Author: Reporter

Andrew Negra: An artillery gunner who landed at Normandy with the generation that saved the world

Andrew “Andy” Negra Jr. of Helen, Georgia, one of a dwindling number of veterans took part in the Allies’ European war effort that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Born on May 28, 1924, near Avella, Pennsylvania he served in the U.S. Army’s 128th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 6th Armored Division. His unit landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on July 18, 1944, and fought in the Battle of Brest among other engagements. He later served in the Occupation of Germany, and was honorably discharged on December 17, 1945. “BECAUSE WE SAVED THE WORLD” It was 1943, and...

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President Zelenskyy accuses China of aiding Russia by pressuring countries to avoid Ukraine peace talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused China on June 2 of helping Russia to disrupt an upcoming Swiss-organized peace conference on the war in Ukraine. Speaking at Asia’s premier security conference, Zelenskyy said that China is pressuring other countries and their leaders not to attend the upcoming talks. He did not say which ones. “Russia, using Chinese influence in the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit,” he said at a news conference at the Shangri-La defense forum. “Regrettably this is unfortunate that such a big independent powerful country as China is an instrument in...

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Rehearsal for invasion: China uses military drills against Taiwan to intimidate self-governed island

Taiwan tracked dozens of Chinese warplanes and navy vessels off its coast at the end of May, the latest in a series of large military exercises launched by Beijing to show its anger over the self-governing island’s inauguration of new leaders who refuse to accept its insistence that Taiwan is part of China. China issued elaborate media statements showing Taiwan being surrounded by forces from its military, the People’s Liberation Army. A new video showed animated Chinese forces approaching from all sides and Taiwan being enclosed within a circular target area while simulated missiles hit key population and military...

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Hunting critics: Why the FBI is racing to counter threats to dissidents in the U.S. by China and Iran

After a student leader of the historic Tiananmen Square protests entered a 2022 congressional race in New York, a Chinese intelligence operative wasted little time enlisting a private investigator to hunt for any mistresses or tax problems that could upend the candidate’s bid, prosecutors say. “In the end,” the operative ominously told his contact, “violence would be fine too.” As an Iranian journalist and activist living in exile in the United States aired criticism of Iran’s human rights abuses, Tehran was listening too. Members of an Eastern European organized crime gang scouted her Brooklyn home and plotted to kill...

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Swift Suppression: The tragic toll of Beijing’s draconian security law on Hong Kong activists

Activist Chan Po-ying is permitted only 15-minute daily visits to see her husband, Leung Kwok-hung, separated by a plexiglass barrier in a highly guarded Hong Kong jail. Leung, 68, is one of 47 activists who were prosecuted in the largest national security law case to date in the former British colony. Most of them have been separated from their loved ones for years, uncertain when they might reunite. The government had warned there might be legal consequences, but Chan did not stop former pro-democracy legislator Leung from participating in an unofficial 2020 primary election that would lead to his...

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The 1989 Massacre: A 35-year struggle for Human Rights in China since the Tiananmen Square protests

Over seven weeks in 1989, student-led pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square became China’s greatest political upheaval since the end of the Cultural Revolution more than a decade earlier. Corruption among the elite was a key complaint, but the protesters were also calling for a more open and fair society, one that would require the ruling Communist Party to relinquish control over many aspects of life, including education, employment, and even the size of families. Today marks the 35th anniversary of the bloody crackdown that ended the protest. The government has never given a clear account of how...

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