Free Republic

The crisis in Cuba has seen its government approach the United Nations for aid to address its food shortage, as residents take to the streets in a rare sign of social unrest Cuba is "on the verge of total collapse" as the country has been hit by blackouts with residents taking to the streets calling for "food and power". The crisis has seen the Cuban government approach the United Nations for aid to address its food shortage. As the Caribbean island goes through its harshest economic crisis in three decades, the communist regime is resorting to hitherto unseen cries for...

The Cuban government has summoned the US ambassador, Benjamin Ziff, to its foreign ministry, accusing Washington of stoking a protest which saw hundreds of people take to the streets in the island’s second city of Santiago de Cuba. The demonstration late on Sunday was a rare public show of disenchantment against Cuba’s communist government, and was apparently led by parents struggling to feed their children in the face of a worsening food crisis. The protesters reportedly chanted: “Without electricity and food, the people get hot.” Power cuts of up to 18 hours a day have meant that as the island...

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified Tuesday that the terror threat facing the United States has reached unprecedented levels since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Wray to describe the current "threat matrix" facing the United States at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. "What I would say that is unique about the environment that we're in right now in my career is that while there may have been times over the years where individual threats could have been higher here or there than where they may be right now, I've never seen a time where all...

A man and a woman whose brutal beating in downtown Chicago went viral over the weekend is sharing their story, along with the citizen who came to their aid.

COMMUNITY ALERT The Berwyn Police Department has received credible intelligence which suggests that a large gathering is being planned to take place this Saturday, April 22nd, during the afternoon and evening hours in the area of the North Riverside Park Mall. This gathering, much like what was reported on in the City of Chicago last weekend, has the potential for public disturbances and acts of violence. The Berwyn Police Department has been in contact with North Riverside and other neighboring jurisdictions to mitigate this potential. Preventative measures are currently being implemented, as well as preparations for a unified response on...

Europe is now looking at the possibility of “social unrest” should the continent be hit with a cold winter this year, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has now warned. “Social unrest” is now very much a possibility in Europe this winter over the continent’s dire energy and economic situation, with the head of the IMF warning on Wednesday that a cold winter could be what puts the continent over the edge.

She has only been on the job for a few days, but new British Prime Minister Liz Truss has maybe a few weeks left to roll out a solid, confidence-inspiring plan to turn around Great Britain’s economy – or else face widespread unrest this fall and winter. Police chiefs across the United Kingdom say that “economic turmoil and financial instability” has the “potential to drive increases in particular crime types,” including shoplifting, burglary, vehicle theft, online fraud and blackmail. “Prolonged and painful economic pressure” could soon spark “greater civil unrest” similar to the 2011 London riots, reported one popular British...

Authorities erected barricades around the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters office in Washington, D.C. over the weekend. The bureau claims it has seen an increase in threats against the FBI and its agents in the wake of the FBI’s raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home last week. Associated Press reporter Mike Balsamo tweeted photos of the new barricades around the FBI headquarters. “With an increasing number of threats against the FBI and agents, including an armed man who tried to breach a field office in Ohio, officials have put up barricades around FBI headquarters in DC. Similar...

Joe Biden's open borders policies have turned Mexico into a war zone. Less than 20 miles away from where I'm writing this in San Diego, the next city over is exploding into some kind of Ukraine-like hellscape. According to local station CBS8: TIJUANA, Baja California — The United States Consulate General in Tijuana is instructing employees to shelter in place after unrest in the region began on Friday. The U.S. consulate is warning government employees near Tijuana, Mexicali, Rosarito, Ensenada, Tecate to shelter in place until further notice due to vehicle fires, roadblocks and heavy police activity. U.S. citizens are...

German officials have expressed fears that a worst-case winter of energy problems could prompt an extremist backlash. How bad things get may depend on how well they manage the crisis – in policy and perception. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not in a wait-and-see mood, telling public broadcaster, ARD, last month that spiraling heating costs are a "powder keg for society." In explicitly naming the elephant in the room, the chancellor and his government are on the hook for nipping social unrest in the bud.

Hundreds of people protested Monday against price hikes and corruption in Panama, protests that led the country’s president, Laurentino Cortizo, to announce the reduction or freezing of the price of gasoline and several products of the basic food basket. “I understand the dissatisfaction of the various sectors for the situation we are living caused by the effects of the pandemic and the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine”, said Cortizo in a message to the country. For this reason, the president informed that the price of a gallon (3.78 liters) of fuel will now cost “3.95 (dollars) for private vehicles...

