Ten of Greece’s Most Spectacular Monasteries

Kerry Kolasa-Sikiaridi
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Ten of Greece’s Most Spectacular Monasteries
The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron.
The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron. Credit: Dan Lundberg/CC BY-SA 2.0

Greece has many beautiful sights for you to check out while you are visiting the country. One thing you want to be sure to add to your itinerary is visiting some of the ancient, historical Greek monasteries. Here are ten must-see monasteries in Greece.

1. Evangelistria Monastery, Skiathos

The church at the Monastery of Evangelistria.
The church at the Monastery of Evangelistria. Credit: gichristof/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

This historical structure on the Greek island of Skiathos, which was first founded in 1794 by a group of monks from Mount Athos, played a crucial role in the 1821 Revolution which brought independence to Greece. The first-ever Hellenic flag was also made on a loom at this very location.

2. Panagia Spiliani, Nisyros

The Monastery of Panagia Spiliani,
The Monastery of Panagia Spiliani, Nisyros. Credit: Wikipedia/RoyBatty8888/CC-BY-SA-4.0

A monastery built in a cave is what you will find when you visit the Monastery of Panagia Spiliani. It sits at the top of a hill in northwest Mandraki while the largest portion of the monastery is built inside a cave. A truly unique experience, the cave monastery is divided into two churches and is definitely worth a visit.

3. The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron

The Holy Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron. Credit: Prof. Mortel/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Meteora is the second largest monastic and pilgrimage site in Greece after Mount Athos. The towering cliffs were the perfect place for the monks to take refuge from the invading Turkish army around the 11th century.

Here you will find several breathtaking monasteries that still remain some 400 meters (1,312 feet) above the ground, including the most impressive monastery in Greece, and perhaps in the world, the Holy Monastery of Transfiguration of Jesus, better known as Great Meteoron.

4. The Monastery of Agia Triada, Hydra

Monastery of Agia Triada,
Monastery of Agia Triada, Hydra. Credit: etnobofin/CC BY-NC 2.0

Located on Hydra in the hills above Mandraki, the Monastery of Agia Triada (Holy Trinity), is a trekking destination for many who visit the island. The monastery dates back to 1704 when it was founded by the priest Antonios Oikonomou.

5. The Monastery of Agia Triada, Aegina

Agia Triada
The Monastery of Agia Triada, Aegina. Credit: stefanjurca/CC BY 2.0

Many people visit the island of Aegina to see the church of Agios Nektarios and the monastery of Agia Triada which is perched above the church. The church is still under construction, but progress is constantly being made, and you can still visit and see the inside of the grand dome. Walk a short uphill trail to the Monastery of Agia Triada where you can say a prayer in the chapels and buy religious souvenirs as keepsakes.

6. Mega Spileo, Kalavryta

Mega Spileo, Kalavryta.
The Monastery of Mega Spileo, Kalavryta. Credit: Ai@ce/CC BY 2.0

Another breathtaking monastery, Mega Spileo stands eight stories tall and is actually built at the edge of cliffs at a cave opening where it almost appears to become one with the surrounding landscape. Considered to be the oldest monastery in Greece, dating back to 362 AD, it has survived four fires. It played an important role during the Greek War of Independence in 1821 against the Ottomans. The monastery is also home to countless Byzantine icons, frescoes, copper plates, manuscripts, and other unique treasures, such as its library featuring more than 3,000 books.

7. Monastery of Hosios Loukas, Distomo, Boeotia

Hosios Loukas
Monastery of Hosios Loukas. Credit: Wikipedia/Public domain.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine architecture and art. Dating back to the early 10th century, it is built on the slopes of Mount Helicon and was founded by the hermit, Venerable (Greek: Hosios) St. Luke, whose relics are kept in the monastery to this day.

8. Saint John the Theologian, Patmos

Saint John the Theologian
The Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, Patmos. Credi: WIkipedia/Valeria Casali/CC-BY-SA-4.0

One of the most popular destinations on the island of Patmos, the Monastery is situated near the cave where Saint John wrote the Book of Revelation. This UNESCO World Heritage site was founded in 1088 in Chora, Patmos by soldier-priest John Christodoulos, who heavily fortified the exterior of the structure to protect it from threats of piracy and Seljuk Turks.

