Free Republic 1st Qtr 2026 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $23,100
28%  
Woo hoo!! And now only $390 to reach 29%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.

Foreign Affairs (News/Activism)

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Puerto Rico governor signs law recognizing unborn babies as human beings

    02/14/2026 1:11:56 PM PST · by Morgana · 12 replies
    FOX NEWS ^ | February 13, 2026 | Landon Mion
    Puerto Rico's Republican governor on Thursday signed a bill that amends a law to recognize an unborn baby as a human being, which opponents argued could eventually lead to outlawing abortion in the U.S. territory. Gov. Jenniffer González said in a statement that the measure "aims to maintain consistency between civil and criminal provisions by recognizing the unborn child as a human being." The amendment, in Senate Bill 923, altered an article within Puerto Rico's Penal Code that defines murder. The government said that the amendment complements a law affirming that it would be first-degree murder if a suspect intentionally...
  • Vladimir Putin’s finally starting to sweat — so it’s time for Trump to turn up the heat

    02/14/2026 11:03:02 AM PST · by dennisw · 25 replies
    NY Post ^ | Feb. 14, 2026 | By Post Editorial Board
    Meanwhile, Moscow is citing fictitious Ukrainian counter-offensives to explain why it doesn’t control territories its forces were claiming they’d seized in Zaporizhia oblast; it looks like Putin’s frontline commanders are afraid to tell the high command they’re failing. Poor Vlad: Having caught on to how Putin’s thugs were using hijacked Starlink terminals to guide their drones in massive long-distance attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and civilian population, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is now blocking of Russian access to Starlink, disabling Moscow’s frontline command-and-control communications for another game-changer. Russia’s damning whine: Blocking it from Starlink is (somehow) a violation of international law....
  • Rosie O’Donnell quietly slips back into US after defecting to Ireland after Trump’s re-election

    02/14/2026 10:46:58 AM PST · by nickcarraway · 35 replies
    New York Post ^ | Feb. 13, 2026 | Lori Bashian
    After a self-imposed political exile to Ireland after President Donald Trump’s re-election, Rosie O’Donnell quietly returned to the United States. During an interview with Chris Cuomo on his new show, “SiriusXM’s Cuomo Mornings,” the 63-year-old actress revealed she recently returned to the country to visit her family. The actress moved to Ireland with her teenage daughter in January 2025, just prior to President Trump’s second inauguration. “I was recently home for two weeks, and I did not really tell anyone,” she told Cuomo. “I just went to see my family. I wanted to see how hard it would be for...
  • Impossible’: Taiwan pushes back against Washington’s 40% chip supply relocation goal

    02/14/2026 5:25:19 AM PST · by Fury · 39 replies
    CNBC ^ | 02/09/26 | Dylan Butts
    Taiwan has told Washington that its proposal to move 40% of the island’s semiconductor supply chain to the U.S. was “impossible,” Taipei’s top tariff trade negotiator said in an interview. Speaking on a local television broadcast Sunday, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun said she had made it clear to Washington that the island’s semiconductor ecosystem, built over decades, could not simply be relocated. Taiwan’s international expansion, including its investments in the U.S., is predicated on the notion that the industry remains’ rooted in Taiwan and continues to expand domestic investments, she said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
  • AOC accuses Israel of genocide in Germany where Holocaust was launched, sparking outrage

    02/14/2026 5:21:12 AM PST · by McGruff · 67 replies
    Fox News ^ | Feb 14, 2026 | Benjamin Weinthal
    Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., alleged at the Munich Security Conference on Friday that U.S. aid to the Jewish state enabled a genocide by Israel. AOC’s attack on the Jewish state in Munich unfolded in the birthplace of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement that carried out the worst genocide in human history. During the town hall event in Munich, the Squad member said, "To me, this isn't just about a presidential election. Personally, I think that the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, particularly the Leahy laws. And I think that personally, that the idea of completely unconditional...
  • Rubio sticks to Trump's firm stance but takes softer tone in speech to European allies

    02/14/2026 3:48:53 AM PST · by McGruff · 5 replies
    CBS News ^ | Feb 14, 2026
    While offering a calmer and more reassuring tone than the one often heard over the past year, Rubio made clear that the Trump administration is sticking to its guns on policy. He denounced "a climate cult" and "an unprecedented wave of mass migration that threatens the cohesion of our societies." Rubio argued that the "euphoria" of the Western victory in the Cold War led to a "dangerous delusion that we had entered 'the end of history,' that every nation would now be a liberal democracy, that the ties formed by trade and by commerce alone would now replace nationhood ......
  • Poll shows about 70% of Americans oppose taking control of Greenland

