Russia has launched a large-scale disinformation campaign attempting to justify mass strikes on Kyiv's civilian and cultural objects, the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation (CPD) has announced. Russian sources are using a classic scenario by attempting to disguise outright terror against civilians as "strikes on military targets" or shifting blame to Ukraine itself, the CPD said.

The disinformation campaign follows a pattern Ukrainian authorities have documented after previous Russian strikes on cultural and civilian targets. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site dating back to 1051, is protected under the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the Geneva Convention Additional Protocol I, Article 53.

Russian information operations following strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets have followed predictable patterns since 2022.

Five Russian disinformation tactics CPD identified

The CPD documented five specific Russian disinformation tactics deployed after the Kyiv strikes.

1. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra fire is called "Ukrainian provocation" or "self-arson."
2. Russian conspiracy theories blame Ukrainian authorities for the strike on the Higher Anti-Corruption Court building.
3. The Dovzhenko Film Studio is declared a "legitimate military target" by Russian propaganda because it is allegedly a "propaganda nest."
4. False allegations claim Kyiv has weapons-production workshops disguised as civilian buildings — in Russian propagandists' framing, every Kyiv building is a "military object."
5. And "Ukrainian air defense" is blamed for damage to civilian buildings, a standard Russian deflection tactic.

CPD's framing: Russia carries full responsibility

All responsibility for the death and injury of peaceful Kyiv residents, destruction of historical and civilian buildings lies exclusively with Russia, and it must be punished for this, the Center says. 

"No manipulation, conspiracy theories, or attempts to grant civilian objects 'military status' will help the aggressor conceal another war crime," the CPD said in its statement.

The CPD's position represents the Ukrainian government's position. 

Broader pattern: two documented Russian disinformation campaigns after cultural site strikes

Russian disinformation following strikes on Ukrainian cultural sites has followed predictable patterns since 2022. Two documented precedent cases illustrate the same tactics now being deployed against Kyiv.

After the 16 March 2022 Russian airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater. Russia denied conducting the strike and claimed that Ukrainian soldiers had blown up the building themselves. An Associated Press investigation found that approximately 600 people died in the bombing, which makes it the deadliest single known attack on civilians in the war.

Amnesty International later concluded that the strike was a "clear war crime" conducted by two 500-kg bombs dropped from Russian fighter jets, ruling out alternative explanations.

After the 23 July 2023 Russian missile strike on the Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral, located within the UNESCO-protected historic center of Odesa, Russia's Defense Ministry denied targeting the cathedral and claimed the damage was caused by "the fall of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft guided missile," per Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 

UNESCO condemned the strike as an "escalation of violence against the cultural heritage of Ukraine." The cathedral's assistant rector, Father Myroslav, confirmed a "direct hit to the cathedral" with three altars destroyed.

The pattern across the Mariupol Theater, Odesa Cathedral, and now Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra cases is consistent: Russia denies conducting the strike and attributes damage to Ukrainian air defense or self-inflicted destruction. 

A Agência de Geologia e Energia (AGE) já tem os nomes da comissão instaladora.

Nuno Matias (na foto, quadro da Entidade Nacional para o Setor Energético (ENSE), onde liderava a Unidade de Reservas Petrolíferas) vai liderar a agência no período de transição.

A AGE resulta da fusão da Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia, do Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, da Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro e da EDMI – Empresa de Projetos Imobiliários, integrando ainda atribuições da Entidade Gestora de Reservas Estratégicas de Portugal.

A comissão instaladora vai ter como vice-presidente Antonieta Loureiro. Integram ainda a comissão Miguel Águas, Ana Olim e Margarida Pisco, enquanto vogais.

Numa das entidades que vai ser integrada na AGE, a Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia (DGEG) conta com novo diretor-geral para substituir Paulo Carmona que foi liderar a Infraestruturas de Portugal: Alexandre Santos que ocupava o cargo de sub-diretor-geral desde outubro de 2025. Para o cargo de sub-diretora geral, Liliana dos Santos assume o cargo. Ambos foram designados em regime de substituição.

Moscow's forces have looted over 7.8 million artifacts from museums in occupied territory since 2014, Ukraine's chief legal authority reported on 15 June.

The figure surfaced as Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko condemned an overnight missile strike on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. He placed the attack within what he called a deliberate state campaign to erase the country's identity. Kravchenko spoke hours after a combined Russian barrage set fire to the monastery's Dormition Cathedral. The cathedral is one of the most revered sites in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Founded in 1051, the complex sits under UNESCO World Heritage protection. Moreover, it falls under the enhanced-safeguard mechanism of the 1954 Hague Convention.

A strike the prosecutor frames as cultural warfare

The Lavra hit belongs in the same category as earlier attacks on national symbols, Kravchenko argued. He grouped it with strikes on the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa and the Hryhorii Skovoroda museum in Kharkiv Oblast. The list also named the Ivankiv museum holding works by folk artist Maria Prymachenko. It extended to the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio in Kyiv and the Organ and Chamber Music House in Dnipro.

"This is the deliberate policy of an aggressor state — to destroy what shapes Ukrainian identity," his office said.

Almost 2,000 sites damaged, more than 100 under UNESCO's umbrella

Russian forces have damaged or destroyed close to 2,000 elements of Ukrainian cultural heritage, Kravchenko stated. The count runs from the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. More than 100 of them carry UNESCO designation, he added.

That national tally runs well above the figure the UN body verifies on its own. UNESCO confirmed damage to 536 cultural sites as of 10 June 2026. That narrower count reflects stricter cross-checking against satellite imagery and on-site inspection. The gap reflects method, not contradiction. Ukrainian authorities log every culture-related facility affected in any way, while UNESCO applies a tighter definition of cultural property.

Dovzhenko studio loses Ukraine's largest costume archive

Investigators recovered missile fragments at the Dovzhenko film studio after the overnight assault, the prosecutor general reported. The strike leveled a two-story costume storehouse. It also damaged an annex to the sound stages, plus administrative and production buildings. No deaths or injuries occurred at the site.

Studio chief Andrii Donchyk told the "Snidanok z 1+1" program that the archive was the country's oldest. Roughly 100,000 costumes and about three million items of clothing had been stored there. How many survived the fire remained unclear.

Looting across occupied territory

Beyond physical damage, Kravchenko detailed a vast removal of movable Ukrainian cultural heritage. Russian forces seized or appropriated more than 7.8 million heritage objects from occupied-area museums between 2014 and 2026, he said. Furthermore, the true scale could be higher, because access to many collections remains blocked.

Prosecutors have opened more than 240 criminal cases and named 15 suspects so far.

"Crimes against cultural heritage are also war crimes. They carry no statute of limitations," Kravchenko said.

A countrywide barrage centered on Kyiv

The air force reported that Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones overnight on 15 June. Kyiv was the main axis of attack. Missiles also struck Dnipro and Kharkiv. Air defenses neutralized 632 incoming threats — 50 missiles and 582 drones. Nevertheless, 20 ballistic missiles and 27 attack drones hit 42 locations, while debris fell at 12 more.

In Kyiv, the strike killed five people and wounded 35, including two children, city authorities said. Fires broke out across nearly every district. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later put the nationwide toll at 11 killed and 53 injured.

