Free Republic

The decapitated corpse of a mining company boss has been found in the latest episode of a grizzly string of mysterious deaths among senior Russian executives since the war in Ukraine started. The body of Alexey Sinistyn, CEO of potassium and magnesium mining firm K-Potash Service, was found near Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave on Monday, Russian media reported. The deceased was “found without a head,” state-run news agency RIA Novosti cited law enforcement officials as saying, adding that the body was found under a bridge with a tow rope attached to it.

The pressure building on France this week over plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in New York later this month. Israel's UN Ambassador warning France and other countries aligned with it... The United States joined Israel's strongarming of France. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called French Foreign Minister... France's foreign ministry taking to social media to slam US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's accusation regarding its decision to recognize a Palestinian state... President Emmanuel Macron in the spotlight this week in connection with the "Coalition of the Willing" in Ukraine those 26 nations meeting... Meanwhile...

Two wars — Ukraine and Gaza — are killing civilians, destabilizing allies, and draining American power. At their core stand Russia and Iran, two regimes that cannot survive without Beijing’s support. If America wants to end these conflicts on terms that serve U.S. interests, it must compel China to use its leverage — or face consequences. Only Donald Trump has the toughness and pragmatism to make that happen. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has leveled cities, created Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, and cost American taxpayers tens of billions in aid. Hamas’s assault on Israel and the regional...

Horrific footage captured the moment a madman fatally stabbed a Ukrainian refugee from behind as she sat on a train in North Carolina. The sickening attack unfolded on August 22, soon after Iryna Zarutska, 23, boarded a South End light rail train in Charlotte. Cops identified the stabber as homeless man Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, who has a lengthy rap sheet, including an arrest for assaulting his sister. He was seen in the footage watching Zarutska for some time after she sat in the seat in front of him, eventually taking out what appeared to be a blade from his...

If a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine ever comes together, the United States could take the lead role in monitoring a large buffer zone inside Ukraine envisioned as a way to protect the country from Russia, according to four people familiar with a plan that military officials from Ukraine’s allies, including the United States, have been discussing. -snip- On the latter front, the United States is discussing with Ukraine a deal that could be worth around $100 billion, under which Kyiv would be able to buy American weapons, while in exchange the United States would get intellectual property rights...

Following the meeting, which was attended by Zelensky, the Petit Napoleon Macron, pushing to conquer Russia, said that 26 countries – including the UK and France – have pledged to deploy troops in Ukraine as a “reassurance force” in the event of a ceasefire. They know what they are doing. This is the prelude to a false flag to realize their dream to finally conquer Russia, grab the $75 trillion in assets, and refund the European Union, which cannot last much beyond 2028. The two countries that may need an IMF bailout are France and Britain. It’s no surprise that...

After imposing steep tariffs on Indian goods, the US seems to be exploring a new front: potential tariffs on IT services, foreign remote workers, and outsourced business processes. Coupled with proposals to overhaul the H-1B visa system, and an increased levy on remittances made by Green Card holders and temporary visa workers, the move points to a broader strategy that could constrain India's most significant export engine: its human resources, including its engineers, coders, and students who sustain both Silicon Valley and the ITES boom in the US. The debate gained traction when conservative commentator Jack Posobiec posted on X...

The attack comes as Russia suffers fuel shortages following Ukrainian attacks that have cut 20 percent of Russia's oil refining capacity. Ukraine struck several Russian oil facilities overnight Friday, including one if its largest refineries and an oil depot, worsening the country’s crippling fuel shortages. Ukrainian drones targeted facilities including Russia's largest Rosneft refinery in Ryazan and an oil depot in occupied Luhansk Oblast, according to Ukraine's chief drone warfare commander Robert Brovdi. Images of the attack on social media that appeared to show a massive fireball erupting immediately after the strike.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the Central Bank is “struggling” to lower interest rates without sparking new inflation, warning that a sharp cut would drive up prices. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, he said, “If inflation overwhelms the economy, nothing good will come of it.” The remarks come amid concerns over a slowing economy. Sberbank chief German Gref said this week that Russia has entered “technical stagnation,” arguing the current 18% key rate must drop closer to 12% to stimulate recovery, News.Az reports, citing foreign media. Official data shows annual inflation eased to 8.8% in July,...

