Free Republic

Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a warning to his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in their fifth and latest conversation, warning that pushing the envelope on the sensitive issue of Taiwan would have serious consequences. As reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was considering traveling to the disputed island next month stirred an uptick in tensions between Beijing and Washington, Xi "highlighted that the historical ins and outs of the Taiwan question are crystal clear, and so are the fact and status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China," according to the Chinese...

An official of the U.S.-led NATO alliance has told Newsweek that the coalition did not notice what appeared to be a symbol associated with Nazism on the uniform of a Ukrainian soldier featured in a since-deleted The image, posted Tuesday to commemorate International Women's Day, contained four images related to the current crisis in Ukraine, where a Russian military incursion was set to enter its third week. "All women and girls must live free and equal. This international women's day we think of the remarkable women of #Ukraine," NATO tweeted alongside a Ukrainian flag emoji. "Their strength, bravery and resilience...

It might not be worth the effort to deconstruct articles appearing in a magazine that sold for $1, but still–when I saw this Newsweek cover on InstaPundit, I was curious. I was curious because I am a frequent reader of Fars News, which is conventionally described as the “semi-official” voice of Iran’s mullahs. One of Fars’s most insistent themes is that the United States and Israel are allied with ISIS, and that Iran stands alone in fighting the terrorist group. This article is one of hundreds of instances of this fantasy, peddled shamelessly by Fars News on behalf of Iran’s...

The Syrian Democratic Council—the political wing of a largely Kurdish, U.S.-backed military alliance of Arabs and other sects known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—launched a three-day conference Monday in Tabqa. The gathering revolved around the country's (Syria) political future and reportedly included both Kurdish officials and members of Syria's political opposition not participating in the seven-year civil war. "This platform will represent all areas in the autonomous administration and all areas held by the SDF," he added. The rest of the country (Syria) has been reclaimed by al-Assad's forces backed by Russia and Iran. The U.S. shifted its priorities...

Lebanon held on Sunday its first parliamentary elections in nine years, as citizens expressed cautious optimism that the country's rigid, oft-deadlocked sectarian political system could be swayed. Behind the scenes, however, one of the world's leading powers has quietly eyed the small state as a potential ground to project its power in the Middle East and into the Mediterranean. But it won't be easy. With Syrian rebels and jihadis at bay, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government set to further extend its comeback, Russia has pursued a cautious overture across the border into Lebanon—a $1 billion dollar arms deal, including...