    02/14/2026 12:29:29 AM PST · by Cronos · 80 replies
    CGTN NEWS ^ | 14th February 2026
    According to the latest public opinion poll released by the Associated Press, about 70 percent of Americans oppose the United States taking control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Among Republicans who support U.S. President Donald Trump, about 50 percent are opposed to the United States acquiring Greenland. The Associated Press noted that, so far, very few people in the United States have publicly expressed support for the plan to take control of Greenland. Only about 24% of American adults approve of Trump’s approach to Greenland. Among Republicans, opinions are notably more divided; roughly half disapprove of the attempt...
  • European Parliament Backs Non-Binding Resolution Recognising Trans Women in EU Gender Equality Priorities

    02/13/2026 1:44:03 PM PST · by Salman · 19 replies
    Greek City Times ^ | 2026-02-12 | by GCT BN
    The European Parliament has adopted a non-binding resolution setting out the European Union’s priorities for the upcoming session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, including language recognising trans women as women within the framework of EU gender equality policy. The resolution was approved on 12 February by 340 votes in favour, 141 against and 68 abstentions. The adopted text forms part of the European Union’s negotiating position ahead of the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which will take place in New York next month. The Commission, established in 1946...
  • Russia confirms $12 trillion pitch to Trump tied to Ukraine deal — White House stays silent on proposals

    02/13/2026 7:45:50 PM PST · by Mariner · 55 replies
    The Kiev Independent ^ | February 13th, 2026 | by Tim Zadorozhnyy
    Russia appeared to confirm on Feb. 13 the existence of a sweeping U.S.-Russia economic proposal known in Kyiv as the "Dmitriev package," days after President Volodymyr Zelensky first disclosed it publicly. The Ukrainian president said on Feb. 6 that intelligence had briefed him on what he described as a roughly $12 trillion framework for large-scale economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington."Intelligence showed me the so-called 'Dmitriev package' that he presented in the U.S. — it amounts to around $12 trillion," Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv.The reference is to Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy who heads Russia's sovereign wealth fund and has...
  • US Military Prepping Iran Operations That Could Last for Weeks: Reuters

    02/13/2026 6:46:31 PM PST · by thegagline · 41 replies
    NewsMax ^ | 02/13/2026 | Staff
    The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries. The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran. U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program, after Trump amassed military forces in the...
  • Russia memo sees return to U.S. dollar system in pitch made for Trump

    02/13/2026 3:20:21 PM PST · by Twotone · 13 replies
    Financial Post ^ | February 12, 2026 | Alberto Nardelli
    The Kremlin has set out proposals that could see Russia embrace the dollar again as part of a wide-ranging economic partnership with the Trump administration, according to an internal Russian document reviewed by Bloomberg. Article content The high-level memo, which was drafted this year, details seven points where, in the Kremlin’s view, Russian and United States economic interests could converge following a deal to end the war in Ukraine. It sees the two countries working together to champion fossil fuels over greener alternatives as well as joint investments in natural gas, offshore oil and critical raw materials plus windfalls for...
  • Defence Secretary pledges tens of thousands of more artillery shells for Ukraine

    02/13/2026 8:54:06 AM PST · by delta7 · 27 replies
    Gov.UK ^ | 20 Sep 25 | Gov.UK
    .....To date, the UK has supplied more than 12,000 anti-tank weapons, 300,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, thousands of air defence missiles, self-propelled artillery, and more than 200,000 pieces of non-lethal equipment, including extreme cold weather clothing, mine detection equipment, and industrial strength generators....
  • Trans-Atlantic tensions in focus as annual Munich security gathering opens

    02/13/2026 1:40:21 AM PST · by McGruff · 8 replies
    ABC News ^ | Feb 13, 2026 | The Associated Press
    An annual gathering of top international security figures that last year set the tone for a growing rift between the United States and Europe opens Friday, bringing together many top European officials with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others. The Munich Security Conference opens with a speech by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, one of 15 heads of state or government from European Union countries whom organizers expect to attend. The many other expected guests at the conference that runs until Sunday include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In keeping with the conference's tradition,...
  • Japan Seizes Chinese Fishing Vessel, Arrests Captain

