Free Republic

There are a lot of stories about Cuba floating around right now. Some are MSM outlets acting like they have a scoop on something that's been happening or rumored to be happening for months. Some are simply absurd and probably not true. Most aren't actually verified by the Donald Trump administration and come from anonymous sources. I'm not even going to bother with those today. I saw this happen in the final months before we captured Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. Most of these reporters and media outlets didn't even care about these countries until they became newsworthy, and once they...

When Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in December 2024, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa declared that he would embrace a “zero problems” foreign policy, in the hopes that would help break the country’s isolation and solve some of its economic problems. The prospect of a stable Syria enticed at least $28 billion in investment deals from Middle Eastern countries in 2025, and even more has been secured so far in 2026. The continuation of that trend amid the current war with Iran has amplified Syria’s central geopolitical and economic pitch—that it can be a potentially transformational corridor for energy flows, commercial...

U.S. Defence Secretary ​Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies on Saturday to ramp up military spending to counter China's growing power and prevent its dominance in the region, warning of "rightful alarm" ‌over its rapid military buildup. Hegseth, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, militaries and diplomats, said a stronger, more self-reliant network of allies is essential to deter aggression and preserve the balance of power. "There is rightful alarm regarding China's historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond," he said. "A Pacific dominated by any...

Russia's war on Ukraine is devouring its finances. War spending now totals 16.8 trillion roubles ($238 billion) — nearly 40% of the entire 2026 budget — and Putin's own finance minister, Anton Siluanov, has privately warned of a possible economic collapse, urging deep cuts to avert it. -The deficit is the largest since the 2022 invasion, growth has flatlined at 0.4%, and analysts say Moscow is faking its books. According to a 30 May report in the Financial Times, Russian government spending on the war in Ukraine is on track to exceed budget allocations by about 2 trillion Russian roubles...

SummaryNew law in effect from December allows descendants of Canadians beyond first generation to claim citizenship Nearly half of new approvals are Americans, Canada's immigration agency says Americans' interest in Canadian citizenship partly fueled by US political divisions, lawyers ​say TORONTO, May 30 (Reuters) - While U.S.-Canadian relations have frayed under U.S. President Donald Trump, data on ‌Canadian citizenship approvals under recently widened rules suggests many Americans would welcome the chance to become Canadian. Under the new rules, which allow more descendants of Canadians to claim citizenship compared with just first-generation descendants previously, approvals for proof of citizenship by descent...

In some parts of Europe, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine can feel like a distant threat. But in Romania, that war is right next door and increasingly dangerous.In Galati, there is an apartment block with a hole in the roof that proves it.Residents have just begun returning to check on their homes, after an attack drone slammed into the building early on Friday as dozens of people slept.It sparked a fire and panic.We climbed 11 floors up to the roof on Saturday to see where the drone punched through the concrete. There's a jagged hole, a couple of metres wide,...

The establishment political consensus has long held that it’s impossible to rein in illegal immigration until Congress passes “comprehensive immigration reform.” The Congressional Budget Office has recently made clear that all it really takes is a president willing to enforce federal immigration laws, as he is constitutionally required to do.The CBO recently revised its estimates concerning the number of illegal aliens entering or leaving the United States. More than a year ago, just before Inauguration Day, the CBO estimated that a net 1.1 million “other foreign nationals”—those lacking “a legal immigration status”—would be added to the U.S. population in 2025....

Thank you very much. It’s an honor to be here, and I’d like to thank the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute for inviting me to join you. Of course, this year’s forum carries special significance as we celebrate 250 years of the American story. But milestones of this magnitude demand more than ceremony. They ask something of us. They invite us to reflect not just on the creation of our country, but on its condition. And as we focus today on America’s economic future, they compel us to confront—and correct—decisions that have diminished our sovereignty in recent decades. President...

The parliament in Ghana has approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities. It proposes that identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer be punished by up to three years' imprisonment. The bill also introduces a "duty to report" prohibited acts to police.

‘G ‘ was born into a Maronite Christian family in southern Lebanon, part of a community that traces its roots to the ancient Phoenicians. His early childhood unfolded in a quiet Christian village just 15 kilometers from the Israeli border, surrounded by rolling hills, farmland, and deeply rooted family traditions. Like many Lebanese Christians in southern Lebanon, his family lived modestly, valuing faith, community, and inner peace in a region increasingly consumed by conflict. While Lebanon was embattled in a civil war from 1975-1990, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 to drive out the PLO had left its...

