Free Republic

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday urged Germans to “stick to what we know” about the coronavirus as the country battles a second wave of infections. “We know how we can protect ourselves. We can proceed with a more targeted response,” she said in Berlin. “But we also see with the rising numbers that if we do not stick to what we know about the virus, we get ourselves back into situations are that are decidedly difficult.” Merkel was speaking ahead of a key meeting with state leaders, brought forward to Wednesday, at which she is expected to push for tougher...

<p>But it leaves in place the right of legal abortions in cases of rape, incest, and the health of the mother.</p> <p>Apparently, this just isn’t good enough for the pro-abortion crowd that wants abortion on demand anytime and all the time.</p>

Under new Covid restrictions passed into law last night in the Dail, a priest can now be fined, or imprisoned, or both, for saying Mass in public. The same applies to any minister of religion who holds a public act of worship. This is drastic, draconian and unacceptable and must raise questions about the Constitutionality of the measure, quite apart from its total disproportionality. Aside from Wales, the Republic of Ireland appears to be the only place in Europe where public worship has stopped, and in our case, now attracts penal sanctions. Prior to this pandemic, when did such a...

German Medical Association president Klaus Reinhardt has been forced to clarify his position on mask-wearing after his claim that there was no “scientific evidence they are actually helpful” sparked an outcry from politicians and doctors. Reinhardt told a TV talk show on public broadcaster ZDF that he had doubts wearing simple non-medical masks outdoors was effective against the coronavirus. Such face coverings, he said, offered “no protection at all” to those wearing them, and only “very little protection against infecting others.” A sharp rise in coronavirus cases across Germany in recent weeks has led to stricter rules in many cities,...

The town of Fermoy in County Cork has cut ties with its Polish twin, Nowa Dęba, over a motion opposing “LGBT ideology”. All six councillors in Fermoy voted to sever the town’s 14-year relationship with the eastern Polish town, which had included exchange visits and cultural events, said Councillor Noel McCarthy who proposed the vote. “We terminated because we felt that their local authority had discriminated against the LGBT community,” Mr. McCarthy said, referring to a motion passed by Nowa Dęba in 2019. […] Nowa Dęba’s 2019 resolution pledged to “defend our tradition, culture and religion against aggressive, deceptive and...

People who breach the Government’s COVID-19 restrictions can be issued with an on-the-spot fine of up to €500 under legislation to be passed in the coming days, the Cabinet has agreed. The legislation will pave the way for proportionate fines for those who hold house parties, travel beyond the five-kilometer limit or refuse to wear a face covering. However, this legislation will not be in place by midnight tomorrow when the new restrictions kick in. This means that the current penalty of €2,500 or up to six months in prison will apply for travel restriction breaches until the new law...

History’s grand plan, if it has one, doesn’t usually allow for repetition. The kaleidoscope of the past brings up endless new iterations of victory and defeat, triumph and agony, and allows us only a glimpse into the uncertainty of the future and the ambiguity of the past. New world powers are coming to the fore, and the post-war world order — first the Cold War, then the Pax Americana — is disappearing. As the influence of NATO, which for many decades gave Europeans a sense of safety through its ability to deter and defend, begins to wane, the promise of...

The UK has rebuffed Brussels' offer of intensified trade talks next week, telling the European Union's chief negotiator there is "no basis for negotiations". The Prime Minister on Friday accused European leaders of having "abandoned the idea of a free trade deal" and told the country to "get ready" for a no-deal outcome in the negotiations after his October 15 deadline for reaching an agreement passed. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had responded to his media statement by vowing that the EU would carry on negotiating, suggesting talks next week in London would go ahead as planned. But...

The French president Emmanuel Macron has announced a curfew during which everyone must be at home between 9pm and 6am for the Paris region, as well as the cities of Rouen, Lille, St Etienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Marseille and Toulouse. The curfew will begin on Saturday and will last for four weeks, he said.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday that voting US President Donald Trump out of office is critical for the Palestinians. “The election is very important. God help us, the EU, and the whole world if there are four more years of Trump,” he said. Shtayyeh spoke out against Trump’s peace plan, presented earlier this year. “Trump has wasted four years of everyone’s time,” he said. “The ultimate deal was not delivered. [Trump’s plan] was rejected by the Palestinians, the Arabs and Europe… The US is just too biased.” Shtayyeh called for...

