Arachova: As a child, Giannis Staithas remembers it snowing for days on end in Arachova, a village famous for its ski resort and long known as a winter playground for Greeks.“We couldn’t go to school because of the snow,” said Staithas, now mayor of Arakova and the surrounding area. “We would have been stuck at home for two days not being able to go out because of the snow.““We don’t see it here anymore.”Staithas says that snowfall on Mount Parnassos at an altitude of 2,400 meters (7,874 ft) is the same as it once was at 300 meters (984 ft).New findings from the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge confirm Mayer’s observations.“We found in 10 mountains across mainland Greece that snow cover is declining rapidly,” said Constantis Alexopoulos, a snow hydrologist at the University of Cambridge and the National Observatory of Athens and co-founder of the Hellenic Mountain Observatory. “We have lost more than half the ice cover since the mid-1980s.”40 years of use NASA and European Space Agency satellite imagery, the researchers used machine learning to estimate missing snow cover data and reconstructed gaps left by cloud coverage and rare satellite passes.ice as a reservoirAlexopoulos said the decline matters because the snow acts like a natural water reservoir.“Snowpack is really like a savings account,” he said. “You can deposit an amount today and the longer you keep it in this savings account without spending it, the interest value will grow. And Snow works exactly the same way.”Unlike rain, which quickly flows into rivers and the ocean, snow remains stored in the mountains “eventually melting when we need it most,” Alexopoulos said.This helps maintain water supplies during the dry season, which is especially important in Mediterranean climates where summer rainfall is limited.Climate change in the Mediterranean SeaThey said snow loss is driven primarily by rising temperatures linked to greenhouse gas emissions, which reduce both snowfall and the duration of snow cover on the ground.“The decline in snow cover that we are seeing in the Greek mountains is not linked to the natural climate variability that exists,” he said. “The current rate of climate change globally, and particularly in hotspots such as the Mediterranean Sea, is much faster than previously seen on Earth.”Alexopoulos said the team expected the fall, but were surprised by its magnitude. “Other mountainous regions of the world, such as the Andes or the Himalayas, … “All have experienced significant declines in snow cover but not at the rate we saw in the Greek mountains.”This study was one of the first long-term analyzes of the Greek mountains.“Mountain environments are inherently difficult to study because of their remote access,” Alexopoulos said. He said it is difficult to set up weather stations to take measurements and maintain a continuous record of observations.“In Greece we haven’t focused on it that much because we never really understood the importance of snow’s contribution to our water resources,” he said. “But as it’s changing and as it’s declining, we’re seeing those droughts, and we’re trying to explain them.”While Mount Parnassos was not part of the study, Alexopoulos said it is still representative of conditions seen throughout Greece.The effect of lack of snow is already visibleIn Arakova, in the shadow of Mount Parnassos, the results are already visible.“One hundred percent of Arachova’s water is supplied by snowmelt,” said local restaurateur Aktida Kouritou.He said local people have become more aware of water scarcity and are taking extra precautions not to waste water, especially during summer when water scarcity is most severe.According to the mayor, this is a matter of great concern as springs in Arachova are drying up and reservoirs are not refilling.“The biggest problems start in late August and early September and last until late September or early October,” Staithas said.According to Staithas, the unexpected snowfall in April took locals by surprise and was welcomed as a top-up, but “will hardly help in filling the reservoirs”.acclimatize to less snowOfficials are trying to adapt. The municipality is exploring the construction of small dams so as not to waste water, while the ski center is also implementing snow retention measures to help preserve it longer.Less snow also means drier vegetation and greater fire risk. Staithas said that in the past fires were not really a problem in northern Greece, but that has changed.“You could have set fire to pine trees 30 years, 40 years ago and there would have been no chance that the mountain would burn,” he said. “But now there is a big danger due to severe drought.”Arachova’s ski-based economy is also changing.Koretou, who worked at the ski center when it opened in the early 1980s, said the ski season now starts in January instead of December.“No one will come to the mountains for Christmas. They will go to Switzerland. Wherever they can find snow, they will go there,” he said. “So they go away and (business) goes down. This Christmas, at least for me, it was down 30%.”In response, the municipality is trying to diversify beyond winter tourism, and promote the mountain town of Arachova as a summer destination.“Someone can swim and be here in 20 minutes to be where it’s cool,” Staithas said. “But to be able to continue tourism in the summer, we must have water.”I remember the past wintersLocal people still remember what winters were like. Koretou remembers farmers harvesting grapes in late October, before the first snowfall. People left shovels behind their doors and neighbors worked together to clean the streets. She also remembers parts of the mountain where the snow never completely melted before the next winter came.“There are some years when disappointments overtake you,” Koretou said. “For those of us who know winter well, it’s disappointing not to see snow. You want it in the winter. The change is huge.”