9. The Arkadi Monastery, Crete

The Arkadi
The Arkadi Monastery, Crete. Credit: Wikipedia/Olaf Tausch/CC-BY-3.0

This monastery, which is located in Rethymno, Crete, has played many important roles on the island over the last eight centuries since it was founded. The monastery has been the center point for everything from producing needlework embroidered with gold during the 17th and 18th centuries to participating in the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

10. Mount Athos Monasteries

Mount Athos.
Greece’s spectacular Mount Athos, one of the most famous places for monasteries in Greece. Credit: WPFDC/CC BY 2.0

This UNESCO World Heritage Site and autonomous polity in the Hellenic Republic is one of the oldest monasteries in the world. Greeks refer to it as the “Holy Mountain.” Women are prohibited from entry to the Mountain, which is comprised of a series of monasteries. The monastery was first founded in the year 963 by the monk Athanasios. There are twenty monasteries in total on Mount Athos. Thousands of monks reside at the monasteries today.

The Greek Orthodox Monk Cruising Through Chicago in a Velomobile

Tasos Kokkinidis
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The Greek Orthodox Monk Cruising Through Chicago in a Velomobile
Greek Orthodox Monk Chicago
A velomobile similar to Father Ephraim’s. Public Domain

A Greek Orthodox monk is cruising through Chicago in a velomobile, a pedal-powered contraption, that looks like a giant green-and-yellow popsicle on wheels.

The sight of Father Ephraim on his recumbent bicycle with a full enclosure, streaking down a bustling Chicago street has heads turning, perhaps expecting a lycra-clad cyclist, but instead a priest with a full-length black cassock and a hand-carved wooden cross dangling from his neck appears.

The contrast of the traditional priest and the green-and-yellow velomobile is inherently funny and unexpected.

Ephraim, 53, who moved to the Northwest Side from a remote community in Alaska last year, says he’s no fan of cars, never owned one. So, not long after arriving in Chicago, wanting to be healthy physically as well as spiritually, he ordered a velomobile from Romania.

“You can’t imagine the expressions on people’s face when they see this because it’s such an outlandish thing to see on the roads,” Ephraim, told the Chicago Sun Times.

Greek Orthodox Monk in Chicago studied mechanical engineering at MIT

Ephraim is from Boston and has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT. “It makes commuting or just doing errands extremely enjoyable. The reaction of children is perhaps the most precious.”

Ephraim is a priest at Saints Athanasios and John Greek Orthodox Church in Old Irving Park. And when he’s out running errands, people will sometimes spot the streamlined tricycle in traffic and wonder whether there’s anyone inside. Some think it’s a drone. The police have stopped him twice, he says, to see if it’s a motorized vehicle, which would require a license plate.

“As soon as I tell them there is no motor, they say, ‘Oh, OK, then just be careful,’ ” Ephraim told the Chicago paper.

He’s accustomed to drivers, pedestrians and other cyclists peppering him with questions. They’ll notice his eyes staring back at them through the narrow plexiglass windshield. If they’re persistent and polite, he’ll open the hood, unfold his 5-foot-9-inch frame and step out.

In Alaska, Ephraim says he’d paddle five miles by kayak from the convent on the 50-acre St. Nilus Island to the much larger Kodiak Island.

“I was actually able to go right up to a group of finback whales and reach out and touch one of them,” he says.

“Even though there is no heating in it, you generate so much heat just by pedaling, you have to keep the vents open to keep the fresh air coming to keep you cool,” he told the Chicago Sun Times.

His machine isn’t for everyone, he says. When you’re inside its carbon-fiber shell, with only a tiny window to see out, he says it’s like you’re inside a tiny submarine.

Ephraim says he’s ridden it as far as Wisconsin and back, hitting a top speed of 37 miles an hour on Green Bay Road. “Of course, it took me 2 1/2 hours to get there,” he says.

He’s never been in an accident, but, because he’s so low to the ground, he says he has to stay vigilant for drivers who might not spot him.

One of them, Mary Paganis, says when he got to her home for lunch and she saw the vehicle for the first time, she told him: “What in the world is that?”

But Ephraim says most of his congregants don’t view the orthodox priest’s choice of transportation as particularly … unorthodox. And he wouldn’t mind if they did.

“It is important to take into consideration what people think of you…but not to be enslaved to that,” told the Chicago Sun Times.

