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Allison Martell

@allisonmartell.bsky.social
1.7K followers 660 following 92 posts

Investigative data reporter for Reuters, based in Toronto. Interested in computer vision, NLP, and other kinds of machine learning for reporting. Also, I teach people to read. 🏳️‍🌈

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Reposted by Allison Martell
Ryan McNeill @mcneill.bsky.social · 11h
🚨 🚨 🚨 Iran’s missiles/drones have struck Gulf infrastructure w/ precision while often concealing extent of damage. Despite repeated gov statements that the damage came from debris, Reuters found the equipment struck was, time and again, exactly what mattered most. www.reuters.com/investigates...
reuters.com
How Iran's precision strikes picked apart Gulf infrastructure
Iran has hit Gulf infrastructure dozens of times in precision strikes, blunting the US war effort. Gulf governments have often hidden the extent of the damage.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Feras Dalatey reports that Tom Barrack has financial ties to a company whose Iraq-Syria pipeline plan he promoted and gave official U.S. backing. reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
reuters.com
Trump envoy kept financial ties to firm behind $15 billion Hormuz-bypass oil pipeline plan
Thomas Barrack, a top US diplomat in the Middle East, advocated for a firm run by his business partner to take part in the development of an oil pipeline from Iraq to Syria, three people said, activit...
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The norms of econ seminars are very different from other similar spaces. I don’t know if this is good or bad or both but it sure does reverberate.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
“.. Some people might think, wow, this is really, really cool, and the technology is really cool,” Ms. Anderson said. “But people around here, we’re thinking, ‘Ugh, is there anything we can do to stop this?’ We can’t live like this.” @nytimes.com $AMZN www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/u...
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Raphael Satter @raphae.li · 09/09/2026
Scoop: OpenAI's rogue agents didn't just hijack a German wiki, they repurposed at least 10 sites -- and potentially many more -- to carve out communications side channels and cheat on tests. www.reuters.com/world/openai...
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: OpenAI’s rogue agents used at least 10 more sites for unauthorized comms, researchers say
AI agents unleashed by OpenAI used more than 10 previously undisclosed websites for unsanctioned communications earlier this year, according to six sets of independent investigators and data reviewed ...
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I just loved this story by Gregory Barber about an incredible math partnership between a famous retired geometer and the 15yo girl who independently decided to team up with her, eventually solving an unsolved proof
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Reuters @reuters.com · 13/08/2026
In record US wildfire season, firefighter entrapments hit 20-year high reut.rs/45lsqM6
reut.rs
In record US wildfire season, firefighter entrapments hit 20-year high
U.S. firefighting personnel are being overrun by wildfires at the highest rate in two decades, leading to six deaths and dozens of injuries this year, federal data showed, a grim count during a record-setting ​fire season in the United States.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Steve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
(Reuters) — More than 12,000 people have been arrested ‌by ICE following tips from the Office of Refugee Resettlement. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of children, sponsors arrested by ICE after tips from US child migrant agency
More than 12,000 people have been arrested ‌by U.S. immigration authorities following tips from the Office of Refugee Resettlement during President Donald Trump’s second term.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Casey Newton @caseynewton.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Rogue OpenAI agents are leaving notes to themselves on company servers to help them escape their test environments (!!!) www.reuters.com/business/its...
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Grant Smith @grantmeaccess.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Reuters found Shaulis-controlled firms have operated at least three aging Boeing aircraft flying to key logistics hubs used by the Rapid Support Forces, the Sudanese paramilitary group accused of atrocities in the Darfur region. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
reuters.com
The US army veteran and the mystery Boeings flying Sudan’s war routes
Reuters found that companies controlled by a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran operated a fleet of aging Boeing aircraft that flew to key logistics hubs used by the Rapid Support Forces.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Reuters @reuters.com · 11/06/2026
Forget the DOJ. For a Trump pardon, call “Bobby” and other influencers reut.rs/3SzQHdX
reut.rs
Forget the DOJ. For a Trump pardon, call “Bobby” and other influencers
A Reuters investigation found nearly all clemency decisions made by Trump this term flouted longstanding Justice Department guidelines. In place of traditional rules, the White House relies on influential advocates espousing pardons based on partisan, personal criteria.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
President Trump has upended the way executives grant pardons. Today, whether you get one "routinely hinges upon an informal and highly personalized network of influencers and advocates appealing to Trump himself." www.reuters.com/investigatio...
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Reuters @reuters.com · 01/05/2026
Nobitex, Iran's largest crypto exchange, was founded by two brothers from the powerful Kharrazi family, Reuters found. According to analysts, the exchange has processed between tens and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions linked to sanctioned Iranian groups reut.rs/4degT5T
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
NEW: The Trump administration has cut more than 4,000 employees from some of the nation’s top law-enforcement agencies, even as it vowed to crack down on crime, according to ​records obtained by Reuters. www.reuters.com/world/trumps...
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
'You'll be living in Hell': Trump threatens to hit Iran infrastructure on Tuesday - www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Screen cap of story top: 

