Free Republic

The India-based Megh Updates platform, one of the world’s largest online informational platforms in terms of views, has stated that BRICS countries have officially overtaken G7 in share of world PPP GDP, and that this trend can be expected to continue. The BRICS currently include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, while the G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. The BRICS is also expanding – Bangladesh, Egypt and the UAE have all just joined the BRICS New Development Bank, with numerous other countries poised to...

Manila apparently ran out of patience.After a decade of suffering China's aggressive acts against Philippine vessels, fishermen and energy exploration efforts in waters within the archipelago country's Exclusive Economic Zone, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently welcomed an expanded US military presence.Marcos now has responded to continued Chinese belligerence by granting US forces access to five additional military bases on Philippine territory.In a direct rebuke to China, two of these new bases are on Palawan, one of the disputed Spratly Islands, which are also claimed, as is much else, by Communist China.Philippine officials have failed to persuade China to abide by...

In the early hours of March 8, 2014, pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah sent Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 into air just before 12:45 a.m. local time. Everything was routine onboard the Boeing 777 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China, as the plane readied to leave Malaysian airspace and fly towards Vietnam across the South China Sea. “Good night, Malaysia 370,” Shah tells air traffic controllers as they ready to relay communications duties to the Vietnamese.

China announced it will boost its military budget by nearly $230 billion this year amid concerns it will launch an invasion of Taiwan. The money is set to 'boost combat preparedness and enhance military capabilities,' claimed Premier Li Keqiang ahead of a draft budget presented to the National People's Congress in Beijing. It means China's military spending will grow at its fastest pace in four years and take up a larger share of its economy, marking the reversal of a two-decade trend which has seen the nation prioritize growth over its military capabilities.

China approved 168 coal-fired power plants in 2022, the most rapid expansion of the country’s coal-fired power capacity since 2015, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) Monday. Chinese companies began constructing 50 gigawatts (GW) worth of coal-fired power capacity in 2022, more than triple the rest of the world put together and spiking 50% from 2021, according to the report. Conversely, President Joe Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is expected to lead to the retirement of 30 GW to 60 GW of U.S. coal-fired power...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Thursday) welcomed the authorization for Israeli planes to fly over Oman. "The Far East is not so far away and the skies are no longer the limit. This is a day of great news for Israeli aviation. Israel has, in effect, become the main transit point between Asia and Europe," Netanyahu said. "We have worked to open the airspace, first over Saudi Arabia, and from 2018 when I visited Oman, to add Oman as well so that we can fly directly to India and on to Australia. This was achieved today, after considerable effort, including...

Homosexuality is forbidden in Malaysia and laws criminalizing sodomy can result in imprisonment, corporal punishment Activists in Malaysia criticized Thursday a government decision to ban three books for allegedly promoting "LGBTQ lifestyles", saying it would further erode gay and transgender rights. "Jacob's Room to Choose", a children's book about gender expression and identity, was banned in January, the home ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. In the book, a teacher educates children on gender identity at a school after a student wearing a dress feels unwelcome in the boys' toilet. Two other children's books, "The Tale of Seven" and...

SINGAPORE: The death of a 28-year-old man 21 days after his COVID-19 vaccination has been ruled a medical misadventure, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Feb 17). It is the first death related to COVID-19 vaccination locally, MOH said in a press release. The Bangladeshi national received his first dose of the Moderna/Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine on Jun 18, 2021, and died on Jul 9 after collapsing at his workplace earlier that day. The State Coroner on Wednesday certified the man's cause of death as myocarditis, said MOH.

Renowned Thai-German microbiologist Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi has just made two explosive claims that, if true, would amount to bombshell revelations that could cause significant problems for the global medical and political establishment.In a recent interview with Swiss banker Pascal Najadi, Bhakdi alleged that not only will the government of Thailand likely void its multimillion dollar contract with Pfizer-BioNTech, but that the country’s royal family is hiding the fact that 44-year-old Princess Bajrakitiyabha is in a coma following a heart attack after receiving a third dose of the COVID shot in late 2022.“When we decided to go back to Thailand for...

Joe Biden was named in an email found on Hunter Biden's laptop discussing a 25 million-ton gas deal with China, DailyMail.com can reveal exclusively. In October 2017, Hunter and his uncle –Joe's brother Jim Biden – were brokering a multi-million dollar deal to supply gas from Louisiana to the country on behalf of their business partners, Chinese energy giant CEFC. At the time Joe Biden had finished his term as vice president and had yet to announce any plans to run for president in 2020. A Louisiana-based lawyer on the other side of the deal wrote in an October 27,...

