Free Republic

Saudi Arabia has executed 12 people in 10 days despite the Crown Prince's promise to cut down on such form of punishment, according to a human rights organisation. Reprieve said the defendants, all males, were sentenced to death after being imprisoned for non-violent drug offences. According to the non-profit organisation, which gathered data on this week's executions, most of the defendants were beheaded with a sword. Three of the men executed were Pakistani, four Syrian, two Jordanian and three Saudi, Reprieve said. Another man from Jordan was reportedly transferred to a prison wing and is due to be executed on...

Iranian football fans are openly cheering the defeat of their national team against England at the World Cup yesterday in yet another sign of protest at the authoritarian Islamic Republic. Footage emerged overnight of a man sitting on the back of a moped, brandishing a huge Union Jack which streamed behind him as he rode through the streets of Tehran in the wake of his team's 6-2 dismantling in Qatar. 'People are happy because of England's victory,' the man who filmed the spectacle from his car said solemnly.

Others fared even worse. As ISIS took over the town bakery, they converted it into a shop of horror, they rounded up the six bakers working there and executed them in their own ovens. When they began gathering Christian children at the bakery, some local soldiers attempted to rescue the kids. To discourage the soldiers, the terrorists began throwing children off nearby balconies. The horrifying tactic worked and allowed the terrorists to murder 250 kids in the bakery’s dough machine.

The Islamic Republic could be faced with global snapback sanctions which would apply even to Russia and China. Iran is trying to maintain an uncompromising stance in every area, but is up against the wall more than it has been in prior years both regarding the IAEA nuclear standoff and in confronting domestic protests. Normally, when the Islamic Republic tries to govern its foreign and internal problems using an iron hand, those it is up against retreat or back down. What is unique now is that Tehran has pulled out the stops against both the IAEA and domestic protesters, and...

Authorities in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar are prohibiting Jewish visitors from purchasing cooked kosher food or organizing prayer groups during their stay in the country for the World Cup, leading Jewish groups to accuse Doha of reneging on its promise to protect the religious rights of sports fans during the World Cup. Qatar has no diplomatic relations with Israel, but as a condition of its hosting the World Cup, FIFA mandated that Qatar not bar fans based on their nationality. With thousands of Israelis expected to travel to Doha for the games, Qatar agreed to permit Israel to...

he outgoing National Security Council chief, Dr. Eyal Hulta called out the international community's inaction regarding the protests in Iran, Israel Hayom reported. "Many speakers stated on this stage 'enough'. Enough with the failing nuclear talks in Viena, while they are advancing their nuclear program. Enough with Iran's manipulation and its ignoring of supervisors from the atomic energy board. Enough with closing our eyes while they smuggle arms to terrorists in the area and enough with the hope that this corrupt regime will act nicely. Even the people of Iran say 'enough'," stated Hulta at an international INSS conference in...

A statement by the UN Human Rights Office claimed “All information we have gathered … is consistent with the finding that the shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed...

The Azerbaijani parliament on Friday announced its historic decision to open an embassy in Israel. The embassy will be located in Tel Aviv, and will be the first embassy in Israel of a country with a Shi’ite majority and a Shi’ite government. Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said: "I welcome the decision by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan to open an embassy in Israel. Azerbaijan is an important partner of Israel and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world. The decision to open an embassy reflects the depth of the relationship between our countries."...

The Biden administration told a U.S. court that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s status as a sitting head of government shields him from a civil lawsuit brought by the fiancée of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Mr. Khashoggi, a former royal insider who criticized Prince Mohammed’s policies in Washington Post columns, was killed in 2018 and his body dismembered by Saudi agents during a visit to the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate where he was seeking papers needed to marry Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish citizen. In a filing Thursday, the State Department said “common law principles of immunity” informed its determination...

The cardinal returns to the difficult process of choosing Aoun's successor. Already five parliamentary sessions have ended in a deadlock. The rift - albeit without naming names - with Hezbollah is deepening. The disagreements over Article 49. Lebanese patriarchs and bishops launch special "Truth and Reconciliation" commission. Beirut (AsiaNews) - The suspicions put forward by the Maronite patriarch are serious and destined to cause discussion. During his last homily at Sunday Mass, the cardinal spoke of Lebanon's adversaries "who do not want to elect a president, considering it unnecessary or of relative importance that he be a Maronite Christian" as...

