Free Republic

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said Monday that Iran is abiding by the deal reached in 2015 with major powers that aimed at preventing Tehran from building atomic weapons in exchange for economic incentives. In a confidential quarterly report distributed to member states and reviewed by The Associated Press, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran has been abiding with key limitations set in the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. The issue has grown more complicated since the U.S. withdrew unilaterally in May from the deal and then re-imposed sanctions. Iran’s economy has been struggling ever since and...

North Korea is conning the United States, building up secret, smaller missile bases even after publicly touting the dismantling of its main launch site, according to a new review of satellite images by a top think tank. Citing new satellite pictures, the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Beyond Parallel program identified what appears to be missile operating bases that have never been acknowledged by North Korean officials. CSIS' conclusions were not immediately independently confirmed. The report identified about 15 to 20 bases being operated by the Korean People’s Army's Strategic Force, based on information from officials in the government, defense...

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The campers, some clad in combat fatigues, carefully aim their assault rifles. Their instructor offers advice: Don’t think of your target as a human being. So when these boys and girls shoot, they will shoot to kill. Most are in their teens, but some are as young as 8 years old. They are at a summer camp created by one of Ukraine’s radical nationalist groups, hidden in a forest in the west of the country, that was visited by The Associated Press. The camp has two purposes: to train children to defend their country from Russians...

Mpontsheng Secondary School in Gauteng is at the centre of a matric exam cheating scandal. According to a report by the City Press, the principal of the school walked into a geography matric exam and handed out answers to paper 1 to pupils. South Africa’s matric exams have come under severe scrutiny in recent years, with allegations of cheating affecting pockets of pupils and teachers. However, cheating is not a primary concern of education experts, but rather the low quality of the exams and the readiness to push pupils through. Another grave concern is the high dropout rate of pupils...

On Nov. 6, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara posted a notice that “The Department [of State] has authorized rewards for information leading to the identification or location of the senior Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members: Murat Karayilan (up to USD $5 million), Cemil Bayik (up to USD $4 million), and Duran Kalkan (up to USD $3 million).” Such bounties are not uncommon when it comes to master terrorists. In years past, the U.S. government, for example, issued bounties for Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, Islamic State head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Boko Haram head Abubakar Shekau.But the three men...

The paychecks of the Hamas members, which were being paid through financial aid by Qatar, were passed on in suitcases in a heavily guarded vehicle. Palestinian protesters pelted the convoy of Qatar’s ambassador to the Palestinians, Mohammed Al-Emadi, with stones Friday as he came to observe the weekly demonstrations along Gaza’s border fence with Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post’s sister publication Maariv. Gazan media reported that those leading the attack against Al-Emadi were from the Palestinian faction of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. PFLP members had earlier refused to take part in the meeting with the...

An Arab newspaper reported on Saturday that Israel and Qatar are hammering out a deal that would allow Hamas to operate a sea crossing between Gaza and Cyprus. According to the Lebanese Al Akhbar, the prospective seaport is part of a wider Egyptian-brokered cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. While Hamas demands that the crossing be monitored through video cameras, Israel wants both Israeli forces and international elements to monitor the seaport to prevent weapons smuggling. The report comes as a long-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appears to be gaining traction. A central part of the deal has been Qatar's...

PARIS — There's a chance President Trump’s second substantive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin may happen this weekend in Paris, when world leaders gather to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I’s end. Or it may not. For the past month, a series of on-again, off-again reports has created confusion among journalists and clashing theories among Russia experts. ... “Russians do want to meet, but Trump — the president of chaos — wants to keep things interesting, for us to keep guessing, as he always does,” said Nina Khrushcheva, a New School international affairs expert and granddaughter of...

University of Cape Town (UCT) vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng has congratulated a student on his honours project in which he ended his acknowledgements with the phrase‚ “ONE SETTLER‚ ONE BULLET!!” Phakeng tweeted on Tuesday evening: “Congratulations dear son on completing this paper! I would like to study it at some stage. In the meantime‚ let me be kliye [sic]: I am proud of you! Way more than you can imagine! Welldone! [sic]” Congratulations dear son on completing this paper! I would like to study it at some stage. In the meantime, let me be kliye: i am proud of you! Way...

China unveiled on Tuesday a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, which would replace the international community's orbiting laboratory and symbolises the country's major ambitions beyond Earth. The 17-metre (55-foot) core module was a star attraction at the biennial Airshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai, the country's main aerospace industry exhibition. .... ....The International Space Station -- a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan -- has been in operation since 1998 but is due to be retired in 2024. China will then have the only space station in orbit, though it...

