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Geopolitics

This Greek Island Has An Exit Strategy: Become Part Of Austria

LIBERO (Italy), DIE WELT (Germany), HEUTE, KLEINE ZEITUNG (Austria)

The tiny Greek island of Icaria is considering a referendum to break away from debt-saddled Greece, and become part of Austria, according to several European press reports. Icaria, which has a population of 8,000, could decide to become independent after its 100-year treaty with Athens expires later this year, Italian daily Libero reported.

The island, which is closer to mainland Turkey, became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, though the freedom lasted a mere five months, before becoming part of Greece in November of that year. It derived its name from Icarus, the son of the master craftsman Daedalus in Greek mythology, who famously fell into the sea nearby after flying too close to the sun.

Fast forward to today, where they are faced with tough economic difficulties brought on by Greece's debt crisis, Icaria's citizens are disillusioned with Athens' austerity measures.

Berlin-based daily Die Welt reported that a spokesperson for Icaria's mayor Stafrinadis Christodoulos, said: "Athens has forgotten us, therefore we're thinking about an accession to Austria."

Austria's daily Heute was warmed by the prospect of their very own beach in the heart of the Aegean Sea, with an online poll showing 83% in favor of annexation.

But the sun-deprived Austrians shouldn't trade in their snowboards for water skis too soon. Austria's Kleine Zeitung reported that the Greek embassy in Vienna issued a statement stating: "Article 12 of the Lausanne treaty of 1923 confirms that the islands of the eastern Aegean, including Ikaria, belong to Greece."

Is this about modern Greek finances gone awry, or is Icaria telling another eternal tale of hubris?

An ancient monastery in Icaria (Wikipedia)

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Society

What's Spoiling The Kids: The Big Tech v. Bad Parenting Debate

Without an extended family network, modern parents have sought to raise happy kids in a "hostile" world. It's a tall order, when youngsters absorb the fears (and devices) around them like a sponge.

Image of a kid wearing a blue striped sweater, using an ipad.

Children exposed to technology at a very young age are prominent today.

Julián de Zubiría Samper

-Analysis-

BOGOTÁ — A 2021 report from the United States (the Youth Risk Behavior Survey) found that 42% of the country's high-school students persistently felt sad and 22% had thought about suicide. In other words, almost half of the country's young people are living in despair and a fifth of them have thought about killing themselves.

Such chilling figures are unprecedented in history. Many have suggested that this might be the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but sadly, we can see depression has deeper causes, and the pandemic merely illustrated its complexity.

I have written before on possible links between severe depression and the time young people spend on social media. But this is just one aspect of the problem. Today, young people suffer frequent and intense emotional crises, and not just for all the hours spent staring at a screen. Another, possibly more important cause may lie in changes to the family composition and authority patterns at home.

Firstly: Families today have fewer members, who communicate less among themselves.

Young people marry at a later age, have fewer children and many opt for personal projects and pets instead of having children. Families are more diverse and flexible. In many countries, the number of children per woman is close to or less than one (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong among others).

In Colombia, women have on average 1.9 children, compared to 7.6 in 1970. Worldwide, women aged 15 to 49 years have on average 2.4 children, or half the average figure for 1970. The changes are much more pronounced in cities and among middle and upper-income groups.

Of further concern today is the decline in communication time at home, notably between parents and children. This is difficult to quantify, but reasons may include fewer household members, pervasive use of screens, mothers going to work, microwave ovens that have eliminated family cooking and meals and, thanks to new technologies, an increase in time spent on work, even at home. Our society is addicted to work and devotes little time to minors.

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