegs so that my Tapestry covers the earth and so now as my spirit rises up in you "Truly" you shall bud, blossom and bear fruit ripe for the picking and I shall use you as Aaron's Rod for I carry you in my hand for you know me as your divine authority and God. I am your inheritance for you are my priest and I am your pleasure and delight and...

[Red] China said it landed a test flight on a newly completed airfield in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, a sign of its growing military capabilities in the region. The flight drew a quick protest from Vietnam, which said China had “seriously violated” its sovereignty. A Philippines foreign ministry spokesman said Manila, another claimant in the Spratlys, also planned to lodge a protest with the Chinese.

My children , do you SEE This Day before you I have created for you as my Beloved and I adore your presence with me for I AM your Presence as I surround you every where you look and in everything you touch. Yeah you breathe Me in for I am your living breath and promise your true love and voice of truth and it is My Spirit that is your counselor and guide. So listen to My words of life for my spirit is speaking to you in an eternal manner each and every day! Jonah 1:3 But Jonah...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- After a decade on the advance, the left in South America is in retreat. Just in the past month, voters in Argentina elected a conservative businessman president over the chosen successor of Cristina Fernandez and Brazil's congress launched an impeachment probe against President Dilma Rousseff, whose approval ratings have been languishing in single digits. In perhaps the biggest turnabout, voters in Venezuela, where the region's leftward shift began, handed the opposition a landslide victory in congressional elections - its first nationwide legislative win since the U.S.-bashing Hugo Chavez won the presidency in 1998. The backlash comes...

Obama is not popular in either country, but to put it in positive terms, the U.S. President is a tiny bit more popular with Iranians than with Israelis. Israelis can't stand President Barack Obama even more than Iranians can do without him, but they like German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the most popular world leader, a new survey reveals. The poll in Israel was part of an international survey of 65 world leaders by WIN/Gallup International. Ma'agar Mochot, headed by Prof. Yitzchak Katz, carried out the survey in Israel. One of the questions posed was: What is your opinion regarding...