Free Republic

A massive new US embassy complex in Lebanon is causing controversy for its sheer size and opulence in a country where nearly 80% of the population is under the poverty line. Located some 13 kilometers (about 8 miles) from the center of Beirut, the US’ new embassy compound in Lebanon looks like a city of its own. Sprawling over a 43-acre site, the complex in the Beirut suburb of Awkar is almost two-and-a-half times the size of the land the White House sits on and more than 21 soccer fields. Many Lebanese on Twitter questioned why the US needs such...

a grey, lumpy moon in front of the red surface of Mars Credit: Emirates Mars Mission The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) has just produced the best images ever taken of Mars’ moon Deimos — and they suggest the tiny satellite isn’t what we thought it was. Mars’ moons: Mars has two moons. The larger of them, Phobos, is 14 miles wide and orbits the planet from a distance of just 3,700 miles, while the smaller one, Deimos, is only 9 miles in diameter and circles it from 14,580 miles away. “We expect to … advance our fundamental understanding...

CAMERA’s exposé, which can be read here in full, demonstrates that the four journalists failed to live up to France 24’s charter of ethics. In numerous social media posts, the journalists can be seen praising Hitler, minimizing the Holocaust, and glorifying Hamas-affiliated terrorists who murdered and maimed scores of Jewish civilians. “Professional journalists are expected to hold up basic standards of objectivity, which obviously includes not cheerleading for Hitler and Hamas-inspired terrorism,” said Andrea Levin, CAMERA executive director. “We commend France 24 for promptly investigating this serious situation, and we hope that the news outlet cuts ties with these apologists...

Saudi Arabia has reportedly invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for an official state visit after the two sides agreed to restore ties in a peace deal brokered by China. Per the BBC, the invitation came in a letter from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, but that has yet to be confirmed by Saudi officials. A senior Iranian official, Mohammad Jamshidi, tweeted about the invitation to visit the Saudi capital, Riyadh, saying Mr Raisi had welcomed it and "stressed Iran's readiness to expand co-operation". Separately, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters that the two countries had agreed to hold a meeting...

The UN Security Council on Monday published a statement expressing its "dismay" over Jewish settlement activity in Judea and Samaria during a briefing on the situation in the Middle East. The statement, which received the support of all 15 members of the Security Council, including the US, reads: “The Security Council reiterates that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution.” The statement is non-binding, unlike a resolution which was proposed last week, which would have demanded that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory." That resolution was shelved...

Republican Congressional members have urged President Joe Biden to veto an anti-Israel resolution slated to be brought before the U.N. Security Council on Monday."As the UN Security Council once again moves to consider another one-sided, biased, anti-Israel resolution, it is imperative that the United States maintain its position that only direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians can yield progress," Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy wrote in a letter to the president.The missive was co-signed by Steve Scalise, the Majority Leader and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul."If the U.N. Security Council takes action on Monday to punish Israel,...

The world's third-richest man has been accused of pulling of the 'largest con in corporate history' through the Indian-based Adani Group corporation. US investor Hindenburg Research, which has begun short selling the conglomerate through bonds, conducted a two-year probe into head Gautam Adani, who is worth $125billion. The firm alleges that Adani and his family controlled a web of offshore shell accounts that it used to carry out corruption, money laundering and taxpayer theft, all while siphoning money from the companies they owned. Adani has pulled off this gargantuan feat with the help of enablers in government and a cottage...

Amidst visits to Jerusalem and Riyadh, Jason Greenblatt tells me that if anyone can make it happen, he thinks it’s Netanyahu ABU DHABI – In the coming days, I’ll begin reporting on my meetings with senior government officials here in the United Arab Emirates. It’s been fascinating getting updates on how the UAE leadership views the new right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the progress that is being made in developing and deepening diplomatic and cultural ties after the signing of the Abraham Accords, the exciting growth of trade between the UAE and Israel. Today, however, I want...

Israel’s incoming prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that the US must "reaffirm" its alliance with Saudi Arabia and that he will seek normalization with Riyadh once in office."I think that the alliance, the traditional (US) alliance with Saudi Arabia and other countries, has to be reaffirmed. There should not be periodic swings, or even wild swings in this relationship, because I think that the alliance between America’s allies and with America is the anchor of stability in our region," Netanyahu recently told Al-Arabiya English.Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu stands among members of the new Israeli parliament after a swearing-in ceremony...