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump ‌said in an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday that the United States will target ​Iran's power plants and bridges on ​Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz ⁠is not reopened.

"Tuesday will be Power ​Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped ​up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!" Trump said in a Truth ​Social post, referencing the key shipping ​lane that Tehran has effectively closed since the U.S. ‌and ⁠Israel launched attacks on Iran more than a month ago.

"Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living ​in Hell - ​JUST ⁠WATCH!," Trump said, ending his Easter morning post with: "Praise be to ​Allah."
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Reuters @reuters.com · 31/03/2026
LaGuardia controller staffing may have violated procedures on night of collision, document shows reut.rs/4dlr1KB
reut.rs
LaGuardia controller staffing may have violated procedures on night of collision, document shows
Air traffic controller staffing at LaGuardia ​airport on the night an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck may have violated the facility's procedures by combining roles before midnight, ‌according to a document seen by Reuters.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Chris Berube @chrisberube.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
RIP Stephen Lewis - A genuinely inspiring public figure in Canadian life. He reminded us all not to be cynical, and to fight against the forces of entropy in politics. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
theglobeandmail.com
Stephen Lewis, former Ontario NDP leader and global AIDS advocate, dies at 88
Lewis died in hospital Tuesday after battle with cancer
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Reposted by Allison Martell
James Pearson @pearswick.press · 13/03/2026
Banksy is one of the world's most popular, profitable and enigmatic artists. His identity has been debated, and closely guarded, for decades. Until now: www.reuters.com/investigates... 7/7
reuters.com
In search of Banksy, Reuters found the artist took on a new identity
Anonymity has become part of a lucrative brand for the artist Banksy, but records we unearthed prove his true identity and show the new name he used to travel to Ukraine.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
This builds on great reporting on blanket appraisals over the last year, including this from the Globe: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
theglobeandmail.com
Toronto buyers left in lurch as preconstruction condos now worth less than original value
Appraisals are coming in 10 to 30 per cent below a condo’s original selling price, leaving scores of buyers to come up with the difference or risk losing their deposit
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
If you're wondering what banking regulators think of this, my colleague Nivedita Balu has a scoop for you: www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Canada's banking regulator warns major lenders about appraisal practices as condo prices crash
Canada’s banking regulator warned bank executives in a meeting last October that a widespread practice of blanket home appraisals for condominium mortgages could breach a ​federal mortgage rule, accor...
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Many buyers have sidestepped this issue by taking advantage of something called a blanket appraisal - a sort of default valuation set for many units that generally assumes they are worth what buyers agreed to pay for them. No low appraisal, no smaller mortgage, no need to scramble for cash.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Condo prices have fallen a lot in Canada's major cities, especially for pre-construction units that buyers reserved several years ago. This can be a problem at closing, if mortgage lenders appraise the unit as worth much less than the buyer is required to pay.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Reuters @reuters.com · 28/02/2026
Exclusive: Prior to Iran attacks, CIA assessed Khamenei would be replaced by hardline IRGC elements if killed, sources say reut.rs/4l9SCAs
reut.rs
Exclusive: Prior to Iran attacks, CIA assessed Khamenei would be replaced by hardline IRGC elements if killed, sources say
In the run-up to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Saturday, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency assessed that even if Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the operation, he would likely be replaced by hardline figures from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), two sources briefed on the intelligence said.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Georgia Wells @georgiawells.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Last summer, OpenAI employees debated alerting law enforcement about Jesse Van Rootselaar's interactions with ChatGPT In February, Van Rootselaar became the suspect in the mass shooting that devastated a rural town in British Columbia www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
wsj.com
Exclusive | OpenAI Employees Raised Alarms About Canada Shooting Suspect Months Ago
The ChatGPT maker opted against informing Canadian authorities about Jesse Van Rootselaar’s descriptions of violence last June.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
5000m short track speed skating relay might be the peak. They get to exchange whenever they want?
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Kat Stafford @katstafford.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
“The numbers tell a painful story. The impact on journalists of color is staggering and devastating,” the Post Guild said in its statement on Friday. “We cannot ignore what this means for equity, representation, and the future of this organization.” www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/wash...
niemanlab.org
Washington Post layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, preliminary Guild data shows
"We cannot ignore what this means for equity, representation, and the future of this organization."
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
The White House is using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's budget chief and an architect of the government overhaul that has cut thousands of federal jobs. www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Raphael Satter @raphae.li · 05/01/2026
Many are just waking up to the Grok-nonconsensual images story as these pictures began flooding X over the holidays, but here’s our piece from Jan 2 featuring a victim, Julie Yukari, who was brave enough to speak on the record and on camera: www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
reuters.com
Elon Musk's Grok AI floods X with sexualized photos of women and minors
When contacted by Reuters for comment by email, xAI replied with the message "Legacy Media Lies."
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Simon Munzert @simonsaysnothin.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
🎅1️⃣1️⃣ China’s shadow navy trains to take Taiwan, by @allisonmartell.bsky.social, David Lague, @claretfarley.bsky.social and Minami Funakoshi www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
reuters.com
Shadow navy: How China's civilian fleet could be a potent weapon in a Taiwan invasion
A Reuters visual investigation of China's annual naval exercises off the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan shows how Beijing's
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
“Each writing exercise was designed to reinforce explicit instruction on different paper-writing skills” jumps out at me, because explicit instruction remains unfashionable in so many schools.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
A screenshot from the article, including this text: 
Israa Mukhtar said RSF fighters cited the lack of adequate healthcare during an April attack that sent hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing Zamzam, the displaced persons camp where she lived in North Darfur. Mukhtar and other women were collecting water at a pump near the camp's main health center, run by aid group Relief International. RSF vehicles arrived and fighters spilled out.

