Free Republic

It was the kind of sweeping, last-minute demand that would have torpedoed most diplomatic talks: President Donald Trump insisting this week that in exchange for him ending the war with Iran, several Arab and Muslim countries should sign on to his Abraham Accords to normalize their diplomatic relations with Israel. But there’s been almost no response from any of the countries that Trump mentioned by name — more than half of whom already have diplomatic relations with Israel — and no statement of support from an Israeli government that would reap enormous benefits from such a deal. Analysts said Trump’s...

I have written several times about the fundamental corruption of the UNRWA. It is one of two "refugee" aid organizations at the United Nations. It is dedicated to serving Palestinians throughout the Middle East. The other exists to serve every other refugee in the world. That's right. One agency for Palestinians. The other for every other refugee in the world. Think about that and let it sink in. Now, think about the fact that Palestinians are the only "refugees" who have had that status for 80 years. It is absurd. They are not refugees. They weren't even kicked out of...

Faith FactsUnited Nations added Israel to its blacklist of entities accused of sexual violence in conflict zones, placing the democratic nation alongside terrorist organizations Hamas and ISISIsraeli Ambassador Danny Danon condemned the decision as disconnected from facts and reality, calling it a moral failure by the international bodyThe controversial listing comes despite documented evidence of sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians during the October 7 attacksIn a stunning and morally questionable decision, the United Nations has placed the nation of Israel on its official blacklist of entities accused of committing sexual violence in conflict zones. Israeli Ambassador...

Iran, China, immigration, elite institutions, and the future direction of the Democratic Party all point back to a broader debate over power, nationalism, and the stability of the Western world. Growing tensions in the Middle East, questions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, and fears of conflict with China continue shaping American foreign policy, while political and cultural battles at home are increasingly centered around institutional control, media influence, and ideological conformity.

The federal investigation into staff at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency—the U.N. Gaza relief organization that's been closely linked to Hamas—will soon encompass at least 1,500 UNRWA-linked individuals suspected of terror ties. This unprecedented dragnet—reported here for the first time by the Washington Free Beacon—exposes an aid group brimming with Hamas operatives, and is generating momentum in Congress and the Trump administration for harsher sanctions on the embattled aid group, according to congressional staffers briefed on the matter. The punitive measures up for consideration include stripping UNRWA of its diplomatic immunity under U.S. law, which would open it...

I was born into a sternly Presbyterian culture. Politically, I’m more Orange than Donald Trump’s skin tone. But today I am on my knees giving thanks to the Pope. He has produced the most powerful political document of the year, taking on the greatest challenge of our times. His first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, deals with the changes which will be wrought to all our lives by artificial intelligence in the months and years ahead. AI will transform our economies and societies massively and irrevocably; it will change what it means to be human; it may even mark the end of...

A rally for Alberta independence in Airdrie had no shortage of encouragement from passersby on the highway, as it appears an Ottawa-appointed judge blocking the Stay Free Alberta petition has strengthened support for the movement. Sydney Fizzard | May 27, 2026 | News Analysis | 2 Comments Alberta's growing separatist movement is gaining momentum following a controversial court ruling that temporarily blocked a citizen-led referendum on independence. In Airdrie, supporters of the sovereignty movement voiced their frustration with Ottawa, skepticism toward federal institutions and anger over what they describe as decades of Western alienation. The recent court decision that found...

U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding extending the current ceasefire and launching negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but the deal still needs President Donald Trump's final approval, U.S. sources confirmed to Fox News.

We are often best defined not by the company we keep, but by our enemies. Having the right—left—enemies tends to be a very good thing indeed, as it’s a reliable indicator we’re doing the right things with the right people and for the right reasons. It’s not always easy, however, to know the motives of people, or nations, when we’re dealing with issues of technology and/or public policy. One such issue is the proliferation of data centers, necessary for the burgeoning AI revolution, but controversial for that and other reasons. Among them is the amount of water and power they...

The Trump administration has quietly instructed federal prosecutors in Miami to avoid pursuing criminal investigations into Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime target of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement officials, in the latest sign of warming relations between the White House and the oil-rich nation. It’s unclear whether prosecutors had implicated Rodríguez in any crimes or whether investigators were moving toward an indictment. A Justice Department spokesperson said in an email “there was never an investigation into her to shut down.” But DEA records obtained by The Associated Press earlier this...

