Free Republic

[photo-rich article] Thousands of Indian farmers protesting against agricultural reforms breached barricades on Tuesday to enter the historic Red Fort complex in the capital and hoist flags after clashing with police who fired tear gas to scatter them The protesters marched, rode horses and drove long lines of tractors to New Delhi where they stormed the historic site in a symbolic challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.... ...People watched in shock as the takeover of the fort, which was built in the 17th century and served as the palace of Mughal emperors, was shown live on hundreds of news...

CHINA and India have held their ninth round of military commander-level talks in a bid to ease border tensions between the two nations. Tens of thousands of troops on both sides are currently stationed in freezing temperatures around the region of Ladakh in a bitter standoff that has lasted for months. Tensions in the area flared last year after a clash between groups of Indian and Chinese troops left at least 20 soldiers dead in June. While both sides have placed air and land defences along the boundary that separates them, they have also engaged in peace talks. Now, Indian...

She is a gynecologist. He is a surgeon. They are married and both 77 years old. In mid-November, they were diagnosed with COVID-19, first her, then him. Their paths diverge at this point, but not to worry. She took the drug hydroxychloroquine. He took ivermectin. They are both well now – walking, golfing, doing yoga — seven weeks later.The couple’s brush with COVID might have ended very differently. In the United States, patients 75 to 84 years old die at 220 times the rate of adults under 30. But these two elderly, otherwise healthy physicians live in India. They were...

NEW DELHI—India and China have issued official statements after reports emerged of a Chinese village on Indian land in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. While the Indian government has said that it’s keeping an eye on all Chinese infrastructure building happening on the disputed border, the Chinese regime has defended its construction saying that it “never recognized” Arunachal Pradesh as a part of India. The Chinese built a village consisting of 101 houses along the Tsari Chu river in the border state, according to the U.S.-based imaging company Planet Labs. The construction of the village was completed 2.5 miles into...

Under a so-called "freedom of religion" ordinance, individuals leaving the Hindu faith in yet another state in India will lead to persecution of Christians. Nine out of 28 states in India have adopted anti-conversion laws, the latest Madhya Pradesh, which is located in the central part of the country and has a population of more than 75 million residents – the fifth largest in India. Approximately 90% of the state's population is Hindu; less than 0.3% are Christian. William Stark of International Christian Concern explains that the recently enacted anti-conversion law in Madhya Pradesh requires people who convert to Christianity,...

Wildlife rescuers responded to a reservoir in India where an elephant became stranded in the water with its legs tangled in a fishing net. The Forest Department said rescue crews responded to the Nugu reservoir, near Bandipur, when an elephant was seen standing in place in the water for more than three hours, sparking suspicions that the animal's legs were tangled in an illegal fishing net. The crews confirmed the elephant was caught in a net, but they couldn't get close enough to help because the animal would splash at boats that approached. The elephant finally allowed the rescue boats...

In August, Russia unveiled the export version of its fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 fighter aircraft. Displayed at the Army-2020 International Military and Technical Forum, the Su-57E also took part in the arms tradeshow’s flight demonstration program. Among the nations that apparently expressed interest in the aircraft was India, which The EurAsian Times reported was “seriously considering exploring an initial batch of ‘off the shelf’ Su-57 jets from Russia to evaluate their capabilities – before entering into a contract for joint production.”

A 45-year-old immigrant from India and Twitter's top lawyer, Vijaya Gadde, spearheaded the decision to permanently suspend US President Donald Trump's Twitter accounts.

Currently, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is operated by more than twenty-five nations around the world. While the single-engine supersonic multirole fighter is no longer being purchased by the U.S. Air Force – for whom the aircraft was first developed – improved versions are still being exported and nearly 4,600 have been produced. The aircraft, which is now produced by Lockheed Martin, which essentially acquired General Dynamics’ aircraft manufacturing business in the 1990s, has highlighted the key facets of the Cold War-era fighter – claiming it to be the best value among fourth-generation jets for its capabilities and affordable...

The Chinese military is equipping soldiers stationed in Tibet with newly developed helmets embedded with a self-destruct button. The button will trigger an embedded bomb to go off, killing the soldier. “At a battalion or brigade level command center, a commander monitors a soldier who is far away by using the navigation system. The commander can activate the self-destruct function of the soldier’s helmet if he can’t get in contact with him,” state-run media China Observer reported on Dec. 27. Soldiers can also press the button themselves. “If a soldier is seriously wounded and doesn’t want to be captured, he...

