Free Republic

Mexico moves to ban Noem ads on illegal migrationMEXICO CITY – A Trump administration publicity campaign aimed at discouraging illegal migration is off to a rocky start, with Mexico’s government calling for the ads to be pulled and promising to ban such foreign “propaganda” in the future. The ads are part of an unusual, multimillion-dollar initiative paid for with U.S. taxpayer dollars. Shortly after taking office, Kristi L. Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, announced the campaign, aimed at encouraging undocumented immigrants in the United States to self-deport, and warning foreigners against attempting to slip over the border. But the...

On Feb. 10, Francis addressed a letter to all American Catholic bishops on immigration. His communique was titled “Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States.” Here is an excerpt of what he said. “Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, the book of Exodus, invites us to look at the reality of our time, so clearly marked by the phenomenon of migration, as a decisive moment in history to reaffirm … the infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person.“Even a cursory examination of the church’s social doctrine emphatically shows that Jesus Christ … did not...

France’s trade minister said the European Union’s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be “extremely aggressive” amid increasingly heated rhetoric from Paris. Speaking ahead of crunch talks in Luxembourg, French Minister of Foreign Trade Laurent Saint-Martin said that Brussels must consider all options in the trade dispute with the United States. “We must not exclude any option, on goods, on (American) services and open the European toolbox, which is very complete, which can also be extremely aggressive in return,” the minister said per Le Figaro.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday for European companies to suspend planned investment in the United States after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on American imports. “Investments to come or investments announced in recent weeks should be suspended until things are clarified with the United States,” Macron said during a meeting with French industry representatives. “What would be the message if big European actors invest billions of euros in the US economy at the very moment they are hitting us?” he asked. […] The comments come weeks after French shipping firm CMA CGM announced plans to...

European Union regulators are preparing to hit Elon Musk's X platform with a huge fine which could surpass $1billion for breaking disinformation laws, insiders have reportedly revealed. The move would likely to ratchet up tensions between the EU and United States, with tech billionaire Musk a close adviser to President Trump. The social media platform could also face forced product changes for failing to abide by the landmark law to combat illicit content and disinformation, sources told the New York Times. The penalties are expected to be announced this summer, the sources said, and will be the first to be...

A judge in the United Kingdom has ordered President Trump to pay more than $820,000 in legal fees to the company representing former British spy Christopher Steele after he unsuccessfully sued over a dossier. In 2022, Trump filed a claim against Orbis Business Intelligence, a firm founded by Steele, a former MI6 agent who published a 35-page dossier that featured claims about Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Trump argued the company violated British data protection laws and that he suffered a personal and reputational damage because of the claims. However, in 2024, London Judge Karen Steyn tossed out the...

An Angara 1.2 rocket launches the Kosmos 2560 satellite, thought to be called EMKA-3, into orbit from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on Oct. 15, 2022. Another trio in the Kosmos series — Kosmos 2581, 2582 and 2583 — launched in February 2025 and shortly thereafter released a mystery object into orbit. (Image credit: Roscosmos) ******************************************************************** A trio of secretive Russian satellites launched earlier this year has released a mysterious object into orbit, sparking interest among space trackers and analysts. The three satellites, designated Kosmos 2581, 2582 and 2583, launched on a Soyuz-2.1V rocket from Plesetsk cosmodrome early on Feb....

Keir Starmer should fight back strongly against Donald Trump if he imposes punitive tariffs on British exports, senior UK and EU diplomats said on Saturday night, amid heightened fears that the US president could trigger a global trade war with devastating effects on the UK economy. British government officials in London and Washington are working frantically this weekend to try to persuade Trump not to slap duties on more key UK industries on what he is calling “liberation day” on Wednesday. The US president has already announced plans for 25% levies on imports of cars, steel and aluminium to the...

EXPLOSIVE: “It is good that the Chinese currency has become the global reserve currency.” Is Canada's Mark Carney the REAL Manchurian Candidate? And does Mark Carney want to TANK the US Dollar? “Yet another ‘impartial’ British bureaucrat goes into left-wing politics. At @bankofengland, Carney backed ruinous Net Zero policies and money printing. The British state is completely rigged. A new Government in 2029 needs to dismantle this apparatus.” That’s how former British Prime Minister Liz Truss summed up the selection on X — NOT ELECTION — of Mark Carney as the new Liberal Party of Canada leader and soon to...

After all the build-up, the transatlantic trade war has truly begun. US tariffs on steel are reciprocated with EU tariffs on jeans and Harley Davidsons. When announcing the EU tariffs president Ursula von der Leyen was clear that she is open to dialogue with the Americans to deescalate the trade conflict. We have seen in his modus operandi that this is how Donald Trump likes to operate. Bold statements and excessive tariffs to extort trading partners and get a better deal. He has been doing it to Mexico, Canada and Ukraine, and will do so to Europe. However, in exchange...

