Free Republic

Something extraordinary happened above Israel over the weekend. It wasn’t that Israel repelled a massive Iranian rocket and drone barrage, although that was sufficiently miraculous. Nor was it that amazing that Saudi Arabia helped defend Israel against Iranian incursions because it’s been rumored for decades that Saudi Arabia occasionally lends a hand in those matters. What was truly extraordinary was that Saudi Arabia openly admitted to helping Israel fight back against Iran’s attack. It shows the truth of the ancient proverb that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Many people are pointing to President Trump’s Abraham Accords as...

The desert nation of the United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out Wednesday from the heaviest rain ever recorded there after a deluge flooded out Dubai International Airport, disrupting flights through the world's busiest airfield for international travel. The state-run WAM news agency called the rain Tuesday “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.” That's before the discovery of crude oil in this energy-rich nation then part of a British protectorate known as the Trucial States. Rain also fell in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. However, the rains were acute...

Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted last August that a drop in the importance of the U.S. dollar was "irreversible"—but there appears to be no sign that the global economy is turning its back on the greenback. "The U.S. Dollar was used in 48% of international payment transactions last year, the highest level in more than a decade. But Brics...," it said next to the graph, which showed the euro making 23.2 percent of transactions and the Chinese yuan way behind at 3.47 percent. "BRICS countries would like their currencies to be used in world trade, but each has a major...

Moscow has been on a drive to replace the use of the US dollar in international trade, but there are barrels of Russian oil stuck at sea due to issues with paying in alternative currencies. Shipments of Russian Sokol grade crude oil to state-owned Indian Oil Corp, or IOC, have been delayed by payment issues, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The seller is the state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft. The problem arose because Rosneft unit selling the oil hasn't been able to open a bank account in the United Arab Emirates to receive payments...

In recent weeks, it has become clear that the Biden-Harris regime is applying pressure to the Israeli government, in support of the Hamas-led terrorist cause in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government knows that it needs to continue to hammer Gaza without letup, as they continue to discover even more weapons caches, even more terrorist tunnels, even more evidence of military sites in civilian areas, virtually every day. If Israel pulls out before the job is done, then all these months will have been for naught. There are ten million Israeli citizens – Jewish, Muslim, Christian and more – all...

Kash Patel an Indian-American whose parents trace their roots to Gujarat and migrated to the US from East Africa during Idi Amin’s rule in Uganda Washington: Kash Patel is a senior advisor to former US President Donald J Trump, the most likely nominee for the Republican ticket for presidential elections this year. Patel served in senior positions in the National Security Council and other government agencies and eventually became the chief of staff to the Department of Defence during the Trump presidency. He also travelled with Trump to India in 2020. An Indian-American whose parents trace their roots to Gujarat...

Five of the six countries invited to join the BRICS bloc of developing nations from Jan. 1 have confirmed they are joining, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran and Egypt, South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor said on Wednesday.

The Biden White House intends to pursue a policy of recognizing a Palestinian state at the end of the Israel-Hamas War without the participation of the Israeli government. Along with bilateral recognition, the Biden White House contemplates urging other states to do the same and permitting that Palestinian state to join the United Nations. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron says the United Kingdom will do the same to bring about "irreversible progress to a two-state solution."Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on January 21, "I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan...

In what could be a landmark in the Middle East’s history, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Israeli media reported. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, currently on a tour of the region, was also reportedly present at the meeting in Neom, Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu was accompanied by the head of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, Yossi Cohen, who is widely regarded to have played a key role in preparing the groundwork for the recent normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Arab Gulf states, news...

CAPE TOWN — Presidents Putin and XI and other leaders from the Brics bloc of developing countries will hold a virtual meeting on the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday, with Secretary General Guterres also participating. The leaders of fellow Brics members Brazil, India, and South Africa, as well as of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, which are set to join the bloc in January, will also take part, according to the office of President Ramaphosa of South Africa. Mr. Ramaphosa will chair the “extraordinary meeting” because of South Africa’s position as current chair of Brics,...

