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Emergency Declared on 2nd Greek Island as String of Quakes Persists

Residents and visitors of Santorini are forming queues with their cars towards the port of Athinios, as they leave the island due to the increased seismic activity of the last few days, Santorini island, Greece, 03 February 2025. EPA/CHRISTOS YANTSIS
Residents and visitors of Santorini are forming queues with their cars towards the port of Athinios, as they leave the island due to the increased seismic activity of the last few days, Santorini island, Greece, 03 February 2025. EPA/CHRISTOS YANTSIS
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Emergency Declared on 2nd Greek Island as String of Quakes Persists

Residents and visitors of Santorini are forming queues with their cars towards the port of Athinios, as they leave the island due to the increased seismic activity of the last few days, Santorini island, Greece, 03 February 2025. EPA/CHRISTOS YANTSIS
Residents and visitors of Santorini are forming queues with their cars towards the port of Athinios, as they leave the island due to the increased seismic activity of the last few days, Santorini island, Greece, 03 February 2025. EPA/CHRISTOS YANTSIS

Authorities declared a state of emergency on a second Greek island Wednesday as a series of earthquakes continued to rattle the south-eastern Aegean Sea region.
The emergency measure announced on the island of Amorgos follows a similar decision for nearby Santorini on Feb. 7 after thousands of unusual tremors were registered in an undersea area near the two islands, as well as the islands of Ios and Anafi – all popular tourist destinations, The Associated Press reported.
Scientists had expressed hope the seismic swarm could be easing up, but a string of earthquakes around magnitude 5 has renewed concern. Seismologists have also noted that the epicenter of the earthquakes is steadily drifting northward in the direction of Amorgos.
The emergency declaration will facilitate rapid deployment of resources and emergency services. The region has already seen a significant mobilization of fire departments, police, coast guard, and armed forces mostly on Santorini where thousands of residents and seasonal workers have left the island.
Overall, about 12,000 earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 1 have been registered since Jan. 26, the University of Athens’ crisis management committee said earlier.
Although Greece lies in a highly seismically active part of the world and earthquakes are frequent, it is very rare for any part of the country to experience such an intense barrage of earthquakes for such an extended period.

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ISS Crew Splashes Down on Earth After Medical Evacuation

FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows the Moon's shadow covering portions of Canada and the US during a total solar eclipse as seen from the International Space Station on Monday, Aug. 8, 2024. (NASA via AP, File)
FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows the Moon's shadow covering portions of Canada and the US during a total solar eclipse as seen from the International Space Station on Monday, Aug. 8, 2024. (NASA via AP, File)
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ISS Crew Splashes Down on Earth After Medical Evacuation

FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows the Moon's shadow covering portions of Canada and the US during a total solar eclipse as seen from the International Space Station on Monday, Aug. 8, 2024. (NASA via AP, File)
FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows the Moon's shadow covering portions of Canada and the US during a total solar eclipse as seen from the International Space Station on Monday, Aug. 8, 2024. (NASA via AP, File)

Four International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers splashed down in the Pacific Ocean early Thursday, video footage from NASA showed, after a medical issue prompted their mission to be cut short.

American astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and Japan's Kimiya Yui landed off the coast of San Diego about 12:41 am (0841 GMT), marking the first-ever medical evacuation from the ISS.

Varieties

Lonely Tree in Wales Is an Instagram Star, but its Fate Is Inevitable

The Lonely Tree, often pictured submerged in water, was first planted in 2010. (Getty Images)
The Lonely Tree, often pictured submerged in water, was first planted in 2010. (Getty Images)
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Lonely Tree in Wales Is an Instagram Star, but its Fate Is Inevitable

The Lonely Tree, often pictured submerged in water, was first planted in 2010. (Getty Images)
The Lonely Tree, often pictured submerged in water, was first planted in 2010. (Getty Images)

It is one of Wales' most-loved beauty spots - but the time of the so-called Lonely Tree being an Instagram star could be slowly coming to an end.

The birch tree's striking setting at Llyn Padarn in Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, draws photographers to capture the sight through the seasons, according to BBC.

But the local authority Cyngor Gwynedd has raised the prospect of the tree, which was planted around 2010, disappearing within the next decade or so.

A lack of nutrients in the soil means birch trees have “a relatively short lifespan” in the area, typically living for around 30 years, but the fact that The Lonely Tree is sometimes submerged in water means its time could be even shorter.

