Month: October 2023

Tourists at the Acropolis this holiday season can witness the resolution of one of the world’s most heated debates on cultural heritage. All they need is a smartphone. Visitors can now pinch and zoom their way around the ancient Greek site, with a digital overlay showing how it once looked. That includes a collection of marble sculptures removed from the Parthenon more than 200 years ago that are now on display at the British Museum in London. Greece has demanded they be returned. For now, an app supported by Greece’s Culture Ministry allows visitors to point their phones at the …

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Major airlines canceled dozens of flights to and from Tel Aviv this weekend after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale attack against Israel.  On the arrivals board at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, American Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Ryanair and Aegean Airlines were among those companies pulling flights. Many departing flights were canceled, too. “Given the current security situation in Tel Aviv, Lufthansa is canceling all flights to and from Tel Aviv up until and including Monday, a spokesperson for the German carrier told AFP.  The airline was “permanently monitoring the security situation in Israel,” he added. …

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Germany and France on Saturday moved to reinforce security around Jewish temples, schools and monuments after the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel. Germany tightened police protection of Jewish and Israeli institutions, as some supporters of the Palestinians took to the streets of Berlin to celebrate the attack. France focused on Jewish temples and schools in cities across the country, as one Jewish leader expressed concern at the possibility the conflict might be imported there. “In Berlin, police protection has been immediately stepped up,” Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told Bild newspaper. “The federal government and the …

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Migration and interior ministers from five European Union countries most affected by migration across the Mediterranean — Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain — hailed a new EU pact on migration but said more resources were needed.  The ministers from the Med 5 group, who met in Thessaloniki, Greece, on Friday and Saturday, took a hard line on returning migrants who have crossed into the bloc illegally to their countries of origin, arguing that if Europe does not tackle the problem decisively, more extreme voices will take over.  Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Kairidis, who hosted the sixth meeting …

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The U.S. condemnation of the Hamas terror attack on Israel is being backed by pledges to make sure the Israeli military has what it needs to repel the assault and defend its people. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a phone call Saturday with Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised “his ironclad support” for the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, according to a Pentagon readout. “Our commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself remains unwavering,” Austin said in a separate statement. “Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to …

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Ukraine and Russia launched new strikes on each other Saturday. Ukrainian shelling killed one person in the Russian border region of Belgorod, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Russia, meanwhile, launched a missile strike on Ukraine’s Odesa region overnight. Local officials say four people were wounded in the attack, which was launched from Russian-occupied Crimea. Russian forces downed a Ukrainian drone near Moscow early Saturday, according to Tass, a Russian state news agency. North Korean-Russian border activity Meanwhile, analysts say satellite imagery shows “an unprecedented number of freight railcars” at North Korea’s Tumangang Rail Facility, located at the North Korean-Russian …

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Spanish company PLD Space launched its reusable Miura-1 rocket early on Saturday from a site in southwestern Spain, carrying out Europe’s first fully private rocket launch and offering hope for the continent’s stalled space ambitions. The startup’s test nighttime launch from Huelva came after two previous attempts were scrubbed. The Miura-1 rocket, named after a breed of fighting bulls, is as tall as a three-story building and has a 100-kilogram cargo capacity. The launch carries a payload for test purposes, but this will not be released, the company said. Mission control video showed engineers cheering as the rocket gained altitude …

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Polish voters face a stark choice in parliamentary elections set for October 15, which are likely to have a significant impact not only on a deeply polarized Polish society but also on the future of Europe as a whole.    According to a recent public opinion poll, the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party and the opposition Civic Coalition bloc are in a close race for seats in the two-house, 460-member Parliament.    One of these political forces will likely have to form a coalition in order to govern what is the largest post-communist EU and NATO member and a …

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