Ben Whedon

Articles by Ben Whedon

Report: Islamist Pakistan Is Helping China’s Uyghur Genocide

Pakistan has played a critical role over many years in helping China suppress the Uyghur expat community within its borders as Beijing orchestrates the ethnic group’s genocide in its northwestern Xinjiang province, according to an August report from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) and the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs.

BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 2: Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Great Hall of the People on November 2, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)

Report: Taliban, Afghanistan Complicit in China’s Uyghur Genocide

Both the Taliban and the former government of Afghanistan have aided in China’s transnational repression efforts to silence Uyghur dissidents, a joint report from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) and the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs revealed this month.

Holding signs saying "Stop the Uyghur Genocide," members of the Uyghur American Association rally in front of the White House, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, after marching from Capitol Hill in Washington, in support of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which has passed the House and now will go on …

Reports: Taliban Searching Door to Door for Journalists

The Taliban, now in near-total control of the country, are going door to door in newly conquered Kabul searching for journalists and political opponents, according to multiple outlets on the ground.

A Taliban fighter (R) searches the bags of people coming out of the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo …

Mothers of Missing Cuban Protesters to March Nationwide

The mothers of protesters missing since anti-communist marches erupted nationwide in Cuba on July 11 are planning to take the streets of the island on Wednesday demanding to know what the regime did to their children.

A man is arrested during a demonstration against the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Arroyo Naranjo Municipality, Havana on July 12, 2021. - Cuba on Monday blamed a "policy of economic suffocation" of United States for unprecedented anti-government protests, as President Joe Biden backed calls to end "decades of …

Joe Biden Lifts Sanctions on Venezuela, Giving Cuba a Lifeline

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Monday lifted sanctions on the export of gas to socialist Venezuela, a boon the dictatorship in Caracas and its patron government in communist Cuba, which struggles to suppress mounting opposition and calls for the regime’s total abolition.

DORAL, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Jesus Aranguren, originally from Venezuela, and others gather in front of the El Arepazo restaurant to show their support for an order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden that grants temporary protective status for thousands of Venezuelans on March 09, 2021 in Doral, Florida. The …

Ukraine Accuses Russia of Storing Nukes in Crimea

Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova on Wednesday claimed the Russian military is deploying nuclear weapons and their related infrastructure to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

Nuclear Missile in Silo

Russia Claims U.S. Coordinating Joint 9/11 Event with Moscow

In anticipation of the 20th anniversary of the deadly September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States and Russia will reportedly coordinate on a joint memorial for the dead, Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, announced in a Wednesday press conference.

Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes at 9:03 a.m. on September 11, 2001 in New York City. The crash of two airliners hijacked by terrorists loyal to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and subsequent collapse of …

Japan to Issue Vaccine Passports for International Travel

Japan announced on Thursday that it would implement a vaccine passport program to help its citizens visit other countries as the world reopens for international travel following a protracted shutdown due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

KYOTO, JAPAN - APRIL 30: A passenger wearing protective face mask walks past a virus protection mask advertisement at Shinkansen train station on April 30, 2021 in Kyoto, Japan. As Japan’s annual Golden Week holiday gets underway, prefectural governors across the country have urged residents to avoid traveling as the …

Wuhan Stages 11,000-Student Superspreader Graduation

Central China Normal University in Wuhan, the origin location of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, held a mass graduation event for over 11,000 students on Sunday without requiring masks or social distancing, video footage from Agence France-Presse (AFP) revealed.

Ten thousand graduates leave after their ceremony at Central China Normal University on June 13, 2021 in Wuhan, China. With no recorded cases of community transmissions since May 2020, life for residents is gradually returning to normal. (Photo by Getty Images)

Belarus: Pro-Democracy Activist Stabs His Own Throat in Courtroom

A dissident on trial in Belarus for his involvement in protests against the regime stabbed himself in the throat while in court, saying he feared retribution against his friends and family unless he pleaded guilty, Belarusian outlet Narodnya Naviny Vitsebska reported.

A dissident on trial in Belarus for his involvement in protests against the regime stabbed himself in the throat while in court on Tuesday, saying he feared retribution against his friends and family unless he pleaded guilty, Belarusian outlet Narodnya Naviny Vitsebska reported.

Antony Blinken Confirms the U.S. Does Not Want to Buy Greenland

In a Thursday press conference with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod and Greenland’s premier, Mute Egede, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed to reporters that the United States is not interested in purchasing Greenland, Reuters reported.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits the Black Ridge Viewing site in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, May 20, 2021. (Photo by Saul LOEB / POOL / AFP)

‘Demon Slayer: Mugen Train’ Review — A Work of Art

It’s somewhat rare that an anime film gains traction at the U.S. box office or even gets a theatrical release. Growing up, the only ones I remember are Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: The Pyramid of Light, Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, and of course, Spirited Away… and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train is blowing them all out of the water.

Aniplex/screenshot/YouTube

Taiwan Blocked from W.H.O. Assembly Despite World’s Best Coronavirus Response

Chinese state-run propaganda outlet the Global Times gloated on Tuesday over Taiwan not receiving an invitation to this year’s World Health Assembly (W.H.A.), asserting that Beijing had the “final say” in the matter and annexation by communist China is the only way forward for the island.

A woman holds a Taiwanese flag as she joins others at a rally to mark Taiwan's National Day, in the Tsim Sha Tsui district in Hong Kong on October 10, 2019. - Taiwan's National Day, also called called Double-Ten in a reference to the nationalist Republic of China set up …