Canadian province Ontario's Premier Doug Ford threatens: "If the US escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is imposing a 25% surcharge on electricity the province supplies to three U.S. states. Ford announced the higher costs to be paid by Americans in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York which buy Canadian power. Ontario might even turn it off. Ford said average electricity customers in those states can expect their utility bills to go up an average of $100 per month ($69 US) until the trade war with the U.S. comes to an end. Ford promised in a series of media appearances and a press release he wouldn't hesitate to increase the surcharge or get...

The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, has threatened the U.S. over Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on Canadian exports. After initially putting a hold on his planned tariffs against Canada and Mexico, Trump confirmed this week that he would move forward with plans to 25 percent tariffs on both countries until both countries agreed to his demands surrounding border security. In an interview on NBC News, Ford said he had never met a single American who supported the idea of tariffs, despite the fact that the majority of Americans voted for Donald Trump. Ford ranted: We are the largest...

In a bombshell revelation that shouldn't surprise anyone paying attention to the Ukraine conflict, we now have evidence that President Zelenskyy has been misleading the United States about his dealings with our European allies. This deception runs deep, and President Trump is having none of it. Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer dropped this truth bomb during a recent Newsmax interview, revealing that a "battle of dueling narratives" exists between the White House and Ukraine over a minerals deal. During the interview, Shaffer revealed that mere days before Trump’s inauguration, “the British signed an agreement with Ukraine to have...

Norwegian fuel company Haltbakk Bunkers has announced it will cease supplying fuel to U.S. military forces in Norway and American ships docking in Norwegian ports, citing dissatisfaction with recent U.S. policy towards Ukraine. In a strongly worded statement, the company criticised a televised event involving U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, referring to it as the “biggest shitshow ever presented live on TV.” Haltbakk Bunkers praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his restraint, accusing the U.S. of “putting on a backstabbing TV show” and declaring that the spectacle “made us sick.” As a result, the company stated:...

Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired surface-to-air [SAM] missiles at a US F-16 fighter jet over the Red Sea outside of rebel-controlled areas of Yemen in the first attack of its kind. The missile did not hit its target. U.S. military officials are describing the launch as a significant escalation in the Iran-backed group’s ongoing conflict with Israel’s allies in the war with Gaza. U.S. military ships are stationed in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait to defend and escort commercial ships in order to protect them from Houthi attacks, which started in earnest after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack...

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum filed a controversial series of changes to the country’s constitution that would essentially block any investigation or action by foreign law enforcement agencies without their permission. The provisions could enable Mexico to criminally pursue anyone involved in those investigations. The changes come after the United States designated six Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and announced the intent to eradicate them. This week, Sheinbaum filed a series of changes to the country’s constitution that, if approved by the legislative branch, would change Articles 40 and 19 of Mexico’s constitution. “What we want to make clear...

Donald Trump’s demand for a $500bn (£400bn) “payback” from Ukraine goes far beyond US control over the country’s critical minerals. It covers everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas, and the larger resource base of the country.The terms of the contract that landed at Volodymyr Zelensky’s office a week ago amount to the US economic colonisation of Ukraine, in legal perpetuity. It implies a burden of reparations that cannot possibly be achieved. The document has caused consternation and panic in Kyiv. The Telegraph has obtained a draft of the pre-decisional contract, marked “Privileged & Confidential’ and dated Feb...

The British paper The Telegraph claims to have has access to a draft of the ‘pre-decisional contract’, sent by the US to Volodymyr Zelensky, dealing with a demand for a $500bn ‘payback’ from Ukraine for the aid already delivered. The document, marked ‘Privileged & Confidential’ and dated Feb 7 2025, has caused ‘consternation and panic’ in Kiev, according to the Telegraph report. The writer Ambrose Evans Pritchard is ‘shocked’ by the draconian terms, calls it ‘economic colonization of Ukraine’, a ‘burden of reparations that cannot possibly be achieved’. (“It states that the US and Ukraine should form a joint investment...

This includes 100% tariffs on all Teslas, a direct attack on Elon Musk, and a full ban on Wisconsin dairy products to stick it to Trump. “I am calling on all the countries that are affected by this tariff to join us. And our retaliation will target specific Trump constituencies. Another group that we’re going to go after is Wisconsin dairy farmers. We know how important they are for the President, and we’re not going to let them sell their products in Canada anymore,” Freeland said. This is the same woman who froze Canadian truckers’ bank accounts for protesting vaccine...