A billboard put up by a candidate in the upcoming local body elections in Taiwan showing a turbaned man holding a ‘no entry’ sign has irked the small but growing Indian community on the island – and drawn a sharp rebuke from one of the country’s most senior officials.The hoardings were put up about a fortnight ago in Kaohsiung city by Lee Hung-yi, currently head of Gangming Ward in the city’s Siaogang district, who is contesting as an independent candidate in the city council elections in November. The photos circulated widely on Taiwanese social media.

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When questioned by local media, Lee spoke candidly. He said that he is not against migrant workers in general, only Indian workers. The statement drew an immediate reaction from Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s longest-serving former foreign minister and current secretary general of the National Security Council – India’s equivalent of the National Security Advisor.I feel ashamed to see a local politician doing this to gain attention. I condemn such despicable conduct in a very welcoming society. “I will continue to work hard to strengthen Taiwan-India mutual cooperation,” Wu said. Despite the efforts, Li could not be reached for comment.Indians currently living in Taiwan – they number just over 7,000, according to the national immigration agency, making them the ninth-largest foreign resident group on the island – say the billboards are troubling but not entirely surprising. “This seems to be an extension of anti-India propaganda on popular social media platforms like TikTok and Threads in Taiwan, which is being promoted by some countries that work against India’s interests,” said Arpita Biswas, a marine science research scholar at National Taiwan University who has been living in the country for the past five years. He said Taiwanese society is largely welcoming, but hostility towards Indians exists in a small section and is being amplified online. “We see anti-India propaganda posts almost every day. They are largely driven by a lack of understanding about Indians and their culture due to limited contact between people,” he said.An engineer who has lived in Taiwan for four years, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that anti-India sentiment has so far been limited to social media rather than spreading into daily conversations. “We have not faced direct racism from anyone here. But we can definitely feel the undercurrent on social media, where Indians are targeted in racist posts by people with vested interests. “It seems like this candidate is trying to capitalize on that trend to attract younger voters.”

Media professional and documentary-maker Suvam Pal, who has been in Taiwan since 2022, traced the roots of the campaign to earlier reports that the Taiwan government was planning to recruit one lakh Indian workers to address the labor shortage. “A certain section of the country’s politicians campaigned against this move, creating a kind of fear psychosis as if Indian workers would descend the very next day and take over the country. That’s not going to happen – there are many checks and balances in the recruitment process,” Pal said.

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It’s a cockroach world, we’re just living in it. (AI photo by ChatGPT)

New Delhi: For centuries, humans have disliked and despised them. But today, they are being “liked” and “followed” like never before. Well, you guessed it! We’re talking about cockroaches – who have become the talk of the town today in their new “online avatar”. The six-legged creatures – who have survived our hatred for years – would never have dreamed that one day they would become the center of a human movement and many would say “Me too cockroach.“Cockroaches needed only one controversial comparison to find their moment of glory in a hitherto despised existence among humans. Biological evolution or manufactured support, genuine popularity or an enemy-driven anti-India agenda – the online rage will continue to be debated but the fact remains that the cockroach has indeed now taken center stage of our political discourse.

The planet’s greatest survivor?

Cockroaches have already conquered the planet – quietly. Patiently. Mostly from under your sink.Long before humans invented democracy, taxation, unemployment, LinkedIn profiles, and motivational reels about “the grind,” the cockroach was already here – calmly surviving floods, meteors, and even volcanic eruptions.

Cockroach Survival Manual

not just an insect

Scientists estimate that cockroach-like ancestors existed more than 300 million years ago. Dinosaurs came much later. Which means that if Earth were a family drama, the cockroaches would be the ancient grandfather, while humanity would be the overconfident grandson who arrived in episode 4 and thinks the house is his.Dinosaurs became extinct. The cockroaches stayed put. Volcanoes erupted. The cockroaches stayed put. Empires collapsed. Cockroaches kept eating cardboard in a dark corner.In fact, the cockroach has mastered one of the greatest skills in history: being underestimated.We see lions and think ‘king of the jungle’. We look at sharks and think ‘the ultimate predator’. But if survival determined greatness, then the cockroach would be the undisputed emperor of evolution, wearing a tiny crown made of kitchen scraps.

