Free Republic

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has been accused of mocking the way President Donald Trump talked on live TV while he stood right next to her. Trump was spotted posing for pictures with the Queen and her husband King Willem-Alexander after he arrived in the European country for the NATO summit Wednesday. In a clip, the trio was seen smiling for cameras as Trump gave a thumbs-up while the King appeared to stand a bit closer to the commander-in-chief than his wife. Trump and the King made small talk and laughed a bit while Queen Maxima stayed quiet and continued...

Who steals baby formula? A lot of people, apparently; including two alleged thieves that West Sacramento police say stole $5,000 worth of formula from local Target locations a few days ago. Baby formula is a commonly stolen retail item because of its shelf life and essential value to many people. There’s even a black market for it — but the buyers aren’t who you’d guess

September 20, 2019 Special Dispatch No.8285 Saudi Journalist: U.S. Taking Weak Position Vis-à-vis Iran, While Blackmailing Us; We Must Fend For Ourselves Following the September 14, 2019 Iranian attack on the oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, many Saudi officials called on the international community to take active measures against Iran's regional policy and play a role in defending the world's energy supply.[1] Similar calls were also made by writers in the Saudi press, some of whom condemned what they called the hesitant and feeble policy of the U.S. and the international community towards Iran. Prominent among these responses was a...

The EU has completed the biggest photovoltaic solar field in Gaza, the European Commission announced on Thursday. The field will provide 0.5 Megawatts of electricity per day to fuel the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant. The EU-funded Southern Gaza Desalination Plant currently provides drinking water to 75,000 inhabitants in the Khan Younis and Rafah governorates. With the new energy field and new investments foreseen it will eventually reach 250,000 people in Southern Gaza by 2020. Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, commented, “Limited energy supplies in Gaza are one of the main challenges when improving access...

Reports claimed the government was prepared to reduce at least three different VAT rates to one, and limit exemptions. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras had opposed the move, claiming that the change would hit poorer people. The country will also press-on with privatisations it had also previously vowed to block, according to reports. However, Syriza has said that demands by creditors to reverse an increase in the minimum wage and cut pensions remain "red lines" that the leftist leadership is unwilling to cross... Mr Sakellaridis said that failure to reach an "honest compromise" with creditors would most likely lead to a...