Free Republic

The body of the the thread is strictly in the video. Very sad! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1E9n2Q5AWw&ab_channel=BloombergMarketsandFinance

Despite NATO allies denouncing Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, an independent pollster in Moscow has found Russians rallying around the flag and giving Putin 83% approval on his actions, The New York Times reported Thursday. The 83% approval is actually rising from his 69% in January before the invasion, according to the latest Levada Center poll. The approval on Putin is up, along with many other government institutions and the governing party, according to the report.

Vladimir Putin has warned the west that Europe faces another influx of migrants caused by a global food crisis that is now inevitable. The Russian President made the comments at a meeting on air transportation and aircraft manufacturing on Thursday. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine prompted western sanctions and an energy squeeze that has left the stability of the global food supply in a precarious state. Soaring international food inflation led the United Nations to warn that the Middle East is near “breaking point,” with food riots a real possibility. “People’s resilience is at a breaking point. This crisis is creating...

How hundreds of Syrian mercenaries hardened from years of civil war are rushing to fight with Russia for $1,000 a month Syrian fighters have gained years of experience fighting in country's civil war But it has left the economy in tatters, with many willing to fight to make a living Russia is reportedly offering between £1,000 and $2,000 to mercenaries The first group of 300 has already arrived in Russia for training, reports say Hundreds of battle-hardened Syrian mercenaries are signing up to join Russian forces on the promise of earning $1,000-a-month, as Moscow continues to struggle to make significant...

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has issued a new threat to use military force in Taiwan as Beijing intensifies efforts to achieve unification with the self-governing democratic region, holding up Hong Kong as a model for Taipei...It was a notion that Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen immediately rejected Wednesday amid concern that Mr. Xi is directing what Lai I-chung, who chairs the International Cooperation Council of Taiwan think tank, called a “major policy change.”

U.S. military cargo planes gave 50 tons of ammunition to rebel groups overnight in northern Syria, using an air drop of 112 pallets as the first step in the Obama Administration's urgent effort to find new ways to support those groups. Details of the air mission over Syria were confirmed by a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly because the details have not yet been formally announced. C-17s, accompanied by fighter escort aircraft, dropped small arms ammunition and other items like hand grenades in Hasakah province in northern Syria to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US,...

Russia, Iraq May OK $40B Deal By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press Writer AP/Jassim Mohammed [22K] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOSCOW (AP) — Iraq and Russia are close to signing a $40 billion economic cooperation plan, Iraq's ambassador said Saturday, a deal that could put Moscow at odds with the United States as it considers a military attack against Baghdad. The statement by Ambassador Abbas Khalaf came amid indications that Russia, despite its strong support for the post-Sept. 11 antiterrorism coalition, is maintaining or improving ties with Iran and North Korea, which together with Iraq are the countries President Bush has labeled the ``axis...