Free Republic

Most of the US allies continue to buy Russian gas even after the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War. The EU and NATO member states are close to Washington, and they have bought natural gas worth hundreds of billions of dollars from Moscow since the beginning of the war. Has President Donald Trump exposed the US hypocrisy over trade by imposing a 25% tariff on Indian goods plus a penalty for doing business with Russia? Though he has not said explicitly what it means and how much penalty India will have to pay for buying crude oil and military hardware from...

Canadian wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have prompted air quality alerts in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday and Thursday as residents are advised to "limit prolonged or heavy exertion." Why It Matters The elevated levels of fine particulate matter resulting from wildfire smoke could present significant health risks, especially for people with asthma, heart disease or other preexisting respiratory conditions. State and local health officials have urged those in the affected areas to limit outdoor activities and remain indoors while conditions persist. Canadian wildfires have been of recent concern to Americans who live in bordering states, as hundreds of...

Curtis Sliwa CAN win New York City’s mayoral race in November.Let’s go back to June 2015, in the days immediately after Donald Trump descended the Trump Tower escalator and announced he was running for president. Do you remember all the “knowledgeable” people who wrote off his campaign as a vanity stunt? Or the others who believed Trump had no chance of winning the nomination, much less the presidency. And the rest, as they say, is history. Keep that in mind for all those brushing off Guardian Angels’ founder, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa’s New York City mayoral campaign. Perhaps it was...

Hillary Clinton approved plan hatched by campaign aide to ‘smear’ Trump with Russia collusion: declassified docs WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton approved a plan hatched by a campaign adviser to “smear” then-candidate Donald Trump with false claims of Russian collusion and distract from her own mounting email scandal during the 2016 election, according to explosive intelligence files declassified Thursday. The plan included “raising the theme of ‘Putin’s support for Trump'” and “subsequently steering public opinion toward the notion that it needs to equate” the Russian leader’s political influence campaign with actual interference in election infrastructure.

From widespread destruction to one of the largest refugee crisis in the world, consequences of Ukraine have reverberated globally. Today we are going to delve into the 2022 events from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The United States and Argentina on Monday announced that they are working on a plan to allow Argentine tourists to again travel to the U.S. without a visa. It will likely take two to three years before visa-free travel becomes a reality for Argentine passport holders, but the Trump administration's move to kickstart the process marked a show of support for President Javier Milei, its staunchest ally in South America and a darling of conservatives around the world. The gesture coincided with a visit by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to Buenos Aires, the Argentine...

One suspect is in custody and another is being sought following a break-in at a Downtown Los Angeles police yard in a possible attempt to steal catalytic converters from out-of-service patrol vehicles Thursday morning. Police responded to a report of suspects cutting LAPD vehicles shortly after 3 a.m. on the 500 block of Ramirez Street, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. Video showed multiple patrol vehicles and an air unit responded, with a large group of officers with guns drawn seen searching the salvage yard for any suspects.

US President Donald Trump announced a new trade deal with South Korea, which calls for 15% tariffs on goods from there, after the country scrambled to secure an agreement ahead of the Friday deadline. “The Deal is that South Korea will give to the United States $350 Billion Dollars for Investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself,” he said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. Goods from South Korea briefly faced a 25% “reciprocal” tariff in April, before Trump paused levies impacting dozens of nations. The pause was set to expire on August 1....

The top baby names in England and Wales were revealed today, with Muhammad taking the top spot for the second year in a row. More than 5,721 boys were given the specific spelling of Muhammad in 2024, a rise of 23 per cent on last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Noah came in second, with Oliver in third, just as they did in 2023. Four Keirs were born in 2023, but none last year after Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister. Olivia and Amelia held the top two spots for baby girl names for the third...

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on Thursday regarding threats issued by U.S. President Donald Trump to BRICS, an organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Trump claimed the group has "anti-American policies" and said he will impose tariffs on it and its allies, with Peskov replying that BRICS "does not respond to threats" and is not aligned against any country, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

YouTube on Tuesday announced it’s beginning to roll out age-estimation technology in the U.S. to identify teen users in order to provide a more age-appropriate experience. The company says it will use a variety of signals to determine the users’ possible age, regardless of what the user entered as their birthday when they signed up for an account. When YouTube identifies a user as a teen, it introduces new protections and experiences, which include disabling personalized advertising, safeguards that limit repetitive viewing of certain types of content, and enabling digital well-being tools such as screen time and bedtime reminders, among...

