Free Republic

Europe is dealing with a full-blown sexual health crisis as cases of gonorrhea and syphilis skyrocket to unprecedented levels, shocking new data show. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) revealed the continent is in the grips of a dirty STI explosion not seen in over a decade. Gonorrhea cases across Europe hiked a staggering 303% since 2015, clocking in at 106,331 painful infections, while syphilis cases more than doubled over the same period, topping more than 45,550 cases. Spain ranks as Europe’s hotspot, racking up 37,169 gonorrhea cases and 11,556 syphilis infections in 2024, according to the...

As dawn breaks, hundreds of men gather at a dusty square in Chaghcharan, the capital of Ghor province in Afghanistan. They line the roadside with weary faces, hoping someone will come along offering any work. It will determine whether their families eat that day. The likelihood of success, however, is low. Juma Khan, 45, has found just three days of work in the past six weeks that paid between 150 to 200 Afghani ($2.35-$3.13; £1.76-£2.34) per day. "My children went to bed hungry three nights in a row. My wife was crying, so were my children. So I begged a...

BBC: When “Civilian” Becomes Propaganda The Bias Behind Caitríona Perry's Broadcast Word Stress, Narrative Control. BBC's (just another) Caitríona Perry biased anchor emphasizes the word “civilians” even when there is no evidence distinguishing who is a Hezbollah operative and who is not. Today 5/19/26, while reporting JD Vance’s statement on Iran, the Perry placed noticeable verbal emphasis on the word “civilian,” carefully inserting Iran’s propaganda narrative regarding its alleged nuclear aims. Perry hosts 'BBC America.'

At a rally in a car park outside his campaign headquarters in Florence, Kentucky, on Saturday, congressman Thomas Massie said that the Republican politicians who joined him had made a brave choice. "I'm sure they'll be punished for coming here today," he said. It didn't take long for Massie's warning to prove prophetic, as Donald Trump took to Truth Social to make his displeasure known. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who had been barnstorming with Massie all weekend, and Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator who endorsed Massie and shares his unorthodox small-government libertarianism, were "parading around like fools for the...

Foreign actors are attempting to undermine Canadian interests by interfering in Alberta's separatist debate, according to new report. Actors from Russia and the US are attempting to promote separatist ideas in what researchers behind the report described as a threat to Canada's "democratic integrity". The findings come as a proposed independence referendum in the western Canadian province could face a vote as soon as this autumn. Earlier this week, a group behind a citizen-led petition seeking independence for Alberta said that it had acquired the number of signatures needed to trigger a referendum. The Alberta separatist movement has its roots...

The ceasefire in the Gulf is four weeks old and showing its age. The US and Iran's determination to keep the pressure on each other has put it in serious jeopardy. This is a dangerous moment. The ceasefire opened up a chance for diplomacy that looked for a short time as if it might make progress. Americans and Iranians faced each other across a conference table in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, but came away empty-handed. The Pakistanis are trying to revive the process, without much success so far. Both America and Iran want to have a deal. But they have different...

A superyacht linked to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's key allies has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the ongoing blockade of the critical shipping channel. The 142m-long (465 ft) multi-deck luxury boat, named Nord, is linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov. It travelled from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, over the weekend - one of few private vessels to transit through the strait in recent months. Iran held high-level talks with Russia this week as its standoff with the US over the strait's re-opening continues. Approximately one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies normally pass through the...

SummaryMPs vote 335 to 223 against a Tory-led motion calling for a parliamentary investigation into claims Keir Starmer misled MPs about Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassadorDuring the lengthy debate, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says it's "very obvious" Starmer told the Commons things that were "not correct"After the result, No 10 accuses the Conservatives of a "desperate political stunt" the week before key elections in Scotland, Wales and EnglandThe government's won the vote but there's still a lot disgruntlement, writes our correspondentThe debate came as Starmer's former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney told MPs he made a "serious mistake" in...

The Mexican government says two US agents who died last weekend in a car crash had not been authorised to operate in the country.The officials, who reportedly worked for the CIA, had taken part in a raid on suspected drug labs in the northern state of Chihuahua before their vehicle skidded off a mountain road and exploded.Following an investigation ordered by President Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's security ministry said that "neither had formal accreditation to participate in operational activities" and that federal authorities had not been informed of their presence.The incident comes amid at-times fraught relations between Mexico and the US...

In the middle of an Easter lunch at the White House, President Donald Trump went off script to address speculation about JD Vance's role in securing a deal to end the war in Iran. "If it doesn't happen, I'm blaming JD Vance," Trump joked, drawing laughter at last week's East Room event attended by senior administration officials including the vice-president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. And "if it does happen," Trump added, "I'm taking full credit." The remarks perfectly captured Vance's predicament as he leads a US delegation holding talks with Iran in Pakistan. It...

