Free Republic

As the situation of the migrants on hunger strike in Brussels worsens, French-speaking socialist party PS and green party Ecolo have threatened to quit the federal government if any one of the activists dies, which would result in the current government falling. Both parties have informed Prime Minister Alexander De Croo that the ministers and secretaries of state will resign, which would see the government De Croo I losing its majority as part of the Vivaldi coalition. During the core cabinet meeting on Monday morning, federal Economy and Labour minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne warned that the PS ministers and secretaries of...

A newly filed lawsuit reveals that, in 2016, the U.S. government seized an ancient Roman statue that was allegedly being delivered to Kim Kardashian. In the suit, filed on April 30 in the United States District Court of Central California’s Western Division, the U.S. government called for the forfeiture of the “illegally imported” statue, which resembles the lower half of a person draped in fabric. The lawsuit, filed in rem (or against the statue itself), was first reported on Twitter by Robert Snell, a writer for the Detroit News. According to the suit, the statue had been displayed at the...

For nearly a year now, we've been monitoring the shift toward enabling digital "passports" that will allow at least some people - those wealthy and/or fortunate enough to get their hands on the vaccine - to continue traveling and going about their lives as normal, while others are forced to continue living with COVID-inspired restrictions, potentially for years.According to a draft plan leaked to the FT, Brussels has proposed the creation of a COVID certificate to allow EU citizens who have been vaccinated, who have recently tested negative, or who can provide proof of recovery to move around the bloc...

Political scandals are not unknown in France and are well documented, but the list of well known politicians, including former presidents and prime ministers, accused in recent years of financial misdeeds or corruption is growing. In the present French political system, the president is a powerful figure: the head of state with supreme executive authority and command of the armed forces, with the ability to choose the prime minister, regarded as a symbol of the French nation. Directly elected by universal suffrage, not by an electoral college, for a term of five years, presidents cannot be voted out of office...

A major fire has resulted in significant damage to the upper fuselage of an Ethiopian Airlines 777F in Shanghai (PVG). The six-year-old aircraft had arrived from Brussels (BRU). According to the airline, the fire occurred while cargo was being loaded. The 777F was about to fly to Sao Paulo (GRU) and Santiago (SCL) via Addis Ababa (ADD). There were no injuries. Photos and videos on Chinese social media show the fire burning through the fuselage skin in several locations. In a statement, Ethiopian said it had worked with the authorities to contain the fire, and that the cause of the...

Brussels, the centre of power for the ‘racially tolerant’ European Union, was ravaged by rioting and looting amidst Black Lives Matter protests ostensibly over the death of U.S. citizen George Floyd. Police arrested at least 150 thugs during the Black Lives Matter protest on Sunday, as racial unrest spreads throughout Europe. The agitators set fires, broke storefront windows, and looted stores in Matonge, an ethnically diverse district of the city. The protest turned violent as rioters attacked police, who were in turn forced to use water cannons to disperse the violent mob, according to the local news outlet 7sur7.

The Vatican has put its foot down on a Belgian Catholic group over euthanasia and has declared that it can no longer be considered “Catholic”. The Brothers of Charity, a religious congregation founded in the 19th century, runs 15 highly-respected psychiatric hospitals. In 2017, the board of the organization’s hospitals, which was composed on 12 lay people, including former Christian Democrat Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, along with three brothers of the congregation, decided to permit doctors to practice euthanasia in the hospitals. The Catholic Church strictly forbids euthanasia. However, the board refused to buckle under pressure from the Church...

At the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein in central Brussels, tourists and commuters pick their way around coils of plastic tubing, bright green construction barriers and piles of paving stones that have been ripped up in the name of urban improvement. A few blocks north, the transformation is complete. What was once a busy boulevard clogged with traffic is now a car-free zone given over to pedestrians, bicycles, scooters and cafes taking advantage of the expanded sidewalk to offer alfresco dining. The area’s redevelopment began in 2017, and, weather permitting, will be finished by the end of 2020. But that’s just...

Marine Le Pen, the president of the French populist right-wing party Rassemblement National (National Rally), congratulated the United Kingdom for regaining its “freedom” but went on to say that Brexit was a “terrifying failure” for the European Union. “After multiple twist and turns, the UK has finally regained its freedom. But this is a terrifying failure for the EU”, said Ms Le Pen. “We will no doubt see, over the coming months and years, that the UK did the right thing and will probably benefit a great deal. In fact, I have already noticed that the disaster-mongering has already given...

