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news Ceuta & Melilla

Death Toll Rising After Thousands Storm Spain’s Wall in Africa

The death toll among those who attempted to scale the fence into the Spanish enclave of Melilla last week continues to mount. With 29 dead, mostly sub-Saharan African, the figure, if confirmed, is among the worst-ever disasters for the Spanish enclave on the north Moroccan coast.

EU Observer | 27 Jun 2022

news Hans Island

Canada and Denmark Settle ‘Whisky War’

Canada and Denmark resolved a half-century-old border dispute, splitting the ownership of Hans Island, a 1.2-square kilometer mound of rock halfway between Nunavut and Greenland. The new border will divide the island roughly in half, following a natural ravine from north to south.

Politico | 14 Jun 2022

news Taiwan

China Warns Taiwan Independence Would Trigger War

China has warned the US that any attempt to make Taiwan independent from China will trigger military action by Beijing’s forces. Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe met his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of an Asian security summit in Singapore.

BBC | 12 Jun 2022

news Northern Cyprus

Cyprus to UN: Turkey seeks full control of breakaway north

Cyprus will lodge a complaint with the United Nations over Turkey’s new financial assistance deal with breakaway Turkish Cypriots that demonstrates Ankara’s “complete control” over them, the president of the ethnically divided island nation said Monday.

The Washington Post | 6 Jun 2022

news Somaliland

Why Taiwan has found an unlikely friend in Somaliland

The small African state of Somaliland legally doesn’t exist. But Taiwan has spied an opportunity to make its mark.

ABC news Australia | 5 Jun 2022

news Jammu & Kashmir

India’s Kashmir sees upsurge in violence

Indian security forces have killed six militants in Kashmir in the past 24 hours while militants shot dead a female TV performer and a police officer, officials said on Thursday, following the conviction of the region’s best-known separatist.

reuters | 26 May 2022

news Transnistria

Ukrainian War Casts Shadow over Transnistria

Moldova raises concerns over suspected destabilisation campaign in Russia-backed breakaway region.

Financial Times | 3 May 2022

news Abkhazia

Georgian diorama artist protests against Russian aggression

Artist Tamuna Ianvarashvili uses the dioramas as a form of peaceful protest against Russia’s occupation of Georgian regions and its brutality in invading Ukraine in February.

AGENDA.GE | 19 Apr 2022

news Transnistria

Journey to Transnistria: Inside Russia’s Disinformation Bubble

Reporters of The New York Times traveled inside Transnistria, a Moscow-backed breakaway state in Moldova, to find out how Russia’s disinformation campaign stretches beyond its borders.

The New York Times | 15 Apr 2022

news Donetsk People’s Republic

Russian separatists built new crypto to evade sanctions

Scammers targeted people in developing countries.

ACS | 6 Apr 2022

news South Ossetia

Kremlin Plays Down South Ossetia Leader's Call to Join Russia

The Kremlin has played down a suggestion by the president of South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia, that the unrecognized state could become part of Russia.

The Moscow Times | 31 Mar 2022

news Kuril Islands

How a war in Ukraine crushed the hopes of thousands of elderly Japanese

Soviet soldiers barged into Hirotoshi Kawata’s home on Sept. 4, 1945, searching for hidden Japanese soldiers and valuables. Kawata, then 11, remembers understanding only two words they said: tokei, or wristwatch; and sake, which they went on to loot from the home.

The Washington Post | 31 Mar 2022

news South Ossetia

Breakaway Georgian Region Seeks to Be Putin’s Next Annexation

The breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia will seek to join Russia, potentially leading to a new escalation in the Kremlin’s conflict with the West.

Bloomberg | 30 Mar 2022

news South Ossetia

Tanks with the flag of unrecognized South Ossetia spotted in Melitopol

In Melitopol, temporarily occupied by Russian troops, military equipment of the unrecognized South Ossetia, whose forces joined the invaders, was recorded.

The Times Hub | 27 Mar 2022

news Kuril Islands

Russia conducts military drills on isles disputed with Japan

Russia was conducting drills on islands claimed by Tokyo, Japanese media said on Saturday, days after Moscow halted peace talks with Japan because of its sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Reuters | 26 Mar 2022

news Western Sahara

Algeria sees betrayal in Spain’s sudden support for Morocco plan

By lending its support to the Moroccan autonomy proposal, Spain is reconciling with Rabat, but opening a new rift with Algeria.

