Η πρόεδρος του Μεξικού, Κλαούντια Σάινμπαουμ, δήλωσε τη Δευτέρα ότι η κυβέρνησή της συμφώνησε να επιτρέψει στην Εθνική ομάδα ποδοσφαίρου του Ιράν να παραμείνει στο Μεξικό κατά τη διάρκεια του Παγκοσμίου Κυπέλλου, προσθέτοντας ότι οι Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες δεν ήθελαν να φιλοξενήσουν την «Team Melli». Ο επικεφαλής της ιρανικής ποδοσφαιρικής ομοσπονδίας, Μεχντί Τατζ, δήλωσε το Σάββατο ότι η βάση της ομάδας θα βρίσκεται στην πόλη Τιχουάνα, μια πόλη στον Ειρηνικό Ωκεανό και στα σύνορα με τις ΗΠΑ (Σαν Ντιέγκο), κατά τη διάρκεια του τουρνουά. Το Μεξικό συμφώνησε «χωρίς κανένα πρόβλημα» να φιλοξενήσει την Εθνική ομάδα του Ιράν κατά στη διάρκεια του Μουντιάλ 2026, αφού η ιρανική ομάδα ανακοίνωσε το Σάββατο την πρόθεσή της να εγκαταστήσει το προπονητικό της κέντρο στην Τιχουάνα αντί για το Τουσόν του Μεξικού, ανακοίνωσε τη Δευτέρα η Πρόεδρος Κλαούντια Σάινμπαουμ. «Οι Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες δεν θέλουν η ιρανική Εθνική ομάδα να εγκαταστήσει προπονητική βάση στο έδαφός τους», εξήγησε σε συνέντευξη Τύπου. «Έτσι μας ρώτησαν: “Μπορούν να την εγκαταστήσουν στο Μεξικό;” Απαντήσαμε “ναι”, χωρίς κανένα πρόβλημα». Το Ιράν, το οποίο θα παίξει και τους τρεις αγώνες της φάσης των ομίλων στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες, ανακοίνωσε το Σάββατο ότι έλαβε την έγκριση της FIFA για να εγκαταστήσει το προπονητικό κέντρο του στο Μεξικό, παρακάμπτοντας έτσι τα προβλήματα βίζας που αντιμετωπίζει. www.ertnews.gr

Άλμα τόσο στις αφίξεις όσο και στα έσοδα κατέγραψε ο ελληνικός τουρισμός τον Μάρτιο, πρώτο μήνα μετά το ξέσπασμα της σύρραξης στον Κόλπο, παρά τις συνέπειες από την ενεργειακή κρίσης που έχει προκαλέσει το «σφράγισμα» των Στενών του Ορμούζ. Σύμφωνα με το ταξιδιωτικό ισοζύγιο που δημοσίευσε η Τράπεζα της Ελλάδας, τον Μάρτιο οι επισκέπτες στη χώρα μας αυξήθηκαν κατά 38,1% σε σύγκριση με τον αντίστοιχο περσινό μήνα, ενώ οι εισπράξεις αυξήθηκαν κατά 55,6%. Η καλή επίδοση του Μαρτίου συνέβαλε στα εντυπωσιακά αποτελέσματα του πρώτου τριμήνου, κατά το οποίο η εισερχόμενη ταξιδιωτική κίνηση ενισχύθηκε κατά 38,3% σε σχέση με την αντίστοιχη περίοδο του 2025, ξεπερνώντας τα 3,4 εκατομμύρια τουρίστες, και οι εισπράξεις εκτοξεύτηκαν κατά 64,3%, αγγίζοντας τα 1,7 δισεκατομμύρια ευρώ. www.ertnews.gr

