Free Republic

The government has been urged to encourage Brits to work from home to prevent energy shortages in the wake of the war in Iran....

The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday that it will exit OPEC on May 1. “This decision follows a comprehensive review of the UAE’s production policy and its current and future capacity and is based on our national interest and our commitment to contributing effectively to meeting the market’s pressing needs,” the UAE energy ministry said in a statement.

... Iranian sources earlier disclosed Iran's latest proposal, which would set aside discussion of its nuclear program until the war is ended and disputes over shipping from the Gulf are resolved...

The U.S. is being “humiliated” by the Iranian regime, Germany’s chancellor has said, as disquiet among European leaders over a prolonged conflict in the Middle East gradually intensifies. “The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday. “An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible,” Merz added, speaking to students in Marsberg in Germany. The comments...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested on Monday that Ukraine may have to accept that parts of its territory could remain outside Kyiv's control in ​a future peace deal with Russia, linking such concessions to ‌the country's prospects for joining the European Union. "At some point, Ukraine will sign a ceasefire agreement; at some point, hopefully, a peace treaty with Russia. Then it may ​be that part of Ukraine's territory is no longer Ukrainian," Merz ​told students at the Carolus-Magnus-Gymnasium in Marsberg, a town in ⁠North Rhine-Westphalia, on Monday. "If President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy wants to communicate this to his ​own population...

Barring regime change in Iran or a durable diplomatic resolution to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the West is now facing its most fundamental challenge to its energy security since the Arab-Israeli wars of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. To escape the Hormuz trap—a crisis in oil, gas, and petrochemicals transit that will slowly degrade the global economy over the months and years to come—the West must revisit a familiar pattern. For nearly three decades during those wars, Arab states seeking to pressure Israel and its Western backers repeatedly weaponized Middle Eastern oil transit chokepoints by blocking canals...

Host Bill Hamblet speaks with Admiral Harry Harris on how a war with Iran could reshape global strategy across two theaters. The discussion explores impacts on U.S. commitments, Indo-Pacific stability, China’s role, and regional security dynamics, highlighting how crises in the Middle East reverberate across East Asia’s strategic and economic landscape.

ouching down in the nation's capital under a cloud of security and fierce political tension, King Charles III and Queen Camilla officially kicked off their four–day state visit on Monday. Donald Trump and Melania Trump were on hand to welcome the royal couple at the White House in the afternoon. Amid West Wing construction and fresh security concerns following the terrifying shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend, the royals were greeted by the President and First Lady...

The number of immigrants residing in the European Union climbed to ​a record high of 64.2 million in ‌2025, up about 2.1 million from a year earlier, according to a report published on Wednesday by the ​Centre for Research and Analysis on Migration ​at RFBerlin. The figure compares with 40 million ⁠in 2010, the report said, citing Eurostat and ​U.N. Refugee Agency data. Germany remained the bloc's biggest ​host of foreign-born people at nearly 18 million, 72% of them of working age, while Spain posted the ​fastest recent growth, adding about 700,000 to bring ​its foreign-born population to 9.5 million....

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro are statistically tied in a simulated runoff for this year's presidential election, a BTG Pactual/Nexus poll showed on Monday. • Leftist Lula would receive 46% of the vote in a second-round matchup, compared with 45% for right-wing Bolsonaro. • In a March survey, they were tied at 46% each. • In three first-round simulations, Lula was seen capturing 41% of the vote, while Flavio would take between 36% and 38%, depending on other candidates. • In Brazil, if no candidate gets more than 50% of valid votes, the two...

British control of the Falkland Islands, which the United States helped the Brits reconquer in the 1982 Falklands War, now seems to be at risk. There are news reports that the Trump administration’s list of ways to punish recalcitrant NATO allies includes siding with Argentina over control of the Falklands. London’s Express reported that Donald Trump’s Pentagon officials are exploring ways the United States can punish NATO countries for failing to support the Iran war, including by reportedly reviewing Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands. . . . An option included in the message is to consider reassessing US diplomatic...

