Free Republic

Elderly patients are being told by opticians to buy darker sunglasses as the NHS will not pay for life-changing cataract surgery Others have been informed they are not ‘entitled’ just because they had laser treatment on their eyes 16 years ago.

Protesters from the Black Lives Matter campaign brought transport routes around the UK to a standstill this morning as part of their campaign for a 'nationwide shutdown'. Pictures tweeted by angry motorists and air passengers show a banner unfurled across the approach road to Heathrow airport's terminals one, two and three this morning. Protests have also targeted Birmingham airport and the tram system in Nottingham during what the group called a 'nationwide shutdown'. The demonstrations look set to cause chaos at one of the busiest times of the year for transport networks, as hundreds of families head off on their...

Sir Bernard said the additional armed officers were the first cohort from a planned group of 600 due to be trained to carry firearms - with 1,500 due to be trained across the country. Speaking in Hyde Park, Sir Bernard said: 'People aren't fools - they know that in the event that there is a firearms attack, we are going to have to respond with firearms. 'They pass through airports where we have armed officers, they pass through railway stations where they see firearms.

Funding Iran directly funds terrorism because the Iranian regime is effectively a terror state. Back in the Senate, Obama fought against the classification of the Revolutionary Guard, a key Iranian political-military institution, as terrorists. He's remained consistent since then. 3. This is simply treason. Obama is aiding and abetting the murder of Americans. He's funding terrorism. He's funding Iran's wars in the region, which aside from Israel, include campaigns in Iraq and Syria that have dragged the United States in. The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January...

Another day brings yet another revelation highlighting the clear connection between mass Muslim migration from troubled parts of the globe and sex crimes. Shocking U.K. government statistics reveal that nearly 900 Syrian migrants were arrested in 2015 for a variety of offenses — including those of a sexual nature. “The government seems not to have vetted those it has invited into the country,” UKIP MEP Ray Finch said. The stunning revelation came after a freedom of information request filed by The Sun. Police figures from Northumbria to London to Nottinghamshire revealed 897 arrests for a wide variety crimes in 2015....

A 26-year-old man is in a serious condition after being stabbed in the arms and legs. Police said the man drove himself five miles to hospital following the attack. Unconfirmed reports suggest there is a bullet hole in the vehicle he drove in.

An American woman was killed and five other people injured in a stabbing attack in London’s Russell Square by a Norwegian man of Somali origin who was arrested after the incident, authorities said. "So far we have found no evidence of radicalization or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism," Rowley said. He said the woman who died was a 60-year-old American, and the five injured people are British, American, Israeli and Australian. None had life-threatening injuries. Two remain in a hospital, while three others have been discharged.

Here is what we know so far: A man targeted six people with a knife in Russell Square, central London, at around 10.30pm on Wednesday night. A woman, believed to have been in her 60s, was fatally stabbed and pronounced dead at the scene. A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Two women and three men suffered "various injuries" in the attack, with two remaining in hospital and the other three discharged. *snip* Counter-terrorism officers are supporting the investigation into the incident, while Scotland Yard said early indications suggest mental health "was a factor". In an earlier...

Women having sex changes on the NHS are being given free fertility treatment so they can have babies after they become men. At least three British men who were born female are ‘on the brink’ of becoming parents using IVF techniques, according to a top doctor. And dozens more are now having their eggs frozen at NHS clinics before undergoing surgery or hormone therapy to switch sex.

A woman in her 60s has been killed and five other people injured in a knife attack in central London. Police were called to reports of an armed man attacking people in Russell Square at 10.33pm on Wednesday. A 19-year-old was arrested six minutes later at 10.39pm after a Taser was fired by one of the officers. He is now under police guard in hospital.

The city of Belfast in Northern Ireland is gearing up for its annual gay pride parade this weekend. But what are the challenges that face LGBT people living in Northern Ireland where sexual identity and politics always seem to clash. Peter Coulter has been to meet a transgender woman living in Belfast, who would like to rejoin the Orange Order.

