De Facto

De Facto recommends

The Sinister Side of the Chagos Islands Handover

In October, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that his country would transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia, one of the islands, hosts a US military base and is at the center of the internationally lauded yet highly contentious agreement.

Fair Observer | 17 Nov 2024

De Facto recommends Abkhazia

Hotel Metalurg - Home of the Forgotten Displaced

It has been more than 30 years since fighting broke out between Georgia and Abkhazia. Some of those whom the conflict displaced found refuge in a former Georgian sanatorium: the Hotel Metalurg. Now, they’re under pressure to leave again. Watch the documentary here.

DW | 19 Oct 2024

News Chagos Archipelago

UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.

BBC | 4 Oct 2024

Feature Chagos Archipelago

What I Found on this Secretive Tropical Island

The BBC gained unprecedented access to Diego Garcia, the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It is strictly out of bounds to most civilians - the site of a highly secretive UK-US military base shrouded for decades in rumour and mystery.

BBC | 29 Sep 2024

Investigation Nagorno-Karabakh

Satellite Imagery Shows City-Wide Ransacking

In the regional capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, satellite imagery reveals hundreds of incidents of what appears to be ransacking across the city of Khankendi, known as Stepanakert to Armenians.

Bellingcat | 27 Sep 2024

De Facto recommends Taiwan

This is not an embassy (Made in Taiwan)

400 years after The Netherlands colonized parts of Taiwan, the International Performance Festival Feeling Curious? invites Stefan Kaegi to turn the theatre into an embassy. September 28 & 29 in Rotterdam, NL.

Theater Rotterdam | 27 Sep 2024

Feature Nagorno-Karabakh

Dreaming Of Home A Year After Recapture

While Tatevik Khachatrian was forced to leave everything behind one year ago, Vasila Mammadova was hopeful that, for the first time in 30 years, there was a chance she might get everything back.

RFERL | 20 Sep 2024

News Bougainville

Papua New Guinea and Bougainville agree on moderator for independence talk

The Papua New Guinea and autonomous Bougainville governments have agreed on a moderator to be brought to try and repair an impasse over the province’s push for independence.

RNZ | 4 Sep 2024

News Transnistria

Moscow Warned: Any Provocations in Transnistria Is an Attack on Russia

Moscow will consider any provocations against Russian peacekeepers and citizens in Transnistria is an attack on Russia.

EurAsia Daily | 4 Sep 2024

Investigation Nagorno-Karabakh

‘We Couldn’t Work Properly’

Tens of thousands of people were going hungry in Nagorno Karabakh — but the International Red Cross faced growing obstacles as it tried to deliver help. Drawing on interviews, data about ICRC convoys provided by inside sources, and weeks of on-the-ground reporting, OCCRP has investigated how Azerbaijan obstructed their work.

OCCRP | 29 Aug 2024

News Catalonia

Puigdemont Says He’s Back in Belgium

After giving a speech from the symbolic Arc de Triomf in Barcelona and then evading a police dragnet, Carles Puigdemont has made it back to Belgium. ‘Today I’m in Waterloo after a few extremely difficult days,’ he posted on X.

Politico | 10 Aug 2024

News Western Sahara

France Backs Moroccan Claim over Disputed Western Sahara

France has shifted its decadeslong position on the status of Western Sahara. The Polisario Front, which claims to represent the Saharawi people, has vowed to push back against Morocco and France.

DW | 30 Jul 2024

Feature Northern Cyprus

‘Why Can There Be No Peace?’

As both sides of the island mark the war that began on 20 July 1974, it is in the knowledge that almost nothing has changed.

The Guardian | 20 Jul 2024