The Biden administration weaponizes the FBI against Israel As in the Dreyfus affair, there are no Jewish criminals here, and everyone knows it. The Biden administration has ordered the FBI probe into Shireen Abu Akleh’s death because it wants a crisis with Israel. Nov 16, 2022 The Biden administration is feeding Israel to the wolves. That is the only reasonable way to understand Channel 14’s bombshell report on Sunday that the FBI has opened an investigation of IDF soldiers in relation to the death of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. Abu Akleh died on May 11 in Jenin while...

Just how effective have Western sanctions been against Iran — and for that matter, Russia? The US has spearheaded efforts to deny both countries access to Western technology, especially that with dual-use capabilities for military purposes. In the case of Iran, those sanctions and trade restrictions go back decades.And according to an exclusive from the Wall Street Journal today, they appear significantly ineffective. Ukrainian and Western experts have begun looking at the remains of Iranian drones that targeted infrastructure in the Russian invasion, and a lot of the parts come from Western supply chains:New intelligence collected from downed Iranian drones...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, officials said Wednesday. The attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon happened Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, a Middle East-based defense official told the Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they did not have authorization to discuss the attack publicly. While no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion immediately fell on Iran. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of the US...

Former Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) has offered to serve as a “nonpartisan” Speaker of the House if Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on a candidate from either party to fill the post. The offer from Amash, a former Republican-turned-Libertarian lawmaker, comes as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) faces opposition from some members of his party, complicating his Speakership bid. “If neither party has the votes to elect a speaker of the House, I’d be happy to serve as a nonpartisan speaker who ensures the institution works as it’s supposed to—a place where all ideas are welcome and where outcomes...

US Navy forces recently seized a "massive amount" of explosive material used to fuel ballistic missiles from a fishing boat sailing from Iran to Yemen, the service said on Tuesday. The US 5th Fleet intercepted the vessel — and its four Yemeni crewmembers — crossing international waters in the Gulf of Oman on November 8, and a search of the ship led to the discovery of over 70 tons of ....

Viola Davis and Justin Trudeau are among the people who shared a viral mistruth about Iranian protesters in the past several days. A false claim that Iran plans to execute thousands of people has gone viral in the wake of the first death sentence for a protester tied to the demonstrations against the country’s clerical rulers over women’s rights. An image that has circulated widely on social media falsely says 15,000 protesters have been sentenced to death. That claim is not true, but it has been amplified by major public figures, including the actors Viola Davis and Sophie Turner and...

Islamists would have you believe their religion unites them. It is false, it only Unites the "Ummah," against the [dhimmi] infidels [kuffars], but not among tnemselves. Though ethnic bigotry existed and exist, Islamizatiom of ethnic frictions perpetuates ever more and "elevates" it as a "holy war," Jihad. Which is why the 2.7 Million Christians: Armenian (1.5), Greek & Assyrians (700,000) were slaughtered [though the Young Turks were Lefty pro secularism, Jihadism was still played.Andrew G. Bostom, The Legacy of Jihad, Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims, 2010, p.667)]. "On November 14, 1914, in Constantinople, capital of the Ottoman...

We’ve reported on the ongoing protests in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, reportedly from being beaten while in custody following her arrest for “unsuitable attire.” Late in October, the Biden Administration announced it was levying sanctions against 14 Iranian officials in response to the government’s crackdown.

(Subtitle) Isolated and embattled, Russia and Iran are increasingly cooperative. Russia once viewed the G-20 group of leading economies as the world’s key cooperative forum. No longer. The November 15-16 meeting in Bali will not be attended by Vladimir Putin and there is therefore little chance that his isolation will be illustrated through face-to-face condemnations from Western leaders. That’s not to say that Russia has no friends, just that it has fewer than before its all-out war on Ukraine began in February. North Korea, for example, has reportedly drawn closer to the Kremlin through supplies of military equipment to aid...

JERUSALEM (AP) — After nearly four years of political deadlock and five elections, Israel swore in the most right-wing parliament in its history on Tuesday. Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is working to cobble together a far-right and religious governing coalition in the 120-seat parliament, or Knesset. The surging popularity of a right-wing alliance once on the fringes of Israeli society helped propel Netanyahu’s political comeback even as he stands trial on corruption charges. The 25th Knesset was sworn into office with trumpets and choral music just hours after a Palestinian assailant went on a deadly rampage in an Israeli-controlled industrial...