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A Moldovan oligarch and former senior politician has been extradited from Greece accused of involvement in the theft of $1bn (£748m). Vladimir Plahotniuc, 59, was flown from Athens to Chisinau on Thursday morning and then taken to a detention centre in Moldova's capital, local officials said. The tycoon, who faces several long-running criminal cases in Moldova, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to prove his innocence. His extradition comes days before Sunday's parliamentary elections, with President Maia Sandu warning that Moldova's independence and European future are in danger because of attempts by Russia to foment violence and spread...

The sinking of the RMS Titanic is perhaps the most famous shipwreck in history, but its sister ship, the lesser-known HMHS Britannic, also suffered a tragic fate. During World War I, the luxury cruise liner was requisitioned as a hospital ship, the largest in the world at the time. As it was sailing through the Aegean Sea on November 21, 1916, it struck a mine and went down off the island of Kea in less than an hour. Thirty of the more than 1,000 people onboard perished when their lifeboats were hit by the ship's whirling propellers. The Associated Press...

On Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for scheduled oversight and gave details on how the FBI is working to combat online threats against Americans. As our sister site Twitchy reported, our children are the main targets of these dangerous predators and destructive online platforms. The alleged murderers of Charlie Kirk and UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson have become prime examples of where this type of radicalization leads. Patel mentioned in his opening statement a nihilist extremist group called "764," then alluded to the April arrests of two of their leaders. In May, Patel posted about...

Anti-Israel rioters on the Greek island of Crete have attacked an Israeli cruise ship, preventing tourists from disembarking in the latest incident targeting Israeli visitors in Greece. The MS Crown Iris — operated by Israeli cruise line Mano Maritime — was targeted once again by pro-Palestinian activists this week. On Thursday, Israeli tourists were physically assaulted and temporarily blocked from disembarking in Crete by about 25 protesters gathered at the island’s main port to demonstrate against the war in Gaza. The rioters, waving Palestinian flags and holding banners falsely accusing Israel of genocide, clashed violently with police who were trying...

Greek City Times reports that archaeologists renewed excavations at Mieza in northern Greece, a site connected with the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle. According to Greek historians, it was in the ancient Macedonian city that Aristotle tutored the young Alexander the Great between 343 and 340 b.c. Recent work there centered on investigation and conservation of the monumental gymnasium, a space dedicated to both physical and intellectual training. New dating confirmed that it was built around the middle of the fourth century b.c., strengthening the site's ties to Aristotle, Alexander, and his father Phillip II. The enormous complex was planned and...

One of the key turning points in the investigation happened in Italy. It is no coincidence that US Senator Lindsay Graham, one of Trump's closest allies and one of the leading critics of Mueller's investigation, has been visiting Rome over the last few days. There are many unanswered questions, one of the most important being: where is Joseph Mifsud? Il Foglio does not know, but it can reveal where he hid for seven months after disappearing: in Rome, in a rented flat paid by Link Campus University. Mifsud taught there, and Il Foglio understands that he owns 35 per cent...

As the country experiences record tourism in 2025, Greece is taking stronger measures to protect its natural and cultural treasures. With millions of visitors flocking to its beaches and islands, authorities have decided to crack down on practices that threaten fragile ecosystems and historic landmarks. Tourists who remove pebbles, shells, or other items from protected beaches will now face up to €1,000 in fines. These elements are a vital part of the ecosystem, helping prevent erosion and supporting local marine life. While collecting a few seashells as souvenirs might seem harmless, over time, the practice can significantly damage delicate coastal...

Greece is moving ahead with a controversial proposal that would make it the first country in the European Union to allow 13-hour workdays for a single employer. Set to be presented in September, the draft law has already drawn sharp criticism from unions, while the government insists it will provide much-needed flexibility in the labour market. This plan builds on recent reforms, one of which includes the introduction of a six-day workweek last year. Previously, employees were allowed to work up to 13 hours per day for two employers. However, under the new framework, employees could work up to 13...

A new study has provided the clearest picture yet of one of Europe’s most debated fossils — a nearly complete human skull discovered in Petralona Cave, northern Greece. The fossil, first unearthed in 1960, has long challenged scientists with questions about both its identity and its age. A skull unlike Neanderthals or modern humans The Petralona skull belongs to the Homo genus but stands apart from known groups. It shows marked differences from Neanderthals and modern humans, leaving researchers uncertain about where it fits in the evolutionary record. Its age has also been a source of dispute for decades, with...

Scylax of Caryanda, a Greek in the service of the Persian Great King, is best known for his early exploration of India and for shaping what the ancient Greeks knew about the East. Born in the late 6th century BC in a Carian town of Asia Minor (Anatolia), he lived at the cultural crossroads of Greek and Persian influence. Scylax became both an explorer and a writer—an essential figure in the transmission of geographical knowledge between civilizations. Unfortunately, Scylax’s original writings have not survived. What we know of his life and work comes from fragments preserved by later historians like...

