Free Republic

At North Korea’s new beach resort, the white sand glistened against the crystal-clear waters. Ten minutes of Wi-Fi cost $1.70. Food arrived in abundance, albeit with the same three beverage choices: water, tea or beer. The weeklong trip cost roughly $2,000. The catch? All travelers had to be Russian. Welcome to North Korea’s Wonsan Kalma coastal complex, a megaresort built by the regime to portray the country as modern and affluent. It is opening to foreign vacationers for the first time, as part of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s drive to attract more tourism to his cash-strapped country and...

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he had heard that India might no longer buy oil from Russia, though he acknowledged he was not certain about the claim. "I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That's what I heard, I don't know if that's right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens," Trump told ANI. Trump's remarks come days after his tirade against India for buying Russian oil and the White House's decision to levy 25 per cent tariffs on all exports to America and an...

At least two vessels loaded with Russian oil bound for refiners in India have diverted to other destinations following new U.S. sanctions, trade sources said, and LSEG trade flows showed. The U.S. Treasury Department this week imposed sanctions on more than 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities, and ships, some of which are involved in transporting Russian oil. U.S. President Donald Trump has urged countries to halt purchases of oil from Moscow, threatening 100% tariffs unless Russia agrees to a significant peace deal with Ukraine. Three ships - the Aframaxes Tagor and Guanyin and the Suezmax Tassos - were scheduled to deliver...

Donald Trump announced that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines towards Russia in response to threats from the country’s former president. The US president said he was sending the vessels to “appropriate regions” in a move that broke decades of Pentagon secrecy around high-level deployments. It comes after Mr Trump was engaged in a war of words with Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and the deputy chairman of the country’s security council.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday told U.S. President Donald Trump to remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort after Trump told Medvedev to "watch his words". -snip- "If some words from the former president of Russia trigger such a nervous reaction from the high-and-mighty president of the United States, then Russia is doing everything right and will continue to proceed along its own path," Medvedev said in a post on Telegram. Trump should remember, he said, "how dangerous the fabled 'Dead Hand' can be," a reference to a secretive semi-automated Russian command system designed...

President Trump warned Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev that he risks entering “dangerous territory” after he slammed the US deadline for a cease-fire in Ukraine as “a step towards war.” “Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” Trump said regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top ally on Truth Social Thursday morning.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday took a sharp jab at India and Russia -snip- Russia and the USA do almost no business together." He added, "Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!”

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it continues to monitor statements by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding sanctions against Moscow, but that Russia had acquired immunity to such measures thanks to long experience. -snip- "We have been living under a huge number of sanctions for quite a long time, our economy operates under a huge number of restrictions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "Therefore, of course, we have already developed a certain immunity in this regard, and we continue to note all statements that come from President Trump, from other international representatives on this matter." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria...

U.S. officials warned Chinese authorities that they could face higher tariffs if they continue purchasing oil from Iran and Russia, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters after two days of meetings in Stockholm. “It’s no secret the Chinese are buying 90% of the Iranian oil,” Bessent told reporters. The U.S. officials also informed the Chinese of a bill moving through Congress that would authorize the president to impose tariffs of up to 500% on nations that import Russian oil, saying that they believed other nations would follow suit. “We explained the nature of the...

United States President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that his new deadline for Russia to reach an agreement with Ukraine is ten days from today. "Ten days from today ... and then, you know, we're going to put on tariffs and stuff, and I don't know if it's going to affect Russia, because he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants to obviously, probably, keep the war going, but we're going to put on tariffs and the various things that you put on. It may or may not affect them, but it could," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his...