Free Republic

'Contrary to rumor, Morris Day & the Time will not be performing at the "Great American State Fair."' The Commodores subsequently announced that they would not be performing at Freedom 250. 'Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party,' the funk act said in a statement on Instagram. 'We support the betterment of all Americans.' Country music hitmaker Martina McBride also joined the list of cancellations on Thursday. 'I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,' McBride wrote...

Japan for the first time has deployed ground troops to the Balikatan exercise, a series of multidomain drills staged across the Philippine archipelago. Participation by about 1,000 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Soldiers augments the annual training that began decades ago as a Philippines-United States exercise and now involves about 20 nations. Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) personnel previously attended Balikatan as observers and in noncombat roles focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR). They participated in a maritime drill in 2025. A reciprocal access agreement between Manila and Tokyo, which took effect in September 2025, allows JSDF and Armed...

Peru has a female president for the first time, after ex-president Pedro Castillo was impeached - hours after he tried to dissolve parliament. Dina Boluarte - previously the vice-president - was sworn in after a dramatic day in Lima on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Mr Castillo had said he was replacing Congress with an "exceptional emergency government". But lawmakers ignored this, and in an emergency meeting impeached him. He was then detained and accused of rebellion. Ms Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer, said she would govern until July 2026, which is when Mr Castillo's presidency would have ended. Speaking after...