Moscow's denial and a pledge to escalate

Russia's defense ministry claimed the barrage targeted "defense-industrial complex" facilities in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv. In addition, it repeated Moscow's standard line that its military avoids deliberate strikes on civilian infrastructure. The latest assault on Ukrainian cultural heritage and residential districts followed a 12 June statement by Vladimir Putin. He had said Russia would intensify its strikes on Ukraine.

The Standard of Living by James Graham traces economist’s influence on British politics and culture

After exploring the rise of Rupert Murdoch and the emergence of Gareth Southgate’s England team, James Graham has turned his attention to one of the most important political figures of the 20th century: John Maynard Keynes.

His new play, The Standard of Living, directed by Nicholas Hytner and opening at the Haymarket in September, focuses on Keynes’s life from 1917 until his death in 1946 – a period in which he became the founding father of macroeconomics and reshaped government thinking on finance and the role of the arts.

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© Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

© Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

© Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

Encerrou em grande a edição de todas as lendas

Super divertida, tórrida, inovadora, nutrida, exigente, casamenteira, descobridora, desafiante, gulosa e atrevida. Assim foi a 28.ª edição do Portugal de Lés-a-Lés, essa aventura que, todos os anos, leva centenas a descobrir um País fabuloso para o mototurismo. Claro que muitos mais adjetivos poderiam ser utlizados, mas esses guardam-nos, na alma e no coração, todos e cada um dos participantes que percorram mais de 1100 quilómetros entre Faro e Vizela, parando em 18 Oásis e noutros tantos locais em busca de um alicate que assinalasse na tarjeta o cumprimento integral de um percurso soberbamente apresentado nas 67 páginas de um ‘road-book’ que é uma obra de arte.

Números que, no entanto, são insuficientes para espelhar a real dimensão da maior aventura mototurística da Europa, colocada na estrada por uma grande equipa, e que, nesta ‘colheita vintage’ de 2026 garantiu enorme animação do primeiro quilómetro ao último metro. Sempre com muito calor, que nem a ameaça de chuva e algumas pingas na última etapa amenizaram, ajudando a tornar cada paragem parte integrante (ainda mais!) de uma descoberta que deixou portugueses e estrangeiros de sorriso rasgado na chegada ao palanque final. Uma festa enorme para encerrar um festival de curvas e gargalhadas, de surpresas gastronómicas e até inusitadas cerimónias que não estavam no programa do evento organizado pela Federação de Motociclismo de Portugal.

No festival mototuristico entre as cidades termais de São Pedro do Sul e Vizela, foram 320 quilómetros de um trajeto abrangente, através das Terras do Demo de Aquilino Ribeiro, das paisagens únicas do Douro Vinhateiro, das explorações auríferas nas minas de Jales e da agreste ruralidade de Terras de Basto.
Segundo o horário ideal previsto, eram 11 horas e 20 minutos de absoluto envolvimento turístico num dia excelente para a prática da modalidade, que começou mais fresco do que os anteriores, para uma primeira paragem em Castro Daire que tão bem recebe os motociclistas. Não apenas no Lés-a-Lés mas ao longo de todo o ano, tornando-se uma das paragens icónicas da N2.

Enquanto muitos reforçavam o pequeno-almoço madrugador com uma fatia do famoso Bolo Podre, outros conseguiram apreciar um dos primeiros Austin Ten, modelo de 1933, que o senhor Evaristo utiliza de forma regular para mostrar aos estrangeiros toda a potencialidade turística da região, em animados passeios que se estendem para lá do Douro.

Aquilino Ribeiro e o ‘camião’ do francês

Que era exatamente o destino da caravana que, ainda algo ensonada, passou pela labiríntica aldeia de Pendilhe, onde Dominique Gaignet disse mal da sua vida para manobrar a gigantesca Harley-Davidson Electa Glide, comprida de dois metros e meio e com mais de meia tonelada sobre duas rodas. O francês do Moto-Club Luçonnais (organizador do FIM Motocamp em 2025) reconheceu “a elevada qualidade e originalidade do evento, impecável em todos os aspetos, apesar de estar longe de ter um percurso ideal para esta moto”. Um lamento que não roubou o sorriso a quem fez mais de 3600 quilómetros só para chegar a Faro, passeando com sete amigos pelo sul de Espanha. Isto porque foi incapaz de dizer que não ao desafio lançado por Eric Sperner, presidente do clube que é geminado com o Grupo Motard de Fafe, e que é casado com Rosa Armanda Silva, uma portuguesa… de Fafe. Está explicado!

Ficou triste o ‘monsieur’ Gaignet porque, preocupado que estava com a condução do ‘camião’, não reparou na dezena de espigueiros que dão um toque único a Pendilhe, mas fez questão de passar com toda a serenidade numa Vila Nova de Paiva que ainda se espreguiçava. E com calma passou também no desvio pelas ruelas de Soutosa, terra onde nasceu aquele que muitos apontam como o maior prosador português do século XX, Aquilino Ribeiro. A Fundação que protege o espólio e as memórias do autor de Terras do Demo ou Volfrâmio ainda estava fechada, mas, pouco depois, mesmo em frente à Câmara Municipal de Moimenta da Beira, era possível perceber a ligação do escritor e empenhado ativista anti ditadura às origens. Afinal, a homenagem materializada na estátua ‘Quando os Lobos Uivam’, não deixa margem para dúvidas.

Levando muito a sério os avisos do ‘road-book’ e de toda a organização quanto à exigência da terceira etapa deste Lés-a-Lés, andaram lestos os participantes que passaram em São João da Pesqueira bem dentro do horário previsto, havendo quem, com medo de atrasos, até se tenha antecipado. A entrada no concelho, atravessando o Rio Távora na robusta ponte de arco único de Riodades, fez recordar outra relevância motociclística, com as marcas deixadas pelos fogos a sublinhar a importância da campanha Reflorestar Portugal de Lés-a-Lés que, ano após ano, tenta mudar mentalidades e a constituição da floresta nacional, apelando ao uso das árvores autóctones.

Reflexão que terá passado para segundo plano ao atravessar o histórico centro de São João da Pesqueira e a sua barroca Praça da República, que já serviu de restaurante num almoço de uma das primeiras edições do Lés-a-Lés. É que a aventura não para e é necessária muita atenção para guardar tantos detalhes deliciosos que o evento vai desvendando.

Histórias de naufrágios e traições no Douro

Tão deliciosos quanto as paragens, indispensáveis para hidratar e alimentar os participantes, em tempo aproveitado também para ir colocando a conversa em dia e falar sobre as maravilhas acabadas de ver. Assim foi também no Oásis montado em parceria pelos elementos dos moto clubes do Porto, um dos criadores do Lés-a-Lés no longínquo ano de 1999 que recriou importante episódio histórico, e de São João da Pesqueira, que, com o apoio da autarquia, proporcionou a tradicional bola de carne e dois porcos no espeto. Havia que comer para manter as energias que era ainda longo o caminho até Vizela, continuando pelo coração do Douro Vinhateiro, entre estradas encantadas, com passagem pela barragem da Valeira. Construção de 1975, um pouco a jusante do famoso cachão, o desfiladeiro granítico que estrangulava de tal forma o Douro que, enfurecido se lançava de uma altura de vários metros.

