Free Republic

European leaders will discuss new approaches to migration when they meet later this week, including the controversial prospect of setting up hubs outside the EU to process asylum claims. The idea has been talked about in a growing number of European nations as a solution to the complex question of immigration. It would involve establishing bases in so-called third countries to house people who are trying to claim asylum in Europe until their applications have been decided. Italy is presently funding the building of this sort of centre in Albania to process some of the migrants trying to get into...

Individuals who posted 'From the River to the Sea' on social media will be denied German citizenship, according to stipulations in the new citizenship law, as cited by German channel NDR (North German Radio and Television) and the Federal Interior Ministry this week. People who are employed in Germany can work to obtain citizenship after five years, compared to the eight years previously required in the law. While the law came to pass on June 27 of this year, the requirements have been tightened, especially regarding "Racism, antisemitism or any other form of misanthropy rule out naturalization," according to the...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Typically, a student who finishes zero schoolwork should expect zero for a grade. But that is not the case anymore in Kansas City Public Schools. For the 2023-24 school year, the school district district launched a new grading system, the “no zero policy.” Essentially, the minimum grade on any given assignment is 40%, even if the student didn’t do the assignment. The policy is designed to help struggling students catch up. KCPS declined an interview but shared a video announcement from chief academic officer Dr. Latanya Franklin sent to parents. She explained discussions and work...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday again decried two gold medalist Olympic athletes, falsely labeling the female boxers as men. Trump made the comments while speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and pledging to “keep men out of women’s sports,” turned his attention to the recently concluded Olympic Games and the case of two athletes who became the subject of international scrutiny regarding misconceptions about their gender. Trump has long criticized transgender people as part of his rallies and focused specifically on transgender athletes, using language about gender identity that LGBTQ+ advocates say is wrong and...

Qionglin New Village sits deep in the Himalayas, just three miles from a region where a heavy military buildup and confrontations between Chinese and Indian troops have brought fears of a border war. The land was once an empty valley, more than 10,000 feet above the sea, traversed only by local hunters. Then Chinese officials built Qionglin, a village of cookie-cutter homes and finely paved roads, and paid people to move there from other settlements. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, calls such people “border guardians.” Qionglin’s villagers are essentially sentries on the front line of China’s claim to Arunachal Pradesh, India’s...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Kansas City Chiefs and kicker Harrison Butker have agreed on a contract extension that makes the three-time Super Bowl champion the highest-paid kicker in the NFL. Butker, 29, announced on social media Monday that he’d agreed to a four-year deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the deal keeps Butker in Kansas City through the 2028 season. The Georgia Tech product has been a part of all three Super Bowl-winning Chiefs teams in the past five seasons. In Super Bowl LVIII, Butker made the longest field goal in Super Bowl history. This off-season, Butker made headlines...

PARIS (AP) — Overcome with emotion, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif left the ring in tears after a resounding victory this weekend. Khelif has faced days of hateful comments and false accusations about her gender following her first fight against an Italian opponent who quit seconds into their bout. “It’s because she’s African, because she’s Algerian,” 38-year-old Algerian fan Adel Mohammed said Saturday, when Khelif clinched an Olympic medal. “These comments are coming from white people … it’s a kind of racism.” Female athletes of color have historically faced disproportionate scrutiny and discrimination when it comes to sex testing and false...

Sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke will represent Ireland at the Paris Olympics in the 400m athletics events from August 5. The national athletics record holder has suffered a torrent of racial abuse online. But this has not discouraged her from aiming to become the first Irish woman athlete to secure a gold medal in athletics.

ISIL is obliterating the Middle East's cultural landmarks. But should we arm ourselves in order to save threatened sites, asks Dan Cruickshank. ‘When Egypt comes under the auspices of the Khalifa [Caliphate], there will be no more Pyramids, no more Sphinx, no more idolatry.” This, I was told by British Muslim political activist Anjem Choudary, “will be just”. This chilling recent interview with Choudary in east London was part of a journey that started in early 2002. I went to Afghanistan in March of that year, just after the fall of the Taliban, to report for a television programme on...

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered the Department of Defense to review the Medal of Honor awarded to 20 soldiers for their actions in the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place in 1890.Austin wrote in a memo, “The [special review panel] may consider the context of the overall engagement as appropriate, including as necessary to understand each [Wounded Knee Creek Medal of Honor] recipient’s individual actions.”In a separate statement, a senior defense official shared, “It’s never too late to do what’s right.”The official added, “And that’s what is intended by the review that the secretary directed, which is...