Led by a respected former PM, and given a lot of resources by the Russian State, meet the Imperial Orthodox Palestine SocietyThe Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, a humanitarian NGO founded in Russia 140 years ago, now plays a key role in expanding Russian influence in the Middle East and beyond. As relations between Russia and the Western world plunge, Middle East and African countries engage in developing ties with Moscow. It is also quite remarkable that this rapprochement is based not so much on political foundations as on the common values and moral foundations. The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS)...

Live Stream 5:00 p.m. ✈ Denys Davydov Telegram Channel: https://t.me/pilotblog

Preparing for any potential war against Iran, the Biden administration has formally elevated Israel in military planning.... ...For the Pentagon, Israel is the most prized military and intelligence partner in the Middle East, with its vast combat experience and advanced technologies. With the end of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, and with the brokering of the Abraham Accords by the Trump administration, Washington sees an opportunity to incorporate Israel into a new regional alliance. ... ..."CENTCOM will now work to implement the U.S. Government commitment to a holistic approach to regional security and cooperation with our partners," the Tampa-based command...

Al Arabiya English Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to become the Prime Minister of Israel for the third time. He has until December 21 to form a government before taking office. In a wide-ranging interview with a group of print and television journalists at Al Arabiya, Mr. Netanyahu discussed Israel’s relations with Arab states, the US alliance structure in the Middle East, unrest in Iran, Israel’s new hard-right government, the future of the US-brokered maritime border agreement with Lebanon, and the Russia-Ukraine war. Mr. Netanyahu reiterated the paramount importance of normalization with Saudi Arabia, which would be a “quantum leap” toward...

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has achieved the unity of the Arab people, and proved that it is their meeting place," Qatar Press Center president Saad Mohamed al-Rumaihi said. He was speaking on the sidelines of a panel discussion on the 'Western campaigns against Qatar and the Arab countries, organised by Qatar Press Center (QPC) in co-operation with Qatar News Agency (QNA) on Sunday. "Today, the entire Arab world, east and west, north and south, stands behind the Moroccan national team. They all support the Lions of the Atlantic and hope that the Moroccan national team will reach the...

Senior US officials say question of whether to speak with Smotrich, Ben-Gvir raised at White House meeting. A high-level meeting was held at the White House last week to discuss policy towards the new government in Israel, including the question of whether or not to hold talks with certain ministers from the "extreme right" Barak Ravid reported for "Walla". According to the report, this is the first meeting on the subject, which was held as part of a National Security Council forum, of which senior representatives from the State Department, the Defense Department and the American intelligence organizations are members....

The Biden administration just won one for the president and his new, fist-bumping pal, the leader of Saudi Arabia. The Washington Times reported on Wednesday that U.S. District Judge John Bates tossed a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia, UAE announce successful mediation efforts in US-Russia prisoner swap According to a joint statement, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed led the efforts. Saudi Arabia and the UAE said their joint mediation efforts helped lead to a successful prisoner exchange between the US and Russia on Thursday. “The [two countries] said the success of the mediation efforts was a reflection of the mutual and solid friendship between their two countries and the United States of America and the Russian Federation,” a joint Saudi-UAE statement read. “They also highlighted the important role...

Private Japanese company iSpace is sending its M1 lander carrying Rashid, a new rover from the United Arab Emirates.While the Orion spacecraft, a key part of NASA's Artemis I mission, is on its way back to Earth after going far beyond the moon, a new lunar lander from Japan and a small rover from the United Arab Emirates are set to blast off from Florida early Wednesday.The Hakuto R mission is led by the private Japanese company iSpace and will send its M1 lander, which is about the size of a chest freezer, to the surface of the moon...Hakamada added...

The UN General Assembly this week passed a resolution to characterize the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948 as a “catastrophe,” in what has been heralded as a major victory for pro-Palestinian activists. The word “Nakba,” which means catastrophe or disaster in Arabic, was also a term coined by the Palestinians to commemorate the Jewish state’s founding. The UN resolution acknowledges the Palestinian version of the events that led to Israel’s creation, and calls for the “commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba,” with a “high-level event” at the global body on May 15th, 2023. May...

The monastery sits on Siniyah Island, which shields the Khor al-Beida marshlands in Umm al-Quwain, an emirate some 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Dubai along the coast of the Persian Gulf. The island, whose name means “flashing lights” likely due to the effect of the white-hot sun overhead, has a series of sandbars coming off of it like crooked fingers. On one, to the island’s northeast, archaeologists discovered the monastery. Carbon dating of samples found in the monastery’s foundation date between 534 and 656. Islam’s Prophet Muhammad was born around 570 and died in 632 after conquering Mecca in...