Free Republic

Six months of war between the US and Iran has decimated Qatar's natural gas economy. The Gulf state saw its liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports crash by 96%. Shipping interruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the destruction of gas facilities have severely restricted its primary export income. Qatar shed nearly $24bn in gas revenues, Reuters data reported. This severe revenue shortfall equals roughly five months of national income. Qatar suffered the most severe impact, even though energy supply issues also paralysed neighbouring markets including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait. The shipping data highlights a massive disruption. Doha...

At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped when armed men attacked a once-peaceful community near Haiti’s capital earlier this week, the United Nations said Tuesday. It is believed to be one of the largest mass kidnappings in Haiti in recent years, and one gang leader is threatening to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince. Sunday’s attack on Kenscoff pierced the belief that security in the troubled Caribbean country was improving. “This is a major political and security test, for...

In a tradition dating back more than 300 years, towering pyres have been lit every July in Northern Ireland to mark the Battle of the Boyne, which effectively cemented Protestant rule. They’re held in loyalist neighborhoods – communities that strongly support the union with the United Kingdom – and often carry a political message, with effigies of the pope, the Republic of Ireland’s flag and other symbols of Catholicism and Irish nationalism being burned in the past. But this year, in the village of Moygashel, County Tyrone, the flames found a new target. A replica mosque, with a figure holding...

A teenage Muslim schoolgirl in India has been denied the right to wear her hijab to school after a High Court ruled she had failed to prove that wearing the headscarf constitutes an “essential religious practice” of Islam. The ruling was issued by the Allahabad High Court in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and has renewed debate over religious freedom, Muslim women’s rights and school dress codes in India. According to a consensus of Islamic scholars, hijab is obligatory on Muslim females once they reach puberty. The case was brought by Sukaina Rizvi, who is 15 or 16,...

A Palestinian boy reacts next to a burning Israeli vehicle that Palestinian gunmen brought to Gaza after they infiltrated areas of southern Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa). A working plan is being discussed to facilitate the departure of Palestinian families from Gaza and their reunification with relatives in Europe, according to reports from well-sourced security channels. Though European Union officials and member states have consistently rejected mass resettlement schemes for Gazans, the reported proposal, which began taking shape around two months ago, envisions an initial framework starting in early 2027 to transfer...

China warned that it would “take all necessary measures” and retaliate against the US if any of its companies are included in the Trump administration’s new secondary sanctions targeting Iran.Companies based in Hong Kong and mainland China were among the entities targeted by the US after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced “Operation Economic Outcast” on Monday to further isolate Iran. The US, however, stopped short of listing large Chinese financial institutions, with Beijing — Iran’s largest oil buyer — warning that it will do whatever it takes to protect its economic interests. *** “China has made clear on many occasions...

Dean has a sidearm which may be allowed in Canada. This is the Reichsrevolver Model 1883 with replacement cylinder pin. The group was shot with 200 grain Ultramax .44 Russian loads. They do not appear to be available any more.By Dean Weingarten | Contributing WriterThis correspondent has been considering a trip to Canada to do some research.The current Canadian government has stopped all importation of handguns for the foreseeable future.However, Canada does not classify antique guns as firearms. The requirements to qualify as an antique are strict. The handgun must have been made before 1898. The handgun may not...

Former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg supports the idea of Ukraine extending general mobilization to include women, he said in an interview with Naspravdi MAX YouTube channel on Aug. 24. In the interview, Kellogg said he considers women’s military service an important part of civic duty.

Haitian gangs killed at least 47 people and injured more than 22 in a brutal massacre inside a church on Sunday night. The Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported that the deadly church massacre occurred in Kenscoff, a hillside commune overlooking the Haitian capital city of Port-au-Prince. Per the newspaper, the neighborhood and its outskirts were under drone surveillance for several days after gangs had gained ground. Gang members opened fire inside a local church that had been serving as a shelter for displaced people. The U.N. reportedly detailed that at least 47 were killed, and more than 22 were left...

MOSCOW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. military transport plane landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport ​on Tuesday, data from the flight ‌tracking service Flightradar24 showed. The large Boeing Globemaster with the U.S. registered tail number 07-7181 had flown ​direct from Riga, in Latvia, and ​landed in Moscow at around 0700 ⁠GMT. The Kremlin said ​it had no information on the plane. The aircraft had arrived in Riga on August 23 from the ​U.S. Camp Springs airbase near Washington DC, ​data from Flightradar24 showed.