“Deep Dive: The Quiet Coup Inside the NDAA The Responsible Statecraft piece has put its finger on something genuinely significant — and the fact that this is happening inside a must-pass $1.15 trillion defense bill, buried at Section 224, tells you everything about how the permanent national security apparatus operates when it wants to avoid a public fight. What Section 224 Actually Does This isn’t a tweak. Section 224 — titled the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” — is a structural rewiring of the U.S.-Israel military relationship.” More at link.

As he sat in his restaurant in the Lithuanian capital, Liutauras Ceprackas, a chef, said he was one of the many Lithuanians who worry about a Russian invasion. He is not sure, he said, that his country’s 15,000-soldier army is big enough to stop one. Increasingly, he is not certain an American-led NATO would, either. That is why, three generations after Nazi Germany brutally occupied his country in World War II, Mr. Ceprackas, 51, is glad that Berlin has permanently stationed thousands of German soldiers in Lithuania. “This brigade is so strong and so well equipped that it’s like we...

The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency makes it an ideal vehicle for sanctions evasion and an increasingly vital pillar of Iran’s wartime economy. As the risk of renewed U.S.-Iran conflict rises, Tehran has moved quickly to adapt to wartime realities while attempting to limit the impact on border security, domestic stability, and the broader economy. Despite obvious constraints, the Islamic Republic has had a measure of success in maintaining control at home while circumventing U.S. pressure in the Strait of Hormuz through shadow tankers and ship-to-ship transfers to sustain oil exports. This has reignited Western debates over whether sanctions and military...

World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday evening, seeking to support the medical response to the fast-growing outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo. W.H.O. said on Friday the outbreak now includes 906 suspected infections and 223 suspected deaths. “To come here is to really show to the community that they’re not alone. Pushing orders from my comfortable office in Geneva is easy, but I’m asking my colleagues to work with the community and I am asking communities to protect themselves,” Tedros told reporters upon his arrival in the DRC. The...

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has announced plans to strip Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honour, after the Ukrainian president named a military unit after a group that led massacres of ethnic Poles during World War Two. However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose government regularly clashes with the opposition-aligned president, has sought to calm emotions, warning that the only one to benefit from conflict between Poland and Ukraine is Russia. Zaproponowałem, aby jednym z punktów było odebranie prezydentowi Zełenskiemu Orderu Orła Białego – Prezydent RP @NawrockiKn. pic.twitter.com/4NaOAIjO3C — Kancelaria Prezydenta RP (@prezydentpl) May 29,...

Thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf, a sprawling network of tanker-to-tanker oil transfers off the coast of Malaysia and Singapore is helping Iran sustain its crude exports to China, even as the country navigates a tense ceasefire with the United States.Analysis of satellite imagery and maritime tracking data has identified the waters roughly 100 kilometres southeast of the Malay Peninsula as the primary hub for what analysts describe as a clandestine laundering operation for Iranian crude. Dozens of ship-to-ship transfers take place there every week, involving not only Iranian vessels but a wider cast of tankers serving the shadow...

If the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz is a game of chicken, it sounds as though the Iranians will either swerve first – or accelerate. One way or the other, though, the blockade appears to have succeeded in bringing the regime to its crisis point. As discussions around a potential deal (really a pre-deal) continue, the IRGC has begun to demand an end to the US Navy's complete siege on Iranian ports. That message has come from the top of the food chain today, including the Nepo Babytollah's supposed attaché: Mohsen Rezaei, military advisor to Mojtaba Khamenei: If the...

When is a ceasefire not a ceasefire? When the person declaring it is Donald Trump. Opinions differ about the wisdom of the President’s activities with respect to Iran. Some observers tell us he is playing four-dimensional chess. Some say it more like checkers with no kings.What, after all, is he up to? The commentariat proffers several conflicting narratives. The one common thread is the certainty with which these opinions are uttered. Trump is an idiot. Trump is a genius. For those who say that he has thrown in the towel – that Iran has “won” – I’d offer two observations.First,...

(In the first step towards shifting aid further into the shadows, the House's 2027 NDAA would all but fuse the two countries' armed forces together) At a time when the American public is expressing unprecedented levels of distrust in the Israeli government, Congress just proposed tying the U.S. to the Israeli military more than ever before. Buried in the House's version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released on Tuesday, is section 224, entitled “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.” The provision would arguably do more to intertwine the U.S. military with the Israeli military than the more...

The two sources put the fund at $300 billion, though other officials involved in mediation would not confirm the amount, according to the report. Two diplomats briefed on the latest draft called it “an international ‘investment fund,’ which the United States would help facilitate in the event of a final deal,” and plans for which would be discussed during the initial 60-day negotiations period that the memorandum would kick off, the report says.