Free Republic

UKRAINE has been handing out "surrender cards" to Russian soldiers containing secret codes with advice on how they can return home alive, reports have claimed. The cards feature a message in Russian for Vlad's invading forces, as well as a QR code on the back with links to further information on how soldiers can surrender to Ukraine. Pictures of the cards supposedly being distributed widely among Russian forces by Ukraine were shared on social media. One side of the card is in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. The headline reads: "YOUR TICKET TO A PEACEFUL LIFE."...

DERANGED tyrant Vladimir Putin shed his geeky image with the help of steroids and extensive plastic surgery to become the brute he is today. Pictures from through the years show the 69-year-old Russian President's transformation from skinny and wrinkled to bloated and bulky, which experts have claimed is down to his expensive procedures. As Putin's finger rests on the nuclear button, and his troops bombard Ukraine, the extent of his apparent vanity has been laid bare. Yesterday, former foreign secretary Lord Owen claimed Putin's aggressive Ukrainian invasion was down to his taking steroids, with the medical doctor saying changes in...

VLADIMIR Putin appeared confused and out of breath as he wheezed his way through his latest speech, threatening the West with nuclear weapons. The Russian president seemed to struggle to catch his breath and paused several times during the address to politicians, stumbling over his words and looking exhausted. At one stage, he appears breathless and stuttering, while on two other occasions, he seems to take quick gasps for air.

RUSSIAN troops have reportedly shelled an old people's home in Ukraine, killing 56 people. A tank allegedly fired at the residential home in what Ukrainian authorities branded a "cynical" and "deliberate" attack.

Dramatic video shows the immense ship ablaze with thick black smoke pouring into the sky as it appears to be sinking into the sea. None of the ship’s 10 crew members on board at the time of the explosion have been accounted for, according to the oil firm which owns the ship. Reports claim the Trinity Spirit exploded on Thursday morning at the Ukpokiti oil field close to the River Niger delta near the Escravos terminal in Nigeria. The cause of the explosion is still being investigated, according to Ikemefuna Okafor, chief executive of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd...

The British like nothing better than to cut their leaders down to size, so it will be no surprise if many of us seize the chance presented by tomorrow's local and European elections to teach the Prime Minister a lesson. Iraq, which has dominated domestic as well as international politics for the past two years, continues to arouse indignation every time Tony Blair appears. Once an irresistible electoral force, he is now treated as an embarrassment by his own party strategists. They must be hoping that, during his current foreign excursion, first to the G8 summit in Georgia and then...

Europe is not working properly. I am quite clear about that. The European Union pumps out too many rules and regulations, and is too centralised and inflexible. It has a poor track record on waste and fraud, and is a prime example of the failed "big government knows best" approach to life. For almost a decade, auditors have refused to sign off the EU's accounts because of the level of fraud and corruption in the organisation. Every year, £3 billion goes missing. Red tape is strangling European business. It has a serious impact on jobs and growth. Productivity in the...

LONDON, Feb. 5 — The leader of the Conservative Party of Britain, Michael Howard, called on Prime Minister Tony Blair today to resign, saying that Mr. Blair failed to ask fundamental questions about Saddam Hussein's weapons before taking the country into war. Mr. Howard's sudden assault on Mr. Blair came after the admission by Mr. Blair in Parliament on Wednesday that he was unaware that intelligence suggesting Mr. Hussein could activate chemical or biological weapons in 45 minutes referred to short-range battlefield weapons, and not strategic weapons that could threaten British and American forces in nearby countries. Though Mr. Howard's...