On Thursday, 8 October 2026, after reviewing current affairs and the headlines from news websites and newspapers, we discussed political developments and Rubio’s visit to Athens with Manos Oikonomidis, journalist and political analyst at ysterografa.gr. Dimitris Stathakopoulos, a lawyer and Ottoman studies scholar who holds a PhD from Panteion University, offered his assessment of the U.S. Secretary of State’s visit.
The second hour began with Ivana Djordjevic presenting international news and updates from the Balkans. Next, Thomais Papaioannou, ERTnews correspondent in Paris, reported on student protests in France and their impact on the political scene.
We then traveled to Naxos to speak with Alexandros Logiotatos, chairman and CEO of the island’s marble company, about the “Lyre of Naxos,” the monumental sculpture by German artist Tobias Ballaty. The project began with months of painstaking work by the quarry’s craftspeople to extract a single, enormous block of marble. The sculptor then worked the stone into a preliminary form, with the sculpture to be completed in Basel, Switzerland.
The exceptionally challenging operation to transport the sculpture across the island to the port is currently underway. The specialized vehicle carrying it travels at no more than five kilometers per hour and will await a specially equipped vessel at the port.
The program concluded with sports news presented by Antigoni Drakatou.