Search for Alexander the Great’s Tomb in a Bizarre Tale of Intrigue

Tasos Kokkinidis
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Search for Alexander the Great’s Tomb in a Bizarre Tale of Intrigue
Alexander the Great's Tomb
Fabricated photo of Alexandrer’s tomb shows plenty of gold. Public Domain

For over 2,300 years, researchers and historians have been trying to locate Alexander the Great’s Tomb, which remains one of the world’s greatest mysteries even to this day.

A recent effort to find it has become an acclaimed documentary that was screened at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

The Alexander Complex unravels a bizarre tale of intrigue, politics, and money as an international group of “gentlemanly explorers,’” all with pseudonyms to protect their identities, come together to solve the mystery of the missing tomb of Alexander the Great.

More than a decade ago, a former Algerian soldier, named “Baghdad Djilali Daifallah” and code-named The Inventor, who practiced amateur archaeology, claimed to have found Alexander’s tomb in Jordan and claimed it is filled with thousands of tons of gold and precious jewels.

Daif Allah showed incredible pictures of a mountainous area in Jordan, and an entrance to a cave, leading to chambers full of gold, during a press conference in 2013.

Sitting with the find of the millennium, the man sets in motion a project that has all the elements of a movie thriller and a desert quest.

Telling only one person, a well-connected investor, the two men bring on board a crew of academics, scientists, diplomats, and international businessmen in a hunt that involves royal families, the military, and several costly archaeological expeditions.

Alexander the Great's Tomb
Fabricated photo of Alexander’s tomb. Public Domain

Location of Alexander the Great’s tomb still a mystery

They hire French cinematographer Neasa Ní Chianaín and crew and send them to Jordan to uncover Alexander the Great’s tomb. Over the past few years, the team has made two attempts to locate the tomb to no avail.

Despite an enthusiastic start, the expedition was prohibitively expensive and had to be called off. Daifallah insisted they continue claiming there is a very small entrance opening to enter the tomb and persistence was needed to find it. However, the group now felt that it was dealing with an impostor.

The investor who believed in Daif Allah, as well as director Neasa Ní Chianaín, who made the documentary, were in Thessaloniki, Greece for the screening and talked to the audience.

They were asked about the photos presented by the Algerian. “They were fabricated. What led us astray were the inscriptions in Greek, which we even showed to experts in Greece to decipher them for us, but they failed,” said the investor.

The audience asked the director what she thought of the mission. “In my crew, we were divided. Some think we’ve missed the entrance slot to the tomb. Most say that the Algerian is simply a fraud. I think he may believe his story,” Neasa Ní Chianaín said.

Related: Alexander the Great’s Tomb: One of History’s Greatest Mysteries

Road Built 7,000 Years Ago Found at Bottom of Mediterranean Sea

Abdul Moeed
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Road Built 7,000 Years Ago Found at Bottom of Mediterranean Sea
Road Built 7000 Years Ago Found
Archaeologists from the University of Zadar have found a road built 7000 years ago under the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Credit: University of Zadar

A 7,000-year-old road that may have connected an ancient Hvar culture settlement to the now-isolated island of Korčula has been discovered recently by archaeologists off the southern Croatian coast. The remnants of this road were found at the sunken Neolithic site of Soline, buried under layers of sea mud.

The ancient site of Soline was once an artificial island and was only recently discovered in 2021 by archaeologist Mate Parica of the University of Zadar in Croatia.

Parica was studying satellite images of the water area around Korčula when he saw something that appeared to be man-made on the ocean floor. Together with a colleague, he dove to investigate and uncovered this exciting find.

The archaeologists also discovered stone walls, which could have been a part of an old village or town. The walls were found at a depth of 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) below the surface of the sea. The place where these walls were built was cut off from the rest of the island by a small strip of land.

Archaeologist Mate Parica from the University of Zadar in Croatia mentioned in an interview with Reuters in 2021 that this area is protected from big waves because of the islands that surround it. This has helped in keeping the site safe from natural harm and, thus, preserving it.

7,000-year-old road on the bottom of Mediterranean sea connected the islands

The 7,000-year-old road is about 4 meters (13 feet) wide and is made of stacked stone slabs. It is covered in mud, which is not surprising given its location.

The road was likely built by the Neolithic Hvar people, who once lived in the eastern Adriatic, according to archaeologists.

This race is also believed to have built the submerged Soline settlement, which was connected to the islands by the road. The settlement is estimated to date back to about 4,900 BCE based on radiocarbon analysis of preserved wood.

