Free Republic

Iran's supreme leader has for the first time publicly acknowledged that thousands of people were killed during recent protests. In a speech on Saturday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said thousands had been killed, "some in an inhuman, savage manner", and blamed the US for the deaths. A violent response to the unrest has claimed 3,090 lives, according to US-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), with some activist groups putting the death toll far higher. An internet blackout has made it extremely difficult to get clear information. US President Donald Trump recently urged Iranian demonstrators to "keep protesting" and threatened...

In a request for opinion filed to state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office on Dec. 12, Hancock asked whether schools could be excluded from the program if they were linked to a “foreign terrorist organization” or a “foreign adversary.” Hancock suggested schools that had hosted events for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group which Gov. Greg Abbott recently designated as a terrorist organization, would be affected. Abbott’s designation of CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization is part of an uptick in Texas politicians’ criticisms of Islam and the presence of Muslim organizations in the state. The...

What angers me most about the Minnesota situation is not even the fraud, but the sheer ingratitude behind it. I just spent several weeks in Vietnam, a country where people genuinely love America. History makes that fact almost surreal, but it is absolutely true. For so many people, their greatest dream is to see the United States, not even to immigrate, just to visit. Take the night watch guy at the studio I rent in Saigon. Every night he sat there reading English books. But he was not studying English. He had already mastered that. He was studying American history,...

The Iranian regime is in dire straits. Thanks to the decisive actions of President Trump and the State of Israel, the Islamic Republic is no longer the regional power it once was, and it now faces crises on every front. Iran’s military infrastructure has been seriously degraded, and its illicit nuclear program has been severely decimated. Its network of proxies throughout the Middle East is disintegrating: Hezbollah is seriously diminished; the Assad dynasty has collapsed; Iranian-backed militias in Iraq face mounting political and public backlash; and Hamas is a shadow of its former self. The domestic situation is also bleak....

President Herzog and Foreign Minister Saar say government ignored the rise of Islamist extremism and antisemitismAt least 12 dead in Australia, including suspected shooter, after Hanukkah event shooting Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, reacted to the shooting that killed at least 12 people during an attack on a Hanukkah event in Australia. Israeli officials were quick to lay blame for the deadly shooting in Sydney, Australia, at the feet of the nation's government on Sunday, saying it had ignored "countless warning signs" of antisemitism. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu read aloud at a government...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), Community Capital Partners (CCP), and several of their leaders, alleging that they engaged in an illegal land development scheme that violated Texas securities laws.Promotional materials allegedly described the development as the “epicenter of Islam in North America” and implied it would be reserved for Muslims, despite assurances to the contrary.According to the lawsuit, CCP—formed by EPIC as a vehicle to purchase and develop more than 400 acres in Hunt and Collin counties—engaged in fraudulent practices while soliciting investments for the EPIC City project. Promotional...

Last May, two brothers allegedly bound their 18-year-old sister in packing tape, gagged her, and drowned her in a swamp. This was an honour killing, motivated by what the girl’s brothers saw as her ‘westernisation.’ During the trial last week, WhatsApp messages revealed that the family’s main grievances were the fact that she had refused an arranged marriage, had a boyfriend, and had stopped wearing a headscarf. “There is no other solution,” one of the brothers wrote in a message. The girl’s own mother said that she was “a disgrace to the family and deserves to die” and should be...

A teenager died after she was tied up and thrown into a swamp to drown in an honour killing because her Western behaviour shamed her family, according to prosecutors in the Netherlands. Ryan Al Najjar's brothers have now been put on trial for her murder, while her father, who is accused of ordering the killing, fled the country to return to Syria. Mohamed, 23, and Muhanad Al Najjar, 25, are charged with taking part in the horrific crime against their 18-year-old sister, whose body was found gagged with her hands bound behind her back, ankles taped together, and submerged in...

West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of West Virginia, has died after being shot Wednesday in a Washington, D.C. ambush just blocks from the White House. President Donald Trump confirmed the news Thursday night, noting he was told just seconds before speaking to members of the military at Mar-a-Lago. "I heard that Sarah Beckstrom, of West Virginia, ... highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023, outstanding in every way, she's just passed away," Trump said. "She's no longer with us. She's looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It's just...

Europe is facing a growing wave of anti-Christian violence, with Germany recording the highest number of arson attacks in 2024. According to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe), a total of 2,211 anti-Christian offenses were documented across the continent, including 274 personal attacks involving physical violence and threats. Analysts warn that these figures reflect a climate of growing intolerance that affects local communities in concrete ways. While Europe saw a slight decrease from 2,444 offenses in 2023, OIDAC Europe attributes this to incomplete data collection. Serious incidents included the fatal November 2024 attack on...

PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA !! We are interested in hearing from any Christian individual who has the experience of living and working (or having lived and worked), for 1,000 days or longer, inside of a country governed by a totalitarian or authoritarian system or regime; that governing system/regime being either religious or atheistic. When we say, totalitarian or authoritarian, we give as examples: communist, National Socialist, authoritarian military junta, Islamic or Mohammedan, or the like. If otherwise, you may describe your own situation, and we may find that it applies. We hope to form a...

Child safety professionals and neighbours failed to speak up about a 10-year-old girl before she was murdered by her Pakistani father and step-mother because they were worried about being branded “racist” for questioning them. Authorities may have missed opportunities to save Sara Sharif, who was 10-years-old when she was murdered in August 2023, because fears over questioning her Pakistani taxi driver father could lead to accusations of racism, a safeguarding review into the girl’s death have found. Sara, who was described as being of “dual heritage” as she was born to a Pakistani father and Polish mother, started wearing a...

The Magnum Ice Cream Company has concluded that the chair of its Ben & Jerry's brand no longer "meets the criteria" to serve as a board member after internal investigations, it said in an SEC filing, as an ongoing internal feud continues. The Magnum-led ice cream venture, which also incorporates the Wall's and Cornetto brands, is being spun off from consumer goods conglomerate Unilever in an Amsterdam listing now planned for Dec. 8 after a delay of around one month due to the U.S. government shutdown. Unilever and Ben & Jerry's have been at odds since at least 2021 when...

Two people have been arrested after multiple people were stabbed on a train. British Transport Police are currently responding to the incident after an LNER train was stopped in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Armed officers attended the scene and two men were arrested following 999 calls at 19.39 GMT. More than 30 officers were sent to the scene. No details about how many people have been stabbed have been released, or how serious the injuries are. A Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said: "Two men have been arrested by police this evening after more than 30 officers were called to Huntingdon Train Station. "We...

SUMMARY Emergency services have been called after "multiple people" were stabbed on a train travelling in Cambridgeshire Two people have been arrested, Cambridgeshire Police say - pictures show them responding to the scene at Huntingdon station There are no fatalities, but ten people are in hospital - with nine believed to have life-threatening injuries - according to British Transport Police The train involved was the 18:25 service from Doncaster to London King's Cross An eyewitness told the BBC they saw a man bolting down the carriage with a bloody arm, saying "they've got a knife, run", and a man collapsed...

The FBI hauled in five suspects Friday, shutting down what officials say was a Halloween-weekend terror plot in Michigan with ties to ISIS. “This morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend,” FBI Director Kash Patel announced on X. Federal agents grabbed the suspects in Dearborn and Inkster, according to three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the case. Investigators say the group discussed launching an attack around Halloween — a date they allegedly called “pumpkin day.” Authorities moved before anyone could strike, though...

In a startling episode of bureaucratic overreach, the British National Health Service (NHS) quietly removed a controversial guidance document extolling supposed “benefits” of first-cousin marriage, from “stronger extended family support systems” to “economic advantages.” The document barely saw the light of day before public outcry forced its withdrawal.However, the deeper issue remains: a publicly funded health institution considering normalizing consanguineous marriage based on cultural sensitivity is concerning.It’s a warning sign that the U.K. is quickly losing its grip on both medical ethics and science.Image generated by Chat GPT Let’s be clear. Marrying one’s first cousin is a known risk factor...

Sir Sadiq Khan has been accused of "turning a blind eye" to rape gangs in London after a new investigation claimed to find evidence of a "cover-up" in the capital. The investigation, conducted by The Daily Express and My London, revealed young girls had been raped in hotels by groups of men. However, Sir Sadiq was accused of ignoring concerns about grooming gangs operating in London following a spat with City Hall Conservative Susan Hall. The details of at least six potential victims were documented in the pages of four different His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue...

Iran said on Saturday (Oct 18) that it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its "commitment to diplomacy". The 2015 deal - signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - saw the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme. But the pact had already been in tatters after Washington unilaterally withdrew during President Donald Trump's first term, with Iran later pulling back from its commitment. The...

Operatives have been discovered in Italy, Germany, Sweden and Denmark, and are working to obtain permanent residence permits. European leaders are drawing up plans for maintaining peace in the Middle East. But reports suggest they should be more concerned about the presence of extremists at home. Italian daily Libero Quotidiano warned on Thursday that “Hamas is already among us,” with an “armed, organised network ready to strike.” Giovanni Giacalone, who is an expert on terrorism and Islamic groups, also told il Giornale on Friday that while “it’s difficult to provide a precise estimate of how many Hamas supporters there are...