Free Republic

Outgoing New York City New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed two executive orders Wednesday aimed at countering antisemitism and preventing city funds from supporting the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The New York Post reported that Adams barred city business or pension investment decisions that discriminate against Israel, a move that could be viewed as a challenge to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who supports the BDS movement. While speaking at a conference in New Orleans sponsored by the North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, Adams said his administration “recognizes the benefit of maintaining a strong relationship between the...

Belgium? Really? Of all the places in the world you would not expect to be a cesspool of nearly open corruption, Belgium pretty much tops the list. But there it is. Belgium is basically a narco-state, a top Antwerp judge has warned.https://t.co/zH0fSm2mfR— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) October 27, 2025Like so many things that sound insane when you say them, the claim that Belgium is now more akin to Mexico than a land of peace and chocolates is easy to dismiss as the fever dream of a cranky conspiracy theorist than a reflection of reality. But, according to an Antwerp judge, who published...

There were signs that heroin from Myanmar is reaching markets in Europe previously supplied by Afghanistan, with several seizures over the past year that involved passengers travelling from Southeast Asia to Europe. Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar surged to its highest level in a decade this year as the nation crippled by civil war remains one of the world's primary suppliers of illicit drugs, according to a new United Nations report. The growth solidifies Myanmar's position as the world’s main known source of illicit opium, particularly following a sharp decline in production in Afghanistan after the Taliban imposed a ban...

Despite the steady rise of contactless payments and mobile wallets, cash still plays a major role in everyday life across Spain. Whether it’s for small purchases, tips or local shops, many people continue to rely on banknotes — which means ATMs remain more important than ever. And unfortunately, that also makes them an easy target for criminals looking for quick and discreet opportunities. While we often imagine ATM crime involving complicated hacking or technical attacks, the reality is that some of the most effective scams are surprisingly simple. One of them, known as the so-called “banknote scam,” has been catching...

The United States announced a deal with Britain for zero tariffs on pharmaceutical products and medical technology on Monday (Dec 1) which will lead to Britain spending more on medicines. The deal included an increase in the percentage of the state-run National Health Service (NHS) budget that is spent on medicines. "The US and the United Kingdom announce this negotiated outcome pricing for innovative pharmaceuticals, which will help drive investment and innovation in both countries," US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

Heavily armed gangs attacked Haiti’s central region over the weekend, killing men, women and children as they set fire to homes and forced survivors to flee into the darkness. Police made emergency calls for backup, asserting that 50% of the Artibonite region had fallen under gang control after the large-scale attacks targeting towns including Bercy and Pont-Sondé. “The population cannot live, cannot work, cannot move,” one of Haiti’s police unions, SPNH-17, said Sunday on X. “Losing the country’s 2 largest departments — West and Artibonite — is the greatest security failure in modern Haitian history.” The bulk of Haiti’s police...

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Southeast Asia is being pummeled by unusually severe floods this year, as late-arriving storms and relentless rains wreak havoc that has caught many places off guard. Malaysia is still reeling from one its worst floods, which killed three and displaced thousands. Meanwhile, Vietnam and the Philippines have faced a year of punishing storms and floods that have left hundreds dead. What feels unprecedented is exactly what climate scientists expect: A new normal of punishing storms, floods and devastation. Atmospheric levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide jumped by the most on record in 2024. That “turbocharged” the climate,...

The authors of a study that examined climate change’s potential effect on the global economy said Wednesday that data errors led them to slightly overstate an expected drop in income over the next 25 years. The researchers at Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, writing in the journal Nature in 2024, had forecast a 19% drop in global income by 2050. Their revised analysis puts the figure at 17%. The authors also said in their original work that there was a 99% chance that, by midcentury, it would cost more to fix damage from climate change than it would...

The family of a Colombian fisherman who died in a U.S. military boat strike in September has filed a formal complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleging the U.S. government illegally killed him. Alejandro Carranza was killed in a strike in the Caribbean on Sept. 15, according to the petition, filed on Tuesday. "From numerous news reports, we know that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza and the murder of all those on such boats," according to the petition. In the petition, Carranza's lawyer Dan...

