EPIDAURUS, Greece (AP) — As Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” renews global fascination with Homer, a cast of disabled and non-disabled performers in Greece is staging the war’s other story.

It’s not about the triumph of returning heroes, but the suffering they left behind.

“The Trojan Women,” with a cast of 22, was staged at Epidaurus, the ancient open-air stone arena in southern Greece. It marked what organizers called the first fully accessible performance in the ancient theater’s 2,300-year history.

While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city’s ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.

The ancient theater offered a full range of accessibility services for the Aug. 2 performance. Blind audience members received Braille programs, tactile models and live audio description, while deaf spectators followed overhead titles. Physical adaptations also improved access throughout the site.

“It’s the first time a performance at Ancient Epidaurus has been made accessible to everyone,” said Greg Polychronidis, a Paralympic gold medalist who attended the event. “Today was a celebration of equality and it should serve as an example for everyone, forever.”

For many of the performers, standing on the ancient stage was itself part of the message: a voice for those often overlooked. Eirini Kourouvani, a 58-year-old cast member who uses a wheelchair, had never set foot inside the theater before.

“It is just grand,” she said. “I feel my heart opening up as wide as this theater is.”

Ioanna-Maria Gertsou, a blind psychologist, attended with Babu, her guide dog.

“We too have the right to attend performances on an equal footing,” she said, relieved that her dog remained quiet during the play.

The National Theater of Greece produced the performance, and accessibility services were designed by the nonprofit Liminal with financial support from Greece’s Alpha Bank.

Argyro Chioti, the National Theater’s artistic director, said the production should become the norm rather than the exception.

“This was complex, not simple. It required months of planning. It cost money. And it required very specific organizational expertise,” she said. “But that’s the standard and venues we need to reach — the major stages and the major theaters.”

—— Gatopoulos reported from Athens

The estimated 72,000 Moroccan migrants who flooded into the Spanish city of Ceuta within 24 hours is shining a spotlight on Europe’s massive problem of illegal and legal migration and the threat of growing Islamic terrorism.

Mideast and European commentators who closely follow Islamic extremism across the continent say Europe’s political class needs to tackle the origins of radical Islamism to prevent terrorism.

According to a July Europol (formerly known as the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation) report, Spain recorded the highest number of arrests (117) for “jihadist terrorism-related offenses” within the European Union during 2025.

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Some Spanish outlets claimed the Spanish Civil Guard and police identified “about a dozen” individuals previously deported from Spain for suspected terror-related offenses among those who entered Ceuta last week. However, Euro News reported that Spain’s interior ministry said it has not confirmed those reports. 

Quoting the ministry, it reported, “The Spanish public and the people of Ceuta can be confident that the arrivals on 30 July do not pose a threat to public security.” The report also cited the interior ministry as saying that, so far this year, 82 people had been arrested for offenses related to jihadist terrorism.

Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University and an expert on Islamism in Europe and North America, told Fox News Digital, “This is Europe. This is the way it has been for the last 15 years, with some ebbs and flows.

“It is more in line with the last 10 years. Europe has sadly learned to live with this reality,” he added of the new Europol report. 

British political commentator and Mideast expert Tom Gross told Fox News Digital, “Europe’s ruling classes need to be honest. It is not racist to point out the obvious: that most terrorism in Western Europe today is being fueled by radical Islamic mosques and teachers.

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“Leaders in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Egypt acknowledge this. Why can’t Western leaders?”

Gross said, “Politicians such as new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez need to stop fueling the propaganda of radical Muslims by implying that there has been some kind of genocide against Muslims in Gaza, when there has been nothing of the sort.

“If they really want to help push back radical Islam, European leaders should be assisting, not criticizing, those in Washington and elsewhere calling for the downfall of Iran’s Islamic dictatorship.”

In April, the U.K. raised its national terror threat level to “severe” after an antisemitic attack in London when a Somali immigrant stabbed two men. A “severe” warning, according to authorities, means another terrorist attack is considered “highly likely” in the next six months.

A spokesperson for London’s Mayor Khan told Fox News Digital. “The Mayor has invested £16 million (approxmiately $21.5 million) — more than any other mayor — to support grassroots community groups to stand up to hate and intolerance. This includes £6 million (approximately $8 million) through his Shared Endeavour Fund to give Londoners the tools and skills to tackle extremism.”

