Free Republic

Russia won’t immediately resume exports of natural gas to Europe through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, worsening a shortage that threatens to tip the continent into an energy crisis this winter. On Friday, Russian state energy giant Gazprom said it would not resume flows through the pipeline on Saturday as planned because it had detected an oil leak at its Portovaya compressor station. The pipeline has been shut since Wednesday for maintenance. It didn’t give a timeline of when exports might resume.

Russian tourists in Kazakhstan have faced anger from locals and even fines from police for sporting pro-war Z stickers on their cars.

President Joe Biden’s net approval rating dropped a full seven points in one week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Only 38 percent approved of Biden this week, while 58 percent disapproved for a net approval rating of -20. Last week, 41 percent approved of Biden and 54 percent disapproved for a net approval rating of -13.

The Taliban jihadist terror organization celebrated the final withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan on Wednesday, the anniversary of the occasion, with fireworks and a celebration at Bagram Air Base, formerly America’s largest military facility in the country. As they did on August 15, the day of their seizure of Kabul, the Taliban declared Wednesday a national holiday and organized a series of ceremonies across the country to mark the departure of American troops.