Free Republic

China has “enforced maritime management and exercised sovereign jurisdiction” over an uninhabited reef in the disputed South China Sea, planting the country’s flag on the tiny sand bank just kilometers from a key Philippine military outpost. Photographs released by Chinese state-run media on Saturday showed China Coast Guard officers unfurling the flag as part of an effort to effectively seize Sandy Cay reef, which Beijing calls Tiexian Jiao, earlier this month. The reef, located in the flash point Spratly Island chain, is also claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Sandy Cay also sits just over 3 kilometers from Thitu...

Rumors are swirling around ActBlue, a key fundraising platform for the Democrats, which has repeatedly given money to progressive politicians and far-left groups like Black Lives Matter. Critics, including lawmakers and investigative journalists, have noticed suspicious financial activity that may indicate a vast network of fraud. For context, the House Administration Committee recently uncovered evidence that illegal donations from China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela might have been laundered to Democratic campaigns through ActBlue. In response, the committee sent a letter to ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones to begin an investigation. In any case, Walter Curt, a prominent investigative journalist, took to...

Shares sagged Thursday in Asia, apart from China, after President Donald Trump announced he will slap 25per cent tariffs on imported cars. Trump said he was raising duties on auto imports to encourage more manufacturing in the US, but the impact will be complicated since US automakers and even foreign manufacturers with factories in the U.S. Source many of their components from around the world. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1per cent to 37,662.36. Toyota Motor Corp stock dove 3.2per cent, while Honda Motor Co stock dipped 2.8per cent. Nissan was down 2.6per cent. Mazda Motor Corp shares dropped 6.5per...

Commentary - The Philippines has, somewhat surprisingly, a well established baking tradition. The country is otherwise a standard East Asian rice culture, except for this quite important exception. Baked bread is almost universally consumed, dependent on wheat and flour imports, as the country produces no wheat. "Pan de sal", or salt bread, is a breakfast staple, produced on that demanding schedule of the typical Euro-American bakery and distribution system, as the "daily bread" of millions. Besides this the country expects a quite large variety of other breads. The typical breakfast in the Philippines CAN seem like the European continental breakfast....

Three years ago, the most powerful political families in the Philippines joined hands to secure the nation’s biggest election victory in four decades. Now they are locked in a feud that threatens to derail one of Asia’s economic growth stars. In dramatic events on Tuesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government arrested and deported his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to face the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The move came just over a month after the impeachment of his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, by allies of Marcos. A Senate trial, which would determine whether she gets removed from office,...

March 11 was a day of reckoning. Fresh off a plane at the Manila international airport, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was flanked and detained under an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.

March 10 (UPI) -- Former President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines was arrested Tuesday morning in Manila on an International Criminal Court warrant for crimes against humanity over his bloody war on drugs. He was arrested at 9:20 a.m. local time after he arrived in Manila from Hong Kong aboard Cathay Pacific flight CX 907, the Philippines government said in a statement. "The former President and his group are in good health and were examined by government doctors to ensure his well-being," the statement said. This is a developing story.

A US-contracted surveillance plane crashed in the Philippines on Thursday morning, killing all four personnel on board, including one US military service member, according to US Indo-Pacific Command. The crash occurred in Maguindanao del Sur in the southern Philippines. Images from the crash site, confirmed by a US defense official, show the wreckage of a Beechcraft King Air 350 in a rice field. The official said the service member killed in the crash was a US Marine. It is unclear if the three defense contractors were also US citizens. The twin-engine turboprop aircraft was contracted by the Defense Department to...

A Philippines FA-50 fighter jet and its two-man crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said on Tuesday (Mar 4). Air force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying "over land" on the way to its target area when it went missing during a "tactical night operation in support of our ground troops". While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed to AFP that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent "to provide air support" to...

"hostile and egregious misconduct"...US Justice Department ethics complaint against... Video platform Rumble blocked in Brazil... acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Caleb Vitello removed... A federal judge ruling against President Donald Trump's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion executive orders... New York City courtroom today a hearing for Luigi Mangione accused in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO... The Associated Press filing a lawsuit seeking access... Oval Office and Air Force One... In Berlin...30-year-old Spanish tourist stabbed...Holocaust memorial... Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressing her dismay to Chinese Foreign Minister...live fire exercise warning from Chinese naval ships... A federal judge ruling to...

At approximately 0700 hours today, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) conducted a Maritime Domain Awareness Flight over the territorial airspace of Bajo De Masinloc, accompanied by personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and photojournalists. Around 0839 hours, a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA-Navy) helicopter, identified by tail number 68, performed dangerous flight maneuvers towards the BFAR aircraft. This reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers during the MDA flight. The PLA-Navy helicopter came as close as three (3) meters to the port side and above the BFAR aircraft, raising...

