Free Republic

The Walt Disney Company on Wednesday announced plans to add another theme park to its Experiences portfolio — its seventh in total. The new resort is being planned for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, on Yas Island. The island, which has an area of about 10 square miles, is already home to several theme parks, including Ferrari World and Warner Bros. World. “This is a thrilling moment for our company as we announce plans to build an exciting Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, whose culture is rich with an appreciation of the arts and creativity,” Bob...

Oil producing countries are bracing for a bumpy ride this year, with a precipitous drop in prices to the lowest levels in four years seen as the initial, alarming sign of looming turmoil. A price drop benefits any country seeking to cut its fuel bill. But in oil producing nations, lower prices can feed economic troubles, and sometimes political unrest, as governments slash spending. Analysts who had already been predicting lower oil prices because of softening demand amid increased global production said the possibility of a tariff trade war and the overall climate of uncertainty could well deepen producers’ woes....

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke via phone on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump, the American leader said, declaring that the pair “are on the same side of every issue.” The call covered “numerous subjects including Trade, Iran, etc.,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, adding that the conversation went “very well.” Notably, Trump did not include Gaza or the 59 hostages being held there in his list of topics discussed amid the ongoing impasse in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. However, according to a report in Axios, the pair did talk about efforts to reach...

The BRICS group of nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has long aimed to challenge Western-controlled financial systems and reduce the world’s reliance on the US dollar. Now, that mission is getting an unexpected push, thanks to new tariff policies introduced by US President Donald Trump. BRICS Bloc Gains Momentum Amid US Trade Setbacks Trump has declared what he calls “Liberation Day,” a move that marks one of the biggest protectionist trade shifts since the 1930s. These new tariffs target both enemies and allies, and are expected to slow trade, increase prices in the US, and put brakes on global...

PUTIN henchman and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is "preparing to flee Russia" - as he has put his son in charge of the police. The infamous leader of Chechnya has already made several moves to prepare for his escape - and his efforts have sparked a conflict with Kremlin cronies. The 48-year-old dictator is a vocal supporter of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, and has sent tens of thousands of troops to support the bloody war in Ukraine. He has also been accused of violating human rights, including involvement in kidnapping and torture. But relations between Putin and Kadyrov have soured...

US decision to amass B-2 bombers at Diego Garcia is result of Gulf Arab monarchs closing airspace to American warplanes in event of war with Iran Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have imposed a ban on US warplanes using their air fields or skies to attack Iran after US President Donald Trump over the weekend threatened to bomb the country. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait have all told the US they will not permit their airspaces or territories to be used as a launchpad against Iran, including for refuelling and rescue operations, a senior US official told...

Reports this week indicated that US President Donald Trump may visit Saudi Arabia in the coming months. This is important because it would be his first trip abroad as president. It will also be a repeat of a trip he took during his first term. During his first term, in May 2017, he travelled to Saudi Arabia for the US-Arab-Islamic Summit. He met with Saudi King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during that trip, among other leaders who attended During the May 2017 trip, Trump said, “I stand before you as a representative of the American People, to...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine could be placed under a “temporary administration” as part of a peace process that could include help from North Korea and other Moscow allies, according to Russian state media. Speaking to a group of servicemen in Russia’s northern port of Murmansk, Putin laid out several provisions for a peace process to end the three-year war launched by Moscow in February 2022, according to Russia’s state news agency, TASS. Among Putin’s many suggestions was a call for new elections in Ukraine and the “signing of key accords” once the country is under international administration,...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has committed to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion “investment framework” in the U.S., the White House announced Friday. The new framework “will substantially increase the UAE’s existing investments in the U.S. economy in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, and American manufacturing,” according to the administration. The UAE committed to the investments after President Trump hosted the UAE’s national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, and the heads of major UAE sovereign wealth funds and corporations for a meeting in the Oval Office earlier this week. Among the investments under the framework, the UAE investment fund ADQ and...

A UKRAINIAN OnlyFans model is in critical condition after she was found at the side of a road in Dubai - with limbs broken. The model who turned 20 this month, was also left unable to speak, and fears are now mounting that she was the victim of a horrendous sex slave scheme. The model had been missing for eight days after she told pals she was invited to a hotel party, which is now believed to have been a so-called Porta Potty party. Local Russian media said that her relatives fear that she could have been made a sex...

