Free Republic

A star-studded televised concert featuring music legends and political figures has drawn angry online backlash for raising money for the controversial World Health Organization, amid allegations that the group is beholden to China and badly mishandled the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. The two-hour 'One World: Together at Home' event, led by the WHO and non-profit group 'Global Citizen' was broadcast across multiple television channels in the U.S. and overseas on Saturday. The event's corporate sponsors and other donors have already given $150 million, earmarked for the WHO's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, organizers said. Earlier this month, President Donald...

The U.S. government has declined to make a long-awaited sale of block 52 F-16s to Taiwan for fear of upsetting China. The White House blocked the $4.9 billion deal for 66 advanced F-16s last year and there was little hope of it being revived this year. It's seems the United States doesn't want to give them to Taiwan, mainly because mainland China would oppose the sale. In 2006 the U.S. had already blocked the sale to Taiwan of 66 F-16C/D block52s after the island's parliament repeatedly failed to approve funds for an earlier arms package. Then in July 2008, the...