Free Republic

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday called for the release of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife from U.S. custody after President Donald Trump announced that they were captured during military strikes on the capital city of Caracas. “We firmly call on the U.S. leadership to reconsider this position and release the lawfully elected president of a sovereign country and his wife,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, stressing the need to resolve the dramatic confrontation through diplomacy. In a separate message, the ministry said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone to Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez...

Any election in Ukraine can not be held in Russia-occupied parts of the country, President Volodymyr Zelensky says, adding that the voting process can only take place if security is ensured. He adds that Ukraine’s foreign minister had started the initial work on the infrastructure needed to make voting possible for Ukrainians living abroad...

Ukraine on Sunday called on Belarus to pull back what it described as significant levels of Belarusian forces and equipment deployed at their common border. The Ukrainian foreign ministry warned Belarus against making "tragic mistakes" while under pressure from Moscow. A ministry statement urged the Belarus armed forces "to stop unfriendly actions" and withdraw their troops out of range of the border. The ministry said Belarus special forces and former Wagner mercenary fighters were among the troops at the border. Their equipment included tanks, artillery, air defence systems and engineering equipment, located in the Gomel region near Ukraine's northern border.

A strongly worded letter from the Department of Homeland Security to the State of Texas demands access to the U.S.-Mexico border on land seized by the State in Eagle Pass. DHS officials ordered the State to cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol’s access in and around Shelby Park “and remove all barriers to access” by the end of the day on January 17.

On Friday, former Attorney General Eric ‘Fast and Furious’ Holder demanded “unprincipled” House Republicans halt their investigations into FISA abuse and Spygate, warning the probes “must stop.” House Republicans held two hearings this week, demanding answers from Peter Strzok, FBI Director Wray and DAG Rosenstein about government surveillance during the 2016 election. GOP lawmakers grilled Peter Strzok Wednesday in a closed-door deposition. According to Chairman Goodlatte, FBI counsel instructed Strzok not to answer many of the questions. Wray and Rosenstein appeared on Capitol Hill Thursday for a Congressional hearing. House Republicans torched Rosenstein over his conflicts of interest in the...

The UN Security Council on Tuesday rejected a resolution on Palestinian statehood, with the Palestinians failing to get the minimum nine “yes” votes required for adoption by the 15-member council: Eight voted for the resolution and two voted against, with five abstentions. France, China and Russia were among the countries that supported the text setting a 12-month deadline for negotiations on a final peace deal with Israel and an imposed full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem by the end of 2017. Argentina, Chad, Chile, Jordan and Luxembourg also voted for the resolution. Australia and the United...

Rep. Tom Tancredo – who vied for the Republican presidential nomination to make illegal immigration a priority issue – suggested in a House speech yesterday that Pope Benedict XVI is encouraging Latin Americans to come to the U.S. to bolster flagging membership in the Catholic Church.

UNITED NATIONS - The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council agreed on a statement Wednesday demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, setting the stage for the first action by the powerful body over fears that Tehran wants a nuclear weapon. The 15 members of the council planned to meet later Wednesday to approve the statement. Uranium enrichment is a process that can lead to a nuclear weapon.

The UN Security Council approved a resolution Monday demanding Syria co-operate with a UN investigation into the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, threatening further action against Damascus if it continues to stonewall. Syrian border police keep watch. INDEPTH: Syria The resolution was unanimously approved by the 15-member council after the threat of economic sanctions was dropped from a previous resolution, co-sponsored by the U.S., France and Britain. Russia and China had objected to the initial text which called for the threat of economic sanctions unless Syria co-operated with an investigation into the bombing that killed Rafik Hariri and 20...

VIENNA (Reuters) - France, Britain and Germany have told Iran they will not settle for anything less than an end to sensitive nuclear processes key to the production of atomic bombs, according to a confidential EU document. Iran has temporarily frozen its enrichment program, a process of purifying uranium for use as fuel in nuclear power plants or weapons, but insists that atomic fuel production is a sovereign right it will never abandon. The document, which summarizes this month's talks between the European Union's "big three" -- the EU3 -- and Iran, said Tehran would only allow increased inspections by...