The European Commission urged Germany late Monday to accept children from overcrowded migrant camps in Greece. “The Commission is concerned about the difficult situation for unaccompanied minors on the ground in Greece and remains in close contact with the Greek authorities, notably as concerns the situation on the heavily overcrowded islands and the very challenging situation in the hotspots,” a spokesman told DPA news agency. “In particular as regards the more than 5,000 unaccompanied minors, the Commission has repeatedly called upon the member states to continue relocating from Greece on a voluntary basis, with funds provided by the Commission,” the...

BRUSSELS — NATO nations are increasing spending on defense, with nine of the alliance’s 29 members now meeting guidelines, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday, ahead of a summit next week where President Donald Trump is expected to urge leaders yet again to increase military expenditures. The top-tier spending club — with at least 2% of annual gross domestic allocated for defense — expanded by one country and now includes Bulgaria, according to figures released by the military alliance. EU countries and Canada have collectively boosted their defense spending every year since 2015, motivated first by Russia’s conflict with...

Kabul (AFP) — European Union officials called Sunday for a ceasefire in Afghanistan, saying the breakdown in talks between the US and the Taliban presented an opportunity to push anew for a truce. US President Donald Trump last month declared talks with the insurgents “dead”, citing a Taliban attack that killed a US soldier. Negotiations had been in the final stages for a deal that would have seen the US pull troops from Afghanistan after 18 years in return for various Taliban guarantees.

Two events happened last week — one profusely covered in the European and world media, the other hardly at all — that would have long-lasting and, in the second case, profound implications for generations to come. The first case had to do with the elections of Ursula von der Layen as the new president of the European Commission, the second with the publication of a study showing that the Germans increasingly are losing their majorities to those with a migrant background. The second study was vastly more important historically for the future of Europe, but that, predictably, was not the...

A new leaked document shows that Theresa May’s plans for a “new” Brexit withdrawal agreement contains no new ideas or any substantial changes. Prime Minister Theresa May, whose attempts to pass a version of her EU-approved withdrawal treaty have so far failed three times, has said of this new version of the deal that it would “represent a new, bold offer to MPs across the House of Commons, with an improved package of measures that I believe can win new support”. However, speaking of a summary of the deal as it had been given to ministers, one unnamed Whitehall source...

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My children you are far beyond where you see yourself now. I have made you out of the very fabric of Eternity as The angels, yet in My image and Breath . There IS No God but ME . I AM your answer and your ALL ,YOUR ETERNAL Partner, helper and Blessing with Hope as your bowtie and ring of Promise. I have your Destiny in My very hand on the tongue of My Spirit of Truth . Come to Me "Come up Higher where you belong my betrothed, for I shall never leave this Love we have AS ONE...

He also compares the European Union to the mafia The Who‘s Roger Daltrey says Brexit won’t affect British musicians. The frontman, who has previously defended his pro-Brexit views, was asked whether Brexit would be ‘bad for British rock music’. “No. What’s it got to do with the rock business?” he told Sky News. “How are you going to tour in Europe?” the interviewer replied. “Oh dear. As if we didn’t tour Europe before the f****** EU,” he said. “Oh give it up!” Daltrey then compared the EU to the mafia, saying: “If you want to be signed up to be...

As I write, I happen to be next door to the Canadian House of Commons - which is far from my favorite place. But, at its lowest and most contemptible, Ottawa's House has never screwed over the Commoners the way that of its imperial mother just has in London. Last night, sixteen days before Britain supposedly leaves the European Union in accord with the people's vote of three years ago, their elected representatives voted by 312 to 308 to rule out a "no-deal" Brexit - ie, a straightforward walkaway - ever. So the EU now has no incentive ever to...

Thousands of protesters are marching through the Belgian capital of Brussels to demand that the government increases its efforts to fight climate change. In the fourth demonstration in two months attracting at least 10,000 protesters, banners were held high Sunday to demand better use of renewable energies and more action to improve air quality. …

The White House on Friday rejected the accusation from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that the administration leaked sensitive travel information for her foreign trip, calling it a “flat out lie.” "When the Speaker of the House and about 20 others from Capitol Hill decide to book their own commercial flights to Afghanistan, the world is going to find out,” a White House official said. “The idea we would leak anything that would put the safety and security of any American at risk is a flat out lie." Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said in a statement earlier Friday...