Free Republic

A police source told AFP on Tuesday that the judge had received threats and was killed in retaliation for the release of gang members. At least 16 judges or prosecutors have been killed in Ecuador since 2022, according to Human Rights Watch. Last October, a gunman on a motorbike killed a judge in Ecuador while he was walking his children to school. Around 70 percent of the drugs produced by Colombia and Peru, the world's largest and second-largest cocaine producers, respectively, are shipped through Ecuador. President Daniel Noboa, one of President Donald Trump's staunchest allies on the continent, has prioritized...

U.S. special envoy Jeff Landry, appointed by President Donald Trump last year to push for American control ​of Greenland, arrived in Nuuk on Sunday, local ‌media reported. Landry, the governor of Louisiana, has previously backed Trump's goal of making the vast Arctic territory a part of the United States. The ​ambition has been strongly opposed by both the Greenlandic ​and Danish governments, which have repeatedly said Greenland ⁠is not for sale. Footage from Nuuk published by public ​broadcaster DR showed Landry exit a plane. He is scheduled to ​attend the 'Future Greenland' business conference on May 19-20 and will be...

The United States has prosposed temporarily waiving off sanctions on Iranian oil, as per reports by Tehran's Tasnim news agency on Monday. To ramp up its pressure on Iran from the economic front, Washington had introduced restrictions on trade of Iranian oil. While primary sanctions included barring American companies from trading in Iranian oil secondary sanction threaten to penalise non-American entities, banks, and foreign governments that purchase Iranian petroleum.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz means virtually no gas has left Qatar’s shore for more than two months. The nation is also cut off from the sea routes through which it imports everything from vehicles to produce. Fears of regional instability have hurt tourism and eroded business sentiment. Ras Laffan, Qatar’s industrial center for gas production, is shuttered, and roads are blocked. At the vast Hamad port south of Doha, loading cranes stand paralyzed. Throughout the capital, hotels and boutiques sit in noticeable silence. Qatar’s growth forecasts have been slashed amid the cessation of L.N.G. trade. For Qatar,...

Turkey’s total fertility rate — or the average number of children a woman is expected to have — has been declining for more than a decade. It now sits significantly below the 2.1 needed to keep the population stable without migration, much less to increase it. Demographers attribute the decline to factors common in countries around the world: urbanization, changing lifestyles and the spread of higher education, especially among women. They also blame the economy shaped by Mr. Erdogan’s economic policies. Persistently high inflation and low wages have left many families struggling to afford housing, child care and other necessities....

President Donald Trump is back from China with a very clear message to the Iranian regime. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/33gyF0c0O5 — The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 17, 2026 “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” Before Trump left for China, it was clear that his patience with the Iranian regime was wearing thin. So if...

The Ministry of the Interior and Administration said the planned changes would end what it called “automatism” in granting Polish citizenship and replace it with a model based on a foreigner’s real connection to Polish society, culture and the state. Under the proposal, foreigners seeking Polish citizenship would have to meet stricter conditions. The ministry said the aim was to avoid “the mistakes made in the past by other countries handing out citizenships.” One of the main changes would extend the required period of legal residence to eight years. This would include three years of temporary residence followed by five...

The owner of the Japan nightclub in Mexico City has imposed a nearly $300 cover charge on Americans to protest President Trump’s policies and threats. The surcharge triggered criticism but also won applause from those who see it as legitimate protest against gentrification and American cultural influence in the Mexican capital. ‘Gringo go home.’ The uproar reflects escalating tensions in Mexico City, the site of anti-tourism protests and a growing resentment about American ‘digital nomads’ reshaping the city. MEXICO CITY — Federico Crespo was tired of President Trump’s bullying. Of his punishing tariffs, his threat to bomb cartels in Mexico...

The U.S.-brokered alliance designed to counter Iran in the Middle East is showing signs of strain amid tensions between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, an analyst says, as the possibility of a broader conflict with Tehran intensified Sunday. The friction first surfaced May 13 after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he held a "historic breakthrough" meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a "secret visit" to Al Ain near the Oman border. The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a swift denial following the announcement. Sachs, a senior fellow at the institute, said...

The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa an international public health emergency on Sunday after dozens of suspected deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, the WHO said. The declaration follows reports of 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases as of Saturday across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.

A post moving fast across X on Saturday claimed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “has announced he is standing down.” That is not the confirmed position. No official resignation announcement has been verified from Downing Street. But the reports underneath the viral claim tell a story that is almost as dramatic. According to a Daily Mail report from columnist Dan Hodges now circulating widely on the platform, Starmer has “told friends he intends to stand down and set out an orderly timetable for his departure.” That language is sourced to private conversations, not to a formal public statement from the...

