Free Republic

The trend among Chinese women of postponing or eschewing marriage will undermine Beijing’s efforts to boost falling birth rates, says Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.New marriages in China reportedly plummeted by one-fifth last year, implying that the official number of births will likely fall from 9.54 million in 2024 to between 7.3 million and 7.8 million in 2025. Thus, while China represents 17.2 per cent of the global population, it will account for less than 6 per cent of births – comparable to Nigeria. Moreover, China’s fertility rate in 2025 is expected to fall to 0.9 births per...

The upcoming summit in Samarkand will bring together for the first time the leaders of the five Central Asian countries and the European Union. Following years of reform and European assistance, the five Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - are embarking on a strategic pivot towards Europe. The EU is seeking reliable partners in the current rapidly changing geopolitical reality. This is for political and also economic reasons, such as trade, investment and energy. On Thursday and Friday, the Uzbek city of Samarkand will host the first-ever high level meeting between the EU and the...

Another day, another leak. President Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s staffers set up at least 20 other Signal chat groups to discuss Ukraine, China, Russia and more. At least four people added to the Signal groups anonymously told Politico about the chats. Politico reported: National security adviser Mike Waltz’s team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats. Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least...

Speaking in a major announcement, Karoline Leavitt gave American workers, seniors, and the middle-class great news as she released details on President Donald Trump’s ambitious tax cut priorities, promising the most extensive middle-class tax relief package in U.S. history, bringing the promises that President Trump made during his campaign to reality. Her comments on the matter came when speaking to reporters outside the White House on February 6, Leavitt emphasized that President Trump is fully committed to working alongside congressional Republicans to deliver substantial tax cuts. Priorities include eliminating taxes on tips, seniors’ Social Security benefits, and overtime pay, which...

A group of Republican senators voted along with Democrats on Wednesday for a resolution to undo President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports, dealing an embarrassing blow to Trump. The resolution expresses the sense of the Senate and doesn’t have the force of law, but its 51-48 passage is unwelcome news for the president on the very day he announced a host of new tariffs.

We’re deep into the second week of this election campaign and it appears to be Mark Carney’s to lose. But just how solid is the support for the Liberals, and what can Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives do to get back into the race? This week on The Writ Podcast, I’m joined ahead by the Pollster Panel to break it all down. Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer at Pollara, was . .. .the Liberals’ pollster during the last three federal election campaigns. Andrew Enns is executive vice-president at Léger. He conducted polling for the Conservatives in Stephen Harper’s last three...

...White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the White House “in coordination with” the Justice Department has dismissed more than 50 U.S. attorneys and deputies in recent weeks.. ...“The American people deserve a judicial branch full of honest arbiters of the law who want to protect democracy, not subvert it,” Leavitt said. The Justice Department is an executive branch agency.... ... The integrity of our legal system and the independence of DOJ requires that laws are enforced impartially, which cannot happen when the White House fires career prosecutors to advance a political agenda,” said Stacey Young,...

Senate Republicans led by South Carolina's Lindsey Graham are reportedly set to bypass the Senate parliamentarian and her expected ruling this week on whether they can use a legislative process – known as budget reconciliation – to pass President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.The process can be used only if such an initiative doesn't increase the federal deficit. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has yet to decide, so the GOP is forging ahead, in an apparent effort not to appear to be overruling her. Graham, as Senate Budget Committee chairman, has determined, based on "scoring" the budget resolution, which includes Trump's tax extensions,...

In fact, the only real scandal here is that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was able to stay for as long as he did.The propaganda press is once again distorting the truth — and in some cases, flat out lying — to discredit and undermine President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts. In the latest example, the media are painting an illegal alien — who is allegedly a gang member — as merely a “Maryland father” with “protected legal status” who was “mistakenly” swept up in a mass deportation.On Monday, The Atlantic’s Nick Miroff wrote that the Trump administration “mistakenly” sent a “Maryland father...

Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey claimed Tuesday President Donald Trump channeled “McCarthyism” by threatening to pull over $200 million in federal funds for Harvard University..... ...“It is going to be a return to McCarthyism in the 1930s.

