Free Republic

Good morning, its time for solid news instead of political Kool Aid. The US military has attacked Syrian army positions in Eastern Syria with 14 missiles, that's the world from Syria's defense ministry...... To the rising tensions over Brexit in the UK. The opposition Labor Party says the country faces a constitutional crisis if the Prime Minister does not reveal the legal advice she has been given by the Attorney General about Brexit..... Nigel Farage went on his radio show Sunday and he took time out from opposing Mrs. May's Brexit plan to trash the political party of Brexit he...

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday reportedly insisted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman include international experts as part of an ongoing investigation into the death of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A French official said the two leaders discussed Khashoggi’s murder during a five-minute exchange that took place on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina, where they also talked about the need to find a solution to the situation in Yemen, Reuters reported. The Saudi Gazette newspaper shared a clip of the brief exchange. In one part of the clip, the crown prince can be heard telling...

The G-20 summit in Argentina was supposed to be part of the carefully choreographed diplomatic dance between two of the world’s most powerful leaders. Instead, Russia’s aggressive action against Ukraine prompted President Donald Trump to cancel a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaving Putin filling his summit dance card with other partners, Newsmax reported. Putin met instead with Turkish President Recip Erdogan, who used the time to try to convince Putin to hold a summit on the situation in Syria’s Idlib province, where Russia-based Syrian forces are slowly squeezing the last pockets of resistance, Reuters reported. Putin also...

The legions of protesters demonstrating at a leaders summit here have unfurled a sea of standard-issue signs, ranging from “No to Imperialism” to “Yankees Go Home.” But a newer rallying cry also appeared on a smattering of homemade posters. “Mohammed bin Salman, Assassin!” For Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Group of 20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires has amounted to a key test: his first appearance at a major international event since the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi who was a frequent critic of the kingdom’s de facto leader.

WASHINGTON - Two police departments in the northeastern United States decided over the past week to cancel their participation in a program that involves visiting Israel and meeting Israeli police officers, due to public pressure by a coalition of progressive organisations, including a number of groups affiliated with the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment movement (BDS).

The Maarif Foundation, which was established by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in 2016, has taken over the management of two schools linked to the Gülen group in Venezuela, the pro-gov’t Sabah daily reported on Saturday.The Foundation has so far taken over at least 78 schools linked to the Gülen group in Guinea, Somalia, Sudan, People’s Republic of the Congo, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Tunisia, Senegal and Chad with their 8,506 students. The foundation has recently signed an agreement to take over Gülen movement schools in Afghanistan, which have more than 8,000 students.The foundation also has opened...

Former President George H.W. Bush, Bush 41, father of former President George W. Bush, died Friday night at the age of 94..... To the G20 summit... When they posed for a group picture Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bim Salman were at opposite ends of the picture..... The "big meeting" of the G20 summit is set for tonight when President Trump has dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping..... A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Alaska at around 830am local time Friday, 1230pm Eastern US time..... A third week of Saturday "yellow jacket" protests in France against...

The office of TurkeyÂ’s President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan on Wednesday demanded that the countryÂ’s parliament strip immunity from the leaders of the main and Kurdish opposition parties and 19 other lawmakers to pave the way for potential prosecution, Kurdistan 24 reported. The move comes only a week after the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that the pretrial detention former leader of the Kurdish PeoplesÂ’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin DemirtaÅŸ had gone on longer than could be justified. It is also the latest in a far-reaching crackdown on the opposition, the Kurdish movement and civil society that has over...

A number of pro-Iranian militia bases and Iranian weapons caches in southern Syria were targeted by Israeli airstrikes on Thursday night, according to the Al-Arabiya news site. Explosions were also reported in and around the Syrian capital of Damascus, near its international airport, which Israel claims has been used by Iran to supply terror groups with advanced weaponry...The Israel Defense Forces refused to comment on Thursday night’s reported airstrikes, but denied a Russian media claim that an Israeli plane had been shot down. "The reports of an Israeli aircraft or other Israeli aerial platform being hit are false," the army...

The brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi has opened a window into the world of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and reminded us that there are many places in the world where disagreeing with your government is a death sentence. I break with the administration on their response to this killing for many reasons. If Saudi Arabia is not held accountable for the barbaric murder of Khashoggi, what will it mean for the fate of other dissidents held in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere who are being held without trial? What message does it send to kingdoms and dictatorships around...

Recent row during a Turkish parliamentary commission meeting spoke volumes. “We are cleansing everybody,” said the legislative body’s chairman, a member of the Justice and Development Party. “Everybody” means all who disagree with the AKP. “Cleansing” is the pattern established by the party of dismissing “everybody” from state institutions, public office. With Turkey in the third year of the post-coup period, the purge has not slowed. Discontent is being voiced. “Look, esteemed chairman,” roared Kurdish MP Meral Danis Bestas, “when the time comes and when you become subject to criminal charges, I and my friends will not hesitate to come...

