Free Republic

The Indian Navy has introduced new rules to enforce restrictions on the use of social media by its personnel and restrict their smartphone usage, made personnel accountable for the actions of their families on social media, superiors responsible for the presence of all personnel on social media and now require every sailor to submit a certificate of compliance along with details of personal smartphones and other devices.

The FBI agent who led the post 9/11 investigation of Saudis who moved out of their Sarasota-area home under suspicious circumstances two weeks before the 2001 al Qaeda attacks urged the FBI to seek information from the CIA about whether they assisted the terrorist hijackers. That’s among the final disclosures the FBI made recently to conclude a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Florida Bulldog in 2012 seeking records of a bureau investigation that was once so secret its existence was withheld from both Congress and the 9/11 Commission. News that the FBI agent who led the probe...

Former Vice President of the U.S. Joe Biden concealed and confounding the Senate and the U.S. Congress about the criminal actions of fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in Crimea as MP Andriy Derkach stated during the press conference. Related: Conversation between Poroshenko and Putin in April 2015 published Particularly, Derkach noted that it is clear from the tapes that ex-president Petro Poroshenko ordered the special services in 2016 to organize the terrorist act against his fellow citizens to keep his own rating and former U.S. Vice President Biden concealed the criminal intent of Poroshenko, while he was aware of...

Anyone hoping to see the Notre Dame's fire-wrecked spire rise from the ashes as a gleaming, ultra-modern version of its former self may be set for disappointment. France's new culture minister Roselyne Bachelot has weighed into one of the country's most contentious national debates by declaring that Notre Dame should be rebuilt to look "identical" to how it did before last year's blaze. Speaking on French radio Thursday morning, just days after assuming her government post, Bachelot said that there was "broad consensus" that the cathedral's roof and spire should not undergo a contemporary redesign. "A broad consensus is emerging...

“It’s been a rough month,” says Jess. Coming from a one-man mountain with more shrapnel scars than most, things must be looking bleak in South Africa. And it’s worse than any of us can imagine. Eighty-four farm attacks since lockdown began, twelve white farmers slaughtered from their land. The footage of the aftermath of one of the attacks circulating on Telegram and sent to me — too brutal to share. Only monsters could do such things to the elderly in their own homes. As many of us celebrated the 4th of July this weekend, there were three murders in two...

KEY LARGO, Fla. — An 11th case of the mosquito-borned dengue fever has been confirmed in the Florida Keys, health officials said. So far, all 11 cases have been in Key Largo, including 8 cases the last week of June, the Florida Department of Health officials said Tuesday. Officials are “currently conducting epidemiological studies to determine the origin and extent of these infections,” Florida Keys spokeswoman Alison Kerr told the Miami Herald. The latest patient has been treated and is expected to make a complete recovery, Kerr said. Health department officials believe all of the cases were locally acquired, the...

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has shared video of himself taking the drug hydroxychloroquine in his fight against the coronavirus. The clip was posted to Facebook as Brazil -- the world's sixth-biggest nation – has become one of the outbreak's most lethal hotspots. More than 65,000 Brazilians have died from COVID-19, and over 1.5 million have been infected. "For those who root against hydroxychloroquine, but don't present alternatives, I regret to inform you that I'm very well with its use and, with God's grace, I will live for a long time still,” Bolsonaro said Wednesday. Bolsonaro revealed yesterday that he tested...

Australia’s prime minister said the country will halt its extradition agreement with Hong Kong over the passage of a new Beijing-backed "national security" law and will extend temporary visas from Hong Kongers in Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Thursday that the visa extension will allow those from Hong Kong with temporary visas to stay for five additional years and will open a path to permanent Australian residency, according to the New York Times. Morrison also encouraged businesses to move to his country. “We are a great immigration nation,” the prime minister said. The move comes in response to a...

SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead in northern Seoul, police said Friday, after he was reported missing by his family. Park's daughter had told police that her father's phone was turned off after he left their home after leaving a message that sounded like a will. (END)

What has happened to Iran over the past four decades? Back in 1976, Iran was at the height of its glory after nearly two centuries. As a close ally of the U.S., the only friend of Israel in the region, and a prosperous nation with the eighth largest economy in the world, Iran was poised to surpass many European countries by the year 2000. At the time, Iran’s innovative educational system and literacy programs were the envy of the world. Its economic and military prowess were a huge source of stability in the region. And yet, the then U.S. administration...