Local que foi palco de lendário naufrágio recriado no Oásis anterior, com ajuda dos Bombeiros Voluntários que deram maior realismo com um bem-agradecido banho de mangueira a recordar águas tempestuosas. Como aquelas que, a 12 de maio de 1861, levaram ao naufrágio do luxuoso rabelo do segundo marido de Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira. Diz a lenda que a ‘Ferreirinha’ se salvou graças ao balão criado pelas longas saias, enquanto o próspero empresário britânico, Joseph James Forrester, tornado Barão pelo Rei Fernando II, falecia devido à sua avareza. Conta-se que os sacos de moedas presos ao cinto e colocados nas botas o terão levado rapidamente ao fundo, mas Camilo Castelo Branco, contemporâneo do acontecimento e sempre muito bem informado das vidas mais mundanas onde ia buscar inspiração para as suas novelas, narra a verdade com outras letras.

No livro O Vinho do Porto, o escritor que viveu durante vários anos por aquelas bandas, conta que o Barão de Forrester terá sido atingido pelo mastro da embarcação, caindo atordoado às águas revoltas e esbracejado durante alguns minutos em busca da salvação. Algo que José da Silva Torres, administrador de longa data dos negócios e segundo marido da ‘Ferreirinha’, não terá tentado evitar, ficando quedo e mudo perante os pedidos de socorro do inglês. Talvez, conta Camilo, por saber do envolvimento romântico entre ele e a agora esposa ‘Ferreirinha’…

Curvas a subir e curvas a descer

Diz a experiência motociclística que depois de cada descida vem uma subida e vice-versa. Se a isso juntarmos um festival de curvas é possível fazer uma pequena ideia da diversão na descida ao Douro, na subida até Linhares e Parambos, em nova descida através de Ribalonga, a aldeia dos construtores de socalcos, com direito a passagem pela Barragem do Tua e na magnífica ascensão a São Mamede de Ribatua, com desvio ao Miradouro do Ujo para apreciar o Reino Maravilhoso exaltado pelo grande Miguel Torga. E mais uma estrada empinada até Alijó onde, claro está, houve novo Oásis, mostrando as doces laranjas do quente vale de S. Mamede de Ribatua como um dos vários produtos de excelência da região.

Que bem souberam a Matilde Jacinto, a mais jovem condutora do evento que, aos 15 anos, sofreu a bom sofrer para ultrapassar as longas e exigentes subidas durienses. “É que não bastava ter um moto de apenas 50 cc, como não estava habituada à Sherco SM que chegou poucos dias antes do Lés-a-Lés. Além de que nunca tinha feito tantos quilómetros nem conduzido durante tanto tempo”. Ainda assim, a jovem de Estremoz estava radiante porque, “apesar da dureza, vive-se um ambiente espetacular, com visita a locais que não conhecia e descobrindo coisas que nem fazia ideia que existiam”. Ao lado, de olhar enternecido e orgulhoso, os pais Andreia e Bruno assumiam a ‘culpa’ de ter estimulado a filha a participar (bem como o sobrinho Tomás Cheira numa AJP 125) e depois de sete presenças, sempre em motos mais aptas às exigências de grandes viagens, optaram por viver uma aventura diferente. A mãe Andreia trocou a enorme BMW GS pela pequeníssima Honda Monkey 125 e o pai participou com uma Suzuki TU 250 carregada de história. “Foi a primeira moto e comprada com o empréstimo de metade do dinheiro pela namorada e agora esposa. O dinheiro foi devolvido”, garante o marido Bruno recordando uma paixão comum que ajuda a reforçar a relação a cada quilómetro que passa, “até que há pouco tempo o amigo a quem a vendi aceitou voltar a vendê-la!”

Escândalo em Vila Pouca de Aguiar

E assim, com cilindradas e andamentos mais próximos, esta verdadeira aventura em família seguiu através de Favaios, capital do moscatel, apreciando os últimos vinhedos até Vilar de Maçada, e daí, atravessando as serras de Vilarelho e da Falperra, chegar ao planalto de Jales. Zona de terras auríferas exploradas desde há mais de 2000 anos, numa epopeia que começou no tempo dos romanos e se prolongou até outubro de 1992, criando numa estrutura que chegou aos 650 metros de profundidade no último dos 16 andares subterrâneos.

Mas o ‘grande escândalo’ surgiu durante visita ao Centro de Interpretação Mineiro de Jales, ao descobrir que ‘Donald Trump’ decidiu dar nova vida ao complexo anunciando a compra com o dinheiro ostentado, ali mesmo, por ‘J.D. Vance’. Um ‘good deal’ de quem garante possuir todas as cartas para jogar onde e quando lhe apetecer, acompanhado da promessa de ‘Make Vila Pouca de Aguiar Great Again’ que deixou os próprios ‘americanos’ espantados.

Um grupo de 10 emigrantes lusitanos, literalmente de todos os cantos de Portugal, de Chaves a Lisboa, de Alenquer a Faro, que se conheceram em New Jersey e ficaram unidos pela paixão motociclística. A ideia começou com Paulo ‘Montanellas’ Sousa que descobriu o Lés-a-Lés em 2022 e regressou em 2024. Para a 28.ª edição desafiou mais amigos e todos alugaram motos para a aventura da Federação de Motociclismo de Portugal. Todos não, “que há quem tenha poder financeiro para mandar vir a Gold Wing desde os Estados Unidos apesar de sair bem mais em conta alugar uma moto”.

Espantados com o nível da organização, elogiaram o controverso ‘Trump’ de Jales como um dos momentos altos deste Portugal de Lés-a-Lés, enaltecendo “a capacidade de brincar com temas bem atuais ao mesmo tempo que mostram a História de Portugal de uma forma espetacular”. E depois de uma visita à réplica dos tuneis das minas e de conhecer as ferramentas originais das muitas profissões indispensáveis numa exploração mineira, seguiram para Vila Pouca de Aguiar descobrindo pelo caminho alguns pinheiros-do-Oregon, conífera de grande porte originária da América do Norte. E descobriram também, juntamente com todos os outros participantes, uma nova forma de chegar à cidade transmontana, trocando o bom asfalto da convencional pela N212 por uma abordagem diferente através de inclinados quelhos mesmo até ao centro.

Onde, fazendo jus à fama das suas qualidades, não podia faltar a conhecida Água das Pedras, extraída ali bem perto, no Parque das Pedras Salgadas, e onde até havia a possibilidade de assistir ao Concurso de Saltos Internacional, no Centro Hípico das Romanas. Curiosamente, os equídeos voltaram a ser tema de conversa em Cabeceiras de Basto onde a caravana chegou depois de mais uma boa dose de curvas com passagem por Ribeira de Pena, subindo ao Alvão, descendo ao Tâmega, visitando Arco de Baúlhe.

A lenda d’O Basto em palco de corridas… de burros

Tudo isto antes da paragem junto ao imponente Mosteiro de São Miguel de Refojos, fundado no tempo de D. Afonso Henriques e com a particularidade de ser o único dos 29 mosteiros beneditinos que tem um zimbório. Ali mesmo ao lado, num ‘asnódromo’ onde são feitas corridas de burros e que daria uma bela pista oval para corridas de ‘speedway’, os Motogalos de Barcelos animavam as hostes recriando a Segunda Invasão Francesa de 1809, lideradas pelo Marechal Soult, e picavam as tarjetas, enquanto os Bombeiros Voluntários Cabeceirenses voltavam, tal como há dois anos, em Cavez, a proporcionar excelentes bifanas.