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Late last month, an alleged Islamist State terrorist, 21-year-old German-Lebanese man Abdul Ballout, allegedly drove a van into the Berlin Pride Parade event, murdering one woman and injuring nearly 30 people. The German authorities had released Ballout despite his recent conviction related to supporting the Islamic State.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told public broadcaster ZDF during an interview that, in light of the 21-year-old suspect’s conviction and record of backing the Islamic State, it did not make sense that the man was roaming free.

“You can assume that it certainly would have made sense to put this person in custody,” he noted.

Khan’s spokesperson also cited an X post from the mayor after the Berlin Pride attack: “My thoughts are with everyone affected by the horrific attack in Berlin and their families. This appalling act of violence has no place in our society. London stands in solidarity with Berlin’s LGBTQ+ community. This is why Pride matters. Those who seek to spread hatred and division will never win.”

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A new report by Germany’s federal intelligence that documents threats to the constitutional order estimates there are roughly 28,000 members in Germany’s Islamist scene. Approximately 9,110 are assessed to have an “orientation to violence. 

“The type of violence is defined as jihadi violence,” the report states. 

Germany’s federal interior ministry, which publishes the annual domestic intelligence threat report, notes that crimes attributed to “religious ideology” have climbed from 134 in 2022 to 998 last year. Radical Islamist crimes are reportedly understood to make up the main portion of the “religious ideology” category.

Germany’s neighbor, France, experienced another stabbing just days after the attack in Germany. A suspect reportedly stabbed three women in Paris and, as people captured him after the attack, declared, “It is Allah who commanded me.”

“The incident in Paris, it seems, (is) one of the cases” regarding how an attack is classified: ‘Is it terrorism? Is it a crazy guy?’” Vidino said. “Often times, Europeans play down the ideological motive and cite mental health. Some countries tend to do it more than others. Most Europeans go for downplaying of the ideological component.”

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Austria’s intelligence agency announced in May on its website that it had arrested a group of suspected Islamist terrorists, which included five males between the ages of 14 and 45 and one 16-year-old female. 

“The individuals concerned are suspected of having committed offenses related to Islamist extremism and terrorism in Austria, for example through membership of a terrorist organization, incitement to terrorist offenses, dissemination of IS [Islamic State] propaganda, and approval of terrorist offenses,” the Austrian agency wrote.

In June, Swedish authorities arrested a teenage boy who pledged allegiance to the Islamist State and idolized suicide bombers, according to Swedish media. He allegedly issued death threats to students at school and showed pictures of beheaded people.

Nervana Mahmoud, a British Egyptian medical doctor who has written extensively about Islamist terrorism and indoctrination, told Fox News Digital, “The current challenge facing Europe is, in many ways, a battle over Islamist extremism and its place within Western societies. To address the threat at its source, European governments need to focus on preventing radicalization and disrupting foreign funding and ideological networks that fuel extremist movements. Without tackling these root causes, the risk of future terrorist attacks will remain.”

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“The United States should learn from Europe’s experience rather than simply criticize it,” Mahmoud said. “It has an opportunity to strengthen prevention efforts early by fostering a shared American identity within immigrant communities, disrupting foreign funding that may promote extremist influence through universities and think tanks and working with Muslim Americans who reject Islamism and uphold democratic values. Long-term success will require not only strong security measures but also sustained efforts to prevent radicalization before it takes hold.”

The United Kingdom’s judicial system recorded a series of convictions of Islamist terrorists in July. Abdullah Bin Yasir was imprisoned for 2½ years after admitting he had bomb-making guides linked to an Islamic State-aligned entity. The construction of bomb material was designed to carry out a terrorist attack.

Late last month, in Wigston, Britain, the authorities arrested a 27-year-old man for supporting the Islamic State.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Mohammad Bashir, 31, “pleaded guilty to preparing an act of terrorism” against a British defense target.

A spokesperson for the British Home Office told Fox News Digital, “The United Kingdom has one of the most robust counterterrorism systems in the world. We remain committed to ensuring our Police and Security Services have the tools and powers they need to prevent the spread of violent ideologies and keep the country safe.