Roach if you can: Cockroaches are winning the game of survival (AI photo by ChatGPT)

Do you know?

A cockroach can survive for several weeks without food. It can flatten its body into impossible crevices. Some species can hold their breath for about 40 minutes. They can be exposed to far higher radiation levels than humans. There are also experiments that show that cockroaches can function without their heads for some time because their nervous system is distributed differently from ours.Biologically too, cockroaches are a marvel of engineering. Their exoskeletons protect them while remaining flexible. Their sensory systems detect motion and vibration quickly enough to avoid most attacks. Their reproductive efficiency depends on administrative excellence.Which is ironic, because many humans with full heads contribute much less to society than the headless cockroaches roaming the sewers with purpose and ambition.

Cockroach CV

universally hated

And yet, despite all this flexibility, cockroaches are universally hated. No one has ever reacted with spiritual peace to the sight of a cockroach. Butterflies inspire poetry. Fireflies inspire wonder. Cockroaches induce Olympic-level jumping ability in fully grown adults.The injustice is extraordinary.The peacock does nothing more than pose dramatically in gardens, yet it becomes the national bird. The cockroach survives five mass extinction events only to find a slipper thrown in his face.Is humanity angry at meritocracy?There is also something very uncertain about the timing of the cockroach. Cockroaches are never visible when there are lights all around in your life. It emerges right when it’s dark, when you turn off the kitchen lights and start questioning your life choices. Suddenly the tiny antennae reveal the ancient eyes with the confidence of a creature that watches continents move apart.The cockroach doesn’t panic because the cockroach knows something that humans don’t: it will probably survive.

The final metamorphosis, through kafkalens of

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is perhaps the most famous insect-related work in modern literature.Gregor Samsa wakes up transformed into a monstrous insect. Popular imagination often turns him into a cockroach, although Kafka never gives the exact name of the species. This change horrifies his family not only because of the appearance, but also because Gregor ceases to function financially. It becomes unproductive, useless and a burden. His inability to contribute financially transforms him from a beloved son to a household liability.Kafka understood a terrible thing about modern society: people are often valued less as human beings and more as economic machinery.But real cockroaches would probably seem embarrassing to Gregor.Because real cockroaches are surprisingly productive survivors. They are scavengers, recyclers, decomposers and acclimatizers of elite level. They don’t sit in rented apartments pondering existential despair. They go. They persist. They hustle.If Kafka’s insect symbolizes separation, the real cockroach symbolizes continuity.

mascot of stamina

We build glass towers, hold conferences about innovation, and create passwords with special characters. The cockroach watches all this with the weary patience of an old landlord who has seen tenants come and go for centuries.Even our wars do not cause them any inconvenience.During the bombings of World War II, cockroaches survived ravaged cities. In nuclear disaster discussions, people often joke that only cockroaches will survive the apocalypse. While science suggests some insects are even more radiation-resistant, the cockroach has become a mascot of post-apocalyptic endurance.Oceans may rise, volcanoes may erupt, billionaires may flee, wars may be fought, cities may calm down but then somewhere under the debris of a luxury apartment, a cockroach peacefully finds half a biscuit.Life goes on.

Cockroaches survive regardless of the way they are treated.