Tourists have caused strong reactions on the iconic island of Santorini and on social media after they allegedly scattering the ashes of a deceased person on a public street in Oia. A video has captured a woman followed by a small group of people walking down the picturesque stairs, singing and scattering the ashes of […] The post Tourist scattering ashes of beloved one on Santorini street (video) appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Dozens of people have been arrested since early Monday morning on the island of Crete during a big police operation linked to the OPEKEPE scandal of illegal EU agricultural funds subsidies. According to information by Monday afternoon, so far 20 people have been taken to local police stations while the operation of the Crete Organized […] The post 20 arrested on Crete due to OPEKEPE illegal subsidies appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Vespasian recarved from a portrait of Nero. Credit: The Trustees of the British Museum / CC BY 4.0 When ancient Romans wanted to condemn a disgraced emperor, they often recycled his statues rather than destroying them. Sculptors would chisel away one ruler’s likeness and carve a new face in its place, a practice far more politically calculated than previously understood. A new study maps this phenomenon across the Roman Empire in comprehensive detail for the first time. Francesca Bologna of the University of Verona led the research, published in the Journal of Roman Archaeology. The study analyzed more than 2,000 imperial portraits spanning from Augustus to just before Diocletian, covering roughly the first three centuries CE. About 8% of those portraits showed clear signs of reworking. Nero was the most recarved emperor, followed by Caligula and Domitian, all three of whom faced official memory sanctions. When Vespasian came to power, more than half of his surviving portraits had been reworked from earlier statues, mostly those of Nero. Nerva’s portraits were largely recut from Domitian’s images, driven by two urgent pressures: the immediate need for his likeness upon taking power and his death just 16 months later. Ancient Romans also recycled statues to honor good emperors The practice was not always about condemnation. Researchers identified a second motivation they call “translatio memoriae,” the deliberate reuse of a respected emperor’s image for political gain. Claudius recarved from a portrait of Caligula. Credit: Francesca Bologna / CC BY 4.0 Caligula’s portraits, for instance, were frequently reworked into the likeness of Augustus rather than his actual successor, Claudius, reflecting the continued reverence for Rome’s first emperor, particularly in regions like Iberia. The study introduced a classification system ranging from level 3, where sculptors reworked every visible surface of a portrait, down to level 0, where only the base inscription was changed. More than half of surviving recarved portraits fall into level 2, meaning sculptors focused on the most visible parts of the face while leaving the back and sides largely untouched. Reworking became more thorough over time, with the most complete interventions occurring under Nerva and Trajan. Geography drove stark contrasts in portrait reworking rates Geography also shaped the practice significantly. Rome showed exceptionally high recarving rates under the Flavians, reflecting the dynasty’s drive to consolidate power in the capital. Iberia showed consistently high rates through the Adoptive period. Vespasian recarved from a portrait of Nero. Credit: Francesca Bologna / CC BY 4.0 Asia Minor, despite its skilled sculptors and abundant marble, showed very little recarving because producing an entirely new portrait there was faster. North Africa showed equally low rates but for the opposite reason, lacking local marble and sufficient expertise. The study also found that recarved portraits appeared almost exclusively in public spaces. Only a handful of wealthy private villas contained reworked images, suggesting the practice served as a direct and very public expression of loyalty to the ruling emperor. Researchers caution that whether ordinary viewers actually recognized the earlier emperor beneath a reworked face remains an open question, one shaped by social class, location, and the passage of time.