Recordou-se a passagem das tropas napoleónicas que, vindas de Chaves e em direção ao Porto, percorreram e saquearam vários pontos da região do Minho e de Trás-os-Montes, causando grande destruição no vale do Tâmega, nomeadamente da histórica Ponte de Basto, cuja estrutura medieval foi parcialmente destruída. Falou-se de franceses, mas também da lenda d’O Basto, o poderoso monge guerreiro lusitano, tão grande em estatura como na coragem, que defendeu o Mosteiro de São Miguel da feroz investida dos Mouros durante o período do Império Visigótico. Depois de mandar os companheiros para acudirem a outros lugares, Hermígio Romarigues fez frente às tropas de Tarik, gritando junto à ponte que dava acesso ao Mosteiro: “até ali, por São Miguel, até ali basto eu!”.

E tanto bastou que, com bravura, repeliu as três investidas, cobrindo a ponte de corpos inimigos e obrigando os Mouros invasores e com maior poder bélico, a negociar de igual para igual com o Abade D. Gelmiro. Esse ‘basto’ acabou por dar nome a toda a região e foi imortalizado através da famosa estátua erigida em sua homenagem, como reconhecimento pelos serviços prestados a El-Rei Pelágio integrado no reduto das Astúrias durante a Reconquista Cristã.

Quatro casamentos e um Mundial

Momento histórico que quase distraía os mais atrasados (ou seriam as bifanas?…) que estava na hora de debandar em direção a Vizela. Antes, porém, a passagem pelo Confurco, meca do Rali de Portugal, mesmo às portas de Fafe, com o local onde foi dada a partida para o 15.º Lés-a-Lé a servir agora de palco à cerimónia do pódio do primeiro dos dois dias da primeira jornada portuguesa que marca exatamente o meio do Campeonato Mundial de Enduro. Quem ficou com pena de não poder ver em ação os melhores enduristas do planeta, tem nova possibilidade no fim-de-semana de 20 e 21 de junho, em nova ronda pelas serras de Fafe, na única localidade que acolhe duas jornadas mundialistas em 2026.

Sem tempo a perder que os implacáveis ponteiros do relógio não param, a passagem à porta da singela e robusta Igreja Românica de Arões e a subida à Penha para tentar fugir às zonas industrializadas, fez com que começassem a aparecer com frequência crescente placas a indicar Vizela. “Está quase” pensavam todos os aventureiros a pensar com o momento de glória de subida ao palanque final.

Porém nada no Portugal de Lés-a-Lés é tão linear como parece à primeira vista, isto é, ao olhar para o ‘road-book’, e para acabar em GRANDE, nada como uma visita à Igreja de São Cristóvão, em Abação. Uma surpresa que deixou muitos embasbacados com o grande aparato, com detetores de metais e muitos seguranças de óculos escuros e auriculares, que exigiam o convite entregue no Controlo 1, na Culatra, para a entrada numa festa de casamento. Ou melhor na celebração (real) de umas Bodas de Ouro e de quatro casamentos (‘fake’) que a rapaziada dos Conquistadores não faz por menos. Uma festa gigantesca no último controlo, o 18, em que as noivas chegaram em viaturas clássicas perante os aplausos dos quase 100 convidados vestidos a rigor.

Um equívoco, terão pensado alguns face ao realismo do evento. Nada disso: apenas o Motoclube de Guimarães a ser ele próprio tal como havia sido na ilha da Culatra, onde deu imprescindível contributo para o sucesso do inovador Passeio de Abertura. Uma deslumbrante festa de casamento com que os divertidos motociclistas vimaranenses marcaram o encerramento de um dos mais animados Portugal de Lés-a-Lés de sempre, que, porém, só terminaria uns quilómetros adiante.

Foi em Vizela, perante milhares de habitantes e com grande animação num palanque que contou com engraçados Centuriões Romanos, uma bela personificação da Vizela Romana e personagens em andas a juntarem-se às já imprescindíveis dançarinas numa festa onde nem faltou o fogo de artificio. Nem faltaram as mãos dos osteopatas da Osteomotus ou o apoio dos estreantes mecânicos Filipe, David e Diniz que se juntaram à equipa da Motoval. Nem faltou, claro está, um saboroso jantar, rematado com o famoso bolinhol, criado em 1884 e aclamado como uma das Sete Maravilhas Doces de Portugal em 2019. Repasto servido no Jardim Manuel Faria, mesmo ao lado da Praça da República, de onde partirá a edição de 2027 deste feita rumo a terras algarvias. Que, sublinhe-se, terá enormes exigências de qualidade depois do sucesso de 2026, fortemente aplaudido por todos os envolvidos no 28.º Portugal de Lés-a-Lés. Uma edição lendária, para ficar na história do motociclismo nacional.

Colaboração do Gabinete de Imprensa Portugal de Lés-a-Lés

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SSO) reported conducting a joint sabotage operation with a Russian underground resistance movement against an oil pumping station in Yaroslavl Oblast that feeds crude toward Russia's Baltic export terminal, SSO announced on 14 June. The military called it the second coordinated action with the partisan group in one week. Euromaidan Press cannot independently verify the reported damage.

 

SSO and Black Spark report joint operation on Palkino station

SSO said it conducted "special actions" on the Palkino oil pumping station in Myshkinsky district, Yaroslavl Oblast, in coordination with the Russian underground resistance movement Chornaya Iskra (Black Spark). The Special Operations Forces reported that operators struck "key elements of the enemy's oil transport infrastructure."

Russian underground movement Chernaya Iskra confirmed its participation and called the station "a very important facility." 

"With exports, of course, they'll have to wait. Here in Russia itself, the Hunger Games for gasoline are starting — what exports?" the group wrote.

SSO said this was the second joint operation with the partisan movement this week. On 12 June, SOF and Chernaya Iskra struck the TANECO refinery in Tatarstan, SOF stated. That strike was previously reported by Euromaidan Press as part of a broader overnight raid confirmed by Ukraine's General Staff.

Striking oil transport infrastructure reduces Russia's capacity to export energy resources and cuts the revenues funding the war against Ukraine, SOF stated.

Euromaidan Press cannot independently verify the report or confirm damage at the Palkino site at this time. NASA's FIRMS thermal monitoring system shows fires continuing at the Rybinsk Rosrezerv oil depot in the same Yaroslavl Oblast after the overnight drone strike on 14 June, but registers no fires in the area of Myshkino over the past month, where Palkino is located. This may mean that any damage caused didn't trigger large fires.

Reform leader claims ‘anti-whiteness is institutionalised’ in UK as polls suggest Labour have lead in Makerfield

• UK politics live – latest updates

Nigel Farage has said he would ban foreign nationals from social housing and then deport them if they could not find private-sector homes, in a hardening of anti-immigration rhetoric before the Makerfield byelection.

Two recent polls in Makerfield have suggested Farage’s Reform UK is continuing to leak potentially crucial support to its far-right rival Restore Britain, which is led by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

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© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

Clay tablets, papyrus scrolls and organized archives gave rise to the largest libraries the ancient world had ever seen. From Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean, early civilizations built and guarded repositories that preserved knowledge, solidified power and shaped future generations.

These libraries were more than buildings. They were strategic tools for governance, scholarship, and cultural influence.

