Free Republic

BERLIN—Germany accused Russia of being behind a plot to send explosive drones to a German airport last month and pledged to retaliate against Moscow, a rare public attribution of blame in the widening campaign of incursions and sabotage across NATO territory. “We do not consider ourselves at war but we are the daily target of hybrid warfare,” said German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, announcing the findings Tuesday from an investigation into the incident at Germany’s Leipzig airport last month, for which he said Russia was responsible. The drone incident marked a serious escalation in what European security and military officials...

An entire batch of Russian low Earth orbit satellites, intended to help create Moscow's version of Starlink, has failed to reach or remain at their anticipated altitudes just over a month after launch. The 16 Rassvet-3 satellites, launched on July 19, were originally supposed to orbit the Earth at an altitude of roughly 500 miles, according to the company developing the constellation, Bureau 1440. But publicly available US Space Force data shows that, as of Tuesday, the Rassvet-3 satellites are instead orbiting at altitudes of between 190 miles and 250 miles. Atmospheric drag at that altitude significantly shortens a satellite's...

NATO member Turkey would consider taking its relations with the China and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to a higher level, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. "Turkey's prospect of (full) membership to the organization does not imply a breakaway from any other bloc or from the West," Erdogan said, according to a transcript of remarks he made to journalists on his return flight from Kyrgyzstan. Erdogan attended a summit of the SCO, of which Turkey is a "dialog partner," in Bishkek on Tuesday. Erdogan also said on Wednesday that a mechanism is needed to permanently ensure...

Raúl Castro turned 95 years old in June, so this isn't exactly a big news flash, but if rumors are true, he's not doing too well. Various Miami-based Cuban exile media outlets have reported that a source inside his inner circle says he has had a stroke and is in the hospital in critical condition. Some are even reporting that he's intubated and that machines are keeping him alive. Dr. Andy S. Gomez of Local 10 in Florida has also confirmed that Cuban sources tell him Castro is hospitalized, but he refused to say more or speculate about his condition....

The oil agreement is a foundation, not a finish line but it is a hopeful moment of progress

An unidentified object exploded at a train station in the southern German city of Augsburg early Wednesday morning, with two people sustaining minor injuries due to acoustic trauma, police said. Window panes were also reportedly damaged by the explosion, which occurred in a building passageway. No information is yet available regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident. Parts of the station were closed off as police continued investigating the scene. The State Criminal Police Office (LKA) is on the scene with an explosive-disposal robot, the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reported. Police first responded to the incident at around 5 a.m. local time....

The elderly grimace, hobbling on crutches, and wide-eyed children stare, cradling chickens carried from homes they were forced to leave behind. "It feels good to be in my own country," 35-year-old Nazia says, just minutes after she crosses from Pakistan, where she was born, into Afghanistan. The Torkham crossing, known as "Zero Point", is where one hard life ends and another begins. "But I've never been to Afghanistan before and many people here don't even have enough bread to eat," Nazia sighs as she heads, two of her children in tow, toward registration counters festooned with white and black Taliban...

US forces have reportedly begun launching military strikes in Iran this evening (Tuesday). According to the initial reports, the attacks were conducted on Qeshm Island and in Chabahar, Iran; explosions were heard in both areas. A senior US official said: “We struck sites in the Bandar Abbas area." All of the targets attacked are in the Strait of Hormuz area. The US Central Command issued a statement saying, "Today at 12:00 PM Eastern Time, US forces began attacking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran. The attacks come after recent attempted attacks by the Revolutionary Guard Corps against commercial ships...

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged continued support for Iran on Tuesday as the United States launched a new round of strikes against Iranian targets, highlighting the increasingly close relationship between Moscow and Tehran as President Donald Trump intensifies military and economic pressure on the Islamic Republic. *** The Post reported that Pezeshkian thanked Putin for Russia's support and urged the two countries to work together to counter U.S. sanctions. Putin said Russia was providing Iran with assistance and essential goods, according to the Post's account of the meeting. The Kremlin's support for Tehran came as U.S. forces launched a new...

The U.S. military hit targets in Iran on Tuesday after it said Tehran tried to attack commercial ships and American forces in the Middle East, as hostilities flare once again in an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. The U.S. strikes, and others on Sunday, abruptly ended a month without military action and threatens to fully reprise a conflict that has spiked global oil prices and posed political problems for Republicans in November’s midterm congressional elections. The renewed fighting comes after President Donald Trump had appeared to pivot toward trying to bend Iran to his will through...

