beeveephoto (CC BY-SA 2.0)
News

Future of controversial Ineos project in port of Antwerp uncertain, construction refinery postponed

Petrochemicals manufacturer Ineos is temporarily suspending the construction of the PDH unit that would make up half of 'Project One', a billion-dollar project that envisaged the construction of two plastics factories in the port of Antwerp.
© Belga
Longread

The fight against “political Islam” creates a monster that is everywhere and nowhere

The attacks in France and Austria reinforce the call for zero tolerance. Austrian Chancellor Kurz wants to tackle terrorism by outlawing 'political Islam', French President Macron by reforming Islam into a religion that fits the secular state. Is there a baby in the political bathwater?
© Bensemra Zohra / Reuters
Analysis

How the dictator of Cameroon gives millions to American companies to polish his reputation with “fake news”

In 2020, locking up opposition members and forging ballot papers is passé for dictators. A better strategy is to call in PR companies to boost the reputation of your state abroad. This investigation shows how Cameroonian President Paul Biya uses American companies for that purpose.
UNDP Iraq / Claire Thomas
Opinion

Future of Development: International Solidarity is the Key

While country after country is returning to strict measures in order to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, UN assistant secretary general Ulrika Modéer looks beyond the current crisis to discern the challenges on the road ahead ‘towards more sustainable, just and inclusive societies.’
© Magnum / Thomas Dworzak
Report

Millions of Indians have been displaced. This is how they fight back

Anyone who fights land grabbing will be dragged onto the street. Millions of indigenous peoples had to leave their patches of land. Communities in the Northeast and South of India choose to resist, to fight for their right to land. The question remains: at what cost?
Flickr / Vetustense Photorogue (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Analysis

‘Lowlifes, Scum, Shut up, Stay Home, Bitches’. Swearing in Political Discourse

‘He is back, bitches,’ ‘Lowlifes, scum, thug,’ or, ‘just shut up,’ ‘stay home.’ Even in the Low Countries, the use of profanity by politicians is no longer an exception. Is this profane language spontaneous and innocent, or is there a calculated strategy behind it? And what are the consequences?
Ⓒ Elien Spillebeen
Report

Activist Mwazulu Diyabanza visits Antwerp: ‘Chef Ne Kuko must come home!’

In recent months, activist Mwazulu Diyabanza has made several attempts to remove African looted art from European museums. At the request of MO* he visited the Antwerp exhibition 100 x Congo in the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS). 
Video

MO*conference @ Forward Fest: Development in a New Geopolitical Context

These are times in which international relations are being transformed at breakneck speed and in which the existing world order is being questioned fundamentally. Will these turbulent times enable us to bring about sustainable development and a just redustribution of wealth? Is this finally the right time to decolonize, are we heading into the ...
© Thomas Mukoya / Reuters
Analysis

In Kenya garbage is recycled into opportunities for the young

As the Kenyan economy grows, the amount of waste grows along with it. A flood of new disposable materials, from mouth masks to gloves, puts extra pressure on faulty policies. Can a sustainable waste policy offer young people growth opportunities and reduce the waste heap?
© Reuters
Analysis

Money, Power and Politics at the WHO

Fien Van den Steen takes a look at the geopolitics that shaped the WHO’s manoeuvring throughout the global coronavirus pandemic.
© Xander Stockmans
Report

‘Illegal wood does not disappear from Ukrainian forests on its own’

In recent years, more wood was exported from Ukraine than officially logged. This can only be explained by illegal logging of wood that ends up in our printing paper, our clothing, IKEA furniture and other furniture. MO* went out into the Ukrainian woods.
© Reuters
Analysis

Ethiopian migrants chased and shot at in the Gulf: ‘Just let them die. Their lives are worthless’

In Yemen, Houthi militias have used the corona crisis to violently chase out Ethiopian migrants across the border with Saudi Arabia. Now, more than five months later, hundreds of Ethiopians migrants are still being held in Saudi detention centres in dire circumstances.

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