It would seem that discussions of the Second Amendment over the years have missed the mark with the policy wonks and politicians. Not so with some folks across the fruited plain. Todd Fitchette writes in his blog "Across the Back Fence" on the true meaning of the Second Amendment, quoting Senate testimony from a Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp on the day she decided to not arm herself for self protection, as was her custom. I think it's more important to note what she told Senators about the Second Amendment. Read the blog AND view the YouTube video for a more...

UK denies report MI6 was told about use of UK passports before Mabhouh's death. The British MI6 intelligence agency was tipped off by Mossad that Israeli agents were going to carry out an 'overseas operation' using fake UK passports, the Daily Mail reported Friday morning. The report came several hours after a 20-minute meeting in London between Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor and a senior British diplomat on Thursday, over the fake British passports apparently used in the assassination of Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai. According to the UK newspaper, a British security source quoted a Mossad agent as...

“He told me that he, or he and a group, were going to make a significant contribution to the Democratic Party. … I said 'wow, that’s a lot of money.’” Movie star Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand in a federal trial on Monday that seeks to hammer down the details of what appears to be a money-funneling scheme that features a Malaysian financier funneling tens of millions of dollars through a prominent 90s rap artist for the purpose of donating to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. DiCaprio plays into the saga because he was said to have partied...

On Friday, President Trump and his entourage will jet for the third straight weekend to a working getaway at his oceanfront Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. On Saturday, Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr., with their Secret Service details in tow, will be nearly 8,000 miles away in the United Arab Emirates, attending the grand opening of a Trump-brand golf resort in the “Beverly Hills of Dubai.”

The Bidens have always maintained they did not coordinate, mix or discuss personal and government business activities, but evidence in the Archives conflicts with that claim. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer pressed Wednesday for deeper access to records in the Biden family probe held by the National Archives, while pointedly warning that America's historical agency is threatening to withhold some evidence as "personal." Comer made the revelation in a letter to Archivist Colleen Shogan that requested unrestricted access to a collection of memos the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has released in redacted form titled “Records...

On the face of it, Trump’s plan for the US to occupy Gaza is not remotely feasible, but that could all be part of the president’s scheme. US President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when he announced that the United States will take over the Gaza Strip for the foreseeable future. With his declaration, the president has once again thrown a diplomatic grenade into the Middle East conversation – not a particularly quiet region at the best of times and one beset by 15 months of war. The proposal – one that envisions the US developing Gaza, creating...

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seen by Russia as possible venues for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, two Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. -snip- Saudi Arabia and the UAE did not respond to requests for comment. The Kremlin declined comment. But both Trump and Putin have developed friendly relations with rulers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump said on Sunday that his administration had "meetings and talks scheduled with various parties, including Ukraine and Russia." When asked about those remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said...

UAE, Dubai – Prominent American media personality and political commentator Tucker Carlson, founder of the Tucker Carlson Network, described the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as a "wise leader unlike any other president I have met,” reiterating that wisdom is impossible without humility, which he referred to as a divine gift. Carlson shared his insights during a keynote session titled “The New Rules of Influence” at the 1 Billion Followers Summit, the world’s largest event dedicated to the content economy. His Excellency Saeed Al Eter, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Projects and Chairman...

Abu Dhabi is advocating for a reformed PA to govern Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem under an independent Palestinian state, the sources said. The United Arab Emirates has discussed with Israel and the United States participating in a provisional administration of post-war Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge, according to people familiar with the talks. The behind-the-scenes discussions, reported by Reuters for the first time, included the possibility of the UAE and the United States, along with other nations, temporarily overseeing the governance, security and reconstruction of Gaza after the Israeli military withdraws...

The US and the United Arab Emirates have discussed with each other the possibility of lifting sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad if he peels himself away from Iran and cuts off weapons routes to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, five people familiar with the matter tell Reuters. The conversations intensified in recent months, the sources say, driven by the possible expiry on Dec. 20 of sweeping US sanctions on Syria and by Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s regional network, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Iranian assets in Syria. The discussions took place before anti-Assad rebels swept into Aleppo last week...