Deepening ties with European companies and “old friends” like the United States and Japan would help Britain preserve its global role in finance after leaving the EU, an industry body said on Wednesday. TheCityUK published a to-do list for the financial sector and government, saying June’s vote to leave the European Union magnified the challenge of keeping up with global competition in finance. Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and Milan all hope to win a slice of London’s market share in financial services. …

A taxpayer-funded community swimming pool has sparked outrage by hosting men and women-only sessions for alleged 'cultural reasons'. The gender-segregated time slots came into place on July 29 and give men exclusive access to the larger 160ft, eight-lane competition pool at the Inspire Sports Village. During these time slots, women will be relegated to the smaller 65ft community pool at the sports facility in Stopsley, Luton.

London’s police force is putting more armed officers on the streets — a visible response to attacks by Islamic State-inspired groups in Europe. Metropolitan Police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe said Wednesday he’s increasing the number and the visibility of the officers “to protect the public from all manner of threats.” …

Mark Pearson bears the crumpled expression of a man who has just emerged from a protracted period of darkness, yet can barely summon the enthusiasm required to readjust to the light. On Friday, after a three-day trial at Blackfriars Crown Court, he was acquitted of sexually assaulting an award-winning actress - who for legal reasons cannot be named - while crossing paths with her during evening rush hour on the concourse of Britain’s busiest train station. Though he has come through this half-second-turned-whole-year of hell with his reputation entirely intact, it has taken a terrible tarnishing - and the whole...

A bitter clash is looming over who will foot the bill for paying pensions owed to thousands of British Eurocrats when the UK leaves the EU. Brussels has estimated its pensions liability at €60 billion (£50.7 billion) for all retired and current officials, with annual payments currently at about €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion). Some 1,730 Britons currently make up almost 8 per cent of the 22,000 retired EU officials. The UK insists it cannot be held responsible for Eurocrat pensions which, it says, are the responsibility of EU institutions.

Solicitor claims mother who sexually abused girl, nine, should not be jailed because her shame as a Muslim was punishment enough Raheelah Dar, 43, jailed for seven years for sex offences against young girl Was convicted of grooming, isolating and manipulating the schoolgirl Dar began to abuse the girl after the failure of her first arranged marriage Her lawyer urged judge not to jail her as she had already been shunned by her community But judge gave her seven years saying: 'She was an innocent. You were crafty' A middle-aged Muslim woman has been jailed for seven years for carrying...

Will Amazon's noisy drones upset wildlife? Campaigners say animals will be severely affected by the machines being tested over Cambridgeshire Amazon sparked fury with controversial plans to use drones for deliveries Retailer thought to have permission to test them over Cambridge farms Buzzards, hawks and red kites all fly in the same skies to be used by drones Long-eared owls and turtle doves, both facing extinction, nest in the area Controversial plans by Amazon to deliver parcels using drones have already sparked protest before the online shopping giant has even got the idea off the ground. The retailer is believed...

The expert shooter took out the bomber moments after he put on a suicide vest packed with hundreds of steel ball-bearings ready for a deadly attack. In one precise shot from 800m away, the sniper fired through a window to put a bullet through the terrorist's vest causing an explosion. The bomber, his accomplice and two bomb makers were killed in the blast which sprayed the inside of a bomb making factory in Iraq with shrapnel. . . . "The sniper fired and less than a second later the vest detonated. The blast blew the roof off the house and...

An Imam has told his congregation in Wales that war is approaching and Islam allows them to take women as slaves and rape them. Ali Hammuda is an Imam at Cardiff’s Al-Manar Mosque, where three Islamic State (IS) fighters worshipped before travelling to Syria. They were known as the “Cardiff jihadis” before one was killed in an RAF drone strike as he was thought to be plotting attacks in the UK. Before the strike, Reyaad Khan and Nasser Muthana, then both 20, appeared in an IS recruiting video in 2014 where they bragged about executing prisoners. Muthana’s younger brother Aseel,...