Once synonymous with isolation, imprisonment and political persecution, the remote Greek island of Gyaros is today gaining recognition for a dramatically different reason. The uninhabited island in the Cyclades, which was used for decades to exile and imprison political dissidents, has become an important refuge for the endangered Mediterranean monk seal, one of the world’s…

Long before Odysseus became a symbol of courage and intelligence, he was a king caught between victory and survival. The Greek warrior helped end the legendary Trojan War with one of history’s most famous strategies: the Wooden Horse that allowed Greek soldiers to enter Troy. But his triumph marked the beginning of another battle, one…

US President Donald Trump (PTI file photo) TOI correspondent from Washington: US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused China of carrying out “the largest compromise of American election data in history,” alleging Beijing illicitly acquired 220 million US voter files in a sweeping espionage operation that he described as an unprecedented threat to American democracy.“China’s…

A campaign intended to protect China’s food supply became one of history’s starkest examples of ecological miscalculation. In 1958, Mao Zedong’s government targeted sparrows under the nationwide Four Pests Campaign because the birds were believed to consume valuable grain. Millions of citizens were mobilised to destroy nests, break eggs and drive the birds from the…