The negotiations between the United States and Iran to end their war are following President Trump’s familiar playbook for resolving a Middle East crisis: agree to a cease-fire and deal with the toughest problems later. Analysts say the approach has had mixed results in the Gaza Strip, where Mr. Trump brokered a truce last year between Israel and Hamas, the Iranian-backed militant group. Plans for a so-called Phase 2 agreement — under which Hamas was to lay down its arms and Israel would allow Gaza to be rebuilt after a devastating war — have stalled. A similar approach in U.S....

The social media post by President Trump made it sound straightforward. The United States would orchestrate a deal to end the war with Iran and, in exchange, a slew of countries across the Middle East and South Asia would join an agreement, called the Abraham Accords, establishing relations with Israel. In fact, he said, that “should be mandatory.” But half of the countries he named — such as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey — already have relations with Israel. And the other half — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan — have no interest in establishing them anytime soon. As a...

US forces in war zones have been targeted through commercially available location data, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a letter from US Central Command shared by US Senator Ron Wyden. CENTCOM said it had received “multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil US personnel in theater,” according to the letter. A bipartisan group of lawmakers warned the Pentagon that commercial location data could reveal where US troops gather and their daily patterns, exposing them to missile, drone and roadside bomb attacks. Wyden said Washington should start treating the adtech industry as a national...

[Translated from German] Since Thursday morning, a major police operation has been underway at Winterthur train station. Several areas and stairways around the new pedestrian and bicycle underpass are cordoned off. An eyewitness, who works across from the cordoned-off area, tells this editorial office that a man of middle age shouted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) around 8:30 a.m. and stabbed four men with a knife. At that very moment, a school class also passed the scene. The teacher then positioned herself protectively in front of the children. Another witness, a taxi driver, confirms that a man had been running...

Speculation is mounting over the fate of Brig. Gen. Ali Azmaei, the newly-appointed commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, following reported US strikes on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The Iran Watcher, a conflict monitoring group, said "unconfirmed reports" suggest Azmaei “may have been targeted and possibly eliminated” during the strikes, though Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on his status. Senior commander Azmaei is regarded as one of the IRGC Navy’s most senior commanders, previously leading the force’s 5th Naval Region, a strategically important command overseeing operations in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait...

For years, much of the American media has operated under a peculiar assumption: that the best way to confront adversaries such as China and Iran is to accommodate them. If the United States applies pressure, the narrative quickly becomes that America is overextended, losing leverage, or somehow empowering its enemies. That narrative has resurfaced during President Donald Trump's confrontation with Tehran and Beijing. According to outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, both Iran and China are supposedly emerging stronger from the current conflict. It is a difficult claim to square with reality. Iran's senior military...

As an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to grow, the Trump administration says it is focused on keeping the disease out of the United States. “We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. The US “is setting up a state-of-the-art facility” in Kenya for Americans who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus but who do not have symptoms, Trump administration officials said Wednesday.

"Russia is considering limiting exports of diesel and jet fuel," Bloomberg and other sources reported Tuesday, "as refinery run rates fall to multi-year lows amid Ukraine’s escalating attacks." An Interfax source claimed that the decision to ban exports is at "an advanced stage," but no date has been set. If it comes to pass, that would be bad for diesel prices and inflation right here at home, but worse for Moscow's finances. Just the fact that the Kremlin is considering an export ban is more evidence that Kyiv's drone campaign is increasingly effective — against Russia's energy production at home,...

The problems in the Strait of Hormuz, we should remember, are not confined to Iran, the Middle East, or the United States. The troubles, the open-again, closed-again problems in the Strait of Hormuz are affecting the economies of Europe, Asia, and elsewhere, to the point where even a landlocked European nation and, by the way, a NATO member, is offering some help to the United States to get that sorted out. The nation is the Czech Republic, and they are offering to help with specialized surveillance tech.The Czech Republic is prepared to help protect freedom of navigation in the Strait...

The times, they are a-changin', as then-folk music troubadour Bob Dylan once sang about the radical era America found herself swimming/wading through in the Sixties. You could say the same thing about whatever they end up calling this era, and the second Trump administration at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Readers may have seen some of our pieces - so far on Wednesday - covering the Cabinet meeting open to the media. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, per a Playbook report on the team meet-up, explained that "The continued resilience of the economy speaks for itself, even during the Iran — the conflict."...