Free Republic

Gov. David Ige on Thursday extended an emergency proclamation to deal with Hawaii's homelessness crisis. The extension gives the state and counties more flexibility in how they complete shelters, micro-housing and other projects to address homelessness. [...] Hawaii has the largest rate of homeless people per capita of any state in the nation, with 7,260 homeless people in Hawaii at the latest count. ...

Rome The Latin expression caveat emptor - buyers beware - has taken on a whole new meaning in Italy, where authorities are cracking down on counterfeiting by imposing fines on the customers who buy from street sellers. The hundreds of thousands of tourists in the country have not been told about a law that went into effect in May, which makes them liable to pay a fine of euro 3333 ($5397.57) with no appeal for buying counterfeit goods. Unless paid within two months, the fine rises to euro 10,000 ($16194.33). The first foreigner to fall afoul of the law was...

At a makeshift refuge camp in the capital Male, a teenager vows never to go back to his tiny coral island after Sunday's deadly tsunami lashed the equatorial nation, killing at least 55 people. Before the disaster struck, the Maldives were the picture-postcard tropical paradise many well-heeled people dreamed about, with coconut palms leaning over crystal-clear lagoons and coral reefs promising great snorkelling and diving. Now a state of emergency has been declared, throwing the classic desert islands into crisis after they were deluged by the freak waves that crippled large swathes of Asia. While the tourist industry has been...