‘Close’ instead of ‘enhanced’

The European Commission opened the way on Monday for Greece’s exit from its enhanced surveillance status as of August 20; however, it also committed Athens to completing an additional 22 reforms by the end of the year in order to collect the final tranche of 748 million euros from the debt-easing measures agreed in 2018…

Fresh allegations of Hagia Sophia vandalism

Images shared on social media showing visitors at the 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia removing small pieces from the interior walls of the former Christian Byzantine cathedral have prompted fresh concerns regarding the protection of Istanbul’s crowning architectural jewel, after Turkish authorities annulled its status as a museum and converted it into a mosque.