Analysis Bougainville Bougainville’s Destructive Goldmine Could Also Be Its Key to Independence While Bougainville’s Panguna mine was abandoned decades ago, mining has not stopped in the area. Families have set up makeshift houses in the gaping pit, and men, women and children pass their days digging for whatever gold and copper they can reach. ABC News | 7 Jun 2023 Pacific Economics Nature Place of the week Sedang Sedang On June 3, 1888, French explorer Charles-Marie David de Mayréna founded the Kingdom of Sedang. The Kingdom perished when Mayréna died under mysterious circumstances in 1890. News Kosovo Protesters and Peacekeepers Injured as Violence Erupts Dozens of protesters and NATO peacekeepers were injured on Monday in northern Kosovo as local Serbs protested against the installment of a Kosovo Albanian mayor. Balkan Insight | 29 May 2023 Balkans Politics In focus Abkhazia Deepest Cave in the World to Get New Name Officials in Abkhazia want to rename the deepest cave in the world located on the territory of the republic because caver Alexander Verevkin, whose name it currently bears, has nothing to do with it and has never been to Abkhazia at all. JAM News | 25 May 2023 Caucasus Nature Analysis Catalonia Catalonia Can’t Quit Madrid But separatist parties hope upcoming elections will revitalize the independence movement. Foreign Policy | 20 May 2023 Europe Politics News Taiwan Taiwan Taekwondo Medalist Celebrates with Chinese Flag A Taiwanese taekwondo athlete who waved a Chinese flag after winning a bronze at the Asia-Pacific Masters Games (APMG) in South Korea was not officially registered with Taiwan’s team, the Sports Administration stated in a reaction to the incident. Taiwan News | 20 May 2023 Asia Sports Flags In Focus Paracel Islands Vietnam Stews over Chinese Hotpot Restaurant on Disputed South China Sea Island The 120-seat eatery will serve a growing Chinese civilian population on Woody Island. Radio Free Asia | 19 May 2023 South China Sea Food Analysis Antarctica China’s Forays Into Antarctic Region Amid Growing Western Concerns Concerns over China’s expanding activities in the Polar regions seem to have grown with the recent reports of the construction of its new Antarctic station near the Ross Sea. The resumption of construction activities of China’s fifth research station—after a few years of delay—has generated quick responses from Western critics and think tanks. Eurasia Review | 17 May 2023 Polar region Politics News Sikh Separatist Arrested after Weeks on the Run Self-styled preacher Amritpal Singh, whose calls for Sikh independence riled India’s authorities, has been arrested in Punjab state. The 30-year-old had been on the run for more than a month after evading arrest in Punjab on 18 March. BBC | 23 Apr 2023 asia In focus Kurdistan Daughters of the Sun Daughters of the Sun, a documentary by Reber Dosky, premiers this week at the Movies that Matter Festival in The Hague. A tender and inspiring film about a group of Yezidi women and girls who were abducted as sex slaves by Islamic State and now have to rebuild their lives. With each other’s love and support, they find the strength to look forward again. Movies That Matter | 23 Apr 2023 Middle East Film Love Politics Event De Facto Live We are launching a new series of events! Live interviews, presentations, a quiz, music and film, about unrecognized states, micronations and curious borders. Join us for the first De Facto Live on 28 June at De Roode Bioscoop in Amsterdam. De Facto | 17 Apr 2023 event Feature Ceuta & Melilla In Melilla It’s still not clear how many people were killed at Barrio Chino on 24 June 2022. As many as 77 people, most of them young men who had fled their homes in Sudan and South Sudan, are still missing. A reconstruction by Ben Ehrenreich. London Review of Books | 7 Apr 2023 Africa Youth Politics analysis How Many Countries Are There in the World in 2023? One of the most basic questions for map-lovers is ‘How many countries are there in the world?’ But anyone who just gives you a simple number isn’t telling the whole truth. It actually depends a lot on how you define a ‘country’. Political Geography Now explains. Political Geography Now | 3 Apr 2023 maps In focus Kurdistan In the Shadow of History American photographer Susan Meiselas created an extensive visual archive in collaboration with the Kurdish community. A retrospective of her work is now on show in FOMU, Antwerp. De Facto | 28 Mar 2023 Middle East Photography Art Books Feature Western Sahara What’s Behind Spain’s About-Face On Western Sahara? Western Sahara’s former colonizer has shifted toward effectively recognizing Morocco’s illegal occupation of the territory. Foreign Policy in Focus | 20 Mar 2023 africa News Kosovo Kosovo and Serbia Verbally Agree on ‘Implementation Deal’ While EU hails an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo on normalisation of ties, Serbian and Kosovo leaders put very different spins on it, and Serbia’s President Vucic kept insisting he did not sign anything. Balkan Insight | 19 Mar 2023 News Where is Nithyananda’s ‘Kailasa’? Fugitive rape-accused Nithyananda is in the news after his disciple Vijayapriya Nithyananda, along with five other women, represented his ‘country’ Kailasa at a UN conference. India Today | 6 Mar 2023 news News Nagorno-Karabakh UN Court Orders Azerbaijan to End Roadblock The International Court of Justice has ordered Azerbaijan to “ensure unimpeded movement” on the highway connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been virtually closed for more than two months. Eurasianet | 23 Feb 2023 News Somaliland Fighting Resumes as Tens of Thousands Flee Fighting resumed on Tuesday in the disputed town of Las Anod in the self-declared republic of Somaliland. It was sparked when Dhulbahante clan elders reportedly issued a declaration stating that they no longer considered themselves part of Somaliland. Africa News | 22 Feb 2023 Africa Politics Report Chagos Archipelago That's When the Nightmare Started The forced displacement of the entire Chagossian people by the United Kingdom and United States governments and the UK’s racial persecution, and continued blocking of their return home, are crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a report and video released today. Human Rights Watch | 15 Feb 2023 Africa Asia Politics Nature Analysis Bougainville Balancing Independence and Foreign Relations Bougainville is likely to play a surprisingly significant role in the tussles between China and the US in the Pacific region. Lucas Knotter analyses the future of this breakaway island. 9Dashline | 31 Jan 2023 Pacific Politics Podcast On the Border Tim Marshall explores four frontier communities in this podcast series by the BBC. Some sit on hard borders, others soft; all face challenges. What do Maastricht, Kinshasa, Niagara and Orestiada tell us about managing difference and global relations today? BBC / De Facto | 30 Jan 2023 podcast
Analysis Bougainville Bougainville’s Destructive Goldmine Could Also Be Its Key to Independence While Bougainville’s Panguna mine was abandoned decades ago, mining has not stopped in the area. Families have set up makeshift houses in the gaping pit, and men, women and children pass their days digging for whatever gold and copper they can reach. ABC News | 7 Jun 2023 Pacific Economics Nature
Place of the week Sedang Sedang On June 3, 1888, French explorer Charles-Marie David de Mayréna founded the Kingdom of Sedang. The Kingdom perished when Mayréna died under mysterious circumstances in 1890.
News Kosovo Protesters and Peacekeepers Injured as Violence Erupts Dozens of protesters and NATO peacekeepers were injured on Monday in northern Kosovo as local Serbs protested against the installment of a Kosovo Albanian mayor. Balkan Insight | 29 May 2023 Balkans Politics
In focus Abkhazia Deepest Cave in the World to Get New Name Officials in Abkhazia want to rename the deepest cave in the world located on the territory of the republic because caver Alexander Verevkin, whose name it currently bears, has nothing to do with it and has never been to Abkhazia at all. JAM News | 25 May 2023 Caucasus Nature
Analysis Catalonia Catalonia Can’t Quit Madrid But separatist parties hope upcoming elections will revitalize the independence movement. Foreign Policy | 20 May 2023 Europe Politics
News Taiwan Taiwan Taekwondo Medalist Celebrates with Chinese Flag A Taiwanese taekwondo athlete who waved a Chinese flag after winning a bronze at the Asia-Pacific Masters Games (APMG) in South Korea was not officially registered with Taiwan’s team, the Sports Administration stated in a reaction to the incident. Taiwan News | 20 May 2023 Asia Sports Flags
In Focus Paracel Islands Vietnam Stews over Chinese Hotpot Restaurant on Disputed South China Sea Island The 120-seat eatery will serve a growing Chinese civilian population on Woody Island. Radio Free Asia | 19 May 2023 South China Sea Food
Analysis Antarctica China’s Forays Into Antarctic Region Amid Growing Western Concerns Concerns over China’s expanding activities in the Polar regions seem to have grown with the recent reports of the construction of its new Antarctic station near the Ross Sea. The resumption of construction activities of China’s fifth research station—after a few years of delay—has generated quick responses from Western critics and think tanks. Eurasia Review | 17 May 2023 Polar region Politics
