Free Republic

After a year in India, Zaharaddeen Muhammed, 27, knows enough Hindi to understand what bander means. Monkey. But it isn't even the daily derogatory comments that make him doubt his decision to swap his university in Nigeria for a two-year master's degree programme in chemistry at Noida International University. Nor is it the questions about personal hygiene, the unsolicited touching of his hair or the endless staring. It is his failure to interact with Indian people on a deeper level. "People often look at me as if I am different, and hard to be trusted," the tall, softly spoken student...

There is a planned Third World War, which will be nuclear and biological. Our source believes that this is on track to be initiated within the next 18-24 months. • It is planned to begin with a strike by Israel on Iran. Either Iran or China will be provoked into a nuclear response. After a brief nuclear exchange, there will be a ceasefire. The world will be thrown into fear and chaos - all carefully engineered. • The extreme state of tension will be used to justify heavy social and military controls in all western first world nations. Plans are...

The Republic of China Navy (ROCN) Program Office recently announced in Taipei a major indigenous development programme spanning ten vessel types. It represents a desire for Taiwan to be less dependent on the US for naval requirements. Indigenous production calls for spending of US$14.7 billion over a 23-year period out to 2040, including submarines, destroyers, guided missile frigates, landing platform docks (LPD), 2,500t multipurpose transports, additional catamaran-hulled Tuo Jiang-class corvettes, rescue vessel, ocean surveillance ship, minelayers and tugboats. Interestingly, an ROCN press release a day earlier included a landing helicopter dock (LHD), but it disappeared at the official briefing without...

The People’s Bank of China have set the USD/CNY fixing for Monday at 6.6375, some 0.9% weaker than Friday’s fixing level of 6.5776. The figure, well above Friday’s close of 6.6150, was the weakest fixing level seen since December 2010.

China’s new nuclear attack submarine is among the military’s most secretive platforms – and the world has just been given its first glimpse. The Chinese navy has released a rare photo of the Type 093B ‘Shang’ submarine, which can launch missiles vertically at ships and other targets overhead. This model improves upon the capabilities of earlier nuclear attack submarines, and is expected to be quieter and faster. According to the Popular Science blog Eastern Arsenal, this reveal marks an extremely rare event. It’s thought that there were three Type 093B SSNs launched last year. These were preceded by two Type...

Joe Biden to China: Curb North Korea or Japan Can Go Nuclear ‘Virtually Overnight’ Vice President Joe Biden warned China that the Japanese government may acquire nuclear weapons “virtually overnight” if the threat from North Korea becomes too grave, urging Beijing to do more to curb Pyongyang’s belligerence. The Vice President’s comments echo those of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who warned that Japan and South Korea acquiring nuclear weapons “is going to happen anyway” in controversial remarks issued in March. Japanese government officials and media responded to Trump’s comments much more severely than they have to Biden’s. “What...

Donald Trump is making his most direct, and comprehensive, attack on Hillary Clinton’s fitness for the Presidency. Drawing heavily from Breitbart News Editor Peter Schweizer’s bestseller, “Clinton Cash“, Trump focused particular attention on the cozy financial relationship between the Clintons, their eponymous foundation and China. Here is a quote from the book, “At the center of U.S. policy toward China was Hillary Clinton. At this critical time for U.S.- China relations, Bill Clinton gave a number of speeches that were underwritten by the Chinese government and its supporters. These funds were paid to the Clintons’ bank account directly, while Hillary...

The US Navy is making its presence known in the heavily disputed South China Sea. It recently deployed two aircraft carriers along with about 140 aircraft and additional ships to conduct training exercises. This action comes as China and the Philippines await a decision from The Hague about whether or not the former can legally claim sovereignty over the South China Sea.

The Israeli government is considering a proposal to build an artificial island off the Gaza Strip that a top official says would give Palestinians living in the besieged enclave their one and only seaport — and maybe a hotel and an international airport, too. The Israeli minister of intelligence who is promoting the plan, Israel Katz, said the Jewish state is actively seeking financial partners for the $5 billion project. Katz mentioned the Saudis and Chinese as possible builders of the port — or maybe a mysterious Israeli entrepreneur. He declined to name names. ... He said the plan is...

China on Monday revealed its latest supercomputer, a monolithic system with 10.65 million compute cores built entirely with Chinese microprocessors. This follows a U.S. government decision last year to deny China access to Intel's fastest microprocessors. (please see link for full article)

A Chinese rafting attraction has established a team of bikini-clad lifeguards to ensure the safety of its visitors and accompany solo tourists to enjoy the water sport. To become a member of the 'Goddess Lifesavers' at Gulongxia Rafting in southern China, candidates must wear bikinis and combat kung fu masters before being recruited. Pictures emerged from the media showed a team of keen applicants practising martial arts skills with monks from China's famous Shaolin Temple on June 17 at the attraction in Guangdong Province, reported the People's Daily Online.