In the Congo War Ugandan troops have crossed the border into northern Congo... Rap star "A$AP Rocky" found not guilty in Los Angeles of felony assault charges... Late night explosions in Ukraine first in Odessa...air raid warning and explosions in Kiev... "I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining "Biden Era" US Attorneys..." Part of a social media post... In Washington DC a federal judge declining to block Department of Government Efficiency access to federal government... In the Dutch parliament division over sending troops to Ukraine. The leader of the Pro-Israel and Anti-Mass Immigration Party of Freedom... The Vatican says...

Statements by Adm Paparo, head of the of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command - warns about Beijing’s plans. "Two months ago Beijing practiced sealing off the First Island Chain, which runs from Japan south to Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia. The goal is to cut off Western support for Taiwan in a blockade or invasion. A military exercise in October 2024 was practice for a blockade. " "Adm. Paparo said this week that China’s “aggressive maneuvers around Taiwan right now are not exercises, as they call them. They are rehearsals” for “the forced unification of Taiwan to the mainland.” "Taiwan has to...

"Ukraine and Europe must be part of all negotiations" A group of nations including Ukraine, Poland, the UK and EU demanding... 12 people have been hurt in a grenade attack on a bar in Grenoble, France... The Trump Administration Justice Department suing New York State and top officials... A federal judge ending his pause on the Trump Administration buyout program for federal employees... British politics the latest "You Gov" poll puts Reform UK at 26 percent, Labor at 25 percent and... In Ukraine US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant has given Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky... A US military plane crashing... An...

The governments of Finland and the Philippines have signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) in a major step towards ensuring fair and sustainable opportunities for Filipino workers. This collaboration focuses on ethical labour mobility and protecting workers’ rights, particularly as Finland seeks to address its growing labour shortage. Ethical recruitment In a ceremony held in Manila, DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs Arto Olavi Sartonen signed the agreement, reaffirming their mutual commitment to fairness and dignity in labour mobility. Filipino workers in Finland, particularly those in the healthcare, IT, and industrial sectors, will benefit...

The Philippine Coast Guard saying a Chinese Coast Guard "monstership" is operating... air raid alert in Kiev...Saturday morning...water supplies disputed following explosions in Kiev... Tonight, TikTok saying it will go dark Sunday...adding the shutdown won't happen if... Immigration enforcement by the Trump Administration planned... A Ukranian drone attack in Russia's Tula Region... The founder of the Telegram messaging app remains detained in France... Police in Hungary raiding offices of a corruption watchdog...follows imposition of US sanctions against a key official in the nationalist government... Former CIA analyst Asif Rahman...guilty plea over leaking classified information about Israel's... CNN found liable for...

The South China Sea remains a flashpoint of escalating tensions as China intensifies its aggressive maritime activities, targeting nations like the Philippines CNS Admiral Dinesh Tripathi during his customary briefing of media before Navy Day last week expressed concern about Chinese maritime activities in the South China Sea, all of which China claims. Two countries it especially targets in SCS are Taiwan and the Philippines in whose waters it has indulged in offensive naval actions. It signed a defence agreement with the US in 1951; last month it signed an intelligence and technology agreement facilitating satellite intelligence and access to...

Sudan's civil war...seven killed in an air strike on a mosque... ...in South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol saying he is 'sincerely sorry'... The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying he supports the advance of the jihadist opposition forces into Syria... In Oregon an internal investigation...regarding sexual misconduct at St. Helen's High School... The US Department of Agriculture ordering bird flu testing...milk supply... Riot police in Tbilisi, Georgia pushing back the anti-government... The military government...Burkina Faso dismissing the interim prime minister and... ...the trial of Daniel Penny...the judge in the case deciding to dismiss... In Boston Democrat City Councilor Tania...

Leland Yee, a San Francisco Democrat and staunch proponent of stiffer gun-control laws was sentenced today in federal court on corruption charges tied to, among other things, a conspiracy to traffic weapons. Although this is off-the-charts hypocritical of Mr. Yee, a wonderfully sensational corrupt politician story ripe for national news, none of the Big Three broadcast evening news programs last night so much as devoted a news brief to the story. [You may also recall that Yee was behind a spurious smear against Rush Limbaugh in 2011. Read about that here.] Adding to the seriousness of the weapons trafficking charge, as the...

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking of giving up land to Russia in exchange for joining NATO... Supporters of Pakistan's opposition PTI party held funeral prayers in Washington DC...in memory of those killed in the opposition protest... The attack launched by jihadists in northwestern Syria...accompanied by denial of access...Russian Aerospace Forces killed 200 of the jihadists in air strikes...40 percent of western Aleppo under jihadist control... Russia's Defense Minister Andrey Belousov in North Korea... In Tbilisi, Georgia tonight opponents of the government...again marched on parliament... Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Florida meeting President-Elect Donald Trump... Canada's Gross Domestic Product slowed...