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“This includes a wide range of terrorist offenses and specialized powers designed to risk, support prosecution and strengthen management of terrorist offenders. Islamist terrorism remains the primary domestic threat to the United Kingdom, accounting for roughly three quarters of the Security Service’s casework.”

Northern continental Europe is also facing a serious Jihadi terrorist threat. According to a late May Danish Security and Intelligence Service statement, the “CTA [Center for Terror Analysis in Denmark] assesses that the terrorist threat from militant Islamists remains at the level of significant.”

Vidino said there has been a silver lining since the outbreak of the Islamic State terrorist attacks in Europe. 

“I would say I do think most European law enforcement agencies and security forces have gotten better over the years,” he said. “When the big ISIS radicalization took place, small countries were completely unprepared to deal with it.” 

He cited Switzerland, Austria and the Scandinavian countries.

“They did not have legal capabilities and mindset. That has changed and it is not perfect.”

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Fox News Digital sent multiple press queries to the Spanish government.

Ukraine denied on Saturday targeting Bulgaria after a drone exploded close to the strategic Trans-Balkan gas pipeline linking Turkey to Ukraine near the Romanian border.

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Bulgaria’s defence ministry said the drone was of a type “widely used by the Ukrainian military”, and the foreign minister summoned the Ukrainian ambassador for a meeting on Monday in response, her office said.

Kyiv said it was “in close contact with the Bulgarian side to clarify the circumstances” of the incident, the latest case of a drone straying into NATO airspace as Ukraine fights off Russia’s invasion.

“We can say with certainty that the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not intentionally direct any assets toward Bulgaria,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi said, blaming Russia’s invasion for the incident.

No casualties reported

While the explosion caused no casualties, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the amount of explosives it was carrying was “significant”.

“The drone exploded in the immediate vicinity of the Kardam border-crossing with Romania,” near the Black Sea in the country’s northeast, “1,000 metres from the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline’s compressor station,” he said in a video released by the government.

After analysing the debris from the crash, Bulgaria’s defence ministry, however, said that “currently, nothing suggests that this was a deliberate incident”.

The drone eventually crashed into a sunflower field, Radev said.

‘Significant amount of explosives’

Romania border police recorded the sound of the drone, then a Bulgarian border police patrol spotted “a loud explosion accompanied by black smoke”, Radev added, speaking after an extraordinary meeting of his cabinet’s security council.

“One thing is certain: the drone was carrying a significant amount of explosives, given that it could be heard from a distance and produced such black smoke,” he said.

The drone had not been detected by either of the two neighbouring countries, he said, adding: “As you know, identifying and neutralising these drones poses a major challenge.”

Incidents involving drones have become increasingly frequent in recent months across eastern European countries that are NATO members and supporters of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

Romania has faced frequent drone incursions since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — including some crashes on its territory. It ordered the expulsion of a Russian embassy staff member in late July.

Radev said that, following the latest incident, Bulgaria had boosted its surveillance and would redeploy troops and soldiers to the borders to detect drones and employ anti-drone measures.

Turkey asks for ‘moratorium’

Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey all front onto the Black Sea, an arena of drone combat by both Ukraine and Russia which has seen attacks on civilian ships.

Turkey’s foreign minister on Saturday called for a “moratorium” on attacks by Russia and Ukraine in the body of water in an interview with Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu.

“To begin with, they targeted the ports and the military ships,” said Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan. “Now, they are attacking all commercial shipping without distinction.”

Turkey had already on Tuesday denounced Black Sea drone attacks on two Turkish civilian vessels the previous day, in which some crew members were injured.

Bulgaria in June halted its military aid to Ukraine. Radev said the country did not belong in the coalition of Kyiv’s allies supplying arms and that he preferred to see diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Further west, a German military operational command spokesman told AFP on Saturday that drones were detected this week above an army installation in western Germany known to house a large underground depot.

Among other armaments, the Mechernich special site is home to parts for US-made Patriot air-defence systems long coveted by Kyiv.

Those sightings came days after an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, which plays a key role in the transport of military goods by the German military and NATO allies.