During the early twentieth century the inhabitants of Icaria took advantage of the war in the Balkans and the declining power of the Ottoman Empire to declare the Free State of Icaria (Ελευθέρα Πολιτεία Ικαρίας, Elefthéra Politía Ikarías) on 18th July 1912. The country enjoyed its freedom for five months until it was annexed by the Kingdom of Greece.

On July 11, De Facto’s Jorie Horsthuis will interview Dutch-Kurdish film maker Beri Shalmashi about Kurdistan and the developments in the Middle East, after the screening of Half Moon, a film by Bahman Ghobadi.

The standard ‘design’ of the Dutch borderline is often seen as a self-evident representation. Yet this abstract form in no way reflects the geographical, social, and political reality. How can we rethink and redesign the representation of the multiplicity of Dutch borders? A workshop by designer and researcher Annelys de Vet and Professor of Geopolitics and Political Geography Henk van Houtum.

The dominant narrative insists that borders keep us safe. But from what, and from whom? What if borders are systems of power designed to divide, to dominate, to decide who gets to move, who gets to stay, and who is left behind? Film, talks, music and poetry on 20 June in Amsterdam.

What if we could dream beyond borders, beyond displacement, beyond extraction? A powerful one-day experience of collective imagination, embodied storytelling, and radical futurism led by displaced communities. Part of Refugee Welcome Week in Amsterdam.

From winding borders to straight lines and landlocked nations, Al Jazeera explores the stories behind Africa’s map. From Bir Tawil to Cabinda to the Caprivi strip: a visual explainer of some of the continent’s most unusual borders.

Map lines are inherently political. After all, they’re representations of the places that are important to human beings — and those priorities can be delicate and contentious, even more so in a globalized world where multiple nations often share the same maps. Trump’s geographic renaming plans leave mapmakers pondering what to do next.

The breakaway republic of Transnistria has been plunged into an energy crisis following the end of Ukrainian transit of Russian gas. If it is Kyiv and not Moscow that comes to the unrecognized statelet’s aid, Russia risks losing any remaining influence in the region.

The Danish king has shocked some historians by changing the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands – in what has also been seen as a rebuke to Donald Trump.

The secret mission left the smallest number of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay since the day the detention center opened in 2002.

The prime minister of Greenland called for independence from Denmark and removing the “shackles” of colonialism in a strident New Year’s address this week. The renewed call comes after United States President-elect Donald Trump once again suggested buying Greenland.

With the lightning success of the 11-day offensive by the Islamist faction Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and other rebel groups and the fall of the Assad regime, a new question comes to the fore. Will a Syrian transitional government, backed by Turkey, accept the Kurdish-led autonomous zone in the northeast of the country?

A detonation on a critical aqueduct comes after a series of smaller incidents in the tense Serb-majority north of the country.

Even if the Abkhazian opposition manages to capitalize on its success by putting forward a successful candidate in the upcoming presidential election, the next leader will still have to find common ground with Moscow.