Free Republic

A billionaire with links to the family of Xi Jinping was reportedly taken from his apartment in the Four Seasons in Hong Kong by Chinese police and taken to the mainland. Xiao Jianhua, one of China’s richest men, is currently in police custody on the mainland, the Financial Times and New York Times reported. He may be assisting with a graft investigation, part of the Chinese president’s sweeping campaign that critics say is more about consolidating power than tackling corruption. If Chinese police were involved in Xiao’s abduction from Hong Kong, it would appear to violate the former British colony’s...

Robert DeNiro spoke on Tuesday to the United Nations about the destructive aftermath of Hurricane Irma on the island of Barbuda. Pardon the cynicism, but if it weren't for a personal and substantial financial investment at risk, would Robert De Niro really be speaking at the United Nations on behalf of a group of people whose name he awkwardly pronounces?

The tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda was steamrolled by Hurricane Irma — as the superstorm’s confirmed death toll climbed to three Wednesday. Barbuda and Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne reported that 90 percent of the structures on Barbuda were destroyed by the ‘cane, which was packing sustained 185-mph winds when it made landfall at 1:47 a.m. He repeatedly said over a crackling radio line that the island, which is home to about 1,500 people, is destroyed, according to the Guardian.