"Why are you still here?” she recalled one fighter asking. “If you get injured, what will you do?" After someone replied that the health center was still open, the fighters drove toward the clinic. Minutes later, Mukhtar heard gunfire and screams.

Image caption: Israa Mukhtar was nearby the Zamzam medical clinic when the RSF attacked. She said she heard screams and gunfire.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
This bracing story connects witness accounts from Sudan and data on violence against healthcare workers worldwide. www.reuters.com/world/sudan-...
reuters.com
Hospital massacre caps a long series of attacks on healthcare in war-torn Sudan
Almost 500 patients, their relatives and others were killed at al-Fashir's last functioning hospital during the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces' recent takeover of the Sudanese city, the World Healt...
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Reuters @reuters.com · 28/11/2025
Hospital massacre caps a long series of attacks on healthcare in war-torn Sudan reut.rs/49EkUzg
reut.rs
Hospital massacre caps a long series of attacks on healthcare in war-torn Sudan
Almost 500 patients, their relatives and others were killed at al-Fashir's last functioning hospital during the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces' recent takeover of the Sudanese city, the World Health Organization reported. The attack is an example of increasingly targeted and brutal attacks on hospitals, clinics and medical workers during conflict worldwide, a Reuters investigation found.
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Janet Roberts @jersey-janet.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
A massacre that the WHO says killed almost 500 at a Sudan hospital last month is an example of increasingly targeted and brutal attacks on hospitals, clinics and medical workers during conflict worldwide, Reuters found. www.reuters.com/world/sudan-...
reuters.com
Hospital massacre caps a long series of attacks on healthcare in war-torn Sudan
Almost 500 patients, their relatives and others were killed at al-Fashir's last functioning hospital during the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces' recent takeover of the Sudanese city, the World Healt...
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Dr. Stephanie @punkrockscience.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Today’s xkcd made me cry. In a good way. xkcd.com/3172/
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Jeff Horwitz @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
In 2019 Meta did causal research looking at the effects of randomly asking Facebook users to stop using the platform for a month. After the first week of the study, results showed that leaving the platform was good for people’s mental health. Meta then shut the project down.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Really ambitious, fascinating stuff here www.propublica.org/article/meth...
propublica.org
How ProPublica Investigated a Bird Flu Outbreak in America’s Heartland
Early this year, bird flu ripped through 80 farms in Ohio and Indiana. Using genetic markers, wind simulations, satellite imagery, property records and more, we found that the virus could’ve been airb...
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Our story about China's shadow navy is featured on the Reuters World News podcast today. www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
In August, the same three ships joined three others, along with six ferries, at the same site to conduct the landing exercise laid out in detail in our story. Read it here: www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
This illustration, based on satellite images and state media videos of similar vessels at port, shows what the cargo ship landings would look like up close. A cargo ship with an open deck is at the shoreline, with a ramp folded down onto a beach. Vehicles are visible on deck, one driving down the ramp, and more are on the beach. A label says: "DECK CARGO SHIP: Its shallow draft allows it to approach the beach and offload vehicles and cargo." The ship's length is marked at ~90m.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