    02/12/2026 10:53:55 PM PST · by nickcarraway · 24 replies
    The vessel's captain was ordered to stop for an inspection, but failed to comply and fled, Japan's fisheries agency said.Japan seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its skipper, authorities said on Friday (Feb 13), an incident that could deepen a spat between the Asian giants. The episode on Thursday off southern Japan came three months after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force. "The vessel's captain was ordered to stop for an inspection by a fisheries inspector, but the vessel failed to comply and fled," Japan's fisheries agency...
  • Trump’s Taiwan Pact Reshapes Supply Chains and Global Power

    02/12/2026 7:45:06 PM PST · by SeekAndFind · 8 replies
    PJ Media ^ | 02/12/2026 | David Manney
    Tariffs Fall and Investment SurgesTrade shapes power structures, and when two economies tighten bonds, the ripple spreads far beyond shipping lanes and customs desks. On Feb. 12, 2026, the Trump administration finalized a sweeping trade agreement with Taiwan that cuts tariffs, boosts American exports, and pours hundreds of billions into U.S. industry.Taiwan agreed to eliminate or sharply reduce tariffs on nearly all American goods, as duties on U.S. beef, dairy, and corn were reduced immediately to 0%. Pork belly tariffs fell from 40% to 10%, and ham fell from 32% to 10%. Taiwan also removed non-tariff barriers on motor vehicles,...
  • 80.70 billion cubic metres gas deposit confirmed in Jaljale, Dailekh (Nepal)

    02/12/2026 5:03:04 PM PST · by Uncle Miltie · 15 replies
    The Rising Nepal ^ | 2/12/26 | TRN Online
    Mineral gas deposit of 80.70 billion cubic metres has been confirmed at Bhairabi Rural Municipality-1 of Dailekh district. This is confirmed in the final exploration report submitted to the Government of Nepal by the Chinese Company, China Geological Survey. Spokesperson at the Department of Mines and Geology Dharma Raj Khadka stated that the storage data was released after a comprehensive study by the Chinese team. In the preliminary report made public earlier, it was estimated that there could be 1.12 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the area. He said further testing and the final study have proved larger...
  • The Left’s Long Game in Latin America

    02/12/2026 2:43:01 PM PST · by EnderWiggin1970 · 21 replies
    The American Mind ^ | 2/12/26 | Benjamin Braddock
    Their revolution could soon be coming to an end. January 3, 2026. Caracas. 2:47 AM. The helicopters had come in low over the Caribbean, running dark. The Delta Force operators on board were well-rehearsed. By 3:29 AM, it was over. Thirty-two Cuban bodyguards lay dead in the compound. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were in flex cuffs, hustled onto a transport aircraft bound for New York. At Mar-a-Lago, President Trump watched the operation unfold in real time with his national security team. It was January 3—exactly 36 years to the day since American forces had extracted military dictator Manuel...
  • Interest-free home loans and €250 per child: Can France boost its falling birth rate?

    02/12/2026 10:00:35 AM PST · by nickcarraway · 13 replies
    Euronews ^ | 12/02/2026 | Sophia Khatsenkova
    A parliamentary committee has unveiled a plan to tackle France’s collapsing birth rate. But with experts and the public sceptical, the proposals are proving deeply divisive. Lucie remembers feeling uneasy when she heard that the French government was planning to send a letter to adults aged 29 and over about infertility. The letter is still being drafted, its contents have not been made public but the initiative has already sparked strong criticism, even from abroad. "I found the approach extremely awkward and it's not the right way at all to raise awareness," she tells Euronews. At 27, Lucie is in...
  • North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un chooses teen daughter as heir, says Seoul

    02/12/2026 9:00:00 AM PST · by SeekAndFind · 72 replies
    BBC NEWS ^ | 02/12/26 | Jake Kwon
    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his teenage daughter as his heir, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday. Kim Ju Ae - who is believed to be 13 - has in recent months been pictured beside her father in high-profile events like a visit to Beijing in September, her first known trip abroad. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it took a "range of circumstances" into account including her increasingly prominent public presence at official events" in making this assessment. The NIS also said it would keep close tabs on whether she will attend the North's...
  • Pentagon orders second carrier strike group to prepare to deploy to Middle East: report

    02/12/2026 8:39:40 AM PST · by thegagline · 66 replies
    The New York Post ^ | 11/12/2026 | Victor Nava
    The Pentagon has reportedly ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare to deploy to the Middle East in support of potential military action against Iran. President Trump has not yet given the carrier group the greenlight to deploy, but an order could be issued “in a matter of hours,” the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night, citing US officials. The deployment would likely come from the US East Coast, and one carrier is being prepped to head out to sea in two weeks, an official told the publication. The USS George H.W. Bush is currently conducting training exercises...