From clay tablets to papyrus, Mesopotamia built the first libraries of the ancient world

The earliest libraries were established in Mesopotamia over five thousand years ago. Sumerians developed cuneiform writing by pressing marks into wet clay. These tablets contained records on trade, law, rituals and literature. Stored in temple rooms and palaces, they were grouped by subject and carefully archived.

The Assyrians advanced this system, and King Ashurbanipal of Nineveh built a vast royal library with thousands of tablets in the 7th century BC. These included manuscripts on religion, medicine, and science. His collection, organized by topic, is one of the oldest discovered in archaeological history.

A major turning point came with the use of papyrus scrolls in Egypt. Lighter and more portable than clay, papyrus allowed collections to grow in size. The new format enabled broader distribution of texts and helped libraries expand across the ancient world.

Libraries of Persia and Assyria as guardians of culture, law, and empire

In the ancient Near East, libraries held both spiritual and administrative importance. Persian rulers integrated libraries into royal courts. The Achaemenid Empire preserved legal codes, religious texts, and historical records. These archives helped maintain order across a diverse and multilingual empire.

Assyria’s greatest legacy was Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh, a vast collection of thousands of clay tablets covering medicine, astronomy, literature, and more.

Ashurbanipal viewed knowledge as a tool of control and culture. His efforts helped preserve Mesopotamian heritage for future generations. Cultural exchange carried these texts far beyond their regions of origin. Greek scholars translated many works, merging Near Eastern traditions with Hellenistic thought. In this way, the great libraries preserved and transmitted intellectual life through centuries of conflict and empire.

The Great Library of Alexandria and the ambition to collect all human knowledge

The Library of Alexandria, founded around 283 BC by Ptolemy I in Egypt, aimed to gather every written work known at the time. Located within the Musaeum, a research center devoted to the arts and sciences, the library was supported by powerful rulers who dispatched agents across the world to acquire texts.

Scrolls were taken from ships arriving at the port. Originals were copied and the duplicates returned. The collection spanned literature, philosophy, astronomy, and medicine.

Scholars such as Euclid and Archimedes studied there. Librarians developed early cataloging systems and edited standardized versions of key texts.

The library suffered damage during Julius Caesar’s campaign in 48 BC, and its decline continued through later invasions and internal unrest. Despite its fall, the model it established influenced libraries in Pergamum, Rome, and beyond.

Ancient Greek libraries as public learning hubs and private intellectual sanctuaries

Ancient Greek libraries shifted knowledge from private temples to public life. Athens and other city-states built libraries open to scholars and citizens. One early example is Aristotle’s personal collection, which became a foundation for later public institutions.

Private libraries also flourished. Wealthy individuals and philosophers curated collections for study and teaching. Plato, for instance, used their libraries to support schools such as the Academy. These libraries helped preserve philosophy, science, and literature and played a central role in Greek intellectual life.

Public libraries enabled wider access to knowledge in the ancient world, while private collections fostered personal study and debate. Together, they formed a system that allowed Greek thought to spread across the Mediterranean.

Roman libraries as instruments of power, education, and governance

Rome expanded the library model throughout its empire. In 39 BC, Gaius Asinius Pollio opened the first public library in the capital. Emperors like Augustus followed, building libraries in temples and forums. These became cultural landmarks and centers for learning.

Roman libraries preserved works in both Latin and Greek, encompassing law, science, literature, and official records. They served not only administrative needs but also public education, fostering literacy and stimulating scholarly debate throughout the empire as access expanded.

Wealthy Romans maintained private collections. These libraries, often run by scribes and servants, became symbols of status. Imperial libraries, meanwhile, preserved state records and reinforced the authority of the emperor.

By preserving Greek and earlier texts, Roman libraries established a bridge between ancient and medieval scholarship, leaving behind a lasting legacy for Europe.

Collapse of ancient libraries and the long survival of their knowledge

Ancient libraries faced repeated threats. Fires, wars, and natural disasters wiped out entire collections. The Library of Alexandria was damaged during civil war, then weakened by centuries of neglect. With the fall of the Roman Empire, invasions, political turmoil, and shifting religious forces accelerated the decline of these repositories of knowledge.

In the Near East, the Library of Ctesiphon was destroyed during the Arab conquests. At Herculaneum, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the Villa of the Papyri beneath volcanic ash, both preserving and damaging hundreds of scrolls.

However, fragments survived. In medieval Europe, monasteries preserved knowledge by copying ancient texts by hand. Across the Islamic world, scholars translated Greek, Roman, and Persian works into Arabic, safeguarding ideas that had vanished elsewhere. These efforts carried the legacy of antiquity into the Renaissance and, ultimately, the modern era.

The fall of ancient libraries marked the end of an era but not the end of their influence. Their legacy endures in today’s institutions, which continue the timeless mission of collecting, preserving, and sharing human knowledge.

Even for a president known for imposing his own reality on every situation, Mr. Trump has not outrun scrutiny over his age.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Competing for the first time, Curaçao is brimming with joy. Most of the Caribbean nation’s team was born and raised in the Netherlands, but residents say the players represent them.

Kate Dearden says reforms such as enhanced sick pay simply bring UK into line with other big economies

Labour’s radical workers’ rights reforms have simply put the UK on a “level playing field” with other big economies, the employment minister, Kate Dearden, has said.

The government’s Employment Rights Act became law last year, with specific provisions being implemented this year and next.

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© Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

© Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

© Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

“I feel the same as I did 50 years ago,” President Trump said. “It’s crazy.”

Imagine for a moment human history as a river, where the Greek language is not just a small and narrow stream but a deep and forceful current that has enriched the English language over the course of time with its wisdom, art, and science.

This is a connection that says much about our shared human heritage. It clearly shows how ancient language can influence our lives to this day despite the passing of time. This journey of Greek influences on English clearly shows how languages evolve and influence each other. It is also indicative of how the words of important ancient philosophers, poets, and scientists found a new home in our modern English vocabulary.

Renaissance: The gateway to Greek wisdom

Our linguistic journey begins in the Renaissance—that era of enlightenment during which Europe turned its focus back to the glories of ancient Greece and Rome so as to draw inspiration and hope for a better future.

English, which was then only in its infancy so to say absorbed the wisdom of various ancient Greek texts both directly but mainly indirectly. This was a time when scholars and poets across the continent studied the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Homer, bringing back Greek ideas through the very words that shaped them.

It was meant to be the beginning of a remarkable story, whereby numerous Greek words began pouring into English, enriching it with new terms for concepts in areas such as science, governance, and philosophy among other things.

The process was obviously not a one-time event. It was, however, natural and almost effortless. English had a reputation for borrowing from other, older languages due to its young age. This was the reason why the Greek world offered a great window of opportunity for English. Greek had a mature and beautiful repository of words that was both vast and precise in terms of definitions for those who needed inspiration.

Words like “democracy” (from “demokratia,” meaning rule by the people) and “philosophy” (from “philosophia,” meaning love of wisdom) were instantly adopted by those early English speakers and their neighbors. These terms were used to describe concepts that were becoming increasingly important and common in the then-evolving intellectual landscape of Western Europe.

This process wasn’t just about adding words to a dictionary, however. It was mainly about embracing the vast richness of Greek thought and making it accessible to the European peoples who were gradually beginning to learn about the marvels of ancient Greece.