Thousands of walkers and photographers make their way there each year and the tree has many social media sites dedicated to it, including one with 3,500 members on Facebook.

Marc Lock from Bangor, Gwynedd, said: “The Lonely Tree holds a special place in my heart and that of my family.”

He added: “Nestled down by the Lonely Tree, it's a perfect spot for us to sit, reflect and soak in the breath-taking scenery. We often go paddleboarding there in the summer months.”

However, Lock said the area really became his sanctuary after his wife bought him a camera for Christmas and he took up photography.

It was the place he headed to straight away, and he returns regularly at various times of the day and throughout the seasons.

“It's my go-to spot whenever I have some free time and my camera in hand,” he added. “I can't imagine what I would do if anything devastating happened to it like that at the Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian's Wall. It's simply unthinkable.”

The Sycamore Gap was a much-loved landmark beside Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland that also drew hikers and photographers from far and wide.

It was more than 100 years old and had been the scene of many proposals, with people making the trip there from around the world.

But it was cut down by vandals in September 2023, causing uproar, with thousands of people leaving tributes and posting messages about their love for the beauty spot.

Two men were jailed for four years and three months after admitting the illegal felling.

While maybe not quite as famous as the Sycamore Gap was, The Lonely Tree is every bit as special to those that hold it dear to their heart.

Varieties

Four Signs You're Self-Sabotaging Your Joy

Threat or uncertainty can reduce cognitive regulation and increase avoidance behaviors. (Indiana University)
Threat or uncertainty can reduce cognitive regulation and increase avoidance behaviors. (Indiana University)
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Four Signs You're Self-Sabotaging Your Joy

Threat or uncertainty can reduce cognitive regulation and increase avoidance behaviors. (Indiana University)
Threat or uncertainty can reduce cognitive regulation and increase avoidance behaviors. (Indiana University)

Most of us, at some point in our lives, have stood in the way of our own growth.

We make progress on a project, start to feel hopeful about a relationship, or finally get on track with a goal, and then we do something that undermines it.

We fall into a procrastination spiral, pick a fight, or simply quit; in doing so, we talk ourselves out of something that could potentially bring us happiness.

There’s a name for this kind of behavior: self-sabotage.

Dr. Mark Travers, an American psychologist with degrees from Cornell University and the University of Colorado Boulder, wrote an essay at Psychology Today about four well-studied reasons why people sabotage good things, based on research in psychology.

Avoiding blame

According to Travers, one of the most consistently researched patterns in self-sabotage comes from what psychologists call self-handicapping.

He said this is a behavior in which people create obstacles to their own success so that if they fail, they can blame external factors instead of internal ability.

A prime example comes from classic research in which researchers observed students who procrastinated studying for an important test. The ones who failed mostly attributed it to a lack of preparation rather than a lack of organization or discipline.

Self-handicapping is not simply laziness or whimsy. Rather, it is a strategy people use to protect their self-worth in situations where they might perform “poorly” or where they might be perceived as inadequate.

Fear of failure or success

People often think of the fear of failure as the main emotional driver behind self-sabotage.

But research points to the fear of success as an equal, yet less-talked-about engine of the phenomenon. Both fears can push people to undermine opportunities that are actually aligned with their long-term goals.

He said people who worry that failure will confirm their negative self-beliefs are more likely to adopt defensive avoidance tactics, like procrastination or quitting early.

Fear of success, though less widely discussed, operates in a similar fashion. What motivates this fear is the anxiety that comes with the consequences of success.

So, self-sabotaging success can be a way to stay within a comfort zone where expectations are familiar, even if that zone is unsatisfying.

Negative self-beliefs

Self-sabotage is tightly intertwined with how people view themselves. When someone doubts their worth, their ability, or their right to be happy, they may unconsciously act in ways that confirm those negative self-views.

Psychological theories help explain this.

Self-discrepancy theory proposes that people experience emotional discomfort when their actual self does not match their ideal self. This mismatch can lead to negative emotions such as shame, anxiety, or depression.

Coping with stress and anxiety

Self-sabotage often emerges in moments of high stress or emotional threat. When people feel overwhelmed, anxious, or stretched thin, their nervous systems shift into protective modes. Instead of moving forward, they retreat, avoid, or defensively withdraw.

Threat or uncertainty can reduce cognitive regulation and increase avoidance behaviors. In situations of perceived threat, even if the threat is potential success or evaluation, people can default to behaviors that feel safer, even if they undermine long-term goals.