Free Republic

A growing number of countries are coming forward to join BRICS and accept the new currency for global trade. The South African ambassador Anil Sooklal hinted that the alliance could expand this year becoming BRICS+. The move could add pressure on the U.S. dollar as developing nations would end their reliance on the greenback. The global financial order could tilt from the West to the East creating a new multipolar economy. According to the latest report, the BRICS alliance has formally received applications from 25 countries to join the bloc. The 25 nations that expressed their interest to join are...

Uruguay will melt down a bronze eagle found on a sunken World War II-era German destroyer off its coast 13 years ago, and recast it as a dove of peace, the South American country's president said Friday. The 350-kilogram (770-pound) "symbol of violence and war" will be turned into a "symbol of peace and union," President Luis Lacalle Pou told journalists in the capital Montevideo. The two-meter (6.5-foot)-tall bird with a Nazi swastika gripped in its talons adorned the stern of the Admiral Graf Spee, a battleship involved in one of the first naval skirmishes of World War II.

America might still be a military and economic superpower. The dollar might be the world’s most powerful currency (and we think it’s likely to remain so). America is still a country with high salaries, and coming to America is still a decent way to make a fortune, if one has the right skills and the right connections. And yet, for the average person on the ground, America is no longer really a First World country in the sense of being a country where a high-quality way of life can be had for an affordable price. For young people, the “American...

Two buses of illegal migrants sent by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott arrived at Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning, according to Fox News. The buses, which came from Eagle Pass, Texas, transported 75 to 100 illegal migrants from Venezuela, Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico, Fox News reported. They arrived at Harris’ residence at the D.C. Naval Observatory early Thursday. The Biden administration has tasked Harris with addressing the “root causes of migration” as southern border migrant encounters are set to surpass 2 million in fiscal year 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)...

The analyses drew from a DNA sample of a man that dated back 800 years and another from a woman that went back 1,500 years, both well before the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. The samples were collected from an archeological site in eastern Uruguay by co-corresponding author Gonzalo Figueiro, a biological anthropologist at the University of the Republic.The results of the analyses showed a surprising connection to ancient individuals from Panama—the land bridge that connects North and South America—and to eastern Brazil, but not to modern Amazonians. These findings support the theory proposed by some archeologists...

United States torturer Dan Mitrione was executed on this date in 1970 by Uruguayan guerrillas. A onetime Indiana beat cop, Dan Mitrione graduated to an agent of empire via a USAID program called the Office of Public Safety. This organ headlined the putatively amicable mission of extending training to foreign police officers, both in their home countries and in the American capital. OPS’s real purpose, according to A.J. Langguth‘s Hidden Terrors: The Truth About U.S. Police Operations in Latin America, was: "allowing the CIA to plant men with the local police in sensitive places around the world; and after careful...

Wikileaks and other sources reporting about an internal email from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that points to a biased report being produced on an alleged chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government in the city of Douma in April 2018.... Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could die in prison.... "Have no fear all will end well for everyone" That was the Sunday morning tweet from President Trump on Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher..... On Sunday night we have word of the firing of the Secretary of the Navy.... President Trump tweeting tonight in part regarding Eddie Gallagher..... Results...

Recent massive street protests in Ecuador and Chile could be interpreted as evidence of a left-wing comeback in Latin America. But tonight there is evidence in election results coming out of Argentina..... Also tonight election results in the presidential race in Uruguay with the ruling Left finding a tougher result.... A Democrat Congresswoman who sits on one of the committee's involved in the "impeachment inquiry" of President Trump announcing her resignation..... "Last night the United States brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice" The words of President Trump speaking at the White House Sunday morning..... The protests continued...

A large electrical failure created a blackout in Argentina and Uruguay on Sunday, leaving both countries without power. Areas of Brazil and Paraguay were also impacted by the outage, which happened just after 7:00 a.m. according to the BBC. A massive failure in the electrical interconnection system left all of Argentina and Uruguay without power," electricity supply company, Edesur said in a tweet. The blackout occurred as people were getting ready to head to the polls for local elections in Argentina. It's not clear how the blackout will impact the voting process. Alejandra Martinez, an Edesur spokeswoman, described the blackout...