The University of Zadar, which was involved in the discovery, said in a statement on Facebook that people walked on this road almost 7,000 years ago.

The discovery was the result of collaboration among experts from several museums and the University of Zadar, along with the help of photographers and divers.

Discovery of a new underwater settlement

The same research team found another underwater settlement on the other side of the island that is similar to Soline and contains some Stone Age artifacts.

Archaeologist Igor Borzić of the University of Zadar noticed interesting structures under the bay’s waters, leading the team to explore the Soline site.

To their surprise, they discovered an almost identical settlement submerged at a depth of 4 to 5 meters, which also contained Neolithic artifacts like stone axes and fragments of sacrifice.

Could Claude 3 Challenge ChatGPT in the AI Technology Race?

Nick Kampouris
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Could Claude 3 Challenge ChatGPT in the AI Technology Race?
AI assistant
Claude 3, a new AI assistant, could threaten ChatGPT’s place at the top of the AI race. Credit: DALLE for the Greek Reporter

In the rapidly changing and evolving world of artificial intelligence (AI), a new contender has emerged recently to challenge the dominance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4. The overall reviews of the AI community so far show that OpenAI is not as dominant as we thought it would be.

With the release of Claude 3 less than a month ago, AI research company Anthropic made a profoundly bold statement. They may have just created the ChatGPT killer we’ve been waiting for.

As these two groundbreaking AI models push the boundaries of what’s possible in this fascinating world of endless possibilities and promising prospects, it’s time to take a closer look at how Claude 3 stacks up against the reigning champ we all know and that millions of people use to save time and effort in everyday tasks.

Comparing ChatGPT 4 and Claude 3: An overview

Claude 3 is the latest offering from Anthropic. Anthropic might not be very well known to the wider public, but it is a well-established AI research company that has been known for its focus on AI safety and ethics. One might ask: What sets Claude 3 apart? The first thing that comes to mind is its family of three distinct models: Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus. Each model is designed to cater to as well as deliver results to people with specific capabilities and needs—from speed and cost-efficiency to unmatched analytical capabilities that can blow your mind and leave you wondering what the limit of these machine learning chatbots is.

On the other hand, the well-established ChatGPT 4 has been released for over a year now. It was the much-anticipated upgrade to OpenAI’s widely popular ChatGPT 3 and 3.5 versions. This latest iteration boasted major and significant advancements over its predecessors, including improved reasoning abilities, enhanced language comprehension, and the ability to effectively process both text and images through DALL-E.

ChatGPT 4 vs Claude 3: Benchmarks and capabilities analysis

When it comes to performance—as this is measured on standardized tests conducted by experts in the field—both Claude 3 and ChatGPT 4 showcase impressive results. Claude 3 Opus, the most advanced model in the family of Claude 3, which is available with a monthly subscription, achieves a remarkable 50.4 percent accuracy on graduate-level expert reasoning tasks (GPQA), surpassing GPT-4’s 35.7 percent. In basic mathematical tests, Opus scores 95 percent, which is slightly higher than GPT-4’s 92 percent.

One key difference between these two competitive models lies in their context window sizes. Claude 3 models can now process up to a stunning 200,000 tokens, equivalent to around 150,000 words or an impressive 500 pages. This allows Claude to analyze extremely lengthy documents with remarkable ease, something that the best academic on this planet would be jealous of. In contrast, GPT-4 has a smaller context window of “only” (so to say) 32,000 tokens.

Both models, however, showcase exceptionally advanced reasoning and language comprehension skills. ChatGPT 4, however, still has an edge when it comes to multimodal capabilities, as it can process both text and images. Claude 3, while genuinely excelling in visual data interpretation, currently focuses primarily on text-based interactions.

How ChatGPT 4 and Claude 3 are transforming various sectors

As is expected, the potential uses and applications of Claude 3 and ChatGPT 4 are relevant to an impressively wide spectrum of industries and fields. In healthcare, for example, these particular AI models can provide useful guidance and assist in analyzing medical literature to produce informed decisions. This is a fundamentally crucial element, as it can profoundly help in clinical decision-making and even assist with disease surveillance of patients.

The financial sector can also very well use such capabilities for tasks like data analysis, risk assessment, and fraud detection. These are tasks that used to require many labor hours. If these models take over such tasks, thousands of employees will be freed to do other, more important tasks that require a human eye.