Through this linguistic exchange that lasted for centuries, Greek words became an integral part of how we communicate today, particularly when we want to express complex ideas and concepts. The influence of Greek on English also showed the power of a language that goes beyond time and space, as it connects us to thinkers of the past and their intricate theories about life and the world around us.

Greek roots in modern English

Our daily conversations in English are full of words that were originally used by the ancient Greeks. These words have been integrated into our lives over time, and, in fact, most times, we don’t even realize this. Such words cover a wide spectrum of fields from governance and philosophy to the less significant elements of everyday life.

For instance, let’s take a look at the concept of “democracy.” Democracy has been the fundamental element of modern political thought for centuries now in many places around the globe that share and define their destinies by liberal ideas. This particular word is derived from the Greek “demokratía,” which hides a truly fundamental and yet simple message—that of a power that derives from the people.

Similarly, the word “philosophy” refers to the love of wisdom. This comes from the Greek word “philosophía,” which is a term that brilliantly summarizes the Greek pursuit of human knowledge and understanding. Philos is Greek for “friend” while “sophia” is simply the Greek word for wisdom. Hence, a philosopher is nothing more than a friend of truth and wisdom.

Beyond these fundamental ideals, however, Greek has also provided the English language with a plethora of words (see?) that describe the world we live in.

The word “bibliotheke,” for example, survives in languages like French and German, but, in English, it’s “library,” of course. Nonetheless, this shows how interconnected the Greek language continues to be with that of the Romans in terms of influencing Europe and its linguistic landscape.

On the other hand, the Greek word “mousike” becomes “music” and gains a truly universal character of its own that describes emotion and expression. These simple, everyday examples show the broad spectrum of Greek influences on English.

They also explain exceptionally well how Greek enriched our language with terms that demonstrate both the beautiful nature and excellence of human thought as well as the simplicity of the everyday life of us mortals.

Greek language and scientific terminology

If we’d like a better understanding of how the Greek language has influenced English most, we need to take a look at scientific and medical terminology. The ancient Greek world was the place where Western medicine and science flourished. Therefore, the language provided the roots for countless words that used to this day.

In medicine, for example, words like “neurology” and “psychology” reveal their clear Greek origins along with the fundamental knowledge that the Greeks processed about notions like these millennia ago. The word neurology comes from the Greek word “neuron,” which means nerve, and “logia,” which means study. On the other hand, the word psychology comes from the Greek word for soul, that is psyche. These two ordinary examples show us the extent to which the Greeks knew about the two sciences more than two to three thousand years ago.

Astronomy, too, is also a field of study that is profoundly rich in Greek-derived terms. A great example here would be the word “galaxy.” The term comes from the Greek word “galaxias,” which actually has nothing to do with the sky, as it means milky. The Greeks probably chose this word because our home galaxy, the Milky Way, looked way too white in the night sky. This is likely how it got its name.

Another very interesting word is the word “planet.” This word comes from the Greek “planetes,” which means wanderer. This is clear proof of how the Greeks observed the planets moving across the sky, thinking that they were celestial wanderers. Such terms, along with countless others, provide a vocabulary for scientific inquiry that is truly rich and full of meaning, as the explanation of these names is fascinating. Furthermore, these Greek-rooted words bridge modern science with our ancient world and the knowledge that humanity has possessed for thousands of years.

How the Greek language shapes English today

The influence of Greek on the English language extends beyond individual words, which are obviously countless. Greek plays a fundamental role in the ability of the English language to create its own building blocks of word formation, and this is something that is mostly overlooked. Prefixes and suffixes are most important in this in that they form the foundations of our everyday communication in the world.

These particular linguistic elements are often borrowed from Greek. They might be tiny, but their importance is massive, as they offer English remarkable flexibility in creating numerous new terms that describe novel concepts and innovations.

For instance, the prefix “bio-” means life and comes from the Greek “bios.” This allows English speakers to create and use words such as, “biology,” “biochemistry,” “biotechnology,” “biodegradable,” and “biodiversity,” among many others. This is a sign of a language that incorporates complex ideas in a concise and yet understandable way in everyone’s terms.

Similarly, “geo-,” meaning earth (from Greek “ge”), gives us “geography,” “geology,” “geometry,” “geodynamics,” and “geopolitics.” These form another element of how cultural and linguistic exchanges bring many closed physical sciences to the structures of today’s world and the way we understand and interpret it.

On the other hand, we have the suffixes.

Examples like “-logy” (from Greek “logia,” meaning the study of) transform hundred—if not thousands—of basic roots into nouns. These nouns normally denote areas of knowledge or fields of study in the English language. We have numerous examples of this, including words such as “biology,” “psychology,” “chronology, “terminology,” “meteorology,” “ecology,” “theology,” and “technology” among many others.

Another great example of Greek suffixes is “-phobia.” This word derives from the Greek “phobos,” meaning fear and has been adopted to describe various fears and aversions in the English vocabulary. Examples of this are “arachnophobia” for the fear of spiders or “technophobia” for the fear of technology.

Such examples brilliantly illustrate how Greek prefixes and suffixes continue to offer English the chance not simply to add foreign words to its dictionaries but also to grow and adapt to new discoveries and concepts using root words that already exist in its lexica.

Greek idioms in everyday English

Nonetheless, the importance and influence of the Greek language is not the only one we should be interested in. Greek mythology has also managed to deeply penetrate the English language through centuries of cultural and idiomatic expressions that have managed to survive to this day.

Phrases such as “opening the Pandora’s box” and having an “Achilles’ heel” bring the English speaker back to the tales and epic stories of Greek mythology. This clearly shows how the timeless themes of curiosity and vulnerability that are at the forefront of Greek mythology remain relevant. These common expressions are covered in thousands of years of history, offering an easy and accessible explanation of complex ideas that we can still use thousands of years after their inception.

The lasting influence of Greek on English

The Greek language, along with Latin, French and other Germanic languages has played a fundamental role in the development of English. Greek has enriched it with a vocabulary that spans the breadth of human knowledge—from the heights of philosophy and science to the depths of myth and human emotion.

This rich linguistic legacy, beginning with a blend of words and going all the way to grammatical and syntactical structures and expressions, highlights the nature of English which is purely dynamic and ever-evolving. One of the reasons why English has become today’s lingua franca is also because of its capacity to absorb and integrate diverse cultural influences from around the world and make them integral parts of the language.

Particularly, the complex interconnection of English with the Greek language and culture gives us the opportunity to engage with the ancient Greeks, see their world, and learn from their wisdom and worldviews, finding timeless depictions of humanity’s knowledge.

In embracing the gifts of Greek, English has not only expanded its vocabulary but has also deepened its expressive capabilities, offering to its hundreds of millions of speakers worldwide a richer toolkit with which they can articulate the concepts of the modern world.

Related: The Unique Eccentricities of the Modern Greek Language

Ukraine’s 160th Separate Mechanized Brigade has published new photos of its Abrams tank “Lucifer,” showing how Ukrainian crews are adapting Western armor to survive the increasing FPV drone threats on the front line that are defining modern warfare.

Drones have significantly reduced the battlefield advantage of tanks by enabling low-cost, precise strikes against weak points in armored vehicles. This has forced Ukrainian crews to adapt heavy armor with additional protective structures, including cage-style and modular field modifications.

Abrams tank “Lucifer” fitted with modular anti-drone cages

According to Defense Blog, the tank is an M1A1 AIM Abrams operated by the brigade’s tank battalion and is among 49 vehicles transferred to Ukraine by Australia. The vehicle has been fitted with extensive modular cage-style protection covering the turret, hull sides, and rear.

