Revealed: Bucharest tourists hiring rentals that could collapse in an earthquake
More than 200 illegal holiday properties found in buildings at the highest level of seismic risk.
Investigations
European Mercenaries in Africa
Supermarket guards, truck drivers and ‘very big mistakes’: the failed role of western mercenaries in the fall of Goma
An investigation into Romanian mercenaries in DRC reveals how a disorganised operation with untrained recruits became a deadly ‘circus’.
The shadowy warlord behind Romania’s wrecked election
Mercenary Horațiu Potra, an ally of banned Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu, is accused of plotting an insurrection.
In Goma, the Romanian soldiers who cheated the Congolese government
A mission marred by abuses and acts bordering on mercenarism and complicity in war crimes. (French)
Romanian mercenaries actively fought in Congo and collaborated with local militias, violating international conventions
Romanian mercenaries in DR Congo fought actively in the conflict and collaborated with local militias which can amount to violations of international law according to experts.
A mercenary's connections: Horațiu Potra, Ministry of Defence neighbor, links to the judiciary
Mercenary business dealings and real estate transactions indicate substantial wealth and connections to the state. (Romanian)
Romanian soldiers in the DRC: from private military companies to mercenaries
Romanian mercenaries took part in combat and forged links with militias. (French)
Kremlin-linked operatives scramble to stop extradition of mercenary accused of plotting coup
Inside a Russian bid to free Horațiu Potra, a mercenary held in Dubai accused of conspiring to ‘overthrow constitutional order’ in Romania
Desert Dumps
Europe’s deadly migration policy
To stop Africa migration, European governments are giving billions of euros to North African countries. Their security forces are expected to stop the migrants at any cost.
In Mauritania, a case of police corruption undermines anti-migration cooperation with the European Union
Eleven police officers working with smugglers are accused of accepting bribes from migrants in exchange for their release. (French)
Police corruption case in Mauritania exposes anti-migrant cooperation
Eleven agents were arrested on charges of receiving bribes from migrants and the head of the fight against irregular immigration was dismissed. (Spanish)
Expulsions of sub-Saharan migrants in the desert: the role of EU means and policies
Italy, Spain and other EU countries hand over to local authorities the leading tools of the system of mass expulsions in Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania. (Italian)
‘Like rubbish’: the system of mass expulsions of migrants in the desert
Systematic and widespread deportations in Tunisia, Mauritania and Morocco fuelled by the externalisation policies of the EU borders. (Italian)
EU partners systematically abandon asylum seekers in the desert
In North Africa, security forces financed by the EU are abducting asylum seekers trying to reach Europe. (German)
Desert Dumps
International investigation shows how Europe supports, finances and is directly involved in clandestine operations in North African countries.
Mass arrests and forced relocations: how migrants in North Africa are banished with European money
Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia use European funding to forcibly detain and dump migrants in the desert. (Spanish)
Migrants Abandoned on the Edge of the Sahara: EU finances those responsible
In Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, migrants are taken to remote areas and deserts. The EU knows about it - and finances those responsible.
How EU funds enable North African countries to push back Europe-bound migrants into the desert
Migrants are being arrested by the hundreds and deported with EU support to desert areas in Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania.
With Europe’s support, North African nations push migrants to the desert
Europe supports, finances and is directly involved in clandestine operations in North African countries.
EU Border Externalisation to Senegal
Senegal’s EU-funded migration crackdown puts innocent people behind bars
Senegal is tightening its EU-backed crackdown on irregular migration, but innocent people get jailed instead of smugglers.
How an EU-funded security force helped Senegal crush democracy protests
An elite EU-funded Senegalese police unit was meant to tackle cross-border crime. It was used to quash demonstrations.
How Europe is outsourcing migration control to Africa
A four-part investigation into European policies aimed at curbing migration from Africa. (French)
How Europe Outsourced Border Enforcement to Africa
The European Union is militarizing Africa’s internal borders to curb migration, with little regard for human rights.
West Africa's Conflict Timber
‘Conflict timber’: Gambian traffickers continue rosewood trade despite ban
Al Jazeera investigation finds connection between secessionist struggle in Senegal and timber traffickers in Gambia.
On the trail of African timber smugglers and the Romanian who got rich dealing with Gambia's former dictator
In West Africa, the trade in rosewood was banned in 2022, but it is still practiced. The architect of the local trafficking network was none other than Romanian Nicolae Buzăianu. (Romanian)
Power & Influence in Romania
The other Tate brother
Tristan Tate is far less well known than his notorious elder sibling, Andrew, but he holds a central role in their alleged criminality.
The "anti-system" apostle, propelled by former state employees
Romania's controversial presidential candidate Călin Georgescu frequently describes himself as "anti-system", but he's surrounded by a network of former intelligence, police and army officers. (Romanian)
Violence at Europe's Borders
Unmasking Europe's Shadow Armies
The visual evidence that removes the layer of plausible deniability from illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers in the Balkans and Aegean.
‘Migrant pushback': police clamp down on EU borders
Videos show the violent and illegal turning back of migrants by the Romanian and Croatian authorities. (French)
Europe's Violent Shadow Army Unmasked
Mysterious men wearing balaclavas are beating up refugees at the external EU border or abandoning them at sea.
‘They can see us in the dark’: migrants grapple with hi-tech fortress EU
A powerful battery of drones, thermal cameras and heartbeat detectors are being deployed to exclude asylum seekers.
Self-Mutilations and Hunger Strikes: The Mental Health Crisis Inside French Migrant Detention Centres
The appalling conditions of Parisian migrant detention centre Mesnil-Amelot have grave implications for the mental health of detainees.