Free Republic

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to create a buffer zone in northern Syria and will remove Kurdish fighters along the border. After several hours of talks, the two leaders said a “safe zone” would be implemented in northeastern Syria, and they would initiate joint patrols in the area. The announcement comes days after Turkey incurred into northern Syria on Oct. 9 to remove Kurdish fighters that it has described as “terrorists” from the area. According to the deal, starting on Oct. 23, Russian forces and Syrian border guards will “facilitate the removal of [Kurdish]...

Sailors, Marines Adjusting to ‘Brutal’ Reality of High-End Warfare By: Sam LaGrone October 21, 2019 9:21 PM ABOARD AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP USS BATAAN – The ongoing graduation exercise for the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) will not only get the 4,500 sailors and Marines ready to deploy later this year but also has started a conversation at the deck plate level about how the services will fight together in the future. ARG/MEU’s Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) is the first since the Marine Corps unveiled Commandant Gen. David Berger’s command guidance for the service...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suffered a serious defeat in his bid to stay on as premier by failing to form a new coalition government, but his rival faced similar difficulties as he set about the same task on Tuesday. Ex-military chief Benny Gantz will now be given the chance to try to negotiate a coalition, but a deadlock following polls held on September 17 remains -- and yet another election cannot be ruled out. It would be Israel's third vote within a year, after Netanyahu also failed to form a coalition following April polls. His decision to inform...

Abortion has been decriminalised and same-sex marriage is to be legalised in Northern Ireland. Legislation making the changes - which was passed by MPs at Westminster - came into force at midnight. The first same-sex weddings in Northern Ireland are set to take place in February 2020. ...Same-sex marriages have been allowed in England, Scotland and Wales since 2014, but Stormont did not legalise them. The abortion law obliges the UK to ensure regulations for free, legal and local abortion services are in place by 31 March 2020.

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened against the greenback on Tuesday and its heavily weighted energy sector fell on the Toronto stock market, as investors worried that a minority government would make building of new oil pipelines more difficult. Canada’s energy industry saw its worst-case election result materialize on Monday as the Liberals failed to secure a majority government, leaving them in need of support from left-leaning parties that are opposed to new oil pipelines. Canada’s energy sector declined 0.5% even as oil prices rose, with shares of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd falling 0.8 and pipeline company Encana Corp...

Even to a nation hardened to drug war images, the scenes in Culiacán were shocking. Scores of cartel gunmen shut down the streets and engaged in sustained battles with the armed forces. It was a huge embarrassment for the government. They had captured one of the most wanted men in Mexico and, outgunned and overwhelmed by the cartel, they simply turned him back over to his men. "It was a failure of everything," says Professor Raul Benitez, a security expert at the National Autonomous University in Mexico (UNAM). "What it showed was the great power and control that the Sinaloa...

BAGHDAD/PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - U.S. forces that crossed into Iraq as part of a pull-out from Syria do not have permission to stay and can only be there in transit, the Iraqi military said on Tuesday. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, however, that Washington aimed eventually to bring the troops withdrawing from Syria back to the United States. The Iraqi military statement contradicted the Pentagon’s announcement that all of the nearly 1,000 troops withdrawing from northern Syria are expected to move to western Iraq to continue the campaign against Islamic State militants and to help...

To twist Lenin’s quip, it will be a communist who sells capitalists the cheap advanced telecommunications technology with which China hangs them. A new and exciting movie was just released illustrating through semi-fictional dramatization how the Chinese government-controlled telecom company Huawei is a primary economic weapon in an arsenal through which Beijing seeks global domination. The names of the people and the company are all changed, but “Claws of the Red Dragon” dramatizes Canada’s arrest at U.S. request last year of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s financial chief and daughter of its founder, for violations of sanctions on terrorist Iran and other...

Protesters Gather in Santiago, Chile - LATIN AMERICA1 8:58 22.10.2019 The Chilean capital has been rocked by protests for more than two weeks already since the government announced increase in public transport fares. People are taking to the streets in protest in Santiago, as the political turmoil continues in the country. Mass protests against the increase in the subway ticket prices are in full swing, despite Chilean President Sebastian Pinera having announced on 19 October that the public transport fee hikes would be suspended. The demonstrations started on 6 October and quickly grew into mass riots, in which at least...

‘Woke’ idiocy comes full circle. The Chinese Communist Party says that criticizing LeBron James over his anti-free speech, pro-Beijing stance is racist. You knew it was coming. Following Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeting his support for the Hong Kong protesters, James said that Morey “wasn’t educated on the situation at hand and he spoke.” Siding with his Communist paymasters, who forced the NBA into a groveling apology after Morey’s tweet, the basketball star added that free speech had negative “ramifications.” Now the government-run China Daily, a mouthpiece for the Communist Party, has backed LeBron, asserting that criticism of...