Syrian reporter: In Syria there is atmosphere of eve of war Exclusive: In conversation in Damascus, senior Syrian journalist tells about sentiments in Syria ('as if there will be war any moment'); talks about military preparations in his country ('identifying your reinforcements in Golan Heights'); and estimates that Israeli pounding in Lebanon to intensify grassroots support of Nasrallah and his organization. Also in Syria, he says, Nasrallah more popular than ever Ali Waked As the conflict with Hizbullah in Lebanon escalates by the day, the question of Syria's involvement in the conflict becomes increasingly more relevant. "The atmosphere in Syria...

Iran taunts West on eve of nuclear deadline By Tim Butcher, Middle East Correspondent (Filed: 30/08/2006) Iran goaded the West yesterday, suggesting that European and American companies should bid for contracts to build reactors and other nuclear infrastructure planned by Teheran. Meanwhile, diplomats were searching in vain for signs of a change in Iran's defiant position before tomorrow's UN deadline for it to halt uranium enrichment. Promising to press ahead with his country's nuclear programme, Mr Ahmadinejad complained bitterly about the UN Security Council, saying that its domination by the victorious powers of the Second World War was out of...

Defying President Trump, senators sent a strong signal Wednesday they want to punish Saudi Arabia for its role in the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Senate voted 63 to 37 to move forward with legislation calling for an end to U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The vote was a rebuke not only to Saudi Arabia but to the Trump administration, which has been clear it does not want to torpedo the long-standing U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia over the killing.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Erdogan, Mr Abbas, members of the clergy, foreign guests, friends, Let me congratulate you from all my heart on the opening of Moscow’s rebuilt Cathedral Mosque. This is a big event for all Muslims in Russia. One of Moscow’s oldest mosques stood on this historical site and has undergone reconstruction that now makes it the biggest in Europe. It was given a magnificent modern new look worthy of the capital of our united, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country. This new mosque is worthy of Russia, in which, I want to stress, Islam, under our country’s...

A neighborhood advisory panel in Washington that typically focuses on liquor license applications and other local concerns is inserting itself into the international furor prompted by the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last month at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A, as the Foggy Bottom panel is known, is expected to vote Wednesday to rename the street outside the Saudi Embassy for Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist who resided in Virginia. Under the proposal, the east side of New Hampshire Avenue NW between F Street and Juarez Circle would become “Jamal Khashoggi Way.” The Watergate complex...

Video at link. CNN’s Jim Acosta made his return to the James S. Brady room on Tuesday for a press briefing with Sarah Sanders -- 20 days after the reporter was temporarily banned from the White House. Sanders, who until Tuesday hadn't held a briefing in weeks, took questions after sessions with National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and National Security Adviser John Bolton – during which Acosta kept quiet. The press secretary eventually called on Acosta, who asked if President Trump would recommend that Paul Manafort should cooperate with authorities going forward. The questioning grew tenser -- though not...

A high-ranking US delegation visited the areas of northeastern of Syria to learn about the democratic experience applied on the ground, led by the member of the US Congress Thomas Alexander Garrett. The delegation was received by the head of the External Relations Office of the Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA) of North-East Syria; Abdul Karim Omar, the Vice-Chair of the Executive Council of the Administration; Elizabeth Korrea, and the Vice-Presidents of the External Relations Body in al-Jazeera region Sanaa Daham and Fener al-Kait at Sêmelka crossing border on November 23. The member of the US Congress Thomas Alexander was accompanied...

Pieces of a renowned Roman mosaic that were looted and eventually sold to an American university are to be returned to Turkey, thetimes.co.uk reports. The twelve fragments once formed parts of the border of the "gypsy girl" mosaic in the ancient Roman settlement of Zeugma, close to the modern Turkish city of Gaziantep, and show human faces and birds. The near-complete main part of the mosaic, which has remained in Turkey, depicts a girl with windswept hair and an intense stare. It is on display in Gaziantep's Zeugma mosaics museum and has become an unofficial symbol of the city. The...

George Soros’s Open Society Foundation said on Monday it would cease operations in Turkey, days after President Tayyip Erdogan accused the billionaire philanthropist of trying to divide and destroy nations. The foundation said it had been the target of “baseless claims” in the Turkish media, which made it impossible for it to continue its work. It also faced an investigation by the Interior Ministry which sought to demonstrate a link, which it denied, between the foundation and protests at Istanbul’s Gezi Park in 2013. One of its founders in Turkey, Hakan Altinay, was among 13 people detained 10 days ago....