Shortly after a car plowed into a crowd of pedestrians in Modena, Italy, four Italian civilians stepped in and tackled the vehicle's driver, pulling him to the ground, according to the city's mayor. "The madman, I don't know what to call him, the criminal who committed this act, he got out of the car brandishing a knife," Mayor Massimo Mezzetti told state-owned news agency RAI. "Four citizens, whom I thank, captured him and handed him over to law enforcement." Mezzetti said that eight people were wounded when the car rammed into a crowd on Via Emilia, a busy street in...

The Chinese government is tightening the screws on American investment in its artificial intelligence sector. The core purpose is to keep U.S. capital out of technologies it deems “strategically sensitive” to national security. The protective action is a reminder that Washington also needs to prioritize insulating our own critical sectors from foreign adversaries.Few industries are more important to our national security than healthcare. More than 131 million people - nearly two-thirds of all U.S. adults - use prescription medications. Yet the United States has allowed its pharmaceutical supply chains to become dangerously dependent on foreign rivals - particularly China. That...

President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone during his trip to China. He returned from his Beijing summit with Xi Jinping yesterday full of praise for the “great leader,” who is, in Trump’s estimations, “an incredible guy.” The summit was “very successful, world-renowned, and unforgettable,” according to the President, who insisted that “a lot of different problems were settled.” But there’s one problem that hasn’t been addressed: the growing number of Chinese operations on US soil. Last week Eileen Wang, the mayor of the southern Californian city of Arcadia agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of...

At least eight people were injured Saturday in Modena, Italy when a crazed driver rammed his car into a crowd at full speed — and then knifed a hero who stopped him when he tried to flee following his cowardly act. The man has been identified by authorities as Salim el Koudri, a 31-year-old Italian citizen of Moroccan origin. The motive is not yet known, but a terrorist attack is not being ruled out, Italian newspaper La Pressa reported.

Claims “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar was in on the $250 million scam. Omar would personally step in whenever those waivers ran out, allowing the rampant fraud to continue, Bock alleged. Aimee Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, was convicted in March 2025 of conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud for helping restaurant owners file fake or inflated claims during the pandemic to steal millions in child nutrition funds from the government. She spoke to The Post by video call this week from Sherburne County Jail, where she is awaiting sentencing. Bock has consistently denied knowingly participating in the fraud and insisted she...

Wes Streeting has called for a “proper contest” to replace Sir Keir Starmer and confirmed he would stand if the race is triggered, as he and other senior Labour figures make their pitch to replace the Prime Minister. In his first public appearance since resigning as health secretary, Mr Streeting set out a fledgling policy platform for a run at the Labour leadership. He said Britain must pursue a “new special relationship” with the European Union and signalled he wanted to see the country rejoin the trade bloc in the future. Mr Streeting is among the senior Labour figures to...

BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah — Kevin O’Leary, an investor in the proposed 40,000- acre Stratos data centre campus in Box Elder County, accused two Utah groups opposing the project of being funded by the Chinese government. O’Leary made the accusation on Fox News, targeting Alliance for a Better Utah and Elevate Strategies. “Who would want us to stop building our electrical grid? Who would want to stop us from having compute capacity to develop AI? Which adversary would want that? There’s only one. It’s China.” O’Leary said. In a social media exchange, Gabi Finlayson of Elevate Strategies pushed back on...

President Trump announced Friday evening that U.S. and Nigerian military forces had killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, a leader of the Islamic State group, in a "meticulously planned and very complex mission." Mr. Trump described al-Minuki as the Islamic State's second-in-command globally and "the most active terrorist in the world." "He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. "With his removal, ISIS's global operation is greatly diminished." The Nigerian president's office also confirmed the operation, and said that "early assessments confirm the elimination" of al-Minuki. "Several of his...

More Iranian militia types are in the news, sad to say. Even worse, they're not doing their thing on their home turf - they're in the export business. Breaking News: An Iran-backed militia commander was arrested and charged with plotting to attack Jewish sites in the U.S., including one in New York. Prosecutors say he is a leader of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia with ties to Iran. https://t.co/5FyiNgseXk— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 15, 2026Iran-backed Iraqi terrorists Kata’ib Hezbollah are reportedly seeking negotiations with the Iraqi government for the release of kidnapped American journalist Shelly Kittleson.The group is...