How would one categorize a nation-state whose army gives a drug baron’s son to cartel members after suffering brutal losses in pitched battles? The country whose firebrand leftist president apologized on television and said the army’s surrender to a drug cartel was the correct thing to do, because “we do not want war”?If the reports are correct, this is precisely what happened in Mexico, around the same time the Democratic presidential primary field was debating whether there should be more trillion-dollar expenditures in the U.S. budget. Instead, a failed state on the southern border of the United States should...

Perhaps the most momentous part of the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy (NSS) was its acknowledgment that the U.S. government’s historical premise “that support for China’s rise and for its integration into the post-war international order would liberalize China” was wrong. Recent events indicate that not only was the theory underlying all U.S.-China policy for nearly 50 years incorrect, but that perhaps the opposite is true: Support for China’s rise and for its integration into the post-war international order has actually illiberalized America.Stated differently, there is a case to be made that since President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 visit...

You can’t have a quid pro quo without the other party being aware there’s a quid and reports indicated the Ukrainian government was unaware that aid was allegedly being withheld to pressure them to dig up dirt on Trump opponent Joe Biden. And the aid wasn’t really aid, but was additional Javelin anti-tank missiles bought and paid for by Ukraine with its own money. But as long as we are on the subject of whether or not President Trump was jeopardizing U.S. national security by withholding military aid for political purposes, consider that almost as soon as Trump took...

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau faced a barrage of attacks throughout the 40-day election campaign, but in the end, he did enough to earn back Canadians’ trust for another term as prime minister. By the time the dust settled on the election, Trudeau lost the popular vote and more than 20 seats in the House of Commons, but was able to maintain a minority government and will remain prime minister. ...

You think the campaign trail is tough? Try sparring with a UFC champ!! That's what presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard did in Boston last week -- trading shots with strawweight superstar Weili Zhang ... and TMZ Sports has the video. Remember, Gabbard played a huge role in helping the Chinese superstar get a visa so she could come to the U.S. on a media tour. Gabbard, a U.S. military combat vet and current member of the Army National Guard, is a HUGE fan of MMA and has watched Zhang compete for years. So, when the opportunity came up to spar with...

Tomorrow, Japan's Emperor Naruhito will proclaim his succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in an enthronement ceremony. ... Notably, U.S. transportation secretary Elaine Chao is expected to attend. (Previously Vice President Mike Pence was supposed to travel to Japan for the ceremony, but a change was made somewhat last minute). Prince Charles will also be there, representing the United Kingdom—he previously attended Akihito's enthronement ceremony with Princess Diana—as will other members of royal families throughout the world such as: King Jigme and Queen Jetsun of Bhutan, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, and King Felipe and Queen...

The appearance guidelines still prohibit body piercings, “exaggerated hairstyles” (partially shaved heads, mohawks, undercuts and “zigzagging of hair” included) and hair accessories. “These standards are designed to present an inclusive, professional military image,” said Proctor. “The RNZN is a modern and professional organisation that embraces individuality and personality. “However, we are a military organisation and with that comes certain expectations on our personnel in terms of dress and appearance.”

Princess Pushy — aka former Suits actress Meghan Markle; aka the current Duchess of Sussex; aka Prince Harry’s missus — has been telling anyone who’ll listen how tough it is being a member of Britain’s Royal Family. Interviewed for a documentary on Sunday night, the Duchess was close to tears when asked by reporter Tom Bradby about the state of her mental or physical health. Meghan: ‘And, also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.’ Tom: ‘And the answer is, would...

Over the weekend, Chinese state television attacked NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, threatening retribution for what it claimed was a lie. Last week Silver claimed the Chinese government had asked him to fire Rockets general manager Daryl Morey over his tweet about Hong Kong: The Chinese government asked the N.B.A. to fire a team executive who posted on social media in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, said on Thursday in his first public appearance in the United States since returning from a contentious trip to Asia.“We said there’s no chance that’s happening,” Silver...

BY REID WILSON - 10/21/19 06:00 AM EDT The Trump administration's perennial push for steep budget cuts, an exodus of senior staffers with decades of experience and constant allegations that agency employees represent a deep state has sent morale at the State Department to an unprecedented low. On top of that, President Trump has fired a senior diplomat after a whisper campaign mounted by his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and abandoned steadfast allies in the Middle East to fend for themselves on the battlefield at the behest of Turkey's government. Current and former diplomats say the weight of those events...