Education is another crucial area where these advanced AI models can make a significant impact with real-life effects on students and educators alike. They can provide personalized learning experiences, assist in marking and grading assignments, and offer instant feedback to students so that they can reflect on their work, freeing up thousands of hours for teachers to deal with more important aspects of their profession.

As these models continue to change, they have the potential to become integral team members across various sectors, including those mentioned above, boosting efficiency and improving results across the spectrum.

The battle for AI supremacy: Claude 3 vs ChatGPT 4

The recent release of Claude 3, along with the established position of ChatGPT 4, in the market of many countries across the world is a significant milestone in our slow but steady journey towards artificial general intelligence (AGI). As these models continue to grow and evolve, we can expect many advancements in their already impressive reasoning abilities, as well as their contextual understanding and multimodal processing. These are elements that will profoundly change many sectors of our economy in the coming years and decades.

The societal and technological implications of such advanced AI models are undoubtedly going to be profound. They have the potential to revolutionize entire industries, transform the way we work, speak, and learn, and even shape the future of scientific research and academia. These are obviously not minor changes. On the contrary, such developments can fundamentally alter our everyday routines in a similar way as did the introduction of the internet a few decades ago.

Could Claude 3 Challenge ChatGPT?

As we have already seen, Claude 3 and ChatGPT 4 are both remarkable achievements in the field of AI. However, they have not yet been fully adopted by the wider masses of our industries. Both iterations of this technological marvel are genuinely pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with language models, promising a future full of possibilities as well as fundamental and profound changes.

While Claude 3 boasts several impressive advantages over its competitors in various fields, such as its versatile family of models, superior performance on certain benchmarks, and a strong focus on AI safety and ethics, it is not quite accurate to label it a “ChatGPT 4 killer.”

ChatGPT 4 continues to maintain an edge in certain crucial aspects, such as its ability to process both text and images. Additionally, it has had significantly more time to establish itself in the market, hence its dominant position right now. To put it in simple terms, think about how many people know ChatGPT and how many have even heard of Claude. The answer is outstandingly in favor of OpenAI’s model.

Nonetheless, the rapid advancements and unique strengths we see on behalf of Anthropic’s Claude 3 allow us to say it is a formidable competitor that could potentially challenge ChatGPT 4’s dominance in the near future.

As the AI landscape continues to evolve day by day, it is very likely that we’ll see a much more dynamic and complicated relationship being established between these two models as well as others that emerge. Each of them will clearly push the others to new heights and, hopefully, they will all offer humanity a better, more promising future.

Rather than a single “killer” model, the future of AI will most likely be shaped by a much more diverse ecosystem of exceptionally advanced models, each with its own strengths and specialisms, forming a new field of multiple expertise.

Ultimately, the real winners in this AI revolution will hopefully be the users and industries that will be able to harness the groundbreaking and transformative potential of these cutting-edge technologies that are helping our societies drive innovation and solve time-consuming problems.

Related: Amazon Announces Major Investment to Anthropic AI

Canadian Police Make Arrests Linked to Country’s Biggest Ever Gold Heist

Abdul Moeed
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Canadian Police Make Arrests Linked to Country’s Biggest Ever Gold Heist
Toronto Gold Heist
Canadian authorities have detained suspects they believe are linked to the biggest-ever gold heist in Canadian history. Credit: Stevebidmead / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

In Canada, police arrested several people and issued nine warrants in connection with the biggest gold theft ever in the country. The theft occurred at the Toronto Pearson Airport in April 2023.

The stolen items included over 6,500 gold bars, valued at C$20 million (about $14.5 million in US dollars or £11.6 million in British pounds), along with millions in cash.

The individual believed to be the driver during the theft was arrested in the United States. Police found him carrying numerous guns, which they believe were intended for use in Canada.

The police’s description of the event resembled popular heist movies and TV shows. They said a group of criminals pulled off the theft with good planning and organization. The investigation is ongoing.

The sixth largest in the world

On Wednesday, Canadian Peel Regional Police and the US Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau made an announcement, exactly one year after the huge gold theft. This theft is said to be the sixth largest in the world.

The investigation, known as Project 24K, has been ongoing for over a year. It involved a high number of search warrants and interviews.

So far, police have found C$90,000 worth of “pure gold” made into six bracelets. They also discovered smelting pots, casts, and molds. Also contained was C$430,000 in cash, which the authorities believe came from selling the gold.

In September, police in Pennsylvania arrested a man from Ontario who they say was in the US illegally. They claim he was the driver for the gang.