The EU’s highest court on Tuesday (6 October) ruled that changes by Hungary to its higher education law which forced a university founded by Hungarian-born US billionaire George Soros to quit the country, was in breach of EU law. The 2017 legislation put the Budapest-based Central European University (CEU), established in 1991 by Soros, under pressure in what became one of prime minister Viktor Orbán’s emblematic battles with the EU. At the time, the university said it had complied with all the new rules, but the Orbán government refused to sign off on allowing the university to stay in the...

Teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. “I never engage in party politics. But the upcoming US elections is above and beyond all that,” Thunberg tweeted. “From a climate perspective it’s very far from enough and many of you of course supported other candidates. But, I mean…you know…damn! Just get organized and get everyone to vote #Biden”

France's president explicitly intends the move to stifle religious instruction of children.October 2, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — French president Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday morning that he intends to outlaw homeschooling for all children except those who have a health condition that would justify staying away from school. He also intends to step up control on private independent schools that receive no public funds, in particular through inspections on the curricula taught there, by more severely implementing a recent law that requires such schools to teach a “common core” defined by a high authority for education. The new law would come...

Russian energy giant Gazprom pledged to appeal what they described as an “unprecedented” fine after the Polish anti-monopoly watchdog UOKiK ordered them to pay some $7.61 billion (€6,47 billion) over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The Polish regulator said that building the pipeline would increase Gazprom’s dominance on the Polish market. The project, which would allow Germany to double its gas imports from Russia, is “tantamount to breaking the rules of law and of fair competition” and the current situation may trigger “serious consequences for Poland’s and the EU’s economy,” they added. Gazprom is spearheading the Baltic Sea construction effort...

Rishi Sunak warned of tax rises to come and lavished praise on “special” Boris Johnson today as he tried to quell growing rumors of a feud over lockdown. The Chancellor hailed the PM as a “close personal friend” and “rare” communicator who had “got the big calls right” as he delivered his keynote speech to Tory conference. He even noted that their families were “joined” and his daughters loved Mr. Johnson’s dog Dilyn. Mr. Sunak again conceded that he will not be able to save all jobs, but pointed to the huge government bailouts so far and said his sole...

Ireland’s health chiefs recommended to the government on Sunday that the country enter a second nationwide lockdown for four weeks in a surprise move that cabinet will discuss on Monday, two government sources said. Ireland’s National Public Health Emergency Team recommended a leap to the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions, Level 5, from current Level 2 controls in 24 of Ireland’s 26 counties and stricter Level 3 measures in Dublin and Donegal. The government has almost entirely adopted their health chiefs’ advice throughout the pandemic, but one of the sources said a return to lockdown would have a serious economic...

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that the drastic limits placed on people’s freedoms to curb the coronavirus earlier this year had weighed heavily on her, bringing back memories of life in surveillance-riddled East Germany. Speaking on the eve of the 30th anniversary of German reunification, Merkel told the RND newspaper group she was acutely aware of the sacrifices she was asking of Germans when the country went into lockdown in March. “That I had to tell people they could only be out in the street in a single household or just two persons at a time, that no events could...

Ireland’s highest court isn’t sweet on tax breaks for footlongs. The country’s Supreme Court ruled that the starch used in Subway sandwiches is too sugary to meet the definition of “bread” — a legal distinction that would have saved the firm some dough. In deciding whether to give the fast-food chain a tax break for serving a “staple” food item, the five-judge panel ruled that the bread’s sugar-to-flour content is roughly five times too high to qualify, according to the Irish Independent.

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Former Irish President Mary McAleese says she is pledging “to use whatever time is left to me” to challenge Church teachings on homosexuality and women. Speaking to The View on BBC Northern Ireland on Thursday night, McAleese said, “What else I am going to do in retirement except make myself useful in that regard?” McAleese, 69, served as president of Ireland – a largely ceremonial position – from 1997-2011. She has clashed with Church leaders in the past and was barred from attending a conference taking place at the Vatican in 2018. A longtime critic of...

Anyone walking past the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels earlier this week would have seen a dazzling light display above their heads, in all colors of the rainbow. “More than 330,000 people say: EU — Turn your words into action. Stop ‘LGBT-free zones’ in Poland now” the projected message proclaimed, in letters several meters high. The display was organized by LGBT+ rights advocacy group AllOut in collaboration with the Polish Campaign Against Homophobia. The group handed over a petition with over 330,000 signatures to the European Union demanding the bloc take urgent action over homophobic and transphobic policies...