Free Republic

The nation of Andorra will be the 33rd country to recognize marriage rights for same-sex couples. Lawmakers in the tiny nation – which has a population of about 77,000 and is smaller than the city of Chicago in land mass – voted unanimously to allow same-sex couples access to civil marriage. “Today we vote for a law for all, which includes us all, a law of a modern country that ensures the free development of citizenship and bases its success on the most important nucleus of organization, the family, with all its diversity,” said Carles Enseñat, president of the Democratic...

Former Vice President Joe Biden released a list of donors who have raised at least $25,000 for his 2020 presidential campaign, including eight former U.S. ambassadors that served either under the Obama or Clinton administration. The long list of donors includes former U.S. Ambassadors to Belgium Denise Bauer and Alan Blinken, former U.S. Ambassador to Portugal Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Anthony Gardner, former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa Mark Gilbert, former U.S. Ambassador to Romania Mark Gitenstein, former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Kevin O’Malley, and former Ambassador to Spain and Andorra James...

In an unprecedented move last week, India voted in support of Israel at the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deny observer status to a Palestinian human rights organisation named ‘Shahed’. This is the first time India has taken a step back from its decades-old position on the two-state theory under which New Delhi sees both Israel and Palestine as separate and independent countries, seeking to bring peace in West Asia.The vote, which took place on 6 June at the UN, saw countries such as US, France, Germany, India, Japan, UK, South Korea and Canada polling in favour of...

If you're looking for some motivation today to get you through a task you're struggling with, take some time to learn about David Aguilar. David, who was born with an under-developed arm, successfully created himself a prosthetic arm made entirely out of Lego. Not only that, it only took him five days to complete the first model. Since then David has perfected his design and created another arm with a motor that gives him more functionality than ever.

The massive feminization of culture has had a major impact on European politics and the decisions which have lead to the European Migrant Crisis. Iben Thranholm joins Stefan Molyneux to discuss the deficiency of masculinity in European culture, how feminism has programmed women to see men as the enemy and the future of western civilization. "As the refugee crisis erupted and overwhelmed Europe, its political leaders - spearheaded by German Chancellor Angela Merkel - acted like timid mother hens, not as strong men responsible for guarding their country from an invasion." - Iben Thranholm Iben Thranholm is one of Denmark’s...

The daughter of Hugo Chavez, the former president who once declared 'being rich is bad,' may be the wealthiest woman in Venezuela, according to evidence reportedly in the hands of Venezuelan media outlets. Maria Gabriela Chavez, 35, the late president's second-oldest daughter, holds assets in American and Andorran banks totaling almost $4.2billion, Diario las Americas reports. ... Others close to Chavez managed to build up great personal wealth that was kept outside the petrostate. Alejandro Andrade, who served as Venezuela’s treasury minister from 2007 to 2010 and was reportedly a close associate of Chavez, was discovered to have $11.2billion in...

More than 500 years after the Spanish Inquisition, the Spanish government has voted to facilitate the naturalization of Jewish families of Spanish descent, without demanding they give up their other citizenship. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain must be rolling in their graves: The government in Madrid on Friday approved legislation that would allow descendents of Jews who were exiled from Spain to be naturalized in the country without having to give up their former citizenship, which had been the law until now. Spanish Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon said that Spain "is indebted to Spanish Jews for spreading the...

Britain has invaded all but 22 countries in the world in its long and colourful history, new research has found. Every schoolboy used to know that at the height of the empire, almost a quarter of the atlas was coloured pink, showing the extent of British rule. But that oft recited fact dramatically understates the remarkable global reach achieved by this country. A new study has found that at various times the British have invaded almost 90 per cent of the countries around the globe. The analysis of the histories of the almost 200 countries in the world found only...

Did you know that the EU has ensured that there has been no war between its members for last 60 years?

Two more workers died overnight after a bridge under construction in the Pyrenees principality of Andorra collapsed, bringing the death toll to five, the government said Sunday. Six other workers were recovering in hospital after the concrete structure of the road bridge gave way around midday Saturday near the Dos Valires tunnel in the Massana valley in northwest Andorra. Emergency teams worked throughout the night to rescue a man who was trapped up to the waist in rubble, but he died shortly after being pulled from the debris in the early hours on Sunday, according to a government spokesman. The...

The government of Andorra has frozen “billions of dollars” in bank accounts linked to Iran, Venezuela, and a variety of terrorist groups, according to the daily Diairi d’Andorra, which publishes in Catalan. The Andorran move, announced on Thursday, was carried out in conjunction with a top secret U.S. Treasury investigation in Miami involving money laundered through Venezuelan banks that was transferred to corresponding banks in the United States. From Miami, the funds were then wired to accounts in Andorra that were controlled by Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, members of his family and his regime. But the funds were also used...

The German government's purchase of data stolen from a Liechtenstein bank has reinvigorated longstanding debates about privacy, law enforcement and international relations. Much of the fallout has followed predictable patterns. Some argue that Germany's richest citizens should be brought to justice for failing to comply with the tax laws, while others point out that it is unseemly for a nation to spy on a peaceful neighbor. The conflict between Germany and Liechtenstein also has triggered a broader debate about tax competition and the role of so-called tax havens. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is trying to use...

"I do not want to consider such a possibility, but I believe all our friends should think carefully on the possibility of a negative decision derailing our ties," Erdogan told a conference on his country`s EU bid here late Saturday. "In such a case, we cannot of course act as if nothing happened in our ties with the EU," Erdoagn added.

The adultery law is part of a package of sweeping changes to the penal code, which include the abolition of torture and the expansion of individual liberties. The changes are an effort to bring Turkey's legal code into line with European human rights legislation. Mr Verheugen, who has spent the last few days touring Turkey, expressed his concerns in an interview with the Turkish Vatan newspaper. "If Turkey tries to include crimes that are not in other countries' laws in its penal code, European Union countries could interpret this as Islamic law entering Turkish law," he told the paper... [adding]...