Sri Lanka is quite literally collapsing. People are starving, without gas or electricity, etc. Now they are rioting and the military are gunning people down. Wouldn’t be surprised if that reality spreads to the US, UK and all western countries in the next few years. Sri Lanka’s military opened fire to contain rioting at a fuel station, officials said Sunday as unprecedented queues for petrol and diesel were seen across the bankrupt country. Troops fired in Visuvamadu, 365 kilometres (228 miles) north of Colombo, on Saturday night as their guard point was pelted with stones, army spokesman Nilantha Premaratne said....

The IMF has become the most recent global body to release a warning regarding potentially forthcoming global food shortages, saying that vulnerable nations are at risk of civil unrest amid supply issues. Civil unrest linked to sky-high food prices is on the cards for poorer countries, the IMF has warned amid fears that the world could be heading into a global food crisis as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Amid past warnings of starvation and “Hell on Earth” migrant crises over a lack of food, the international finance body has predicted that growth across the world will...

As the situation in Shanghai continues to deteriorate, residents have been pushing back against the CCP’s authority in ways that are rarely seen in China. Since the start of the pandemic, and the CCP’s decision to adopt a “war like” position to enforce its “zero COVID” policy, has rarely elicited much resistence. Until now. Yesterday, videos of Shanghaiers taking to their balconies to sing in protest of the local authorities’ decision to order an ‘indefinite’ lockdown went viral in the West (they were quickly censored on Weibo). As seen on Weibo: Shanghai residents go to their balconies to sing &...

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — High energy costs are stoking unrest in parts of Europe, with Spain deploying more than 23,000 police officers amid a truckers’ strike Friday and farmers in France and Greece snarling traffic with their protests. Russia’s war in Ukraine has further pushed up costs for oil and natural gas in Europe, driving record inflation and making it ever more expensive for farmers and truckers to fuel their equipment and vehicles, afford fertilizer or keep up with other costs. In Europe, which is dependent on Russian oil and natural gas, the war worsened an energy supply crunch that...

Soaring energy and food prices triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine could exacerbate existing food security concerns in the Middle East and Africa, and may fuel growing social unrest, World Bank chief economist Carmen Reinhart said. Germany will host a virtual meeting of agriculture ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies on Friday to discuss the impact of the invasion amid growing concerns about stabilizing food markets. "There will be important ramifications for the Middle East, for Africa, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, in particular," which had already been experiencing food insecurity, Reinhart told Reuters in an interview....

SocGen’s market skeptic Albert Edwards pointed out last year why he started to panic about soaring food prices and how it may cause social unrest in emerging market economies. In July, Bloomberg acknowledged the same phenomenon, and now they point out politicians are searching for policies to neuter the effect of surging costs to thwart unrest. Pandemic-driven hunger is sweeping the world as global food prices jumped 33% in August from a year ago. According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization data, vegetable oil, grains, and meat prices are surging. Extreme weather, record-high shipping costs, soaring fertilizer costs, labor...

A friend in South Africa has been keeping me updated about what’s going on there. According to him, it was “a well-planned attempt at provoking a civil uprising.” What’s extraordinary, though, is that, wherever armed, law-abiding citizens have been able to make a stand against the violence and anarchy, the rioters are backing down. My friend forwarded to me a round-robin letter (“the Letter”) that South Africans are sharing -- and that reflects his experiences. I’ve included excerpts from the Letter in the body of this post, but you can read the whole Letter here.The ostensible reason for the South...

Everything is a risk. A year ago, this was our last normal weekend and we didn't even know it. Now, we're deep into a pandemic, with ever-rising Covid-19-related deaths, a new strain on the loose and news of people still experiencing symptoms months after testing positive. But as more people get vaccinated, it finally seems like there's hope on the horizon. Eventually, someday soon, the joys of normal life will return. And yet, we have to ask: Why bother? What's the point of ever leaving home again? Getting dinner, grabbing drinks, working out, seeing a movie. All these comforts of...

A New York Times essay by columnist Kevin Roose frets that the U.S. is suffering from a “reality crisis” and proposes this solution: President Biden should set up a “truth commission” to combat the “scourge” of “hoaxes, lies and collective delusions” that lead to “violent unrest and civic dysfunction.”Yet, the Times’ idea of “truth” often consists of falsehoods that cause violent unrest and civic dysfunction. This includes but is not limited to hoaxes, lies and collective delusions that:spur violence against police.incite class warfare.stagnate the economy.slander the United States.sow racial animosity.empower criminals by disarming their victims.cover up corruption and fraud.harm the...