Donald Trump is hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington this week for a summit which could advance a much-anticipated peace agreement between the two. The meeting would send a strong signal to Moscow regarding the two countries' commitment to finding a solution without Russia. The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia are set to meet US President Donald Trump for a peace summit in Washington on Thursday and Friday, which could advance a much-anticipated peace deal between the two countries. After almost four decades of bitter conflict, Baku and Yerevan might finally settle for peace in the region...

In 399 BC, Athens, the cradle of democracy and philosophy, tried and killed a seemingly innocent man in one of the most controversial trials in history. The defendant, Socrates, was a 70-year-old philosopher whose teachings profoundly influenced the city’s youth and intellectual landscape. His execution by drinking poison hemlock remains a poignant episode in Western philosophy. Understanding why Athens killed Socrates reveals much about its sociopolitical and cultural dynamics. The charges: impiety and corrupting the youth Athenians charged Socrates with two primary offenses: impiety, or not believing in the gods recognized by the state, and corrupting the youth of Athens....

The Ancient Greeks were active travelers, despite the dangers of land travel and the fear of highwaymen. Sea travel required ample supplies and means. A fascinating archaeological find exhibited in the Agora Museum in Athens is rectangular clay tablets with inscribed names and occupations that purportedly served as travel documents in antiquity. Most travelers were aristocrats and well-to-do citizens who traveled to witness and experience the wonders of the ancient world, and other famous places and sights. Others traveled for pilgrimage; healing in sanctuaries such as the Sanctuary of Asclepius in Olympia, the Sanctuary of Apollo on Delos Island, or...

Donald Trump recently announced that the United States would help Pakistan develop its "massive oil reserves," suggesting it could export oil to India in the future. In response, Baloch leader Mir Yar Baloch has written an open letter to the US president, highlighting how encouraging the exploitation of Balochistan's oil reserves would make the US complicit in enabling ISI to enhance its global terror networks. In his letter, the Baloch leader warned against allowing Pakistan's radicalised military and rogue ISI, long accused of sponsoring Al-Qaeda and various proxy groups responsible for the deaths of thousands of US soldiers in Afghanistan,...

Archaeologists have re-examined a 2500-year-old residue found in bronze jars at an underground shrine in Paestum, Italy, previously identified as a wax/fat/resin mixture. Using a multianalytical approach, the authors have detected lipids, saccharide decomposition products, hexose sugars, and major royal jelly proteins supporting the hypothesis that the jars once also contained honey/honeycombs. Paestum honey: (A) underground shrine in Paestum, Italy; (B) one of the hydrias on display alongside a Perspex box containing the residue at the Ashmolean Museum in 2019; (C) graphic representation of the arrangement of the bronze jars inside the shrine; (D) sample from the core of the...

The Houthis will resume attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea if those ships have ties to companies that work with Israeli ports, the Yemen-based group announced this week.While the Houthis are calling it a “fourth phase of escalation,” the move from the group is the phase of the Houthis’ Red Sea attacks when they expanded their strikes to any ship that visited Israeli ports or was associated with a company that had ties to Israel.The last time the Houthis announced they would attack ships, the United States had multiple ships in the Red Sea. This time, it has...

The oldest song to have survived in its entirety is a first-century AD Greek tune known as the “Seikilos Epitaph.” The song, the melody of which is recorded, alongside its lyrics, in the ancient Greek musical notation, was found in 1883 engraved on a pillar (a stele) from the Hellenistic town of Tralles near present-day Aydın, Turkey, not far from Ephesus. Although usually referred to as an epitaph, experts say that it is possible that it does not mark a tomb, but was merely a monument erected by Seikilos himself to commemorate his skill. “I am a tombstone, an image,”...

Selinunte - ancient Selinus - was one of the wealthiest Greek colonies on Sicily. Before its sudden destruction by Carthage, the city built a series of temples, which survive today as some of the Mediterranean's most impressive ruins. Selinunte: More Temples than Athens | 7:20 Scenic Routes to the Past | 42.1K subscribers | 10,799 views | July 25, 2025 0:00 Introduction 1:18 Temple E 2:16 Temple F 3:01 Temple G 4:43 Acropolis 5:26 Temple C 6:21 Temple D

ATHENS/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters blocked Israeli tourists from disembarking in Greece on Tuesday, forcing an Israeli-owned cruise ship carrying 1,600 passengers to reroute to Cyprus. The Crown Iris, operated by Israel’s Mano Maritime, was prevented from docking in the port of Ermoupoli on the Greek island of Syros as an estimated 300 demonstrators gathered in and around the port to protest Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, witnesses said.

Tattoos were considered a sign of “otherness” in ancient Greece, as it was either foreigners or slaves, criminals, and captives who had tattoos in ancient Greek society. Body modification, such as tattoos and piercings, has been common throughout human societies across the world since Neolithic times. Humans have felt the urge to modify their bodies with tattoos for various cultural, religious, and aesthetic reasons for centuries. While tattooing developed independently across numerous cultures, Greeks were among the first people to begin inking their skin, as historical records date ancient Greek tattooing to as early as the 5th century BC. Tattooing...