Following the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, unity was expected to be the hallmark of the Republican National Convention for the presidential candidate. "I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America," Trump said. But the message of unity rings hollow for some in the LGBTQ community, who say they have repeatedly been the target of Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee, and others on the national stage. "It can be difficult to stay hopeful when anti-LGBTQ sentiment comes...

At least 144 out LGBTQ athletes will be heading to Paris for the 2024 Summer Games, with a record number of out male Olympians participating, according to the LGBTQ sports site OutSports. In the last Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo in 2021, there were at least 186 out competitors, but the list originally started at 121, according to OutSports co-founder Cyd Zeigler, who said the number increased as the sports news site became aware of additional publicly out athletes. This year, at least 18 male athletes participating in the summer Olympics are publicly out. Zeigler said equestrian, an Olympic sport...

NEW YORK (AP) — The monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride reached its exuberant grand finale on Sunday, bringing rainbow-laden revelers to the streets for marquee parades in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere across the globe. The wide-ranging festivities functioned as both jubilant parties and political protests, as participants recognize the community’s gains while also calling attention to recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, such as bans on transgender health care, passed by Republican-led states. Thousands of people gathered along New York’s Fifth Avenue to celebrate Pride. Floats cruised the street as Diane Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” played from loudspeakers. Pride flags...

When it comes to handling a pair of toddlers, Pete Buttigieg, the unflappable Secretary of Transportation, may appear a little jet-lagged. Pete and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, raise their two-year old twins, Penelope and Gus, in Traverse City, Michigan, where they recently moved full-time from Washington to be closer to family. The kids call Pete "Papa," and Chasten "Daddy." Asked if they are a good cop/bad cop duo, Pete replied, "I don't know if we have it down to good cop/bad cop. I think of myself as the bad cop, but you think I'm a pushover, don't you?" "You are...

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (AP) — David Titterington had a sense of what his childhood friend would ask him when she led him into a photo booth at a mutual friend’s wedding roughly a decade ago. As the countdown for the second photo ticked, Jen Wilson popped the question: Will you be my sperm donor? “Of course I said yes,” Titterington said. “I mean, who would have guessed that, being a gay man, I would have this opportunity to have biological children and also be part of their lives?” On Father’s Day, Kansas residents Jen and Whitney Wilson will pack up...

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. federal court of appeals panel suspended a venture capital firm’s grant program for Black women business owners, ruling that a conservative group is likely to prevail in its lawsuit claiming that the program is discriminatory. The ruling against the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund is another victory for conservative groups waging a sprawling legal battle against corporate diversity programs that have targeted dozens of companies and government institutions. The case against the Fearless Fund was brought last year by the American American Alliance for Equal Rights, a group led by Edward Blum, the conservative activist behind...

During Pride Month, we celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) community. We reflect on the progress we have made so far in pursuit of equality, justice, and inclusion. We recommit ourselves to do more to support LGBTQI+ rights at home and around the world. To the entire LGBTQI+ community — and especially transgender children — please know that your President and my entire Administration have your back. We see you for who you are: made in the image of God and deserving of dignity, respect, and support. America is the...

Voices: Paro Stands In Solidarity with SU Jewish Community as Staunch “Anti-Semite” Who Praised Hitler, Called for “Death to Jews,” Leads Encampment at His Alma Mater May 1, 2024 Syracuse, New York (May 1, 2024) – In recent hours, it has come to light that the leader of encampment demonstrations on Syracuse University campus as part of the pro-Palestinian movement called for violence against Jews. New York State Senate candidate and current Salina Town Supervisor Nick Paro supports the right to peacefully protest. However, Paro is appalled at these statements and stands firmly with the Jewish community at his alma...

The American Library Association, a nonprofit organization that tracks efforts to ban books nationwide, released a list Monday detailing the 10 most challenged titles of 2023 — seven of which deal with LGBTQ themes, according to the group. Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer,” a graphic memoir that chronicles the author coming out as nonbinary, topped the list for the third year in a row. The other LGBTQ-themed titles on the list include George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” Juno Dawson’s “This Book Is Gay” and Mike Curato’s “Flamer.” In recent years, school districts and state legislatures across the U.S. have...