A real policy push emerged in 2024 to extend certain legal protections to Americans who serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In 2024, members of Congress introduced H.R. 8445, a bill that would have amended federal law “to provide for the eligibility of United States citizens who serve in the Israeli Defense Forces for certain protections relating to such service.” Under current law, US veterans’ benefits are tied to service in the US armed forces. The statutory definition of “veteran” appears at 38 USC § 101(2) and limits eligibility to those who served in US military forces or narrow...

The assisted suicide Bill will now fall when the current Parliamentary session ends and will not become law, after the final day of Committee Stage of the Bill was completed this afternoon, without the Bill passing the Lords. The fall of the assisted suicide Bill comes as new polling suggests that the Bill would likely fail if it were reintroduced to the House of Commons, and an analysis reveals there have been near-unprecedented levels of opposition to the Bill in the House of Lords. Private Members’ Bills, like the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, are only debated on...

The Court of Appeal of Kenya has overturned a 2022 High Court ruling that had recognized abortion as a fundamental right. In its decision delivered on Friday, April 24, the appellate court held that abortion is not a fundamental right under the Constitution, but rather an act that is generally prohibited, subject to specific exceptions. The court ruled that while the Constitution guarantees the right to life from conception, abortion is only permissible under limited circumstances outlined in law. “Having scrutinized the records in the two consolidated appeals, the written and oral submissions by respective counsel for the parties, the...

The demographic shift has a sinister political dimension if the fundamentalist brand of Islam continues to rise amongst this rapidly growing segment of the population. No matter what European politicians may say to downplay the negative impact of Moslem immigration, they cannot deny that the continent will experience an unprecedented demographic shift by the end of the century. If the current rate of Muslim immigration continues, Europe’s Muslim population could grow from 30 million today to about 110 million by 2100. This estimate assumes that the Muslim fertility rate will move downward over that period to approach native fertility rates,...

The U.S.-Israel war against Iran was to a great extent predictable. The United States feared Iran becoming a nuclear power. Israel feared that as well, and was also concerned about the Islamist forces – in this case, Hezbollah – that Iran supported in Lebanon. For the United States, the latter was at most a secondary concern, but the nuclear threat was potentially existential. The United States attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities almost one year ago, damaging but not destroying the program. In subsequent negotiations, Iran rejected the U.S. and Israeli demand that it end its nuclear program, and so war was...

How Trump Is Running the Most Aggressive Geopolitical Play in a Generation—and Why It Has to Be This Way From 1973 to 1977 the National Hockey League was the wild west, and Bob “Gasser” Gassoff—a 5’10”, 190-pound wrecking ball who skated for the St. Louis Blues—was one of the best enforcers in the game. His job was not to score. It was to protect the players who did. High-stick, slash, board or manhandle a Blues skill player and Gasser would drop the gloves and answer the bell, over and over, until somebody turtled or a referee had the stones to...

Oil prices have risen after plans for a second round of peace talks between the US and Iran stalled again. Brent, the global benchmark, rose by around 2% to $109.33 (£80.72) a barrel, while US-traded crude also increased by 2% at $96.78. US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington had cancelled plans to send a team to Pakistan for negotiations with their Iranian counterparts. Brent crude has risen by more than 10% since Trump announced last week that he would extend a ceasefire with Tehran to give its leadership a chance to present a "unified proposal".

MOST Scots would vote for independence if a referendum were held tomorrow, a fresh poll carried out in the middle of the Holyrood election campaign has found. A poll of just over 1000 Scots commissioned by James Kelly of the pro-independence Scot Goes Pop blog found 53% would vote Yes, excluding don't knows. When don't knows are left in, 50% would vote Yes while 44% would vote to remain in the Union. The survey was carried out between April 15 and 20 for Scot Goes Pop. According to Kelly, there have been nine polls this year that suggest Scots would...

Argentine President Javier Milei has launched a new effort to claim control of the Falkland Islands, reigniting a long-standing dispute with the United Kingdom over the archipelago, which once led to war. "THE MALVINAS WERE, ARE, AND ALWAYS WILL BE ARGENTINE,” Milei said on X in Spanish on Friday, using the Argentine name for the islands. In a separate interview with the Argentine digital channel Neura posted by Milei on Friday, he said that the country was doing “everything humanly possible” to return the Falklands to Argentina. “Sovereignty is non-negotiable, but it must be handled judiciously, with brains,” said Milei,...