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Officials in Minneapolis on Tuesday said they were not aware of imminent federal immigration raids targeting the area’s Somali community, which has come under blistering attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump in recent days. Anti-immigration rhetoric was a major part of Trump's campaign and since taking office in January he has overseen an aggressive campaign by masked federal agents across the country that has instilled fear in immigrant communities and prompted protests and backlashes in the cities targeted. During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump ratcheted up his inflammatory rhetoric about Somalis, saying they had contributed...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Tuesday for his role in the controversy surrounding the strike on a suspected Venezuelan narcoterrorist cartel boat on Sept. 2. “Secretary Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this, and it did not happen. It was fake news. It didn’t happen. And then the next day, from the podium at the White House are saying it did happen,” Paul said while speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. “So, either he was lying to us … or he’s incompetent and didn’t know it had happened.” Paul also...

A Russian military victory in Ukraine would cost Europe twice as much as a Ukrainian victory, according to a new study by Corisk and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs published on Nov. 25. Under the first scenario proposed by the researchers, Moscow's forces would continue their incremental advance and push westward toward the Dnipro River. As a result of their military victories, the Kremlin would force Ukraine to accept a negotiated settlement on terms beneficial to Moscow. According to the report, such an outcome would amount to a Russian partial victory, giving the Kremlin influence over Ukraine's political and...

A third of Minnesota’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) reviewed in a recent audit by the Department of Transportation (DOT) were illegally issued, Sec. Sean Duffy announced Monday. The review was conducted by the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on “unqualified non-citizens” endangering Americans on the roads. The state has 30 days to come into compliance and revoke the illegally-issued CDLs, or risk losing up to $30.4 million in federal highway funding, a department press release stated. Officials wrote that Minnesota now has two choices going forward — “follow the law...

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that he only learned of a second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat to finish off two survivors “a couple of hours later.” Hegseth disavowed responsibility amid a congressional outcry over the Sept. 2 follow-up attack on the wrecked vessel.

The Trump administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City on Monday, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The firings followed an earlier round of job cuts in New York immigration courts and are part of a broader disruption across the country, which is taking place as the president seeks to accelerate deportations. They were confirmed by an official at the National Association of Immigration Judges, a union representing immigration judges, and a Justice Department official who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter. The immigration courts are under the control...

Without Iraq-style lies about Russia, the collusion hoax, the impeachment farce, and the 51 intel officials laundering deception for political gain, there likely would have been no Russia-Ukraine war. The proposed Ukraine peace deal has shaken the political class that insisted escalation with Moscow was the only acceptable course. How, they ask, can Russia possibly walk away with concessions? Part of this is simply material: Russia has ground out battlefield gains and retains the manpower and resources to sustain the war indefinitely. But that is only one dimension of it. The fuller answer reaches back long before the first tanks...

Donald Trump on Tuesday called Somali immigrants “garbage” and said they should be sent back home in a rant that came as the administration is reportedly increasing immigration enforcement against undocumented Somalis in Minnesota. In a xenophobic rant during a cabinet meeting, Trump went off on Somalis and Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative who is from Somalia and is a US citizen. He said Somalia “stinks” and is “no good for a reason”. “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” he said. He called Omar “garbage” and said “we’re going to go...

Multinational retail giant Costco has sued the US government to secure a full refund of import duties if the Supreme Court rejects President Donald Trump's authority to impose tariffs without congressional approval. Costco's lawsuit urges the federal trade court to declare Trump's 'emergency' tariffs illegal, an authority the president says he has under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Two lower courts have already ruled that Trump exceeded his authority by using emergency powers to impose tariffs. The case has now reached the Supreme Court, and several companies are trying to protect their rights to refunds should the justices...

HSINCHU, Taiwan - Silicon Valley may be the heart of global tech, but its pulse depends on a special kind of lifeblood — high-end microchips — many of which flow out of a science park on Taiwan's west coast. The park has been home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, since the company's inception nearly four decades ago. It is from this base that TSMC made itself indispensable to modern life; its chips are in everything from cell phones to cars. By some estimates, it produces over 90% of the world's most advanced chips. But the calculus has been...

President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia is ready to fight a war if Europe seeks one and claimed European countries are trying to make changes in President Donald Trump's proposal on ending Russia's war against Ukraine, ahead of his high-stakes meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday. The meeting is underway, Russian state media TASS reported Tuesday night local time. The Kremlin on Tuesday said that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was also expected to take part. Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the meeting had no time limit and would go on for "as long as...