In July, we followed a ferry to an exercise in Guangdong. When we turned to BlackSky’s images, they showed the ferry, but also something we had never seen before – three cargo ships that were new to us, operating right at the beach.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
I trained an AI model to detect when ships were off course, but once we were tasking satellites, even excellent performance was not good enough. Instead, I built an online dashboard where we could watch the ships in real time, and spun up GitHub actions to collect all AIS signals in a few key spots.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
We tracked more than 100 AIS signals over the last year, and this summer we worked with BlackSky to task satellites, hoping to catch several views of one exercise.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
I mostly used the LSEG API for ship data, with some clean up and filtering in Python, and the temporal controller in QGIS. But there are a lot of civilian ships that could join these exercises, and finding this signal in the noise was challenging.
A screen capture from an animation that shows ships arriving for the exercise we describe in the story. Lines and ship icons are shown over a map of a coastal area, with a point on the coast labelled 'Beach near Jiesheng.'
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
These deck cargo ships, about 90m long, are cheap to build, and used all over China, so experts tell us they significantly increase China’s capacity to deliver troops to Taiwan.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
You might have seen stories about ferries that join these exercises, or the barges launched in March that turn into a kind of temporary port. But this summer, we spotted another strategy: Cargo ships carrying vehicles right to the beach. (Image from BlackSky.)
A high resolution satellite image taken through fog shows a cargo ship with a flat deck and ramp, fully laden with vehicles, arriving at a sandy beach.
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Yesterday we published a visual investigation about civilian ships in China that are training to invade Taiwan. This thread is about how we did it. www.reuters.com/graphics/USA... #OSINT
reuters.com
Shadow navy: How China's civilian fleet could be a potent weapon in a Taiwan invasion
A Reuters visual investigation of China's annual naval exercises off the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan shows how Beijing's
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Janet Roberts @jersey-janet.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
It’s known that China is using ferries and other civilian vessels to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan. Reuters reporters wondered: Could we track vessels from the sky and learn more about China’s military strategy? The answer is yes. Here's how we did it: www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
tinyurl.com
Shadow navy: How China's civilian fleet could be a potent weapon in a Taiwan invasion
A Reuters visual investigation of China's annual naval exercises off the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan shows how Beijing's
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
New visual investigation: China's shadow navy trains to take Taiwan www.reuters.com/graphics/USA... #OSINT
reuters.com
Shadow navy: How China's civilian fleet could be a potent weapon in a Taiwan invasion
A Reuters visual investigation of China's annual naval exercises off the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan shows how Beijing's
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Reposted by Allison Martell
Reuters @reuters.com · 20/11/2025
A Reuters visual investigation shows China is developing concrete plans to invade Taiwan, a Taiwanese naval security expert said. The outcome of a Chinese attack could depend heavily on the response of the United States, the island’s most important ally reut.rs/4oJRPHe
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Allison Martell @allisonmartell.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
What would make it illegal now?
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