Amajor Tehran theater production has dropped a prominent actor after his support for Palestine triggered fierce backlash, exposing a rare reversal where a stance strongly backed by the Islamic Republic appears to have become a liability with the public. Navid Mohammadzadeh, one of Iran’s most prominent film and theater actors, was removed Monday from the cast of the theater-orchestral production “Arash,” according to a statement from the production team. The producers cited “multiple controversies,” unspecified personal problems and, unusually, “the lack of audience interest in him” as reasons for the decision, saying a replacement would be announced soon. The wording...

Cybersecurity researchers have found surveillance backdoors in Chinese carrier routers made by Zbtlink and the same software in a different Zbtlink-made router sold through Amazon. Chinese law requires telecom and internet companies to provide technical assistance to police and state-security agencies. In an Aug. 27 report, cybersecurity firm VulnCheck said it found two hidden programs in an $88 router bought through Amazon from a U.S. seller. One, which the researchers named Speakingstone, sends information about the router to a remote server and can receive instructions to redirect internet traffic, obtain login credentials, or take control of the device. The second,...

The U.S.–Canada trade talks broke down on Aug. 21. Although both sides hold completely different views, they agreed on two common dealbreakers: bilateral coordination on Canada’s future trade deals with third countries and how deep tariff-rate cuts should go across sectors like autos, steel, and aluminum. A third, exempting U.S. companies from having to feature French-language content on streaming platforms, was resolved on Aug. 27 when the United States dropped the demand. Analysts say both sides share one other thing: the China factor, which neither names but looms over both positions.Neither the Canadian Prime Minister Carney nor U.S. Trade Representative...

Governor Ron DeSantis: We’ve designated CAIR, named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terror financing trial in history, as a foreign terrorist organization. All states should follow suit. We’ve also removed Soros-backed DAs who refuse to honor their oaths to enforce the law. Amazing!

When visiting a new place, one should follow local rules and customs. Hence the old axiom, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Apparently, in modern Britain, that requires a nine-page government instruction manual. The U.K. Home Office recently published “Understanding Behaviours and Expectations in the UK: A Guide for Asylum Seekers.” It begins by acknowledging the obvious: We understand that coming to a new country can be difficult, and that laws and customs here may be different from your home country. Fair enough. Every country has its own laws and customs. But the British government’s instructions go well...

President Trump's order to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America" is stirring up more controversy, as tech companies decide whether to comply or not. The big picture: Google and other digital map providers — like MapQuest and Apple — have split on whether to accept the name change or keep Lake Ontario on their maps. Driving the news: An Axios review of Google and Apple Maps on Sunday showed Google now says "Lake America" on mobile and desktop, while Apple Maps says Lake Ontario. Google said Saturday that it had changed the maps in accordance with updates from the U.S....

A U.N. committee warned Monday a host countries are legally bound to offer immediate cash settlements as reparations for the transatlantic slave trade alongside other yet to be determined measures – including, but not limited to “truth commissions” – to address the “enduring legacy of racial discrimination” it cautions still envelops the world to this day. The beneficiaries will be “people of African descent.”

President Donald Trump has threatened to blow up Kharg Island to "smithereens" after Iran attacked two US bases in Jordan following a US strike on two launchers on Iran's Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. ~snip~ In another post on Monday, the president said that they are a "failed nation" with sky-high inflation, no navy and no air force. "The only thing they have is FAKE NEWS from the USA, a willingness to kill their protesters (now over 100,000 people dead. They must be tried for war crimes against humanity!), and a good line of 'BULLSH*T,'" Trump added.

President Trump's order to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America" is stirring up more controversy, as tech companies decide whether to comply or not.The big picture: Google and other digital map providers — like MapQuest and Apple — have split on whether to accept the name change or keep Lake Ontario on their maps. Driving the news: An Axios review of Google and Apple Maps on Sunday showed Google now says "Lake America" on mobile and desktop, while Apple Maps says Lake Ontario.Google said Saturday that it had changed the maps in accordance with updates from the U.S. Geographic Names...

Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized Moscow's plan to open additional polling stations for elections to the Russian State Duma in the unrecognized Transnistrian region. According to Ukrinform, NewsMaker stated this in an article. "The opening by Russia of an additional 16 polling stations in the Transnistrian region for elections to the Russian State Duma is unacceptable without the consent of Moldova's constitutional authorities," the diplomats said. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry was responding to a statement by Vadim Krasnoselsky, leader of the unrecognized Transnistrian region, who said that 17 polling stations would be opened in Transnistria for the Russian...