fifth pillar of democracy

There is something almost democratic about cockroaches. They do not discriminate. Rich homes, poor homes, five-star hotels, government offices, student hostels – all are equally worth a visit.Cockroach believes strongly in universal access.And unlike humans, cockroaches don’t waste time making inspirational philosophies. No cockroach ever posted: “Get up and grind.” No cockroach has launched a podcast about peak performance. Yet every night, without fail, they emerge with a discipline more acute than corporate ambition.Imagine the confidence required to survive humanity’s hatred for millions of years.Entire industries exist just to destroy them. Sprays, traps, powders, gels, ultrasonic devices, herbal remedies – the war against cockroaches is one of the longest-running military campaigns in human history.The cockroach remains undefeated.We have reached an uneasy geopolitical arrangement with cockroach populations: we occupy visible spaces; They inherit hidden people.And maybe that’s why cockroaches attract us. It exposes human ego.We imagine ourselves as masters of the Earth as we build skyscrapers and launch rockets. But survival is a different metric entirely. The cockroach needs no stock market, no political system, no smartphone battery and no wellness retreat. It just adapts.Meanwhile, when Wi-Fi disappears for 6-7 minutes, humans suffer an emotional breakdown.If evolution were a competitive exam, the cockroach would have topped the rankings while humanity would have debated about reservation policies outside the exam centre.Of course, this doesn’t mean that people should suddenly fall in love with cockroaches. Admiration and affection are different things. One can respect a tiger and still prefer not to share a bathroom with it.The problem is not that cockroaches exist. The problem is that they appear too confident. A mosquito behaves at least like a criminal – timid, nervous, apologetic. Cockroaches behave like property managers.He strolls across the wall as if conducting an inspection round.And yet, buried beneath the hatred, is grudging respect. Because deep down humanity knows resilience when it sees it. The cockroach symbolizes an existence devoid of glamour. No elegance. No mythology. No cinematic soundtrack. Just stubborn persistence.Perhaps this is the real reason why insects bother us.Cockroaches force humans to confront an uncomfortable prospect: Nature doesn’t reward beauty, intelligence, or sophistication any more than it rewards adaptability.Cockroaches adapted while humans just gave speeches about adaptation. And in that difference lies millions of years of evolutionary success. But only one of them belongs to a lineage ancient enough to remember the world before dinosaurs.

Sikh organizations across the UK have issued a public statement urging people not to associate Sikhism with the ongoing murder trial involving the death of 18-year-old University of Southampton student Henry Novak.A statement issued by the British Sikh Federation expressed condolences to Novak’s family and described the incident as inconsistent with Sikh teachings and values.“On behalf of Sikh organizations and communities across the country, we express our deepest condolences for the tragic loss of life,” the statement said.“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Novak family and loved ones during this extremely difficult time.”The organizations said the case should not be used to make broad assumptions about Sikh beliefs or religious practices.“The incident as reported is not in keeping with the Sikh faith, the Sikh community or its principles,” the statement said.“Sikh teachings are based on compassion, justice, humility, responsibility and service to humanity.”The statement described the Sikh community as peaceful, well-integrated and an important part of British society.Community leaders urged the public to allow the legal proceedings to proceed without prejudice and called for restraint in public discussion of the case.“We respectfully urge everyone to allow the judicial process to proceed fairly and without prejudice and to refrain from making blanket assumptions or judgments about the Sikh faith or Sikh religious practices based on an individual case,” the statement said.The comments came during the trial of 23-year-old Vikram Digva at Southampton Crown Court.Following the fatal stabbing of Henry Novak in Belmont Road, Southampton on 3 December 2025, Degua denied murder and denied carrying a blade in public.The court heard that Novak, of Chafford Hundred, Essex, suffered five wounds from a 21cm kirpan, a ceremonial Sikh blade, including a fatal wound to the chest.DeGwa claims she acted in self-defense after an altercation in which she alleges Novak racially abused her, punched her, pulled off her turban and grabbed her hair during a confrontation after a night out.The defendant told the court that he feared Novak would use the saber against him.His mother Kiran Kaur is also accused of allegedly helping a criminal by removing weapons from the crime scene. She denies the allegation.The case is going on.

S Jaishankar with Marco Rubio

New Delhi: United States Secretary of State marco rubio On Sunday, he described India as one of the most important strategic partners of America and said that relations between the two countries go far beyond traditional diplomacy.Speaking at a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Rubio said the India-US partnership is based on common interests and cooperation on many global issues.“Strategic partnerships are a very different thing,” Rubio said. “A strategic partnership is when your interests as two nations align, and you work together strategically to solve those problems,” he said.Rubio said the wide range of areas in which the two countries cooperate reflects the strength of relations between Washington and New Delhi.“The breadth of the list of issues on which we work closely with India highlights the fact that India is an important strategic partner to the United States, one of our most important strategic partners in the world,” Rubio said.Rubio also mentioned the democratic values ​​shared by both countries.“Democracy answers directly to its people and you have to answer consistently,” he said.On terrorism, Rubio said both India and the US have suffered losses due to global terrorist networks and they have developed strong cooperation on counter-terrorism.“On the issue of terrorism, both our countries have suffered direct and indirect losses due to the global terrorist network. This resulted in a strong anti-terrorism alignment,” he said.He also talked about cooperation in emerging technologies and innovation and said both countries agreed on managing opportunities and risks in this area.“We have a tremendous strategic alliance between our countries and there is agreement on that point,” Rubio said.Rubio further said that India and the US are working together to ensure free movement of global trade, especially in international waters and airspace.“Similarly, the same is true in the Indo-Pacific on the unimpeded flow of commerce, particularly in international airspace and international waters, ensuring that there is a free and open Indo-Pacific, but it extends beyond the Indo-Pacific,” he said.Earlier, Jaishankar and Rubio held delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi as part of the ongoing high-level engagement between the two countries.Senior officials from both sides participated in the meeting. Jaishankar was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, State Department spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal and other officials, while Rubio was accompanied by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gore and members of the US delegation.During the meeting, Rubio described the first day of his visit to India as “fantastic” and said the US and India are not just allies but “strategic partners”.“It’s already been a wonderful day. We look forward to our visits today and our conversations and learning more about the country… As you mentioned, the United States and India are not just allies; we are strategic allies, and that is of vital importance. We obviously work with countries around the world and throughout the region on a variety of issues as they emerge, but our strategic partnership is what sets this relationship apart, because it’s not limited to just one region. “It expands opportunities to collaborate globally across different regions of the world, and that potentially includes the Western Hemisphere and places like that,” he said.Rubio said there was still “a lot of work to do” between the two countries and described India and the US as the two “largest democracies” in the world.He said it had laid a strong foundation for “incredible cooperation” and said the visit aimed to “continue to build on what is already a very solid and strong strategic partnership.”