The man’s name is Durante King-McClean, and he’s 25 years old. Police stopped him in Philadelphia due to a traffic violation and found firearms in his car.

Firearms intended for import in Canada

Eric Degree, a special agent of the ATF in Philadelphia, mentioned, “One of those firearms had an obliterated serial number, 11 of them were stolen, and two of them were converted into fully automatic machine guns.”

As per police, these guns were meant to be brought into Canada. Nando Iannicca, chair of the Peel Police Services Board, commented, “This isn’t just about a gold heist, [but] this is about how gold becomes guns.”

Police emphasized that the guns seized in the US pose a threat to people’s safety in Canada. The man is still in custody in the US, facing charges related to trafficking firearms.

Five additional suspects were taken into custody, two of whom worked for the airline responsible for transporting the stolen goods. They have been released on bail and are scheduled to appear in court later.

Meanwhile, three arrest warrants have been issued for other individuals in Canada. The gold heist occurred on April 17, 2023, within a cargo facility following the arrival of goods on an Air Canada flight from Zurich, Switzerland.

Police claim an unidentified person gained access to the goods by presenting a fake airway bill, a document typically used to accompany shipped items.

Athens Set to Receive Major Upgrade Projects

Matthew Norman
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Athens Set to Receive Major Upgrade Projects
Agreement reached over upgrade projects set to take place in Athens.
Agreement reached over upgrade projects set to take place in Athens. Credit: Titanas. CC BY 2.0/flickr

Governor of the Attica Region Nikos Hardalias and Athens Mayor Haris Doukas have agreed to move forward with 40 upgrade projects in the Greek capital expected to cost around 101 million euros.

The two officials met earlier this week to discuss the redevelopment of Athens as part of concerted efforts to improve the standard of living in Greece’s capital city.

Hardalias said the Attica region is set to allocate the funds from the “Attica 2021-2027” scheme and agreed with Doukas to create a joint working committee that would coordinate and oversee the projects.

Hardalis claims they are resolved on improving the appearance of the capital and stated that the aim of the planned projects is to modernize the infrastructure of Athens and in turn bolster its competitiveness and social cohesion. The city’s cultural heritage will also be showcased.

The goal is to create a city that offers opportunities to all, promotes economic growth, and sustainability, and improves the quality of life, claimed Hardalias. Doukas added the projects will focus on promoting social cohesion, supporting the city’s vulnerable groups, and making Athens more resilient.

What are the upgrade projects in Athens?

Some of the redevelopment work includes repairing sidewalks and pedestrian walkways and redeveloping Athens’ Ermou shopping district from Syntagma Square to Aiolou Street. Electric vehicle charging stations will also be installed. Moreover, a network of bike paths and green routes will be created, and the energy upgrade of city buildings will be encouraged.

Further upgrades include redeveloping the National Garden, showcasing Plato’s Academy, and creating targeted health services for the city’s vulnerable groups. Doukas claimed the pair is committed to advancing the works as quickly as possible, as the projects are of critical importance.

Other development taking place

Athens, specifically the coastal suburb of Elliniko, is also undergoing development at present. It is the largest urban project in Europe and construction is being undertaken by Lamda Development. This the subject of a progress presentation just days before the end of 2023.

When the first phase of construction of the Ellinikon development is completed in 2026, the site of the former Athens airport will be entirely different. While the Eero Saarinen-designed East Terminal will remain in place, abandoned hangars and runways will be replaced by a multiuse development, touted as a smart city, double the size of New York’s Central Park.

Within three years, the 650-acre site will feature: around 10,000 upmarket beachfront homes and apartments, a Mandarin Oriental hotel, one of southern Europe’s biggest shopping malls, a marina for mega-yachts, a Hard Rock casino, a state-of-the-art sports complex, a private school, cultural and entertainment centers, a sprawling beach, and a two-million-square-meter green space billed to be the largest coastal park in Europe. These will overlook the waters of the Saronic Gulf.

Greek Student Team Wins JA International Entrepreneurship Award

Matthew Norman
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Greek Student Team Wins JA International Entrepreneurship Award
University of Macedonia, where the Greek student team is affiliated.
A Greek team from the University of Macedonia (pictured above) has won a prestigious entrepreneurship award. Credit: University of Macedonia-uom.gr. CC BY 2.0/flickr

With their creation of a 3D-printed puzzle game offering medical and education applications, named Wizzle, a Greek student company from Thessaloniki, northern Greece, has brought home the top prize in JA’s international competition for young entrepreneurs.