Members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency now have access to technical systems maintained by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to a recent memorandum viewed by FedScoop. The memo, which was sent from and digitally signed by USCIS Chief Information Officer William McElhaney, states that Kyle Shutt, Edward Coristine, Aram Mogahaddassi and Payton Rehling were granted access to USCIS systems and data repositories, and that a Department of Homeland Security review was required to determine whether that access should continue.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman said public safety is his priority, which is why he’s willing to break state law and contact immigration and customs officials if his department encounters someone in the country illegally. “If I get somebody that comes through my jail facility who has committed a heinous crime, who was a threat to our community and is somehow going to get released prior to any type of court proceedings, does not have a conviction. Then my stance is I’m going to work with ICE, contact ICE,” Redman said. “I’m not going to release them...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton would crush RINO Senator John Cornyn in a Republican primary, a recent poll has found.The poll conducted by Frabrizio, Lee & Associates found that Paxton would wipe the floor with Cornyn, a Republican establishment figure known for his closeness to fellow RINO Mitch McConnell and private disdain for President Trump.An initial poll showed Paxton leading Cornyn 53 percent to 28 percent — a margin so wide it suggests the race may not even be competitive if the trend holds.However, a second “informed ballot,” where respondents were given more information about the two candidates increased Paxton’s...

A court in the Flemish Brabant city of Leuven has refrained from passing sentence on a 24-year-old medical student found guilty of the rape of a fellow student in November 2023. The judge decided not to pass sentence which means that although found guilty of rape the student will not have a criminal record or have to pay a fine, serve a custodial sentence or have to abide by any probation conditions. "It is undeniable that he crossed the line of what is acceptable, but he is still young”, the judge said. The rape took place in Leuven on 8...

Michelle Obama reflected on dating her now-husband, Barack Obama, before he started his career and found financial success. During Wednesday’s episode of her “IMO” podcast, the former first lady and her brother/co-host, Craig Robinson, chatted about money in relationships. “Would you be attracted to a guy who’s not financially sound when you meet him?” Robinson questioned, to which Michelle responded, “Uh, I married one.” “I left my corporate firm when I met Barack,” she later explained. “I had somebody who was like, ‘I got your back. The risks you think you’re taking, they aren’t that crazy, and I’m here to...

Germany has embarked on its first permanent foreign deployment since World War II, with the nation's parliament approving the dispatch of troops to eastern Lithuania, along NATO's eastern boundary. This marks a historic moment for Germany, as it will be the inaugural occasion of a continuous German military presence overseas since the Second World War. The full operational capability of the unit is expected by 2027. Brigadier General Christoph Huber, who leads the brigade, stated, "We have a clear mission. We have to ensure the protection, freedom and security of our Lithuanian allies here on NATO's eastern flank." While Germany...

Rick Caruso announced his aim to reopen Palisades Village — the luxury shopping and dining center that he saved from the Palisades fire’s path of destruction by hiring private firefighters — in early 2026.The billionaire real estate developer shared the projected timeline in an interview with ABC7 this week. The 25,000-square-foot shopping center and its 42 businesses — which include a Chanel, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta — remained largely unscathed in the fire, suffering mostly from smoke damage. Many of the structures around it, meanwhile, were razed. His early 2026 reopening timeline for Palisades Village is likely months, if...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a long-promised, sweeping set of baseline tariffs on all countries and what he described as "kind reciprocal" tariffs on nations he claimed were the worst offenders in trade relations with the U.S. "My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day," Trump said as he kicked off his remarks in the Rose Garden, claiming the action will free the U.S. from dependence on foreign goods. "April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,"...

Cambodia: 49 percent Laos: 48 percent Madagascar: 47 percent Vietnam: 46 % Myanmar: 44 percent Sri Lanka: 44 percent Botswana: 37 percent Bangladesh: 37 percent Serbia: 37 percent Thailand: 36 % China: 34 % Taiwan: 32 % Indonesia: 32 percent Switzerland: 31 percent Pakistan: 29 percent Tunisia: 28 percent Kazakhstan: 27 percent India: 26 % South Korea: 25 % Japan: 24 % Malaysia: 24 percent Ivory Coast: 21 percent European Union: 20 % Jordan: 20 percent Nicaragua: 18 percent Israel: 17 percent Philippines: 17 percent Norway: 15 percent United Kingdom: 10 percent South Africa: 10 percent Brazil: 10 percent Singapore:...

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will impose a new 10 percent tariff on all imported goods along with an additional punitive import tax tailored for each of about 60 countries that his advisers say maintain the most unfair barriers against U.S. products. The president’s long-awaited tariff plan is designed to spur a renaissance in domestic manufacturing and to fill government coffers with tax revenue, even as many economists warn that he is steering the U.S. economy toward slower growth and higher prices. “In the face of unrelenting economic warfare, the United States can no longer continue with a...