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - The mayor of South Korean capital Seoul has been reported missing and police are searching for him on Thursday. Police officers said they are looking for Mayor Park Won-soon at Seoul's Sungbuk neighborhood where his mobile phone signal was last detected. They said Park's mobile phone was currently turned off.

Another New York Times Russiagate bombshell turns out to be a dud, as dodgy stories spun out by Afghan intelligence and exploited by the Pentagon ultimately failed to convince US intelligence agencies. By Gareth Porter ======================================================================================== The New York Times dropped another Russiagate bombshell on June 26 with a sensational front-page story headlined, “Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says.” A predictable media and political frenzy followed, reviving the anti-Russian hysteria that has excited the Beltway establishment for the past four years. But a closer look at the reporting by the Times and other mainstream...

BEIJING - As schools reopened in China after the COVID-19 outbreak, they have thrown themselves into a nationwide exercise to remove books deemed politically incorrect, deepening Chinese President Xi Jinping’s push to instil patriotism and ideological purity in the education system. A directive from the Ministry of Education last October called on elementary and middle schools to clear out books from their libraries including “illegal” and “inappropriate” works. Now teachers have removed books from schools in at least 30 of mainland China’s 33 provinces and municipalities, according to a Reuters review of social media posts, publicly available school and local...

Sydney (AFP) -- Australia offered pathways to permanent residency for thousands of people from Hong Kong on Thursday in response to China's crackdown on dissent, drawing a furious reply from Beijing. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government was suspending its extradition agreement with the city and, in addition to extending the visas of 10,000 Hong Kongers already in the country, threw open the door to thousands more wanting to start a new life Down Under. Morrison said the decisions were taken in response to China's imposition last week of a tough new security law in Hong Kong, which he...

This is a translation of the Mexican president's remarks during the Rose Garden ceremony

NEW DELHI—The apparent speed at which an Indian government agency aims to test and approve a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine has created an uproar among scientists both in India, which is increasingly overwhelmed by the new coronavirus, and abroad. A letter leaked on Twitter on Friday suggests the first vaccines could be rolled out by 15 August, which would leave far too little time for proper testing, critics say. The Indian Academy of Sciences calls the timeline “unreasonable and without precedent.”

The Trump administration has proposed a new rule that would allow it to deny asylum to immigrants who are deemed a public health risk. The soon-to-be published rule would let the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice to block immigrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. based on "potential international threats from the spread of pandemics," according to a notice announcing it Wednesday. The rule would apply to immigrants seeking asylum and those seeking "withholding of removal" — a protected immigration status for those who have shown they may well face danger if returned to their home countries....

A wooden sculpture of first lady Melania Trump near her hometown in Slovenia was set on fire the night of July 4, according to the artist who commissioned the piece. Brad Downey, a Berlin-based American artist, told Reuters the wooden sculpture near Trump’s hometown of Sevnica was torched. “I want to know why they did it,” Downey told Reuters. He told the newswire the sculpture was removed as soon as police informed him on July 5 of the incident. Downey reportedly said he filed a police report and that he would like to interview the people behind the incident, if...

Two more drugmakers have recalled their metformin products following an FDA warning that it found unacceptable levels of a carcinogen in the drugs. Lupin Pharmaceuticals, based in Mumbai, India, is recalling all lots of its metformin extended-release tablets after finding certain batches were above the acceptable daily intake level for N-Nitrosodimethylamine, NDMA, a carcinogen. Metformin is the generic name for a type of drug that is used to improve blood glucose control in adults with Type 2 diabetes. Granules Pharmaceuticals, based in Hyderabad, India, is recalling 12 lots of its metformin tablets for the same reason. Neither drugmaker said they...

Immigration Will Go Bust Without $1.2B Bailout By Charles Benavidez - Jul 02, 2020, 6:00 PM CDT United States With the Trump administration on a continued anti-immigration tear as a campaign-hedge for November 2020 elections, and as the COVID-19 pandemic rampages on, the American immigration system—largely funded by visa and green card applications—is basically running out of money. Now, it may have to temporarily lay off thousands of workers, and thus potentially bring immigration to a near halt from its already painfully slow crawl.