Free Republic

As Pakistan positioned itself as a diplomatic conduit between Tehran and Washington, it quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on its airfields, potentially shielding them from American airstrikes, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. Iran also sent civilian aircraft to park in neighboring Afghanistan. It was not clear if military aircraft were among those flights, two of the officials told CBS News. Together, the movements reflected an apparent effort to insulate some of Iran's remaining military and aviation assets from the expanding conflict, even as officials publicly served as brokers for de-escalation. The U.S. officials, who...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was heckled Thursday during a visit to North London, a day after two Jewish men were wounded in a stabbing attack — the latest in a series of incidents that one of Starmer's cabinet members has called an antisemitism emergency. As he arrived in the Golders Green neighborhood, which has long been a hub of the British Jewish community, to meet members of the emergency services, loud booing could be heard and some residents shouted insults including "traitor" and "coward." A string of recent attacks, including arson targeting synagogues and other Jewish sites, has raised...

The UK’s new ambassador to the US has described Keir Starmer as having been “on the ropes” over the Peter Mandelson scandal and said it is Israel rather than Britain that has a “special relationship” with the White House. Christian Turner, who took office in February to replace Mandelson as the UK’s most senior diplomat in Washington, made the remarks privately to a group of students visiting the US in the same month he was appointed. His remarks are embarrassing for Downing Street because they emerged in the same week that the king is carrying out his state visit under...

An al Qaeda affiliate and Tuareg rebels claimed responsibility on Saturday for coordinated attacks across Mali, in one of the boldest operations ​insurgents have mounted in their campaign against the military-led government.Mali's army said in a statement it had killed "several hundred" assailants and repelled the assault, which hit ‌multiple sites in or near the capital, Bamako. It said a large-scale sweep operation was underway in Bamako, the nearby barracks town of Kati and elsewhere in the gold-producing country.It was unclear how many soldiers or civilians were killed in the attacks. In a statement read out on state television on...

Being a Christian girl in Pakistan means living as a target. Teenagers Maria, Sidra, Niha, and Elishba are just four of countless girls who have been abducted from their homes and forced to convert to Islam in the past year. Sidra and Niha were both abducted less than a month ago, in March 2026. The abuse goes beyond kidnapping. Maria was taken in July and forced to marry a 30-year-old Muslim man. She later gave a statement saying she had done so of her own will and was now a follower of Islam. Despite the efforts of Maria’s parents in...

Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader has effectively taken control of Tehran’s military and negotiation team over the weekend, analysts said. IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and members of his inner circle have allegedly taken charge of the Islamic republic, as evident by Iran’s attacks on ships trying to sail through the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s refusal to join peace talks with the US this week, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said. The sudden shift to a hardline stance also shows that more moderate members of Iran’s leadership, including Iranian Foreign...

If the UK joined the US as the 51st state. We would be the poorest state in the entire union. Mississippi which is portrayed at swamp dwelling hillbillies in majority of international media is above us. I don’t think people grasp how far we’ve fallen in real terms when it comes to GDP per capita. We’ve seen no growth for almost an entire generations. We’ve seen our productivity decrease and our tax increases. The average person on the UK, on £50,000 is less well off than your average Mississippi swamp dweller. Polymarket Apr 15 JUST IN: New analysis reveals Brits...

Dhaka, Bangladesh A man was killed, and at least three others were injured after a mob attacked, vandalised and set fire to a shrine in Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia on Saturday, following allegations of insulting religious sentiments. The deceased was identified as Abdur Rahman, also known as Shamim, 65, described by locals as the “pir” of the shrine, locally known as Shamim Babar Darbar Sharif in the Darogar Mor area of Philipnagar union. According to police, administration officials and local sources, tensions escalated after an old video resurfaced on social media on Friday, allegedly showing Shamim making derogatory remarks about...

In Pakistan and Nigeria, some Christians found their Easter turned into a day of mourning after jihadi attacks reportedly caused mass casualty events. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked about persecuted Christians for his Easter message, but heads of supposedly Christian countries in the West ignored the issue. Islamic terrorists often choose holidays to target Christians with deadly violence, and Easter 2026 was tragically no exception. European media outlet Visegrád 24 shared on X on April 5, “Reports of a potential Islamist terror attack against Pakistani Christians on Easter morning. A man rammed a truck into a large Christian procession...

Italy has expelled an imam of Pakistani origin who sparked massive outrage after he was filmed in an undercover investigation citing the Qur’an as an endorsement for marrying girls at the age of nine. On April 2, the Italian daily Il Giornale reported that Paolo Sartori, the police commissioner of Brescia, known as Italy’s Islamic “capital,” ordered the deportation of Ali Kashif, who told a reporter for the TV program Fuori dal Coro that girls can be married after their first period. [T]he authorities are right to repatriate those who fail to comply with the law and fundamental human rights....

