Free Republic

(Last Updated On: June 5, 2023) D-Day D-Day is June 6 on the National Day Calendar and we are honoring those who fought on the beaches of Normandy, France. This historical day is a reminder of the day troops of Allied forces staged one of the most pivotal attacks against Germany during World War II. #DDay The Battle of Normandy was executed under the codename Operation Overlord and became known as the beginning of the end of World War II. The Battle of Normandy was along a 50 mile stretch of beaches, including Utah and Omaha Beach. While many explanations...

Nearly half of electricians and gas engineers have been asked to tamper with meters in the last year, as people struggle with the cost of their energy bills, new research suggests. Almost a third of tradespeople (30%) also say they have seen evidence of tampering in clients' homes, according to the survey. Tampering with a meter means it doesn't read the correct amount of energy being used. But anyone caught doing it can face a £30,000 fine and even risk losing their life. Research from Direct Line business insurance found 43% of electricians and gas engineers have been asked by...

Russia's defences could be 'more fragile than thought', western officials have warned amid growing signs that Ukraine's counter-offensive has begun. Ukrainian forces have advanced in Novodonetsk by up to five or six kilometres, it has emerged. Officials claim 'fierce battles are going on' for control of the settlement.American and European military officials advising Kyiv have claimed that Kremlin defensive lines may be fragile, an insider told The Economist today. Semyon Pegov, a prominent Kremlin-affiliated 'milblogger', confirmed that Ukraine had 'some success' in an attack in Novoselivka-Ugledar and claimed updates from the Russian-controlled region were 'more and more alarming every hour'....

Cheap bikes are nice, but free is even cheaper than cheap. Residents of the asylum seekers’ center in Dronten will soon be able to purchase a cheap bicycle. A workshop for bicycle maintenance will also be available. The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) hopes that this will reduce the number of bicycle thefts in the area… The police will deliver part of the 150 bicycles. These are specimens that were once seized and for which no one has reported. The COA is still looking for the remainder. “We fix up the bicycles and make them available...

Former US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell Explains How Jack Smith Nearly Rekindled Conflict in the Balkans to Get Trump Richard Grenell was one of the Donald Trump administration’s brightest stars. The former spokesman to the UN in the George W. Bush administration, Grenell was named ambassador to Germany in 2018, and in 2020 became acting director of National Intelligence where he declassified information that helped expose the Department of Justice’s anti-Trump plot. Lesser known is the role that Grenell played mediating between once warring sides in the Balkans as special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations. And...

When Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive finally begins, the fight will be led by brigades armed not only with Western weapons but also Western know-how, gleaned from months of training aimed at transforming Ukraine’s military into a modern force skilled in NATO’s most advanced warfare tactics. As other Ukrainian units were fighting to expel the Russian occupiers from the country’s east and south, the brand-new 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade was preparing for the next phase of war from a classroom at a NATO base in Germany. The brigade’s leadership trained with computers that simulated situations they might face in real life. Deputy...

At least three school pupils have been injured in a knife attack in Sweden after two rival gangs fought at a sports event, according to local media reports. The students were rushed to hospital following the stabbing at a sports facility in the town of Eskilstuna, reports TV4. The TV station had initially reported that the attack took place at a school but the headmaster later said the pupils had been at a different location at the time of the incident. .....

In committee last week a key provision of legislation proposed by the National Assembly lawmakers from France's overseas territories taken out. That was the part restoring France's retirement age to 62. When the full assembly take on the legislation next week there will be an effort to put it back in... This week President Emmanuel Macron forced to clarify comments of his Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne... Next Tuesday (June 6th) will be a nationwide day of strikes and protest against President Macron's imposition of pension reform... The First Live Video From Paris Today Of Yellow Vests Protest. A protester in...

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Thursday that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is within the NATO military alliance. Sunak said he agreed with comments made earlier Thursday by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that Ukraine is on the path toward NATO membership. “I agree with the NATO Secretary-General: Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO,” Sunak told CNBC’s Silvia Amaro. Britain’s prime minister said that allied nations were sending a “strong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin that they would safeguard Ukraine’s security arrangements for the long term. “We want to make sure that we put in place security arrangements for Ukraine for...

That silence you heard last weekend was Europe not staging a freakout over an election in Greece. What a change from only eight years ago, when voting in the Aegean country triggered panic in Berlin, Paris and Brussels. The difference—although conventional wisdom is loath to admit it—is supply-side economic policies. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis slightly increased the vote share of his center-right New Democracy party compared to 2019 with nearly 41%. The far-left party Syriza, led by former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, saw its vote share fall by about 11 points, to 20%… Greece was at the epicenter of the...

