Free Republic

The US comedian whose late-night show was briefly cancelled after pressure from Donald Trump’s government is to urge UK audiences to stand up for free speech. In a defiant alternative Christmas message on Channel 4, Jimmy Kimmel will liken the first year of Trump’s second administration to the rise of fascism. Sitting beside a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits, Kimmel will quip: “From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year.” He is also expected to warn that press freedoms can be snuffed out quickly, and urge UK viewers to resist attacks on free speech....

American troops may be deployed on the ground after President Trump's bombing of ISIS targets, a Nigerian official has suggested. Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar said his government had not ruled out working with American troops, something Trump has suggested in recent weeks. Tuggar said the issue would be something for the Nigerian government to 'consider', when asked by CNN about Trump's threats to send in the US military 'guns-a-blazing' this week. On Thursday, the Pentagon said the Nigerian government approved the strikes and collaborated with the US military to carry them out. However, the official also pushed back on...

New revelations this week supercharged two scandals in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, drawing unprecedented criticism from political allies. At the heart of the controversy sit the so-called Qatargate scandal and an investigation into the leak of classified intelligence to the German Bild tabloid. Seemingly separate affairs, both involve Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for the premier, and Jonatan Urich, a close Netanyahu aide. In the Qatargate affair, Urich and Feldstein are suspected of taking money to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters, in order to boost Qatar's image as a mediator in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, all while...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is preparing to dash to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate for an urgent meeting, just days after declaring in a Christmas message that he hoped Vladimir Putin would perish. It comes as the Russian dictator suffered a humiliating Christmas Day defeat after Ukrainian forces took back full control of a city the Kremlin had claimed two months ago. Ukrainian media reports suggest the high-stakes meeting with Trump could take place as soon as December 28, if final arrangements are agreed. The Kyiv leader confirmed that preparations are underway after receiving an update from his chief negotiator, Rustem...

The Department of Homeland Security and ICE revealed earlier this week that they're giving illegal immigrants a lucrative incentive to leave our country voluntarily. On December 22, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a program that would give illegal immigrants a one-time payment of $3,000 if they self-deported. That's a $2,000 increase from the $1,000 incentive the Trump administration has been offering since the start of his second term. "Well, it's home for the holidays season so, you know, not only are we returning those kiddos back to their families that Biden lost, we also are saying that if you...

Indonesia has a reputation for being a “moderate” Muslim nation, but the wind in the Islamic world as a whole is blowing in the opposite direction, as a group of Christians has just discovered. Morning Star News, which tracks the persecution of Christians worldwide, reported Tuesday that “as police looked on, Muslims in West Java Province, Indonesia on Dec. 14 formed a human wall to block Christians from attending a Christmas service, according to local media.” Notice that it has now been nearly a quarter-century since 9/11, and while we have seen heroic individual Muslims such as Ahmed al-Ahmed, who...

Donald Trump announced a 'powerful and deadly' Christmas Day strike on ISIS 'terrorist scum' in Nigeria and warned that radicals will continue to pay for the persecution of Christians. The president, who previously threatened to send the US military to the West African nation 'guns-a-blazing,' made the announcement in a Truth Social post Thursday evening. 'Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!' he...

President Donald Trump stated that, acting as Commander in Chief, he directed the United States to carry out a “powerful and deadly strike” in northwest Nigeria against ISIS terrorists, whom he identified as responsible for targeting and killing innocent Christians at historically severe levels. On Christmas night, President Donald Trump announced: “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump wrote: I have previously...

When elections were annulled in Romania, Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner, said: "We did it in Romania, and we will do it in Germany." It’s worth remembering that quote when the same institutions now lecture others about coercion and democratic norms. ... Elon Musk .. Tyranny Breton gets his dessert

The recent presidential elections in Honduras felt like the never-ending story in recent weeks, but we can officially report that Nasry "Tito" Asfura is the winner. He's the conservative candidate who was backed by Donald Trump earlier this year. It was close. Asfura received just over 40% of the vote, while center-right candidate Salvador Nasralla got about 39.5%. The far-left socialist candidate, Rixi Moncada, who was hand-picked by the sitting president received about 19% of the vote. The inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2026, and, despite initial claims of fraud, current president Xiomara Castro promises there will be a...

