Free Republic

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday downplayed US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Russia and its trading partners, asserting that Moscow is well equipped to withstand additional sanctions. -snip- "We would like to understand what is behind this statement after about 50 days. Earlier, there were also deadlines of 24 hours and 100 days; we’ve seen it all and really would like to understand the motivation of the US president," he said. Lavrov also said the SCO countries have reiterated their commitment to Iran’s legitimate right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "We...

December 3, 2002 C.I.A. Hunts Iraq Tie to Soviet SmallpoxBy JUDITH MILLER he C.I.A. is investigating an informant's accusation that Iraq obtained a particularly virulent strain of smallpox from a Russian scientist who worked in a smallpox lab in Moscow during Soviet times, senior American officials and foreign scientists say. The officials said several American scientists were told in August that Iraq might have obtained the mysterious strain from Nelja N. Maltseva, a virologist who worked for more than 30 years at the Research Institute for Viral Preparations in Moscow before her death two years ago. The information came to...

A Secretive Muslim Community, Established By A Pakistani Cleric With Ties To Islamic Terrorist Organizations, Has Been Tucked Away In South Carolina For Forty YearsIn the wake of President Trump’s B-2 Bomber “Operation Midnight Hammer”, a surprise strike on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, concerns have surged nationwide about possibility of retaliation on American soil. With tensions still unsettled in the Middle East, chatter has turned toward the risk of sleeper cells hiding in plain sight, particularly after the Biden administration allowed tens of millions of undocumented people to enter the country. Over the past week, we have received several emails from...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Iraqi Kurdish imam and a Bangladeshi-American pizzeria owner on Wednesday lost an appeal of their convictions for plotting to kill a Pakistani diplomat in what turned out to be an FBI sting operation. The U.S Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of Yassin Aref, 37, and Mohammed Hossain, 53, who were sentenced last year to 15 years each in prison for their roles in a fake plot to attack the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations in New York with a missile. Both appealed their convictions of money-laundering and conspiring to provide material...

The Obama administration finally highlights Iran’s key role in supporting al Qaeda On July 28, the Treasury Department designated six al Qaeda operatives involved in shipping money and men from the Persian Gulf to senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The move targets a node of the global terror network that is critical to its overall strength, freezing any of its financial assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting any transactions with the operatives. Of the many conduits for al Qaeda funds and personnel across the world, the U.S. government believes this one is the most important. “This network...

The Times of Central Asia reports that archaeologists from the National Museum of Tajikistan made a number of significant discoveries at the site of Khalkajar near the village of Sarband. Among them was a unique two-handled ceramic jug dating from the time of the Kushan Empire, which was one of the most influential and powerful states of ancient Central Asia that encompassed parts of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Dating to between the first and third century a.d, the vessel contains a faint painted inscription written in the Bactrian language. Linguistic experts determined that it reads, "This water...

The United Nations and its “human rights” bureaucracy are unhappy with American education — especially President Trump’s policies and proposals.Instead of local or parental control, the UN is pushing for radical changes: more federal power, less educational choice, government oversight of private schools, and the promotion of controversial ideological content — all at taxpayer expense. It also wants education globally redefined as a UN-backed “human right.”UN Investigates U.S.The UN’s latest attack on U.S. education, parental rights, state and national sovereignty, and the Constitution came in the form of an investigation and “country report” to the UN’s dictator-dominated “Human Rights Council.”...

Largest Justice Department Health Care Fraud Takedown in History More than Doubles Prior Record of $6 Billion The Justice Department today announced the results of its 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants, including 96 doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and other licensed medical professionals, in 50 federal districts and 12 State Attorneys General’s Offices across the United States, for their alleged participation in various health care fraud schemes involving over $14.6 billion in intended loss. The Takedown involved federal and state law enforcement agencies across the country and represents an unprecedented effort to...

The Department of Justice on Monday unveiled a record-shattering crackdown on the corrupt underbelly of America’s health care system. A jaw-dropping 324 defendants — including 96 medical professionals — have been charged in 50 federal districts and 12 states for orchestrating over $14.6 billion in intended fraud, largely targeting Medicare, Medicaid, and federal health programs meant to serve the elderly, disabled, and the poor. The takedown, spearheaded by the DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Unit in coordination with HHS-OIG, the FBI, the DEA, and over a dozen state attorney general offices, marks the largest health care fraud bust in U.S. history....

The White House announced the nomination of Lynne Tracy, the current U.S. ambassador to Armenia, to the post after the Russian government signed off on the choice. Such approval is generally routine but couldn't be taken for granted at a time of particularly fraught U.S.-Russian relations over Ukraine, the detention of Americans in Russia, allegations of Russian meddling in U.S. and other elections, and an escalating spat over the staffing of embassies in Washington and Moscow. Tracy, who speaks Russian, previously served as a senior adviser for Russian affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and...

