Warm reception for Eurovision contestant Akylas
Akylas, the singer who represented Greece at the 70th Eurovision contest Saturday, ending in 10th place, received an ovation at Athens airport from bystanders upon arrival Sunday afternoon.
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CULTURE
May 17, 2026 -
HISTORY 
May 17, 2026 17 May 2026: This day in history
1792: Twenty-four merchants form the New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street 1803: John Hawkins and Richard French patent the reaping machine 1861: The first color photograph, of a tartan ribbon is shown by Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell to the Royal Institution in London 1973: US Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings into […]
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GEOPOLITICS
May 17, 2026 Ankara and the “Blue Homeland”: Paths to War or a Diplomatic Provocation?
By Vassilios Nicolaos Vitsilogiannis (IG: @vassiliosvitsilogiannis) In today’s world, the Turkish leadership persistently promotes the idea of the “Blue Homeland,” a nationalist doctrine, sometimes becoming a narrative, that claims maritime zones, islands, islets and strategically important energy deposits in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Erdoğan’s rhetoric has become a fuse: from diplomatic claims […]
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GREECE
May 16, 2026 ITHACA CONFERENCE “Ithaca as a Symbol of Return, Life and Continuity”
“As you set out for Ithaca, hope your road is a long one…” Because Ithaca was never merely a place. It has always been a destination of the soul. A symbol of return, endurance and search. The place where Odysseus sought not only his homeland, but the deeper meaning of his journey. And perhaps for […]
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WORLD
May 16, 2026 Palestinian leaders hold rare party meeting as polls show rising discontent
Top leaders of the main Palestinian political faction, Fatah, are electing its highest decision-making body, at its first major conference in a decade. The 90-year-old Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas – who rules by decree – was re-elected as head of Fatah on Wednesday. Leading figures are promising unity and a political refresh. But ordinary Palestinians […]
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CYPRUS
May 16, 2026 Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to visit Cyprus on Sunday
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will be in Cyprus on Sunday, with the aim of upgrading bilateral relations with tangible outcomes, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said on Friday.
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CULTURE
May 16, 2026 Eurovision final takes the stage amid Gaza boycott
The Eurovision Song Contest’s final takes place in Vienna on Saturday, with the organizers hoping the annual show of glitz and Europop will be a success despite five countries’ withdrawal over Israel taking part.
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HISTORY
May 16, 2026 16 May 2026: This day in history
1689: Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō leaves Edo on his epic 150-day journey to Honshu Island in Japan, which he writes about in the literary masterpiece “Oku no Hosomichi” (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) 1862: Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir builds the first automobile with an internal-combustion engine 1868: US Senate fails to impeach President […]
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EUROPE
May 15, 2026 Cup final flares and fire ‘raises important security questions’
Questions have been asked about stadium security after Thursday’s (14 May) Belgian Croky Cup Final at King Baudouin Stadium.
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WORLD
May 15, 2026 Trump warns Taiwan against declaring independence, hours after summit with China’s Xi
Donald Trump has cautioned Taiwan against formally declaring independence from China. “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent,” the US president told Fox News on Friday, at the end of his two-day summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing. Trump earlier said he had “made no commitment either way” about the self-governing […]