There continues to be a debate among global geopolitical analysts regarding whether the United States and China are engaged in a Cold War or a competition for global dominance.The answer is irrelevant.By anyone's observation, China seeks to dominate the 21st century, and they will do so by "any means necessary." In the process, they will use their military might to create a sphere of influence that is designed to cow nations that range from Japan to Australia to India.Their invasion of Taiwan is almost a foregone conclusion among many military observers, who believe it is not a question of if...

ANYONE WHO has stood in a long queue at border control, or bypassed one, knows that not all passports are created equal. Citizens of some countries can speed through the gates; citizens of others must submit to interrogation and delay. Henley & Partners, a consultancy that helps rich people acquire citizenship in attractive countries, ranks passports by the number of countries their holders can enter without a visa. Its latest assessment of passport power shows that America is sliding down the table. Our map below shows how countries compare this year. Asian countries dominate the top of the table. Singapore...

Each Christmas The Economist names a country of the year. Not the happiest: that would nearly always be Scandinavian, making for a dull, predictable contest. Nor the most influential: that would always be a superpower. Rather, we try to identify the country that has improved the most, whether economically, politically or in any other way that matters.The year was a turbulent one, with President Donald Trump disrupting global trade and horrific conflicts scarring places such as Gaza and Sudan. But several countries navigated choppy waters well. Canada elected a sober technocrat as prime minister, rather than a populist, and stood...

When describing U.S. President Donald Trump’s governing style, and particularly his relationships with other countries, two words tend to come up frequently: “mercurial” and “transactional.” The latter suits several U.S. allies, partners, and even adversaries just fine, while the former has buffeted even some of Washington’s closest and most enduring partnerships over the past year. In examining which countries have benefited the most and least from the second Trump administration, we intentionally excluded the parties to the two biggest conflicts that it is trying to mediate—one between Israel and Hamas, the other between Russia and Ukraine. Both of those conflicts...

Nasry “Tito” Asfura, the conservative candidate in Honduras endorsed by President Trump, was declared the winner of the country’s presidential election on Wednesday after a weeks-long vote count. Asfura, the 67-year-old former mayor of the Central American country’s capital city of Tegucigalpa, edged out Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla in a 40.27% to 39.53% vote, according to electoral authorities. Rixi Moncada of the left-wing incumbent LIBRE Party finished with only 19.19% of the vote. “Honduras: I am prepared to govern,” Asfura wrote on X. “I will not fail you.” Trump publicly backed Asfura last month ahead of the Nov. 30...

A group of Western and allied states issued a joint statement condemning the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of 19 new communities in Judea and Samaria, stating that the move was "part of a wider intensification of the settlement policies in the West Bank." The statement, issued by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom, described the decision as a unilateral action and claimed that such steps "not only violate international law but also risk fueling instability." According to the statement, the decision risks undermining "the implementation of the Comprehensive...

Bit by bit, a Turkish front is forming, more dangerous than Israel’s seven arenas since Oct. 7. Erdogan’s ideology and ambition require Israel to refocus on a higher strategic risk.Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s political and military leadership has claimed that seven different arenas threaten it. It seems that, bit by bit but consistently, an eighth menacing front is forming, one that in many ways is more dangerous than the others.This is the Turkish front. Turkey, which until about 23 years ago was one of Israel’s greatest friends, has become a real enemy since Erdogan rose to power.The main factors...

KYIV—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to pull troops out of the eastern region of Donetsk and create a demilitarized free economic zone as part of a potential peace deal, provided Russia took similar steps to withdraw from areas it controls. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Zelensky said the proposal and other aspects of a 20-point plan would be put to a referendum. The territorial dispute across the Donbas, the eastern flank of Ukraine where some of the heaviest fighting is raging, is one of the chief sticking points in the latest version of a plan to...

The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure US tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. The Europeans, described by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponized” nongovernmental organizations, fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May that restricts the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for the censorship of protected speech in the United States. “For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” Rubio posted on X. “The Trump administration will no...

Hundreds of Christians in China will likely spend Christmas in jail this year, according to a recent report. Starting on Dec. 13, the Chinese Communist Party mobilized “more than a thousand police officers, SWAT units, anti-riot forces, and firefighters” in the Zhejiang Province’s Yayang Town in Wenzhou City, raiding churches and conducting mass arrests of Christians, ChinaAid reported Friday. “Belongings of relevant individuals were illegally confiscated, roads leading to the church were completely blocked by police, and Christians in Yayang Town were unable to enter the Yayang church. The operation lasted nearly five days, yet no public statement was issued...