Vladimir Putin has been issued a stark warning about the state of Russia's economy. It comes after one of his close allies and head of the biggest bank in Russia, German Gref, urged him to enforce immediate measures to avoid a recession. Gref, the CEO of Sberbank, warned Putin that the country's wartime economy is stagnating. Military spending in Russia has hit record highs since the invasion of Ukraine, causing inflation and high interest rates. The economy is also suffering from a shortage of workers due to the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of men into the military.

President Vladimir Putin denied on Friday that Russia's economy was stagnating, despite a report from the central bank that suggests it is technically in recession. In a speech to an economic forum in the Pacific port of Vladivostok, Putin defended the central bank's use of very high interest rates, currently at 18%, to tackle inflation - a stance fiercely criticised by business leaders and bankers. A graph published in a central bank report this week showed Russia's gross domestic product shrank for two consecutive quarters, a standard definition of what economists call a technical recession. Sberbank CEO German Gref, one...

Diplomatic efforts to end the largely deadlocked war in Ukraine have focused on Western guarantees of Ukraine’s future security. But the Kremlin says it must obtain its own “security guarantees” before laying down arms. What President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia says is protection, however, would drastically limit Ukraine’s sovereignty, leaving it vulnerable to a renewed Russian attack and, many of its supporters believe, effectively turning it into a client state of Moscow. That tension over “security guarantees” — and the different ways in which the term is interpreted by the Kremlin and by the West — underlines the fundamental...

U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders on Thursday that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that he said is helping Moscow fund its war against Ukraine, a White House official said. Trump joined a call of the "Coalition of the Willing" countries, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, who were meeting on security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace deal with Russia. "President Macron and European leaders called President Trump into their ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting. President Trump emphasized that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war — as Russia received...

US President Donald Trump urged Europe to cease its purchases of Russian oil on a call with European leaders at the Coalition of the Willing, Fox News reported on Thursday, citing a White House official. Additionally, Trump stressed that European leaders should increase economic pressure on China "for funding Russia's war efforts," while stressing the importance of curbing financial aid to Russia. More to come...

The Russian and Chinese leader's creepy discussion involved fantasising about organ transplants and biotechnology in order to "live to 150". In a private conversation inadvertently captured in Beijing, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussed the possibility of achieving "immortality" through organ transplants and advanced medical procedures. The Chinese president, with whom Putin is said to be developing closer ties with, told his Russian counterpart via a translator: "Earlier, people rarely lived to 70, but these days at 70 you are still a child." In response, Mr. Putin said: "With the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted and...

reasingly frustrated by his inability to get Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sit down for direct talks aimed at ending the war. President Donald Trump said the United States will keep a robust military presence in Poland during a meeting on Wednesday with Karol Nawrocki, the new president of the American ally in Europe. Trump had taken the unusual step of endorsing Karol Nawrocki in the presidential election earlier this year and as the leaders sat in the White House, Trump said the US-Polish relationship has always been strong but "now it’s better than ever."...

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been overheard discussing organ transplants as a means of prolonging life on the sidelines of a military parade in Beijing. Putin suggested even eternal life could be achievable as a result of innovations in biotechnology, according to a translation of remarks caught on a hot mic. -snip- The exchange was relayed by a Mandarin translator for Putin and a Russian translator for Xi, and has been translated into English by the BBC. "In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70 and these days...

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has criticised the UN's nuclear agency and accused western powers of "double standards" as he joined the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea for a military parade in Beijing. The Iranian leader was one of 26 heads of state in the Chinese capital for a once-a-decade event showcasing China’s growing firepower and diplomatic clout alongside its closest international allies. Mr Pezeshkian told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV he backed Beijing's drive to reform systems of global governing, which he said should take a multilateral and "justice-oriented" approach.

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned the world was facing a choice between peace or war at a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in an unprecedented show of force. The event to mark 80 years since Japan's defeat at the end of World War Two was largely shunned by Western leaders, with Putin and Kim - pariahs in the West due to the Ukraine war and Kim's nuclear ambitions - the guests of honour. -snip- "Today, mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or...

Russia's Vladimir Putin has thanked Kim Jong Un for the courage of his troops who have been fighting in Ukraine on the Russian side. The two leaders met on Wednesday in Beijing as China held one of its largest ever military parades, which commemorated 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Asia. -snip- "Your soldiers fought courageously and heroically," Putin told Kim during Wednesday's talks. "I would like to note that we will never forget the sacrifices that your armed forces and the families of your servicemen have suffered." Kim expressed his gratitude for the Russian...