A massive crowd on the streets of Hong Kong Sunday as the protest continues against the extradition law. Organizers say some two million people took to the streets.... 30 killed and 40 wounded in a suicide bombing attack in northeastern Nigeria..... At least 12 killed, more than a dozen wounded in a jihadist rocket attack on a government held area in northwestern Syria... Turkey says it attacked the Syrian army in northwestern Syria in response to an attack by Syrian government forces on a Turkish observation post... Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Russian S-400 air defense system is...

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...

Rep. Ilan Omar (D-MN) claimed the Trump administration was waging a “coup” against the Venezuelan government for recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido, who temporarily assumed presidential powers in an effort to unseat Nicolas Maduro. “A US backed coup in Venezuela is not a solution to the dire issues they face,” she said on Twitter. “Trump’s efforts to install a far right opposition will only incite violence and further destabilize the region. We must support Mexico, Uruguay & the Vatican’s efforts to facilitate a peaceful dialogue.” Ilhan Omar ✔@IlhanMN A US backed coup in Venezuela is not a solution to the...

The European Union and Mexico reached an agreement on Saturday on a new free trade deal, a coup for both parties in the face of increased protectionism from the United States under President Donald Trump. Since its plans for a trade alliance with the United States were frozen after Trump’s election victory, the EU has focused instead on trying to champion open markets and seal accords with other like-minded countries. The agreement in principle with Mexico follows a deal struck last year with Japan and comes ahead of talks next week with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and...

Israel is currently holding talks with 10 different nations over the possible relocation of their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely revealed Thursday... Hotovely told American Jewish leaders that Israel is currently engaged in talks with 10 different countries regarding the relocation of their embassies... Hotovely also discussed the politicization of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and the Palestinian Authority leadership's use of what Hotovely termed "fake refugees" as a political weapon against Israel. "For the first time, the Israeli leadership is no longer willing...

Proto-Sinaitic led to the development of the Phoenician alphabet and its variants, many characters from which are clearly visible within the Uruguayan petroglyphs. Based upon this hypothesis, the characters would be dated from 1850 BC to 1100 BC. After this date (1100 BC) came the fully developed, 22 character, Phoenician 'international' writing system subsequently used by all West Semitic languages. I observed that many of the 'new international' characters do not appear among the petroglyphs suggesting movement away from this particular coastline 'port of call' some time after 1100 BC... Proto-Sinaitic has, allegedly, been found in Brazil at Itacoatiara, near...

Why the president's Jerusalem decision was the right thing to do. The Trump administration vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution last week that called on the U.S. to rescind its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and ultimately move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the seat of Israel’s parliament (Knesset), the Supreme Court, and where the Prime Minister and President of the Jewish State reside.  The UNSC resolution drafted by Egypt and backed by 13 other members of the Security Council affirms that “any decision and actions which purport to have altered the character,...

Bolivian President Evo Morales met with German and Swiss officials in Bern, Switzerland, on December 14 to sign an agreement on building one of the largest infrastructure projects of the century—a coast-to-coast railroad across South America. The Central Bi-Oceanic Railway Corridor, or “Panama Canal on Railway Tracks,” will stretch from the Pacific coast of Peru, through Bolivia, and across Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. The total length of the projected route is 2,333 miles. Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay also plan to add connection routes to the corridor. Germany and Switzerland will assist in the ambitious project’s construction and will also...

RUSH: Nikki Haley, our U.N. ambassador, had the tweet of the year. Nikki Haley tweeted the following: “At the U.N. we’re always asked to do more & give more,” meaning America. The U.N., we, the United States. We’re always asked to do more and give more. “So, when we make a decision, at the will of the American ppl, abt where to locate OUR embassy, we don’t expect those we’ve helped to target us. On Thurs there’ll be a vote criticizing our choice. The U.S. will be taking names.” That is her tweet about the vote today at the U.N....

The United Nations general assembly has delivered a stinging rebuke to Donald Trump, voting by a huge majority to reject his unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The vote came after a redoubling of threats by Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, who said that Washington would remember which countries “disrespected” America by voting against it. Despite the warning, 128 members voted on Thursday in favour of the resolution supporting the long-standing international consensus that the status of Jerusalem – which is claimed as a capital by both Israel and the Palestinians – can only be settled...

World leaders rebuking the United States at the United Nations shouldn’t expect the American people any longer to “pay for the privilege of being disrespected,” U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warned Thursday. “In the case of the United States, we are asked to pay more than any other nation for that dubious distinction,” Haley told the UN General Assembly. “We have an obligation to demand more for our investment. And if our investment fails, we have an obligation to spend our investment in more productive ways.”