Since Hamas’s brutal attack against Israel on Oct. 7 and the resulting Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, tensions and hostilities across the Middle East have reached fever pitch. And with such a complex regional crisis playing out, it should not come as a surprise that the Biden administration is reconsidering its military priorities in the region.It should be cause for significant concern, however, that this could involve a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. While no definitive decision has been made to leave, four sources within the Defense and State departments said the White House is no...

Is the migrant crisis plaguing the U.S. just the spontaneous movement of the globe's peoples to the U.S. ... or the work of an evil little banana-republic dictator plotting to take down the U.S.? Based on a new report from Agence France-Presse, which ran on the Voice of America's website, it actually looks like the latter: … analysts say that the government of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, a longtime nemesis of the United States, has deliberately made it easier for migrants to bypass the Darien by flying straight into his country and then heading north overland. Manuel Orozco, a migration...

No one ever lost money betting on the ability of the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder to construct a “coalition of the willing” whenever faced with a geopolitical quandary. In every case, duly covered by the reigning “rules-based international order”, “willing” applies to vassals seduced by carrots or sticks to follow to the letter the Empire’s whims. Cue to the latest chapter: Coalition Genocide Prosperity, whose official – heroic – denomination, a trademark of the Pentagon’s P.R. wizards, is “Operation Prosperity Guardian”, allegedly engaged in “ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.” Translation: this is Washington all but...

OPINION The USA, Canada, Australia, Norway and the UK which had the moral responsibility to rapidly phase out oil and gas production are responsible for planned expansion from new oil and gas fields for next decade and half. How can these countries advise India to cut on coal consumption? Our greenhouse gas emission is nearly 3 Giga tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. We are distant third behind the two top emitters China with 14 Giga tonnes and the US with 8 Giga tonnes Among the important outcomes, COP 28 text proposes to triple renewable energy capacity and double the global...

Paris, France CNN — French authorities grounded a passenger plane carrying 303 Indian citizens, including 11 non-accompanied minors, at the airport of Vatry, on suspicion of human trafficking, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office told CNN on Saturday. The plane, belonging to Legend Airlines, a company based in Romania, was on its way from the United Arab Emirates to Nicaragua and had stopped over at Vatry airport, roughly 150 kilometers east of Paris, for supply, according to the Prosecutor’s Office. French authorities seized the plane on December 21 after receiving an anonymous tip. The plane was chartered by a company registered outside...

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have reportedly told the President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas that he must Resign as President and Dissolve the current Government in order to Appoint a Saudi and UAE-Approved Government, or else they will Halt all further Financial Aid to the Palestinian Territories.

Huge volumes of US oil production, as well as output from Brazil and Guyana, have eaten away at the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies' command of global crude flows, with the energy cartel's market share dropping to its lowest mark in nearly a decade, according to the International Energy Agency. In its oil report covering data up to December 2023, the IEA said OPEC+'s market share had fallen to 51% in 2023. It hasn't been that low since the group expanded to include additional allies in 2016, the Paris-based firm said. "Record-breaking supply from the United States,...

Iran also claims the US is holding the UN Security Council hostage to prevent wider condemnation of Israel’s war against Hamas. Iran’s foreign ministry slammed the US in a series of statements on Monday. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani claimed the US is now a party to the war in Gaza because the US has supplied Israel with munitions. Iran also claims the US is holding the UN Security Council hostage to prevent wider condemnation of Israel’s war against Hamas. Iran backs Hamas and has had meetings with Hamas leadership since October 7. Iran also backs militias in...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels later claimed attacks on two ships they described as being linked to Israel, but did not acknowledge targeting a U.S. Navy vessel. The attack potentially marked a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war. “We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Pentagon told The Associated...

Ofir Gendelman, the Arabic-language spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, gave a statement today in which he emphasized that "the war could be over today." He gave two conditions for ending the war: the release of the hostages and the surrender and disbanding of Hamas. "If Hamas continues to fight, the residents of Gaza must know that it does not care for them," Gendelman stated. "Hamas prefers not to free the hostages instead of pursuing the best interests of the residents of Gaza." He also stated that IDF forces had begun their operations in the south of the Gaza Strip....