Defense Blog notes that the modifications are designed to counter FPV drone threats, which increasingly target weaker sections of armored vehicles such as engine decks, rear armor, and roof areas. 

The cage system reportedly allows the turret to rotate freely while maintaining overhead protection, addressing a key limitation of earlier field modifications that restricted combat use.

Adaptation of Western armor under drone-dominated conditions

FPV drones have become one of the most widespread threats to armored vehicles on the front line, forcing Ukrainian crews to repeatedly modify Western-supplied systems in the field.

Defense Blog reports that the design seen on “Lucifer” reflects a more structured approach to these adaptations, moving beyond improvised protection toward modular systems that can be replicated across units. 

Separate protective sections for the turret and hull are intended to preserve maneuverability while expanding coverage against drone attacks from multiple angles.

The outlet adds that Australian-supplied Abrams tanks are now integrated into Ukraine’s operational fleet in frontline sectors, where crews continue to adjust battlefield equipment based on real-time combat experience.

160th Brigade highlights Abrams combat role

The unit said few systems match a tank for firepower and protection, describing the Abrams as a vehicle that “clears the way where the enemy tries to hold its positions.” 

It added that crews are prepared to carry out high-risk missions under fire. The brigade also said that naming a tank “Lucifer” reflects its combat role and warned that it gives opposing forces “every reason to worry.”

Pourquoi le dérèglement climatique déclenche-t-il l'écroulement du Mont-Blanc ? Le permafrost fond ! Cette glace "éternelle" agit comme un liant, une superglue, entre les blocs de roches. Lorsqu'elle fond, elle ne tient plus les blocs entre eux : les montagnes s'effondrent. Alors que les Alpes se réchauffent deux fois plus vite que le reste du globe, ses glaciers fondent. Conséquence : un tiers des voies d'alpinisme autour du Mont-Blanc sont devenues impraticables.

Ministry says animals fitted with sensors by foreign agencies collect sensitive sea data, in ‘invisible secret war’

China’s ministry of state security has claimed that foreign espionage and intelligence agencies are using innovative new methods to monitor the country’s waters, including deploying “spy” animals fitted with sensors.

In a post on the Chinese platform WeChat on Friday, the ministry warned that an “invisible secret war” was quietly playing out in the seas around China as foreign agencies were collecting sensitive data “through a variety of new spying devices” to produce underwater maps that pose a “serious threat to our national security”.

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© Photograph: Aman Rochman/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Aman Rochman/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Aman Rochman/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Hundreds of diaspora academics are calling on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) to reverse its exclusion of the Greek language. In an open letter, hundreds of professors, academics, authors, educators, researchers, publishers, and members of the global intellectual community expressed their deep concern. They urged Amazon to “reconsider its current policy and demonstrate leadership in protecting linguistic and cultural diversity in the digital age.”

The signatories brought together by the International Hellenic Association (IHA), point out that Amazon ironically derives its name from Greek mythology and language. They emphasize that “the exclusion of Greek—one of the foundational languages of global intellectual history—is not merely a technical omission, but a cultural loss whose consequences extend far beyond the Greek-speaking community itself.”

Why the Greek language should be restored by Amazon’s Kindle

The letter, bearing the signatures primarily of Greek diaspora academics mobilized by the IHA, highlights several critical points regarding Amazon KDP, a self-publishing platform allowing authors to distribute digital and print books globally:

• A striking contradiction: Amazon KDP currently supports publishing in numerous regional and minority languages with significantly fewer speakers than Greek (e.g., Cornish, Manx, North Frisian, Romansh, Corsican). Meanwhile, Greek, a language spoken by an estimated 13 to 15 million people worldwide, remains excluded. Therefore, this policy cannot be justified by commercial or demographic metrics alone.
• A continuous legacy: Greek occupies a unique position in human history. With over 3,400 years of uninterrupted written tradition, it is one of the world’s oldest living languages. It is the language of Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Archimedes, and the New Testament—the very bedrock of philosophy, democracy, medicine, mathematics, political thought, theology, literature, and the sciences.
• A living vessel of values: Greek is not just a historical relic. It is a vibrant language and a living intellectual tradition. For millennia, it has served as the matrix for human-centric values. Words such as democracy, philanthropy, politics, ethics, dialogue, philosophy, history, and theory are not just linguistic artifacts but represent monumental achievements of human civilization.
• The language of democratic principles: Greek articulates the foundations of civic life with unparalleled precision. Terms like demokratia (democracy), isegoria (equal right to speak), isonomia (equality before the law), and isopoliteia (equal civic rights) embody the principles of citizen participation and political inclusion. These concepts carry a specific original context that remains fundamentally untranslatable, serving as cornerstone concepts for modern societies.
• A language of moral resistance: Hellenic literature and thought gifted humanity a vocabulary of moral resistance against arbitrary power. In Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound, the concept of philanthropos tropos (the philanthropic way) stands in defiance of tyranny, presenting the love for humanity as a moral and political choice. This legacy remains deeply relevant in the digital era, wherein access to language also equates to access to memory, education, and cultural dignity.

Greek Language Day

Consequently, Greek is far more than a tool for communication or commerce; it is a treasury of wisdom, virtue, and beauty. Its global significance has been internationally recognized by UNESCO, which officially declared February 9th as World Greek Language Day, honoring its timeless contribution to global civilization.

Excluding Greek-language publishing from one of the world’s most influential digital platforms creates artificial barriers for Greek-speaking authors, educators, students, and publishers worldwide. Simultaneously, it undermines the broader principle of linguistic diversity in the global digital landscape.

For years, Greek authors and publishers have relied on Amazon for the international distribution of literature, academic research, and educational materials. In turn, Greek consumers have consistently supported Amazon’s products and services throughout every stage of its technological evolution, the open letter by Greek academics says.

 

Ancient footprints carved into rocks across Scandinavia may have served a much deeper purpose than simple decoration. New research suggests these unusual carvings, known as podomorphs, could have helped Bronze Age people create lasting connections with places and with each other.

The study, led by Fredrik Fahlander and published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, challenges traditional views that treated the carvings mainly as symbols or images. Instead, the research argues that the footprints were active parts of social and ritual life during the Nordic Bronze Age, which lasted roughly from 1700 BC to 500 BC.

A unique feature of Scandinavian rock art

Rock art from the Nordic Bronze Age includes several common motifs, such as boats, people, animals, and circles. Footprints stand out from the rest.

Unlike other designs, the carved footprints are often close to life size. They appear throughout southern Scandinavia and are found both along coastlines and inland. Researchers note that similar footprint carvings are rare elsewhere in Europe during the same period.

The carvings show both bare feet and footprints left by leather footwear. Many include lines that appear to represent shoe straps. Some are deeply hollowed out, while others are outlined with grooves. Researchers believe the artists deliberately made them resemble real footprints left in sand, mud, or snow.

For decades, archaeologists proposed various explanations. Some suggested the footprints represented gods, ancestors, or the dead. Others linked them to rituals, remembrance, or claims over territory. Yet many of those theories struggled to explain the wide variety of footprint sizes, shapes, and arrangements found across Scandinavia.

Looking beyond symbolism

Fahlander approached the carvings from a different angle. Instead of asking what the footprints represented, the study examined how they were made, where they were placed, and how they interacted with the surrounding landscape.