During the USSR’s 73 years of existence, the list of wars it waged is enormous—a total of 25, including conflicts in the Caucasus, the Baltics, Finland, Poland, Germany, Japan, Afghanistan, Spain, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Since 1991, Russia has continued to exist in a state of permanent war: Georgia, Chechnya, Syria, and now the most senseless war of all—against Ukraine. Why? The answer is in the title of this essay: Russia can exist only in a state of permanent war. Therefore, the goal of the Russia-Ukraine war is war itself. Nothing more.

KEIR Starmer can’t stop his party from tanking in the polls. He can’t stop the economy spiralling the drain. But there is one thing the Prime Minister can stop: People calling their sons Keir. As improbable as it may seem, there have been babies named Keir since records began. That is usually socialist parents naming their children – as Starmer’s did back in 1962 – after Labour Party founder Keir Hardie. But for the first time on record, there were no babies called Keir in the UK in 2024. Starmer hasn’t made the name mud: He’s made it extinct. There...

Mass migration was the overwhelming driver of near record high population growth in England and Wales last year, sparking warnings that Britain is fighting for its very “survival”. The three top years for population growth in modern history were 2022, 2023, and 2024 says the Office for National Statistics, revealing the population of England and Wales rose by 706,881 people in the year up to mid-2024 to a total of 61.8 million people. The official statistician noted that 98 per cent of the population growth was due to the net migration of 690,147 during the time period, the BBC states....

Indian state refiners have temporarily ceased purchasing Russian crude oil this week, primarily due to concerns over potential secondary tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump and reduced discounts on Russian oil. This decision by state-controlled refiners, which represent over 60% of India’s refining capacity, marks a shift from their regular imports of Russian oil since 2022. Indian refiners are now seeking alternative crude supplies from the Middle East and West Africa and have requested urgent guidance from the Indian oil ministry regarding future Russian oil flows.

Daily Readings from the USCCB"Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” Matthew 13:51–52At times, Jesus’ words are difficult to understand. How well do you understand what He teaches you? He often teaches in figures of speech, as well as with parables. The passage quoted above concludes a section in which He speaks three subsequent parables. The third of these parables, the parable about the fishnet,...

Palestinian statehood comes at the end of negotiations for a two-state solution and that process can no longer be held in abeyance, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Thursday. “A negotiated two-state solution remains the only path that can offer people on both sides a life in peace, security, and dignity,” he said in a statement issued shortly before his trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, as reported by Ynet News. “For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of that process. But such a process must begin now.” Wadephul’s remarks follow a string...

Even after the Ukraine war ends, Russia will continue to pose a threat to its neighbours unless the world works to “change the Regime” in Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday morning. Russia’s leadership is mentally “stuck in another era” and rejects the “post World War Two” world order, warned President Zelensky as he called for regime change against Moscow to remove the threat permanently. Addressing an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference remotely by a video link plagued with technical difficulties, when he could be heard the Ukrainian leader decried fresh overnight airstrikes by...

His Predecessor of the same name, Leo XIII, created John Henry Newman Cardinal. Today, Leo XIV proclaimed him Doctor of the Church. From the Bollettino (in Italian). On July 31, 2025, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. During the same audience, the Holy Father confirmed the affirmative opinion of the Plenary Session of Cardinals and Bishops, Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, regarding the title of Doctor of the Universal Church, which will soon be conferred on Saint John...

The rapid growth of Islam in the United Kingdom has—largely on account of its rapidity—caught many in the country by surprise. London, Birmingham, Leicester … city after city has been transformed. The native, culturally British people of these isles have increasingly fled to rural parts as urban areas have ceased to resemble what they previously were. Concurrently, such cities and large towns have become places of extreme unsafety, especially for women. Now, in those rural refuges—often areas contending with considerable poverty and marginalisation—the government has set up ‘migrant hotels’ where significant populations of migrants, legal or otherwise, are sheltered at...