The team, Isometricks, linked with the Experimental Senior High School of the University of Macedonia, won the de La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award, the highest accolade within the JA company program, along with a cash prize of $15,000.

The Greek team, Isometricks, who won JA's international entrepreneurship competition.
The Greek team, Isometricks, which won JA’s international entrepreneurship competition. Credit: JA Worldwide Instagram

The Greek team, which represented Europe in the competition and was comprised of Korina Malasidi, John Terpsiadis, Fay Katsanou, Marina Giakoumoglou and Nikolas Sivvas, came out victorious over competing teams from JA Ghana (AID Electronics), JA Argentina (MANIK), Prestasi Junior Indonesia (SIEVASCO), INJAZ Oman (Warif) and JA Southeastern Pennsylvania (Youthful Thinkers).

Wizzle, the Greek team’s entry in the JA Competition

The company’s main product, Wizzle, a linguistic amalgamation of ‘wizard and puzzle,’ is an open-ended game that encourages creativity and critical thinking. It comprises mathematical elements with broad educational and medical utility. The assortment of colorful tiles is based on mathematical principles and is pieced together using mosaic logic, offering limitless pathways for creativity.

In its non-digital, touch-based capacity, Wizzle offers a valuable educational resource for both teachers and students, facilitating inclusive learning environments for people with dyslexia and refugee students wrestling with language barriers. Further, Wizzle is a promising non-pharmaceutical intervention for people of all ages who may have mild cognitive disabilities.

Isometricks was founded in October 2022 by 16 high school seniors. Taking part in the JA Company Program through JA Greece, the team went on to secure the JA Europe Company of the Year award at the regional Gen-E festival in July 2023.

The JA Worldwide website states: “As one of the world’s largest and most-impactful youth-serving non-profits, JA delivers hands-on, immersive learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial health. Delivering more than 15 million student experiences each year in over 100 countries, JA Worldwide is one of few organizations with the scale, experience, and passion to build a brighter future for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders.”

It continues: “The impact of our real-world training extends beyond individual students. For over 100 years, JA has operated all over the world—including in refugee camps, countries wracked by war and violence, and areas of extreme poverty. By helping youth develop the employment and entrepreneurial tools to find meaningful work and start sustainable companies, JA serves as a conduit for peace and prosperity. Through JA, young people are equipped with the skillset and mindset to build thriving communities.”

US Army Ships Headed to Gaza Arrive to Crete

Matthew Norman
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US Army Ships Headed to Gaza Arrive to Crete
SP/4 James A. Loux (LSV-6)
The US Army has dispatched ships to Gaza via Crete. Credit: Maj. Randall Stillinger / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

US Army ships headed to the Gaza Strip to construct a temporary pier, or floating dock, as part of heightened efforts by US-Israeli cooperation to increase humanitarian aid to the region, have arrived to their port of Crete.

The ships departed from Fort Eustis on the James River on March 12th to begin their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to Gaza. This was after a stampede there in March close to a convoy of food trucks resulted in around 100 deaths.

Today, on April 17th, Israel has opened a new northern crossing to Gaza with more trucks passing into the Hamas-run enclave and the humanitarian situation reportedly improving.

US Army ships now moored at port of Crete

The convoy of ships now at the port of Crete includes five US Army vessels, the USAV James A. Loux (LSV-6), USAV Montorrey (LCU-2030), USAV Matamoros (LCU-2026), and the USAV General Frank S. Besson Jr. (LSV-1) as well as the USAV Wilson Wharf (LCU-2011).

The armada traveled down the Chesapeake Bay and then went south along the coast of the Carolinas into the open sea, passing Bermuda to arrive off the coast of Spain and Africa.

The ships are part of the US Army’s 7th Transportation Brigade of the 18th Airborne Corps. In March, US Central Command commented that the ships “from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to establish a roll-on, roll-off dock capability that allows the ship to shore humanitarian assistance to Gaza. SP4 James A. Loux, Monterrey, Matamoros, and Wilson Wharf are carrying equipment and supplies needed to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies.”

According to the Vessel Finder website, four of the ships are moored at Crete’s Souda Bay, with the USAV Wilson Wharf stationed at the Canary Islands at a port near Tenerife. It’s unclear why it is behind the others or if it was dispatched for a different mission.