FILE – Israeli far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir gestures after the release of election exit poll results at his party’s headquarters in Jerusalem on November 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Oren Ziv, File)

France announced it has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country after he released videos mocking and intimidating pro-Palestinian activists detained from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The video shared by the Israeli minister has also drawn widespread international condemnation and renewed calls for European sanctions against the far-right minister.The French foreign minister announced the move in a post on Twitter, accusing Ben-Gvir of “inexplicable” behavior towards French and European citizens, who were among hundreds of activists stopped by Israeli forces in international waters earlier this week. Barrot wrote, “To date, Itamar Ben-Gvir is prohibited from entering French territory. This decision follows his unspeakable actions towards French and European citizens who were passengers on the Global Sumud Flotilla.”“We cannot tolerate that French citizens can be intimidated, threatened or brutalized in this way – even more so by a public official,” he said, adding that he also urged the EU to impose bloc-wide sanctions on the Israeli minister.The ban comes after a video shared by Ben-Gvir on Wednesday sparked outrage across Europe and rights groups. In a post on Twitter, he shared a video of detained flotilla activists and captioned it, “This is how we accept supporters of terrorism. Welcome to Israel.”In one clip, the minister is seen waving a large Israeli flag over prone detainees, whose hands appeared to be tied. Another clip of the video shows him shouting “Am Yisrael Chai” – Hebrew for “the nation of Israel lives”) at a kneeling activist with zip-tied wrists.The footage also showed detainees kneeling with their foreheads pressed to the ground inside an outdoor holding area while the Israeli national anthem played and armed guards surrounded them. The footage was titled “Welcome to Israel”.Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters when the convoy attempted to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The activists set sail from Turkey aboard about 50 ships as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla initiative, saying they were delivering humanitarian aid and protesting the blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.According to French authorities, the detained activists included 36 French citizens. Israel later said the detainees would be deported.Barrot criticized the flotilla mission itself, saying that France did not support the activists’ viewpoint.They wrote, “We reject this flotilla approach, which produces no useful effect and imposes an additional burden on diplomatic and consular services.”Despite that criticism, France said the treatment of detainees crossed a line. Barrot said he was coordinating with Italy in pursuing EU sanctions against Ben-Gvir.Spain has also urged the European Union to impose sanctions on an Israeli minister, while the United Kingdom has summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat to London over what it described as an “inflammatory video”.Netanyahu distanced himself from the video but refrained from taking action against his coalition partner. The Israeli Prime Minister said Ben-Gvir’s conduct was “not in line with Israel’s values ​​and norms”, although he retained him in his Cabinet, news agency AP reported.At the same time, Netanyahu defended Israel’s interception of the flotilla, previously describing the aid mission as a “malicious plan” aimed at supporting Hamas.Israel has maintained tight control over all entry points into Gaza for nearly two decades. The blockade is facing increasing international scrutiny during the ongoing Gaza war, as there are severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies in the area. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of worsening humanitarian conditions, particularly during the period when Israel completely halted aid distribution.The latest flotilla operation follows a similar attempt last month that was stopped by Israeli authorities in international waters near Greece, with most of the activists later expelled to Europe.