The British government will return sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, reports Binoy Kampmark. But the caveat is that the joint British-United States military base on Diego Garcia will continue to operate unimpeded for another 99 years.
Britain
Britain is suspending a fraction of its arms export licenses with Israel, hoping to appease, or silence, critics of its pro-Israel policy. Binoy Kampmark reports.
This year marks the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne. It gave tacit endorsement to the ethnic cleansing begun in the last years of the Ottoman Empire and was a disaster for the human rights of Kurds, Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians, living within the new borders it created, writes John Tully.
Bill Nevins reviews Fintan O’Toole's 2022 book, We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland.
Activists in London gathered at Captain Cook's statue in solidarity with mass rallies and dawn services held to mark Invasion Day in Australian cities on January 26, reports Kerry Smith.
I’m late commenting on the royal wedding due to having to recover from a drinking game I invented for the spectacle: you had to take a shot each time you see a parasite. Here’s a tip for anyone wanting to try this game next time: best play it in the emergency department of your local hospital to save time.