News Sikh Separatist Arrested after Weeks on the Run Self-styled preacher Amritpal Singh, whose calls for Sikh independence riled India’s authorities, has been arrested in Punjab state. The 30-year-old had been on the run for more than a month after evading arrest in Punjab on 18 March. BBC | 23 Apr 2023 asia
In focus Kurdistan Daughters of the Sun Daughters of the Sun, a documentary by Reber Dosky, premiers this week at the Movies that Matter Festival in The Hague. A tender and inspiring film about a group of Yezidi women and girls who were abducted as sex slaves by Islamic State and now have to rebuild their lives. With each other’s love and support, they find the strength to look forward again. Movies That Matter | 23 Apr 2023 Middle East Film Love Politics
Event De Facto Live We are launching a new series of events! Live interviews, presentations, a quiz, music and film, about unrecognized states, micronations and curious borders. Join us for the first De Facto Live on 28 June at De Roode Bioscoop in Amsterdam. De Facto | 17 Apr 2023 event
Feature Ceuta & Melilla In Melilla It’s still not clear how many people were killed at Barrio Chino on 24 June 2022. As many as 77 people, most of them young men who had fled their homes in Sudan and South Sudan, are still missing. A reconstruction by Ben Ehrenreich. London Review of Books | 7 Apr 2023 Africa Youth Politics
analysis How Many Countries Are There in the World in 2023? One of the most basic questions for map-lovers is ‘How many countries are there in the world?’ But anyone who just gives you a simple number isn’t telling the whole truth. It actually depends a lot on how you define a ‘country’. Political Geography Now explains. Political Geography Now | 3 Apr 2023 maps
In focus Kurdistan In the Shadow of History American photographer Susan Meiselas created an extensive visual archive in collaboration with the Kurdish community. A retrospective of her work is now on show in FOMU, Antwerp. De Facto | 28 Mar 2023 Middle East Photography Art Books
Feature Western Sahara What’s Behind Spain’s About-Face On Western Sahara? Western Sahara’s former colonizer has shifted toward effectively recognizing Morocco’s illegal occupation of the territory. Foreign Policy in Focus | 20 Mar 2023 africa
News Kosovo Kosovo and Serbia Verbally Agree on ‘Implementation Deal’ While EU hails an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo on normalisation of ties, Serbian and Kosovo leaders put very different spins on it, and Serbia’s President Vucic kept insisting he did not sign anything. Balkan Insight | 19 Mar 2023
News Where is Nithyananda’s ‘Kailasa’? Fugitive rape-accused Nithyananda is in the news after his disciple Vijayapriya Nithyananda, along with five other women, represented his ‘country’ Kailasa at a UN conference. India Today | 6 Mar 2023 news
News Nagorno-Karabakh UN Court Orders Azerbaijan to End Roadblock The International Court of Justice has ordered Azerbaijan to “ensure unimpeded movement” on the highway connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been virtually closed for more than two months. Eurasianet | 23 Feb 2023
News Somaliland Fighting Resumes as Tens of Thousands Flee Fighting resumed on Tuesday in the disputed town of Las Anod in the self-declared republic of Somaliland. It was sparked when Dhulbahante clan elders reportedly issued a declaration stating that they no longer considered themselves part of Somaliland. Africa News | 22 Feb 2023 Africa Politics
Report Chagos Archipelago That's When the Nightmare Started The forced displacement of the entire Chagossian people by the United Kingdom and United States governments and the UK’s racial persecution, and continued blocking of their return home, are crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a report and video released today. Human Rights Watch | 15 Feb 2023 Africa Asia Politics Nature
Analysis Bougainville Balancing Independence and Foreign Relations Bougainville is likely to play a surprisingly significant role in the tussles between China and the US in the Pacific region. Lucas Knotter analyses the future of this breakaway island. 9Dashline | 31 Jan 2023 Pacific Politics
Podcast On the Border Tim Marshall explores four frontier communities in this podcast series by the BBC. Some sit on hard borders, others soft; all face challenges. What do Maastricht, Kinshasa, Niagara and Orestiada tell us about managing difference and global relations today? BBC / De Facto | 30 Jan 2023 podcast