KAMPALA - Uganda is known as one of the world's worst countries to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). LGBT people risk cell for fourteen years and are victims of violence and discrimination. Ugandan church leaders call to lynch them, political leaders use them as lightning rods for the ...
BRUSSELS - More and more business leaders are positioning themselves as the best CEO a country can wish for. However, experience learns that they rarely succeed.
LONDON - Innocent people around the world have been added to a watch list of terrorists and criminals, an investigation reveals today. Research by an international consortium of media organisations exposes the secret World Check database, which lists over 2 million people.
JOHANNESBURG - Deforestation is a major global problem. At the same time, climate change caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions is threatening not only nature but also humanity. The idea that we can tackle both problems at the same time - by planting trees that store significant amounts of CO2 as ...
NICOSIA - Thousands of refugees from Africa and the Middle East risk their lives to reach the shores of Europe and escape conflict and repression. But for the wealthy there are easier options available. With enough money, it's possible to purchase a EU passport - or at least residence.
The European Investment Bank: Africa's discreet financier
LUXEMBURG - European Investment Bank (EIB) is the largest multilateral borrower and lender in the world. It finances mainly large infrastructure projects, but also provides loans to small and medium enterprises. The EIB is an EU bank, but its ambitions reach far beyond its borders.
BRUSSELS - In an unprecedented EU-wide collaborative effort, the journalists from "The MEPs Project" located in every member state investigated how members of the European Parliament (MEPs) make use of the general expenses payments they receive every month.
The Malta Files: How the smallest EU country became a haven for global tax avoidance
VALLETTA - The Mediterranean republic of Malta operates a tax system where companies pay the lowest tax on profits in the EU - only five per cent. Over the last three months, journalistic network European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) dug into over 150,000 documents that show how international ...
How Israel Jails Palestinians Because They Fit the 'Terrorist Profile'
HEBRON - In a bid to combat a wave of lone-wolf attacks, Israel has arrested hundreds of Palestinian youths suspected of being potential would-be terrorists over the past 18 months. Many, if not most, of the Palestinians arrested have been singled out by a computerised prediction system developed by ...
CARACAS - In "Puerta sin Colores", Marianne Cap, together with reporter Roel Nollet, goes to Venezuela. She worked there for a while in a home for boys with a difficult home situation. Four years later, she returns.
Companies, trade unions, interest groups, NGOs, professional lobbyists: they all do their best to influence Belgian politics. How do they do that, and by what means? How far do they go? How do they conquer the 'Rue de la Loi' and win politicians over? These are questions that seldom get an answer ...
Lack of statistics stops any investigation into corporate crimes
BELGIUM - Since 1999, companies are subject to appear before criminal courts for the crimes they commit. How often did this happen? When did it not happen? For what reason? What punishment did the public prosecutor ask for if the case did go to court? And what punishment did the judge pronounce?
Mafias and the Far Right: The City of London Connection
LONDON - Massimo Carminati, boss of an alleged mafia group in Rome, is said to have made millions of euros before his arrest in December 2014. But this financial treasure is nowhere to be found.
The Hungarian “Zuckerberg” who keeps Orbán’s system alive
BUDAPEST - It’s getting ever harder to gain access to public interest data in Hungary. This is particularly problematic, taking into consideration that reporting on the government’s abuse of power and the endemic corruption is one of the last remaining checks and balances in Hungary.
LONDON - Journalists in Western Europe have broadcast and printed stories about Eastern Europe that are distorted or false, leading to a misrepresentation of reality that victimises nations and some of their poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
CHORQISLOQ - A village in a remote region in Tajikistan, is under strict observation of local police, security services and other agencies. 69 inhabitants have left for Syria in the past three years. Fear seems to reign among village residents and relatives of IS fighters are closely monitored by ...
TEHERAN - Sex before marriage is punishable by lashes and incarceration. Adultery even with the death penalty. And that is why promiscuous sexual behavior in Iran is the norm. Two journalists, with the support of the Pascal Decroos Fund, made a captivating undercover report from the underbelly of ...