US military personnel captured an eerie flying saucer UFO in incredible new footage that has just been released to the public. Investigative journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp say the video was recorded by government personnel over the Afghan-Pakistan border in November 2020. They released it to the public on Tuesday. It shows a massive disc weaving in and out of cloud cover. The Department of Defense labeled the disc a UAP - unidentified anomalous phenomena - and it looks markedly different to other 'tic-tac'-shaped UFOs seen in recent military footage. The raw thermal imagery, along with two additional enhanced...

The recent terror case of a "gentle" third-grade teacher from the D.C. suburbs shows the danger is at once closer and harder to ID than you think. The enemy is hiding not in the shadows, but in plain sight, and may even wear a smile. Hundreds of Muslims last week flocked to a federal courtroom to show their support for the affable and soft-spoken Ali Asad Chandia of Maryland as he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for supporting terrorists. Friends say anti-Muslim prosecutors railroaded a "law-abiding" and "peaceful" brother. "He is a dedicated teacher," said one. "A great...

WASHINGTON -- Just when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) thought it had its hands around the Iranian nuclear program, NewsMax has learned from intelligence sources that Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps is completing a secret, underground uranium enrichment plant that should begin operating in October 2006. Work on the new plant, located 50 miles outside the northeastern Iranian city of Mashad, was begun with help from Russian engineers in 2003, Iranian intelligence sources said. The facility has been built 150 meters below ground in a rugged highlands valley some 38 kilometers southeast of the city of Nishabour. The nearest inhabited...

UN Security Council members, including China, Pakistan, Russia and Algeria, on Friday condemned Israeli attacks on Iran, warning that it threatens regional peace and risk setting a dangerous precedent by targeting nuclear facilities. Speaking at the emergency session on Iran, which was requested by China, Pakistan, Russia and Algeria, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia denounced the attacks and said: "The Iranian, peaceful civilian nuclear facilities continue to be targeted, and this is liable to plunge us into an unseen nuclear catastrophe." He warned that the Security Council "cannot shirk its responsibility" and must assess the situation objectively. "Nuclear facilities cannot be...

Laura Loomer @LauraLoomer Here’s the screenshot from the FARA documents filled out this year that prove Qatar paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for an interview between TuckerCarlson and the Prime Minister of Qatar (the same Qatar which funds HAMAS) regarding the “war with Iran”. This was a paid propaganda piece in which over $200,000 was paid by the Embassy of the State of Qatar for Tucker to interview a Qatari official all while knowing HAMAS is an Iranian proxy and funded by Qatar. Qatar funds Islamic terror all around the world and they think they can just pay everyone...

The Cyprus visit is a calculated effort to advance India's Mediterranean strategy by countering the Turkey-Pakistan alignment, they added. Cyprus's maritime connectivity and strategic location position it as a potential hub in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).With Cyprus set to hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council in 2026, PM Modi's visit -- the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 23 years -- paves the way for deeper India-EU collaboration during Cyprus's leadership term. This visit comes amid heightened Turkey-Pakistan solidarity, particularly following Turkey's support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.Cyprus, engaged in territorial disputes with Turkey, naturally...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday he would accept an investigation into grooming gangs who sexually abused thousands of girls. Starmer had previously resisted a national inquiry into the scandal, Sky News reported, which revealed that mostly Pakistani men had groomed, trafficked and raped young white girls over a decade ago. His change of mind on the matter comes after a government-requested audit found that a nationwide investigation was needed. Starmer told reporters traveling with him to the G7 summit in Canada that he had read the report and would accept the recommendation for a national inquiry. He said...

Five women from across England who were groomed and abused as children or young adults have told BBC Newsnight about the ongoing impact it has had on their lives. All were targeted by adult men, mainly from a British Asian background, often against the backdrop of chaotic upbringings. They shared their stories on the same day the government confirmed the publication of a review into grooming gangs has been delayed. Kate Elysia - not her real name - was abused by a gang of men of Pakistani origin in the Shropshire town of Telford. She was first raped when she...

The most vulnerable nations on Earth are facing a “tidal wave” of debt repayments as a Chinese lending boom starts to be called in, a new report has warned. The analysis, published on Tuesday by Australian foreign policy thinktank the Lowy Institute, said that in 2025 the poorest 75 countries were on the hook for record high debt repayments US$22bn to China. The 75 nations’ debt formed the bulk of the total $35bn calculated by Lowy for 2025. “Now, and for the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world,” the report...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s efforts to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador in a fiery exchange with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Tuesday. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio knocked his former colleague for traveling to El Salvador to check on the well-being of a deported Maryland resident, Kilmar Abrego Garcia — who the administration initially admitted was mistakenly deported but now maintains is a member of a gang. “In the case of El Salvador, absolutely, absolutely. We deported gang members, gang members, including the one you had a margarita...