Oil painting depicting the footrace between Hippomenes and Atalanta by Noël Hallé, housed in the Louvre Museum, France. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain The Ancient Greeks used apples as part of a love language that could be expressed in surprisingly inventive ways, including through the fruit itself. Before Valentine’s Day cards or poetry became the dominant expressions of affection, the Greeks had a peculiar and unexpectedly tender ritual of courtship: tossing an apple at someone they desired. Being struck by one or catching it was understood as a declaration of love, while tossing it back signaled acceptance. At first glance, it may sound playful or even a bit absurd. Yet it was a courtship game that moved easily between the gymnasium and the orchard, far beyond a quaint village custom. Beneath the surface, however, it drew on layers of Greek mythology, symbolism, and social meaning that transformed the humble apple into one of the most emotionally charged objects in the Ancient Greek world. Apples as symbolic of Eros among the Ancient Greeks To understand why an apple could carry the weight of a marriage proposal, it is necessary to first grasp what the apple represented to the Greeks. It signified far more than an ordinary piece of fruit. The apple (melon, μήλον) was sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. It was closely associated with fertility, desire, and the transition from girlhood to womanhood. When a young woman received an apple, she was receiving something that belonged to the divine realm of Eros itself. This symbolism of apples appears repeatedly in Ancient Greek literature. In The Idylls of Theocritus, a lovesick shepherd laments that the girl he admires refuses to acknowledge his gift of apples. Sappho, meanwhile, evokes the image of an apple high on a branch—untouched, perfect, and just out of reach—as a metaphor for a bride on her wedding day. Marble statue of Hippomenes by Guillaume Coustou. Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain How did the Ancient Greeks use apples to propose? The practice of using apples as a romantic gesture appears in several ancient sources, including the philosopher Theophrastus and Greek epigram poetry, where throwing an apple (ballein melon) functioned as a gesture of courtship or a subtle advance toward someone. It is important to note that this was not always literal. An apple placed at a woman’s feet or left at her doorway could serve the same purpose, making physical throwing unnecessary. What mattered was not the method but the shared understanding of the symbol itself. In more formal settings, the exchange carried clear social weight. For a suitor to throw an apple to a woman in public was a recognizable declaration of intent, while her act of catching or returning it signaled acceptance. Refusing the apple was equally understood as rejection. There is something strikingly elegant in this system. The Greeks established a form of communication in which both parties could respond without speaking, where a brief moment of motion and choice could determine the beginning of a shared life or its refusal. There were no words, no rings, no “I do” or “I don’t”—only an apple. Atalanta, Paris, and the myth of the Golden Apple The most famous apple-related episode in Greek mythology is also the most dramatic, namely the race of Atalanta. The swift-footed huntress vowed to marry only a man who could outrun her, with death as the consequence for failure. Hippomenes, with the help of Aphrodite, was provided with three golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides. During the race, he rolled them across Atalanta’s path. Unable to resist stopping to pick them up, she fell behind and lost, allowing Hippomenes to win the race and claim her hand. Another pivotal story is the Judgment of Paris in which an apple inscribed “for the fairest” was thrown into a divine banquet by Eris, the goddess of Discord. The ensuing rivalry between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite led Paris to choose Aphrodite’s bribe, Helen of Sparta. This decision ultimately set the Trojan War in motion. A single piece of fruit, and the ancient world was never the same. Together, these myths cemented the apple’s status as the ultimate object of desire in the imagination of the Ancient Greeks—beautiful beyond reason yet dangerous beyond measure. What the apple-tossing tradition, which has long since disappeared, ultimately reveals is that the Greeks understood something the modern world often forgets: objects can carry meaning that words sometimes struggle to convey.

A new Hellenic Court of Audit report finds that 81% of public entities still lack a functioning internal audit system and that oversight contracts worth millions are being awarded without open competition and without justification

The reform, taking effect in September 2026, updates rules on wills, inheritance rights and estate management, marking the first major overhaul of the legal framework in eight decades.

It comes after the Ukrainian capital suffered one of the biggest aerial assaults of the war overnight on Saturday.

The pontiff also warned of a "new digital slaveries" in his first encyclical since becoming Pope last year.

Trump said on Saturday that an agreement would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, without giving further details.

The UK's brewery scene is shrinking as pubs close, costs rise and drinking habits change.

The spiritual and physical challenge is described by pilgrims as a transformative and deeply meaningful journey.

With nearly two million worshippers performing Hajj this year, technology is key to ensuring everything runs smoothly.

At Roland-Garros, Stan Wawrinka bowed out at 41 in an emotional farewell to the French Open, marking the end of a long and celebrated career at the tournament. Iga Swiatek continued her dominant run, while Gaël Monfils is set to play later tonight in what could be his final appearance at the event ahead of retirement. FRANCE 24's James Vasina has the latest.

Pope Leo XIV personally presented his first encyclical at the Vatican, outlining a strong warning about artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity. He argued that AI should be “disarmed,” warning it could deepen global conflicts and dehumanise society, while calling for broader regulation and diverse voices in shaping its development. Joined by Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah, the Pope framed AI as a defining challenge of the modern era, comparable to the Industrial Revolution.