A federal appeals court is weighing whether special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment to lead the Russia investigation was constitutional. At issue Thursday is whether Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had the authority to appoint Mueller. The special counsel’s office says yes. But lawyers for a former aide to longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone say no. The aide, Andrew Miller, brought the case because he doesn’t want to testify before a grand jury as part of Mueller’s investigation into whether Donald Trump’s Republican campaign coordinated with Russia in 2016. …

The mayor of Moscow has decreed that a square near the headquarters of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service be named after Kim Philby, the Briton who was the most successful Soviet double agent of the Cold War period. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin signed the order on Tuesday. The move comes amid tensions between Russia and Britain over this year’s nerve agent poisoning of Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. …

Dan Bongino recently conducted a fascinating interview with George Papadopoulos. The most convenient way to digest the interview is at Jeff Carlson's blog, which has a link to the interview on Bongino's radio show as well as a full transcript of the interview. What emerges from the interview is, in my view, convincing evidence that Papadopoulos was, in Chuck Ross's words, the target of an "FBI sting." Actually, that characterization doesn't even go far enough. What seems clear at this point is that the FBI -- representing the US Government and as an agency of the Department of Justice --...

A U.S.-Japanese interceptor successfully shot down a test ballistic missile over Hawaii. It was the second-ever success for the joint missile defense program, and a stunning technological accomplishment. Also, the whole thing was captured on video. The interceptor, called the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA, destroys targets with sheer force, rather than an explosive warhead, and according to its manufacturer Raytheon, the interceptor's "kill vehicle" (a projectile) rams into a ballistic missile with the force of a 10-ton truck traveling 600 mph (965 km/h). But does any of this make the U.S. (or Japan) any safer? Are American cities less likely...

The Trump administration has informed Congress that Russia has not complied with a series of requirements necessary for Moscow to evade a second round of U.S. sanctions over the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in Britain. The development, announced by the State Department and House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, means that a new tranche of sanctions on Russia will be automatically triggered under a 1991 law on the elimination of chemical and biological weapons — likely further deteriorating relations with Russia at a time of high tensions. In a statement, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the department is...

A new survey shows that while healthcare and the economy are "very important" to voters, the issues of climate change and alleged Russia collusion in the 2016 election are at the bottom of the list for voters in terms of importance. In the poll, Gallup asked, "How important will each of the following issues be to your vote for Congress this year?"

It's happening. The media are melting down and going into hysterics about Brazil's election of Jair Bolsonaro, AKA "Tropical Trump," to its presidency. Here's a starter tweet from a Washington Post contributor to show the pattern: This is a photo of Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro’s two sons wearing IDF and Mossad shirts. Israel has become a symbol for authoritarianism around the world. Hear that? Israel, authoritarian, get it? What planet does this person live on? Bolsonaro is very pro-Israel, and Israelis are delighted by the support. Bolsonaro has vowed to move Brazil's embassy to Jerusalem in a bid to...

With the rise of Islamist organizations, repressive regimes, and civil conflicts which threaten regional stability, the promise of the Arab Spring of 2011 quickly devolved into an Arab winter. In an expansive article in The Economist, the threat to the Middle East is discussed in appropriately grave terms; Syria and Iraq are in flames while Jordan looms as the next domino to potentially fall. Libya and Yemen, where Islamic terror networks operate with impunity, are labeled “failed states.” Those Middle Eastern nations that are not in danger of imminent collapse are either absolute monarchies or counties which merely maintain...

RAMALLAH (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES) (AFP) - A senior Palestinian official on Friday condemned Brazilian far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro's announcement that he would move his country's Israel embassy to Jerusalem. "These are provocative and illegal steps that will only destabilise security and stability in the region," Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee, told AFP. The United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May, sparking fury among Palestinians, who consider the Israeli-annexed eastern part of the city the capital of their future state. "It is very unfortunate that Brazil has joined this negative alliance...

President Donald Trump urged supporters Monday morning that while there has been a historic turnaround for the United States under his administration, “it’s all fragile,” and they must get people out to vote. Trump supporters from around the country joined the president and top Trump team figures on a “Lead One Vote to Victory Telephone Town Hall” conference call Monday. The president pointed to what he called perhaps the finest economy America has ever seen, posting massive October jobs numbers despite multiple bad hurricanes. “They’re only going to get better,” he said of the economic numbers. “We have a tremendous...