The research focused on the Mälaren region of eastern Sweden, where more than 600 footprint carvings have been documented across over 140 sites. Most appear near former shorelines and waterways. Many face toward water or natural channels where rainwater regularly flows across the rock surface.

Some footprints were carved directly across quartz veins or placed within mineral-rich sections of rock. Others were positioned around natural cracks and depressions that collect water. These patterns suggest the locations were carefully chosen rather than random.

The study argues that the carvings were intended to interact with the natural qualities of the rock. Water, minerals, and landscape features may have played important roles in how people understood the footprints and their power.

Footprints may have linked people together

Many paired carvings are not identical. One footprint is often larger than the other. Some differ in design, orientation, or level of detail. This suggests they may not represent a single person’s two feet. Instead, researchers propose that two different individuals may have contributed to the pair.

According to the study, a lone footprint may have served as an invitation for another person to add a matching one later. The result would be a permanent connection carved into stone.

Researchers suggest these paired footprints could have marked friendships, agreements, family ties, marriages, or other important relationships. Some examples show the footprints connected by grooves or enclosed within shared shapes, strengthening the impression of a deliberate bond.

The idea fits a broader pattern seen in Bronze Age Scandinavia, where objects were often deposited in pairs during rituals.

More than simple images

The study concludes that the footprint carvings were likely much more than artistic symbols. They may have been seen as extensions of real people who remained connected to them over time.

Unlike ordinary footprints that disappear from sand or soil, these impressions were carved into stone to last for generations. Researchers believe that permanence was part of their purpose.

While the exact meaning of every footprint remains uncertain, the research suggests they helped Bronze Age communities materialize personal relationships and social connections in a lasting way. Nearly 3,000 years later, those carved traces may still preserve echoes of the people who created them.

Archaeologists at an ancient site in Iraq have uncovered rare cuneiform tablets, mass graves, and evidence of a large-scale siege nearly 4,000 years old, giving researchers what they call the clearest record yet of Bronze Age urban warfare in the region.

The site, Kurd Qaburstan, lies in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq and is believed to be the ancient city of Qabra. Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, an associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida, led the excavations over two field seasons in 2024 and 2025 with U.S. National Science Foundation support.

Inside a structure called the Lower Town East Palace, researchers recovered 20 cuneiform tablets and more than 100 administrative sealings, the largest tablet find yet made on the Erbil Plain.

The records include palace administrative texts and a letter tied to a senior official. Several bear dates cluster within the same few days, a pattern consistent with the city’s documented fall. Earley-Spadoni said the tablets offer a detailed look at palace operations and the city’s economy in its final days.

Iraq’s rare palace tablets found alongside ancient mass graves

Within the same destruction layers, researchers found the remains of 17 people. Bioarchaeologist Andrea Zurek-Ost of Michigan State University is studying the individuals.

None had been given a formal burial or left with belongings, and some appear to have died where they lay. One person was found collapsed across a stone basin.

A dig in northern Iraq has yielded rare cuneiform tablets, mass graves and a 4,000-year-old siege record that brings a forgotten ancient city back to life. pic.twitter.com/VGssXIZjt0

— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) June 11, 2026

The site also showed two overlapping destruction events matching historical records of Qabra’s siege and conquest by Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad. Charred debris, fallen walls, and broken pottery point to a prolonged assault, making it the most complete archaeological case of Middle Bronze Age siege warfare identified in northern Mesopotamia.

Earley-Spadoni said the rare tablets, mass graves, and other findings from the Iraq site make clear that northern cities like Qabra were as organized and politically significant as the more familiar southern centers of ancient Mesopotamia.

Survey uncovers fortified walls matching an ancient monument

A magnetic survey of more than 80 hectares uncovered a large fortification wall with towers encircling the site, matching the layout shown on the “Victory Stele of Dadusha,” an ancient monument tied to the siege.

Researchers also found a preserved street with an engineered drainage system and spaces used for food preparation and textile work.

Laboratory analysis is continuing, including DNA and isotopic testing on the 17 individuals to trace their origins and determine whether they were related.

Researchers have expanded the known Sidetic alphabet to 31 letters, moving the field closer to decoding one of Anatolia’s lost languages. The new findings come from active excavations at Side Ancient City in Antalya’s Manavgat district.

The work is led by Prof. Dr. Feriştah Alanyalı, excavation director and archaeologist at Anadolu University, in collaboration with Italian linguist Alfredo Rizza and Austrian linguist Michaela Zinko. Funding comes through the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Heritage for the Future Project.

Sidetic sits within the Luwian branch of Anatolian Indo-European languages, a grouping that also includes Lycian and Carian. Decipherment has moved slowly because the surviving inscriptions are few and most span only one or two lines.

Alanyalı said that the thin body of material has made it hard to reconstruct grammar, vocabulary, and structure with any confidence.

New excavations yield longer texts and bilingual comparisons

New excavations have brought a shift. Researchers have now recovered inscriptions running as long as 30 to 40 lines, well beyond anything previously available. Bilingual texts written in both Sidetic and Greek have also come to light.

Alanyalı said that those texts have renewed optimism because matching content across two languages helps researchers assign meaning to unknown signs and connect recurring words to known concepts.

One finding in particular has drawn attention. Researchers now think the Sidetic terms “Siruawn” and “Siruawan” refer to Side itself.

Since the Greek word “Side” (Greek:Σίδη) translates to pomegranate, a fruit that featured prominently on the city’s ancient coinage, Alanyalı said that the name likely carried the same meaning in the native language.

She described this as a significant finding for understanding the city’s origins and identity.

An ancient city that held its language for centuries

Side is typically known through its Greek and Roman structures, but Alanyalı said that the city’s history runs deeper.

Ancient accounts record that settlers from the Greek city of Kyme arrived at Side and, over time, abandoned their own language in favor of the one spoken by local residents.

Alanyalı said that tradition points to a community whose culture was firmly rooted long before outside groups arrived.

That cultural foundation held even after Alexander the Great brought Greek influence into the region during the fourth century B.C.

The inscriptions show that Side’s residents continued writing in Sidetic for roughly two centuries into the Hellenistic period, with the language appearing to fade only around the late second century B.C.

Alanyalı said that the persistence of Sidetic complicates the idea that Greek culture quickly swept away what came before it.

Assyrian and Babylonian seals point to ancient eastern ties

Archaeological finds also point to Side’s connections with civilizations to the east. A Neo-Assyrian seal turned up during excavations at the site.

Separately, Italian researchers obtained a Neo-Babylonian seal from residents of the area before the Turkish War of Independence. Alanyalı said that the two objects together point to cultural ties with Mesopotamia dating back to the seventh century B.C.

A bilingual inscription tied to the city’s Serapis Temple adds another dimension. Alanyalı said that the text documents how the temple was financed, listing the names of donors and the sums each contributed, all written in Sidetic.

31 letters bring researchers closer to Anatolia’s lost language

The use of the local language for a public record of that kind confirms it was still understood and used in everyday civic life.

With the alphabet now standing at 31 known letters, up from 26, researchers working on this lost Anatolian language have a sharper set of tools.

Alanyalı said that the international team continues its work, and each newly identified letter brings the field a step closer to a fuller reading of inscriptions that Side’s people worked for generations to preserve.