Free Republic

**SNIP** The dossier began as part of a conventional opposition research operation by a small Washington firm, Fusion GPS. During the early part of the campaign, Fusion was paid by The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative publication funded by the billionaire Paul Singer, to scrutinize Mr. Trump, with the evident goal of uncovering dirt to help his Republican primary opponents. After Mr. Trump emerged as the likely nominee, Fusion kept working but turned to a new source of funding: the law firm representing the Clinton campaign, Perkins Coie. Noticing in May 2016 the Trump campaign’s unexpected affinity for Russia, Fusion...

Smoke it if you’ve got it. That pretty much sums up the approach of London Mayor Sadiq Khan to personal drug use as he backed calls Wednesday for small quantities of cannabis to be decriminalised and “negate problems between the police and ethnic communities.” He was endorsing a report by the London Drugs Commission, chaired by former Labour cabinet minister Lord Falconer, which makes 42 recommendations, including removing natural cannabis from the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). Lord Falconer told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, “continuing to have possession as a crime meant continuing have problems between the police and...

Paulerspury – Development and HeritageBoudicca's last stand is believed to have taken place within the Parish, since Tacitus' history accurately describes local geographical features. Suetonius Paulinus's forward base was probably Lactodorum since it was not sacked. Boudicca with her forces and supporters swept up Watling Street from St Albans and the final battle was likely fought on the slopes below Toothill, opposite Cuttle Mill. Tactical clearing of trees by the Romans funnelled the Britons and led to an impasse, creating confusion and Boudicca's defeat.Mid 5th century, at the time most of the Romans were leaving Britain, a massacre of Britons...

Leading fund managers are warning that sentiment towards the London Stock Exchange is drastically low following a meeting with Downing Street to discuss the issue. Nick Lawson, chief executive of investment group Ocean Wall, described UK equity markets as being at “rock bottom” following a meeting with Varun Chandra, the government’s special adviser on business. Lawson was joined at the meeting to discuss ways to revitalise the stock market by star stockpickers such as David Cumming from Newton Investment Management, Schroders’ Andy Brough, and Michael Stiasny from M&G Investments, according to the FT. “This is the first time I’ve felt...

London has been thrown into chaos after a massive power outage crippled the city’s subway system. Commuters were left stranded as multiple Underground lines shut down, forcing thousands to seek alternative routes. The disruption, attributed to a failure in the National Grid, caused widespread delays and station closures, with Waterloo, Tottenham Court Road, and Holborn among the worst affected. The outage struck during the afternoon rush hour, bringing the city’s transport network to a standstill. Transport for London confirmed that the Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines were completely suspended, while the Elizabeth, Jubilee, and Northern lines suffered severe delays....

Rishi Sunak insisted India's attacks on 'terrorist infrastructure' in Pakistan are 'justified' today. The former PM waded in amid fears the confrontation between the nuclear-armed powers could escalate dramatically. Pakistan has described Delhi's missile attacks as an 'act of war' and responded with shelling on the Indian side of the line of control. However, Keir Starmer has been appealing for calm insisting the rising tensions were a 'serious concern'. In a post on X, Mr Sunak said: 'No nation should have to accept terrorist attacks being launched against it from land controlled by another country. 'India is justified in striking...

UK police have arrested five men, including four Iranian nationals, on suspicion of “terrorism offences”, police have said. The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area and were related to “a suspected plot to target a specific premises”, London’s Metropolitan police said in a statement. The men, aged between 29 and 46, were arrested on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act” and remain in custody, the police said. The nationality of one of the men was still being established, they said. Counter-terrorism police had been in contact with the site allegedly targeted to make...

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein has dropped Brunswick and FGS, two communications firms that were supporting its push for a London initial public offering (IPO), a source familiar with the matter confirmed on Friday, in the latest sign the flotation is not going to plan. Steep tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, along with the removal of a duty exemption on low-value ecommerce packages, are challenging Shein's business model, which relies on shipping clothes from factories in China directly to customers around the world. Brunswick was assisting with media relations while FGS was tasked with government relations,...

UPDATE 10:52 AM – The suspect accused of stealing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s Gucci bag containing approximately $3,000 in cash has been identified as a Chilean undocumented migrant. According to a report by the New York Post, Mario Bustamante-Leiva, 49, was detained on Saturday after reportedly stealing the shoulder bag when Noem, 53, was celebrating Easter with her family at The Capital Burger in Washington, DC. Bustamante-Leiva, who is illegally in the United States, is considered to be a member of a vast east coast robbery network, and law enforcement is still looking for another undocumented immigrant who served...

Following the attack, protests erupted in London and other cities in the UK among the Indian and Pakistani diaspora communities. Israeli and Palestinian flags were spotted at demonstrations on Saturday in London between Indian and Pakistani diasporas, following the Islamist terror attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which killed 26 people on Tuesday. Following the attack, protests erupted in London and other cities in the UK among the diaspora communities. Unrest between the two communities in the UK has occurred in recent years with a series of brawls and riots between Hindu and Muslim rioters, which some analysts linked to India's defeat...