At least 43 people have been killed in an attack by a rebel group linked to ISIL (ISIS) in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the army. Regional army spokesperson Lieutenant Jules Tshikudi Ngongo said on Thursday that at least “43 compatriots were killed and 44 houses torched” during the previous day’s attack in Bafwakoa, located in Mambasa territory, in the province of Ituri. Authorities blamed the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group led by former Ugandan rebels that has sworn allegiance to ISIL. The army has struggled to contain the group, as it battles...

“A man is under arrest in Kampala after fatally stabbing four young children inside a nursery school on Thursday, April 2, 2026, in an attack that has shocked Uganda and drawn international attention. The killings took place at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program school in Makindye Division, Kampala City, during what should have been an ordinary school day. Eyewitnesses say the attacker disguised himself as a parent to gain entry into the school. He first approached the administrative offices and briefly spoke with a staff member before turning on the children, who were aged between two and three years...

Gunmen killed at least 30 people during a Palm Sunday attack in Ungwan Rukuba, a community in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau state, Nigeria. The incident occurred during the evening, when armed men reportedly entered the community and opened fire on residents. Eyewitnesses described the attack as coordinated, with multiple casualties recorded and several homes affected. Following the incident, the Plateau state government imposed a 48-hour curfew in parts of northern Jos to contain the situation. Despite the restriction, residents, including youth, were seen on the streets protesting the killings and blocking roads in some areas. Separate reports...

A spate of fires and disasters has befallen the city's historic architecture over the years, raising questions about whether these are freak accidents or a symptom of wider issues. "Each time these collapses or fires happen, the same conversations happen and everyone agrees it's terrible and we should do something about it," says Matt Loader, co-founder of architecture firm Loader Monteith. "Then 18 months later it happens again somewhere. "Our Victorian city is disappearing, a piece at a time." Demolition of the remains of the Union Street building began on Friday. Niall Murphy, director of Glasgow City Heritage Trust, told...

If hostile states believe Britain can be deterred by the threat of domestic unrest, they will exploit that perception, utilising communities which have failed to fully integrate into British society. Activists from the Islamic Human Rights Commission hold a banner and placards showing the face of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Downing Street in central London, on July 19, 2025, as they join a ‘National March for Palestine’ organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. CARLOS JASSO / AFP. Whatever one’s view of the so-called ‘special relationship’ between the United Kingdom and the United States (and I, for one,...

Multiple high-ranking Islamic Revolution Guard Corps commanders and regime officials — including IRGC Commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour and Iranian defense minister Amir Nasirzadeh — may have been killed in Operation Epic Fury, according to reports Pakpour was named head of the IRGC after Israel’s June attacks on Iran killed his predecessor, Hossein Salami, and oversaw the deaths of thousands of protestors during weeks-long unrest in December. Multiple sources said the joint Saturday strikes were believed to have eliminated Pakpour and Nasirzadeh, according to Reuters. US and Israel launched at least seven missiles on Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s fortified compound,...

This 5 minute Disneyesque animated short is the saddest thing I've ever seen. The song and images tell the story of what it means to see a Country descend into an Islamic state. Beautifully done and so on the mark.

An Afghan asylum seeker has been found guilty of abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton. Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, took the girl to a quiet cul-de-sac on 22 July and carried out "extremely horrific sexual offences". At Warwick Crown Court, he was found guilty of rape, abduction, sexual assault and taking an indecent video of the girl. Co-defendant Mohammad Kabir, 24, also an Afghan asylum seeker, was found not guilty of strangulation, attempted child abduction and attempting to commit a sexual offence. Jurors at the 10-day trial heard evidence from the victim who said Mulakhil laughed while attacking her....

Muslim Brotherhood TV host explains under what circumstances Christian girls can be raped. “Allah allows Muslim men to rape non-Muslim women to humiliate them.” The Qur’an permits men to have sexual access to “what their right hands possess,” meaning female captives or slaves (Q. 23.5-6; 70.29-30).

Besides scrutiny from the feds, Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband’s winery could land the embattled power couple in hot water with imams too. Political consultant Tim Mynett converted to Islam to marry Omar, a practicing Muslim — but selling booze is strictly banned in Islamic law, which considers anything to do with alcohol sinful — or “haram.” “I assure you that they got married in accordance with Islam and the law, and Ilhan’s husband converted to Islam,” a spokesperson for Omar’s office told BBC Somalia at the time of the 2020 wedding. It was Mynett’s California-based wine company eStCru, together with...