Twitter is being controlled by "Islamist nations and Chinese propaganda", the Bollywood actress tweeted a day after Twitter ban on Donald Trump. Sharing a 2015 tweet of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut on Sunday slammed Jack accusing him of showing intolerance "for anything". The tweet comes a day after the micro-blogging platform permanently banned US outgoing President Donald Trump's personal handle @realDonaldTrump and @TeamTrump and deleted some recent posts of @POTUS handle. Kangana quoted an old tweet of Jack where the CEO had said Twitter stands for freedom of expression and asked him to stop preaching. "We...

A failure in Pakistan's national power grid left more than 200 million people without electricity Saturday, local officials said. The widespread blackout happened just before midnight, plunging the major cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar into darkness, Energy Minister Omar Ayub said. He added that mobile and Internet services also were affected. Ayub said the power grid failed after high transmission lines tripped, causing the frequency in the distribution system to drop suddenly from 50 to zero. Officials said it could take several hours for power to be restored. "Systematic restoration of power will be initiated soon," representatives from...

A call centre racket in India swindled some 4,500 US nationals out of more than US$14 million (S$18 million) over the past two years, after convincing them to hand over their money by claiming their bank accounts were linked to drug cartels. Police in New Delhi, who said they were stunned at the scale and sophistication of the operation, have been interrogating more than 50 people who were arrested after a Dec 17 raid on its premises. The employees of the call centre in Peera Garhi, west of Delhi, would put on American accents and call potential victims pretending to...

In November 2020, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hu Chun Ying, along with the foreign ministers of the three European member states, said that “The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) alone does not solve all the problems and negotiations and multilateral talks should take place in the Middle East.” The Iranian regime did not welcome the announcement. Over the past year, the Islamic Republic leaders have used all their resources to downgrade and neutralize the United States’ policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran. The regime in Iran rushed to quickly implement a 25-year strategic pact between Iran and China...

Your prognosis is good for your obedience is in tact leaving no opening for the enemy to get in. You are a pillar of light and fire destroying darkness leaving no stone unturned and your voice is my whip against the enemy causing them to run while suffering great pain and agony now advance as you take back My land from the enemy of my children's hearts for you carry My Sword of Truth

In New Delhi, the change of guard in the leadership of the Western Theatre Command raised hope that the replacement of General Zhao may not be as aggressively anti-Indian as his predecessor Chinese President Xi Jinping has sacked General Zhao Zongqi, the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) powerful Western Theatre Commander responsible for the ongoing military standoff with India in eastern Ladakh. General Zhang Xudong has been picked as his replacement, a commander who has never served along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). General Zhao: Brain behind Doklam and Ladakh standoff In New Delhi, the change of guard in the...

INDIAN naval ships have conducted "passage exercise" manoeuvres with their Vietnamese counterparts in the South China Sea causing Beijing to label New Delhi as "meddling" in disputed territory. The joint exercises in the South China Sea were part of both nation's efforts to boost their combined maritime cooperation to contain China's expansionist plans for the region. India sent its naval ship INS Kiltan to the South China Sea. The Indian Navy tweeted: "INS Kiltan arrives at Ho Chi Minh City to deliver Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Stores for the flood-affected people of Central Vietnam." Part of the ship's...

Several Hindus had taken out a Ramnidhi Sangrahan rally in Ujjain to collect donations for the Ram Mandir constructions at Ayodhya when it was attacked by stones in a Muslim dominated area A violent Muslim mob targeted Hindu groups and pelted stones at them for carrying out yatra near Begumbagh in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening. According to the reports, several Hindus had taken out a Ramnidhi Sangrahan rally in Ujjain to collect donations for the Ram Mandir constructions at Ayodhya. The rally was scheduled to start from the tower area and end at Bharat Mata Mandir in Mahakal...

Stand-up comic Saikiran's dissection of India's obsession with fairness is not just skin-deep.

A 28-year-old Muslim man by the name of Qasim Khan has been receiving death threats from his own community members after he willingly left Islam and embraced Hinduism. While talking to the media, he said, “My name was Qasim and after I converted people from Muslim community are threatening to kill me & my family. I need police protection.” Aligarh Superintendent of Police (Crime) Arvind Kumar informed that a case has been registered based on his complaint. He added that Qasim is being threatened by some people and that security has been deployed outside his house in Aligarh. As per...