Today, AD joins architect Nick Potts in London to uncover the city's ancient Roman origins. Before London, there was Londinium, the capital of Roman Britain, and although it was abandoned by AD 450, the influence and some remnants of the ancient city still remain. Join Potts as he explores how modern London rose up from Roman ruins. An Entire Roman City Is Hidden Beneath London | Walking Tour | 10:01 Architectural Digest | 7.37M subscribers | 192,282 views | April 22, 2025

I think we don’t really realize what’s happening. When British PM Keir Starmer visited the White House, he rejected J.D. Vance’s claim that free speech is restricted in Britain. “We’ve had free speech for a very long time in the UK,” Starmer retorted, “and it will last for a very long time”. Unfortunately, Starmer’s Home Office seems not to have taken notice. Because it has just blocked a famous French writer from entering the UK to give a speech on the dangers of mass immigration, while in the courts British lawyers are trying to legalise Hamas. The writer is Renaud...

Trans rights activists defaced a statue of Millicent Fawcett during a protest against the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of a woman. The Parliament Square statue of the suffragist, a prominent campaigner for women’s rights in the 19th century, was daubed with graffiti reading “f-- rights” on Saturday. It happened as thousands of protesters marched through central London in an “emergency demonstration” against Wednesday’s decision that only biological women are women. The landmark Supreme Court ruling, which has caused many public bodies to review their gender policies, stated that laws against sex-based discrimination should only apply to biological women....

London -- Keir Starmer hailed the contributions of British Sikhs across all walks of life in the UK in his Baisakhi greetings from 10 Downing Street on Sunday. Having hosted a special reception earlier this week to mark the festival symbolising the birth of the Khalsa, Starmer posted a video on social media showcasing the festivities along with his Baisakhi message. “It’s really fantastic to be able to come together and to celebrate the contribution of British Sikhs to our nation, and what a contribution that is and has been and will be into the future,” said Starmer. “From across...

Rival gang members were caught swinging machetes as they tried to stab each other in front of commuters on a platform in London. Video footage recorded by a passenger on a Jubilee line train at Queensbury tube station shows two people in a group of five threatening each other with the long blades. The violence broke out at 5.30 pm on Monday and officers from British Transport Police attended the scene. In the video, one of the group seen wearing a black jacket and grey hat aims a machete at another in the group who is also dressed all in...

London’s Heathrow Airport has announced a complete shutdown because of a power outage due to a large fire nearby, causing massive disruption to one of the world’s busiest travel hubs. • Heathrow’s closure is expected to affect more than 1,300 flights, potentially causing disruption for tens of thousands of travelers. An airline analytics firm estimated that “upwards of 145,000” passengers could be impacted. • The airport is warning of “significant disruption” over the coming days. Heathrow said “passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens” and should contact their airline for more information. •...

The airport has urged passengers not to go there until it has reopened.. What we know.. London's Heathrow Airport will be closed all day Friday local time because of a fire at a nearby electricity substation. The fire has caused a power outage at the airport, one of the world's busiest. The airport has urged passengers not to go there until it has reopened, which the airport said would happen at 11:59 p.m. Friday. ... Heathrow closure will affect at least 1,351 flights, ... Heathrow Airport busiest in U.K., 4th in the world.. London Heathrow Airport, shuttered by a fire...

The invasion of Ukraine is the deadliest conflict for Russia since the Second World War, the British government says, as it places the “likely” death toll for Russian Federation forces at a quarter of a million so far. Russia is “likely” to have taken 900,000 casualties in all since it renewed its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and between 200,000 and 250,000 of those are fatalities, an intelligence digest from Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said. The review of Russia’s combat casualties so far come as U.S. President Donald Trump places clear emphasises on ending what he calls the “killing...

Public lampposts in London, England, governed by Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan, have been festooned with banners instructing viewers to ‘Trust in Allah’ and ‘Give Zakat’—a form of charitable donation mandated by Islam. The banners were produced by Islamic Relief, an Islamic charity likely hoping to benefit financially from such Zakat donations. . . In another sign of Islam’s growing influence over Britain’s national life, King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, shared a video of themselves packing dates to be sent to Muslims as special treats during Ramadan, which they described as a “holy month” despite the King’s status...

According to a Live Science report, radiocarbon dating of ancient human skeletons recovered from the River Thames indicates that they date to between 4000 B.C. and A.D. 1800. Nichola Arthur of London's Natural History Museum said that most of the remains dated to the Bronze Age, between 2300 and 800 B.C., and the Iron Age, between 800 B.C. and A.D. 43. These bones were recovered in upstream zones of the river, she added. "We can now say with confidence that these don't appear to just be bones that have steadily accumulated in the river through time," she explained. "There really...