China has taken delivery of the first two Xian Y-20 strategic airlifters, according to photos published on social media. They show the aircraft in full People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) markings at an undisclosed airbase. However, the serial numbers on the aircraft (11051 and 11052) indicate that they are assigned to the PLAAF’s 4th Transport Division, 12th Air Regiment based at Qionglai in Sichuan Province. The division comprises of three regiments based in the PLA’s Western Theatre Command, operating the Shaanxi Y-7, Y-8 and Y-9 transports. The Y-20 is a high-wing, T-tail four-engine design capable of strategic airlift. It...

Apple is in a court battle in China that isn’t going so well. Baili, a Chinese device maker, has sued Apple for allegedly copying its smartphone design in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. A Chinese court recently granted Baili an injunction that would have forced Apple to remove the iPhone 6 line from store shelves. However, Apple quickly appealed the ruling to a higher court, which will allow it to continue selling the iPhone 6 line until that court makes its own ruling on the case.Gadget site Engadget previously reported on the lawsuit.The smartphone in question is Baili’s...

HMS Somerset escorted the brand-new Chinese frigate Xiangtan through the Dover Strait as the Far Eastern warship made for Germany. During the several hours in company together, the Brits provided the Xiangtan with a weather forecast to help them on their way to Kiel for that city’s annual maritime spectacular. Picture: LA(Phot) Guy Pool SO AS a Brit, what do you do when you encounter a stranger and need to pass the time? That’s right, you chat about the weather. HMS Somerset met up with brand-new Chinese warship Xiangtan and escorted the frigate through the Dover Strait as it headed...

Apple's success in China has been spectacular. Truly outstanding. But while the "Apple in China" story is usually told in terms of the rise (and now leveling off) of iPhone sales, it has been just as big a success in terms of brand building and customer capture. Apple today is known and pretty loved by China's increasingly wealthy urban middle class. And the company has a commanding position in the lucrative "affordable luxury" market segment. Apple’s success in rising consumer China is even better than its growth numbers imply. However... (you knew it was coming) While capturing Chinese consumers has...

Many counterfeit goods are now of better quality than the genuine articles, Alibaba founder Jack Ma has said in comments set to infuriate luxury goods makers who accuse the Chinese ecommerce group of profiting from the sale of knock-offs. "We have to protect (intellectual property), we have to do everything to stop the fake products, but OEMs are making better products at a better price," Mr Ma said, referring to original equipment manufacturers that typically make products for branded sellers. "The problem is the fake products today are of better quality and better price than the real names," he said...

India need not have had to make desperate efforts now to get membership of elite NSG had former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accepted the then US President John F Kennedy’s offer of helping the country detonate a nuclear device much before China did in 1964, according to former Foreign Secretary Maharajakrishna Rasgotra. He also said that if Nehru had accepted the offer, not only would have India tested the nuclear device first in Asia, before China, but it also “would have deterred China from launching its war of 1962 and even imparted a note of caution to (Pakistan’s) Field Marshal...

After the dynasty collapsed, there were no clues as to where it was and it lived on only in legend through writings such as those of 13th century Venetian merchant Marco Polo. If Polo is to be believed, the walls of "the greatest palace that ever was" were covered with gold and silver and the main hall was so large that it could easily seat 6,000 people for dinner. "The palace was made of cane supported by 200 silk cords, which could be taken to pieces and transported easily when the emperor moved," he wrote in his travel journal. It...

Donald Trump is straightforward, direct and brutally honest, a man who weighs up a situation and will give you the facts. Perhaps that is why so many people are afraid. There has been a lot of controversial statements about Trump and his displeasure of immigrants, especially Africans. Not so, Trump has consideration and affection toward other races. In a recent video, Trump said, “look at my African-American over here” and raised decent opinions about the man. Therefore, even though he might appear to have a distinct dislike for Africans, Trump does realize that they too are human. However, I would...

A new report suggests that young educated South Africans plan to leave the country to work abroad, rather than plough their knowledge back into the local economy. The report comes from PPS, an insurance, investment, healthcare and financial planning specialist for graduate professionals. The company’s latest Student Confidence Index (SCI), conducted among over 1,500 South African students, revealed that 54% of the respondents plan to move abroad for work purposes in the next five years following their graduation. It follows a report published by New World Wealth, which showed that white millionaire numbers have decreased dramatically in SA – from...