The United States on Monday formally removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move Secretary of State Marco Rubio said eliminates the final major barriers to investment and economic recovery in the country. Rubio said in a statement that he had authorized the formal rescission after a mandatory 45-day congressional notification period ended. President Donald Trump had initiated the countdown in July after confirming to Congress that Syria’s government had ceased supporting acts of international terrorism. "I have also delisted Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)," Rubio said Monday. "These...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is slamming Donald Trump as a 'loser' and the 'king of bankruptcies' after the US president criticized him on social media Monday afternoon. In a post on Truth Social, Trump referred to Ford by name as 'the less charismatic, intelligence, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford." The post came hour after an interview with "The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll" in Ottawa in which Ford said that Trump could 'kiss my *ss". At a news conference in Hamilton on Monday afternoon, Ford initially said that he wouldn't respond to a 'dictator' and...

The national average price of gasoline stood at $4.05 a gallon Monday, the highest ever recorded this late in the calendar year, as escalating geopolitical conflicts on two fronts threaten to push prices even higher heading into the Labor Day weekend. In Washington, drivers are paying more than $5 a gallon throughout much of the state, well above the national average tracked by fuel price service GasBuddy. The price surge comes as President Donald Trump announced plans to launch what he described as "the most crushing economic operation" against Iran, adding fresh uncertainty to global oil markets already strained by...

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that U.S. trade demands confirmed Canada's fears that U.S. President Donald Trump was seeking to dismantle its auto industry, as Trump threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel, and as Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned Canada could cut off electricity and critical minerals to the United States.Carney said Canada remained willing to negotiate, but only if Washington approached the talks as a partnership between sovereign countries. He said "an attitude at the negotiation table that Canada is a subsidiary of the United States" is "not something we're...

It was meant to be an outing for Black children in Berlin and their families, offering them an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool set up by a local theatre. But the plans, slated for earlier this month, had to be scrapped after they were seized on by rightwing and conservative voices to whip up outrage, leaving organisers fending off racist emails and threats. Berlin’s Volksbühne theatre said it had extended the invitation in hopes of dismantling some of the barriers that would normally keep these children away from the pool. While other groups had similarly been invited to use...

President Donald Trump on Sunday night appeared to confirm that federal immigration authorities have active or contemplated enforcement proceedings against radical “Squad” Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota over long-standing allegations of immigration fraud. Trump shared a bombshell report from Just the News revealing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement refused to release records concerning its investigation into the Minnesota Democrat. ICE claimed that disclosing the records could interfere with “enforcement proceedings.” Trump posted the report to Truth Social Sunday evening without adding further commentary.

Washington views Quebec’s provincial language statutes—specifically Bill 96 (revising the Charter of the French Language) and Bill 109 (affirming cultural sovereignty and digital discoverability)—as unfair trade barriers and irritants that burden American companies. Bill 96: Overhauls commercial and legal language use, requiring French labeling, product descriptions, warranties, and instruction manuals, alongside trademark translation adjustments for businesses.Bill 109: Targets digital platforms and streaming services (such as Netflix and Spotify), mandating that interfaces accommodate French configurations and allowing potential local content quotas. The U.S. had issues with Canada's subsidies for French culture; the prevalence of French-language media online and even the requirement...

Iran’s supreme leader is under mounting pressure over the war — as the regime’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz weakens, cash finally starts to get tight and top political leaders publicly urge the Islamists in charge to find a way out of the conflict. The latest phase of the conflict has seen more and more ships quietly slipping through Hormuz, with nearly 200 vessels sailing through the strait last week, according to data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center. The flow represents a 400% spike in the last two weeks, with maritime analysts Kpler noting that the traffic...

"Dana Bash speaks with former Vice President Mike Pence about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the renewed threat of a trade war between the U.S. and Canada, and his reaction to his former CIA briefer - a trans woman - stating that he treated her with "great dignity." ...

Nearly six months after the U.S. Navy evacuated 1,300 family members from Bahrain at the start of the Iran war, officials are saying the evacuees cannot return for the foreseeable future and should find new homes elsewhere. The evacuation has left families in limbo and forced military officials to improvise solutions for support programs that were never designed to sustain a displacement lasting this long. Some evacuees say they have spent tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket for basic living expenses. Others are sleeping on the floors of temporary housing, while their cars and furniture are stranded in...