American multinational energy corporation Chevron is now importing an average of 250,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil per day into the United States, the BBC reported Tuesday.According to recent reports, Venezuela’s monthly crude oil exports have once again surpassed one million barrels per day. Andy Walz – president of downstream, midstream, and chemicals at Chevron – confirmed to the BBC that the company is importing the equivalent a quarter of a million barrels of Venezuelan oil per day. The BBC detailed that the crude oil tanker Minerva Gloria recently docked at a wharf in the Mississippi sound, carrying 400,000 barrels...

The month-long closure of a crucial waterway for the global energy supply has sparked warnings the world is heading for problems worse than those caused by the 1970s oil crisis. Lars Jensen, a shipping expert and former director at Maersk, told the BBC the impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran could be "substantially larger" than the economic chaos seen in the 1970s. His comments follow a warning from the director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, earlier this month that the world is "facing the greatest global energy security threat in history". "It is much bigger than what...

Yenny/El Ateneo, Argentina’s oldest and largest bookstore chain, publishes weekly charts of the top 10 bestselling books in their retail stores across the country. The Spanish edition of Letters for Life, a new book on the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Torah-based advice for emotional wellbeing, surprised the country’s publishing wizards and emerged as #5 on the list. As a result, the book is now being sold in airports and malls across Argentina. The book’s popularity follows the increased interest in the Lubavitcher Rebbe caused by Argentina’s philo-Semite president Javier Milei. Milei has visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel several times on his trips...

During Operation Epic Fury (U.S.) / Roaring Lion (Israel), BBC America—anchored by Caitriona Perry—has systematically avoided showing any meaningful images of damage, injuries, or deaths inside Israel from Iranian missile and rocket barrages. Instead, it has aired daily, graphic footage from Lebanon of the aftermath of Israeli strikes, even though Hezbollah’s attacks on Israeli civilians escalated from early March onward. Only today (3.19.26), for literally a split second, did the network flash any Israeli impact at all: amid weeks of massive Iranian barrages raining down on residential areas across the country—including the killing of four Arab Palestinian women yesterday by...

British pedophile pop star Gary Glitter, whose 1972 glam-rock hit “Rock and Roll Part 2” soundtracks the iconic staircase scene in the movie “The Joker,” is now a frail shadow of his former self — and insiders claim he’s likely to die behind bars. Once a chart-topper during the 1970s glam scene, Glitter became more known for his decades-long trail of sex crimes involving young girls, child abuse images and convictions across multiple countries — turning the idol into one of Britain’s most reviled offenders. The 81-year-old is “on his last legs,” barely able to move, almost completely deaf and...

No BBC: Islamist Terror Hezbollah's attacks on Israel were not and are not "Retaliatory." BBC reporting [*] on March 15–16, 2026 (e.g., live coverage describing monitoring for "retaliatory strikes" in Israel and similar phrasing by anchors like Caitriona Perry on BBCAmerica referring to Hezbollah: "retaliated") has characterized Hezbollah's missile and rocket launches into Israel as "retaliatory." This framing is misleading and inverts the sequence of escalation in the current conflict. Hezbollah, an Islamic fascist Republic of Iran-established and Iran-backed Shia Islamist group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., UK, and others, initiated attacks on Israeli territory on March...

The BBC "mistakenly" altered a speech by Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth on the war in Iran, making him appear to say the United States was targeting the Iranian "people". This comes only a handful of months since they did the same to President Trump. Defund the BBC!

The BBC has been accused of mistranslating remarks by Pete Hegseth about the conflict with Iran, after a speech was altered in a way that suggested the United States was targeting the Iranian “people”. BBC Persian, which broadcasts to audiences inside Iran, translated comments by the US defence secretary as saying Washington was bringing death to the Iranian “people”. However, Mr Hegseth had in fact referred to the Iranian “regime” as the target. The error was quickly highlighted by pro-Israel media campaigners, who argued it raised questions about the BBC’s impartiality. The translation also sparked criticism and debate across social...

The BBC has apologised after a guest with Tourette's syndrome shouted a racial slur when two black actors were on stage at the Bafta Film Awards. John Davidson, whose life story inspired the film I Swear, shouted the N-word as Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the first prize of Sunday's ceremony, which was broadcast on BBC One. A BBC spokesman said: "Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the Bafta Film Awards 2026. "This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologise for any offence caused...

US lawmakers have urged their government to follow the UK's suit and push harder on those who were close to Jeffrey Epstein, following the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office. "Prince Andrew was just arrested," Congressman Thomas Massie, who co-sponsored the law that compelled the justice department to release the Epstein files, wrote on X. "Now we need JUSTICE in the United States." The King's brother, who was stripped of his titles last year due to his ties with Epstein, has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Lawmakers have asked the former prince to come...