Electricity prices in Finland plummeted into negative territory this week after the launch of a new nuclear power plant last month. The development comes months after officials in the Nordic nation were raising the alarm over widespread energy shortages, a reality induced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Energy producers are now discussing mechanisms to reduce production as power becomes so abundant that prices venture into negative territory. “Production is high, consumption is low, and now we are in a situation where it is not easy to adjust production,” Fingrid CEO Jukka Ruusunen said in an interview with Yle News....

Senior EU officials were furious on Friday after Twitter owner Elon Musk pulled the platform out of the bloc’s online censorship project. Elon Musk has pulled Twitter out of the EU’s “Code of Practice”, a pro-censorship project aimed at countering so-called “disinformation” online, prompting fury from those in Brussels. It comes after months of mixed messages from the billionaire, who had publicly stated that he wanted to support free speech on the platform while repeatedly insisting that he would support the European Union in its pro-censorship crusade. According to a report by POLITICO, it appears that the Big Tech entrepreneur...

High class escorts charging €1,000 an hour aboard luxury vessels afloat in the Riviera The blonde Slovakian call girl who gave her name as Klara was dressed in a revealing thigh split dress, making her look no different to the ranks of models, actresses and Instagram influencers tottering around in high heels as they headed out to film events. EXCLUSIVE: MailOnline investigation reveals 'putes de luxes' flock to Cannes Models, aspiring actresses and some Instagram influencers are invited on board Red carpet film premieres and appearances by Hollywood A listers make it the epitome of glamour and the most prestigious...

On June 6th a major effort at protests nationwide against President Emmanuel Macron's imposition of pension reform is planned. For now there are smaller protests like this one in Paris last Tuesday. A banner at the protests read in full when translated into English: Money for Our salaries, pensions, our allocations Not for war or repression! The protest sign a concise summary of conditions in France right now where Macron's neo-liberal capitalist agenda is in full bloom. One major move lessening long-term government spending through pension cuts has been imposed. The raising of the retirement age to 64 is a...

British Cycling is to ban transgender women from the female category of its competitions following a nine-month review and consultation. Under a new participation policy that the governing body said was "predicated on fairness", such athletes will compete in an 'open category' with men. Female races will be "for those whose sex was assigned female at birth". The changes will prevent riders such as Emily Bridges potentially being part of the British women's team. Last year Bridges - the country's highest-profile transgender cyclist - was stopped from competing in her first elite women's race by the UCI, cycling's world federation,...

Climate protesters in the U.K. blocked traffic in London on Tuesday, grinding the city to a halt and prompting so much anger that commuters attacked them. Just Stop Oil protesters organized several marches across the city, aiming to disrupt traffic. The protests occurred at a number of bridges, including the Tower and London bridges, according to TMX News. The protest reiterated the group’s demands for Britain to immediately stop all new oil and gas production, usually employing a number of provocative protests that involve the destruction of famous art or private property to gain attention and outrage the public.

Italy is leading the revolt against European Union plans to tighten emission limits and push drivers into electric vehicles (EVs) with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni vowing to defend automotive industry jobs. Meloni’s coalition gained power last October and immediately tried to thwart E.U. efforts to ban the sale of new cars running on fossil fuels by 2035, which her predecessor Mario Draghi had supported. Italy argued that the E.U. should not mandate a total switch to electric cars but should also allow the sale of vehicles running on biofuels as well as other traditional sources. The pushback failed and the...

At least two people have been killed and 23 injured in a missile strike on a medical clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor says. Of the 23 injured, 21 are in hospital and three are in a serious condition. Two boys aged three and six were also among the wounded, governor Serhiy Lysak said. Russian strikes on Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. Mr Zelensky posted a video of the damaged clinic that showed firefighters at the scene and smoke billowing from the building. "Russian terrorists once again confirm...

Florida Representative Byron Donalds urged Republicans to unite and rally behind Donald Trump in 2024, citing Democrats' support of Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. "For the Republicans who've had issues with Donald Trump, let me remind you that Democrats rallied behind John Fetterman," tweeted Donalds, an avid Trump supporter. "Democrats are about victory & victory only. Republicans must support our nominee, unite, & bring commonsense & America-First policies back to Washington." Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid in November, even though some Republicans have expressed that they want to back other candidates who seem more...

Mitsotakis on Tuesday accused the Turkish coast guard of “push-forwards”, claiming that they “aggressively push desperate people on inflatable boats … to sea and (push) them into out territorial waters”.