Chinese players of roleplaying epic "World of Warcraft" bade a sad farewell to the land of Azeroth on Monday (Jan 23), with the game set to go offline after a dispute between US developer Blizzard and local partner NetEase. Massively popular worldwide, particularly in the 2000s, "World of Warcraft" - often abbreviated as WoW - is an online multiplayer role playing game set in a fantasy-Medieval world where good battles evil. It is known for its immersive and addicting gameplay, and players can rack up hundreds of hours of game time.

Pfizer never came to India. Pfizer applied for clearance for its vaccine in 2020. Indian regulators demanded a local safety and immunogenicity study. Such bridging studies are the common world over. All other foreign vaccine makers had conducted similar studies in India. But Pfizer refused to do a local trial. In addition, Pfizer wanted legal immunity and protection against injury, which India refused. The USA provides legal immunity to vaccine manufacturers. India does not have any such law, and we did not change our laws for Pfizer. Many moons ago, I worked in a pharmaceutical company in the USA, where...

After three booster campaigns in 2022, the Japanese are now in a league of their own among mRNA consuming countries, administering far more boosters than countries that had far more coercive vax campaigns.Japanese over 65 have done their best to reduce Japan’s 612-million-dose stockpile of mRNA jabs, with 3rd, 4th, and 5th jab rates of 91%, 82.5%, and 56%, respectively. But unfortunately, Japan has started 2023 by reporting its highest ever daily Covid death tolls. During the booster era starting in early 2022, each wave has been noticeably higher than the last.What could possibly explain this? Let’s ask Takaji Wakita,...

As Covid infections surge across China, the U.S. again risks falling short of medical supplies as that country struggles to keep factories running and goods flowing out of its ports. U.S. hospitals, health care companies and federal officials worked to lessen their dependence on China for medical goods after the first wave of Covid infections in 2020 laid bare the major role China plays in manufacturing such crucial items as masks, latex gloves and surgical gowns, along with the key drugs and components in many medical devices. Those efforts over the past three years are expected to be tested in...

I grew up in a household with parents who were of the Greatest Generation. They lived and shouldered through the Great Depression, and then their lives and families were thrown into turmoil on Dec. 7, 1941. My grandfather worked for the War Department in Washington, D.C., and during World War II, my father served in the Pacific Theater. Both my mother and father made a solemn vow that as long as they lived, they would never buy a German or a Japanese car. No matter how well they were made. They were the enemies. They were the ones who killed...

TOKYO/NEW DELHI -- India eclipsed Japan in auto sales last year, according to the latest industry data, making it the third-largest auto market for the first time. India's sales of new vehicles totaled at least 4.25 million units, based on preliminary results, topping the 4.2 million sold in Japan. New vehicles delivered in India totaled 4.13 million between January and November 2022, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Adding December's sales volume reported Sunday by Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, brings the total to roughly 4.25 million units. India's sales volume is expected to rise further with the...

SHANGHAI/TAIPEI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - China expressed anger on Saturday at a new U.S. defence authorisation law that boosts military assistance for Taiwan, while Taipei cheered it for helping boost the island's security. China, which considers democratically governed Taiwan its own territory, expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition"... ...It said the $858 billion military spending measure, which authorises up to $10 billion in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement for Taiwan, contained provisions that "cause serious damage ....

Japan has announced a major U-turn in its energy policy after the Asian nation adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy, effectively ending an 11-year prohibition and phase-out that was triggered by the Fukushima disaster. Under the new policy, Japan will maximize the use of existing nuclear reactors by restarting as many as possible, prolong the operating life of old reactors beyond their 60-year limit and also develop next-generation reactors to replace them.The proposed legislation marks a complete reversal of the nuclear safety measures the country adopted after a powerful tsunami hit caused three of its six...

New documents reveal how the United States government used a secret Twitter portal to censor COVID-19 content that contradicted the government’s narrative. In its ongoing probe into Twitter’s censorship practices, America First Legal has obtained a fourth set of documents (pdf) exposing a secret Twitter portal, which U.S. government officials used to censor dissenting COVID-19 views in violation of the First Amendment. It’s a revelation Elon Musk described as “extremely concerning.” The documents reveal that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was collaborating with UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and Mafindo to mitigate “disinformation.” Mafindo is a Facebook...

A new report from the International Monetary Fund predicts a sharp drop in property prices across Asia.The report points out that home prices are "flattening" across the continent coming out of the pandemic boom that the region experienced. With rates rising, risks of "significant corrections in a number of markets" are profound, according to Nikkei. The report set out "to highlight challenges in Asian housing markets linked to fast price rises especially in the advanced economies since COVID, and more broadly including many EMs in the period leading up to COVID," per the IMF.It also aimed "to draw policy lessons...