The naval base of Crete includes the US Naval Support Activity (NSA) at Souda Bay, which is near the Hellenic Air Force Base close to the village of Mouzouras. According to Military.com, this site “occupies an area of approximately 110 acres on the north side of the air base, which is home to the Hellenic Air Force’s 115th Combat Wing flying F-16 aircraft.”

Chania, Crete.
 Chania, Crete. Credit: szeke. CC BY 2.0/flickr

According to the site: “They are physically located on the large, circular-shaped Akrotiri Peninsula, which forms the northern face of Souda Harbor.” This is “an operational ashore installation which enables and supports US, Allied, Coalition, and Partner nation forces to preserve security and stability in the European, African, and Central Command areas of responsibility.”

The naval base of Crete houses facilities for the Hellenic Navy and NATO. It is the second-largest base of the Hellenic Navy and one of the key NATO bases in the eastern Mediterranean. The area is close to the beautiful city of Chania, which plays host to a 14th-century Venetian harbor.

It is unclear how long US vessels will stay moored at the Crete port. Moreover, it remains uncertain whether the temporary floating dock or pier is still necessary in Gaza. However, the journey of the US convoy has been an important logistical trial to see how these ships can cross oceans and deliver essential capabilities to a zone inflicted by a humanitarian crisis. If the ships do arrive in Gaza, it will provide much-needed training real-time crises.

Rare Footage of Whales Exploding From Inside Out

Tasos Kokkinidis
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Rare Footage of Whales Exploding From Inside Out
exploding whales
There have been other cases of whale explosions reported around the world, including in Canada, South Africa, Iceland, Australia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. Public Domain

Rare cases of whales exploding from the inside out have been captured in terrifying videos in recent years. Dead whales are not just a smelly nuisance but a threat to life and limb due to their known propensity to explode with force.

In 2021, a dead whale on the California coast near Tomales Bay was filmed right before it exploded.

Warning: Graphic Video

As the blood circulation and respiration stop in a dead whale, it leads to the decomposition of cells and tissues by the microbes already present in the body, which leads to the further proliferation of bacteria.

This process produces pungent gases like methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, increasing the pressure inside the carcass, which in turn leads to the cadaver swelling up, like a massive dead balloon.

Under normal circumstances, these gases would make their way out through the orifices, such as the mouth or anus. However, it is believed that the whale’s body weight seals all the orifices, leaving no way for the gases to escape.

Exploding whales is a rare occurrence, but it has been documented several times. In 2013, an unlucky biologist was filmed trying to cut open a whale carcass when it exploded all over him.

The sperm whale was one of two that died after being beached on the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, captured on camera by the Faroese Broadcasting Corporation.

Warning: Graphic Video

In 2004, a sperm whale that had washed ashore in Taiwan exploded while it was being transported for a post-mortem examination. The explosion sent a 10-foot (3-meter) wide column of blubber and flesh into the air, injuring several bystanders.

Several cases reported of exploding whales

There have been other cases of whale explosions reported around the world, including in Canada, South Africa, Iceland, Australia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. In some cases, the explosions have been caused by natural factors such as the decomposition of the whale’s body. In other cases, the explosions have been caused by human interference, such as attempts to move the whale’s carcass or puncture its skin.

A widely reported case of an exploding whale occurred in Florence, Oregon in November 1970, when the Oregon Highway Division (now the Oregon Department of Transportation) blew up a decaying sperm whale with dynamite in an attempt to dispose of its rotting carcass. The explosion threw whale flesh around 800 feet (240 meters) away, and its odor lingered for some time.

Warning: Graphic Video

Exploding whales are relatively rare, but they have been known to happen, especially in areas with warm climates where decomposition occurs more rapidly. In some cases, the explosion has been powerful enough to send whale guts flying over long distances.

Scientists say a major factor that causes a dead whale to explode is its size. Larger whales are more likely to explode, as they have more flesh and blubber to decompose and produce gas.

Temperature is also a significant factor as warmer temperatures accelerate decomposition, which can increase the risk of a whale exploding.

Whales that get beached or are stranded in shallow water are more likely to explode, as they are more susceptible to decomposition by bacteria.

The best advice if you encounter a dead whale on a beach or out in the sea is to stay away from it and contact authorities immediately.

Related: Why is Ambergris or ‘Floating Gold’ Produced by Whales so Expensive?

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