Middle East Eye | 23 Mar 2022

news Pratas Islands

Taiwan Won't Militarize Largest South China Sea Island—Defense Minister

Taiwan won’t follow China’s militarization of the South China Sea with its own island-fortification efforts, its top defense official told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Newsweek | 23 Mar 2022

news Chagos Archipelago

Chagos Islands descendants can apply to become British nationals

New route offers children of those born on islands right to be British overseas territory citizens or British citizens.

The Guardian | 23 Mar 2022

news Transnistria

Council of Europe Designates Transnistria ‘Russian Occupied Territory’

The Council of Europe on Tuesday for the first time designated Moldova’s breakaway region ‘occupied territory’ as opposed to territory ‘under the effective control of the Russian Federation’.

Balkan Insight | 16 Mar 2022

news

They bought a Caribbean island to start their own country

“Who wouldn’t want to buy an island?” Marshall Mayer asks above the roar of the engine as the boat cuts through the still waters of the Caribbean Sea. Mayer is co-founder of Let’s Buy an Island, an ambitious project that in 2018 set out to crowdfund the purchase of an island. By December 2019, the group’s aspirations became reality, raising over $250,000 to complete the purchase of an uninhabited island off the coast of Belize.

CNN | 14 Mar 2022

news Antarctica

Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance found off coast of Antarctica

The “world’s most challenging shipwreck search” for one of the greatest legends of exploration history, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance, lost more than a century ago in the icy waters of Antarctica, has succeeded. The site of Endurance was declared a historic monument under the terms of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty.

The Guardian | 9 Mar 2022

news Transnistria

On Ukraine’s Border, Moldovans Wonder: Where Will Putin Stop?

Moldovans fear that Transnistria, a region run by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Moldova, might be the next target after Ukraine.

The New York Times | 7 Mar 2022

news Transnistria

After Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Moldova worries it might be next

There have been no air raid sirens in Moldova, no explosions and no casualties, but already some of the turbulence and anxiety of war is starting to build.

The Washington Post | 6 Mar 2022

news Kurdistan

ISO recognizes Kurdistan Region, paving way for creation of Kurdish flag emoji

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recognized the Kurdistan Region on Thursday, with a top Kurdish official saying this will pave the way for the birth of the Kurdistan flag emoji.

RUDAW | 4 Mar 2022

news Kuril Islands

How Ukraine War Fuels Japan’s Island Feud With Russia

As it overturned precedent to follow the U.S. and Europe in imposing harsh sanctions to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, Japan said it scrambled fighter jets to intercept a helicopter—thought to be Russian—that entered its airspace. That fueled more sniping between Japan and Russia, which have been at odds over four small islands that lie between them since the end of World War II, preventing them from formally ending hostilities.

Bloomberg | 3 Mar 2022

news Taiwan

Watching the War in Ukraine, Taiwanese Draw Lessons in Self-Reliance

Many in Taiwan see parallels with Ukraine. “We must use this time of peace to prepare for the worst,” says a nonprofit working to promote civil defense.

The New York Times | 2 Mar 2022

news Transnistria

Moldova Monitoring Russian Troops Already on Its Soil: 'We Are On Alert'

Moldova’s envoy to the United States says that his country is closely monitoring Russian soldiers already deployed to Moldavian territory, which is also claimed by Moscow-aligned rebels who carved out their own breakaway state along the Ukrainian border three decades ago.

Newsweek | 2 Mar 2022

news Transnistria

Moldova Marks 30 Years Since War with Russia-Backed Transnistria Rebels

The Moldovan authorities commemorated those who fought and died in the war with Russian-backed separatist forces that seized control over the eastern region of Transnistria in 1992.

Balkan Insight | 2 Mar 2022

news Donetsk People’s Republic

What does Russian recognition of breakaway Ukraine territories mean?

A look at the implications for the wider crisis in which the US says Russia may be poised to invade Ukraine.

The Guardian | 22 Feb 2022

news South Ossetia

South Ossetia Prepares for Presidential Elections

The former president of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, is returning to politics again – he is nominated as a presidential candidate for the upcoming elections. Despite the fact that, according to the law, he cannot be registered as a candidate – due to the fact that he has not lived in his homeland for many years. Presidential elections in South Ossetia will be held on 10 April.

JAM NEWS | 21 Feb 2022

podcast Chagos Archipelago

Yearning for Home

After a five-day journey across the ocean, this week, a small delegation of Chagos Islanders made an emotional return to their homeland. They were there to symbolically lay claim to the islands for Mauritius, in hopes of eventually resettling there.

The Guardian | 16 Feb 2022

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