It was a conflict on the edge of Europe that started it all: In Sarajevo, then the capital of Bosnia, a student named Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914. His wife, Sophie, was also killed. Mere weeks later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, starting a catastrophic chain reaction. Within just a short time, many nations around the world were enmeshed in the war.

Greece is home to vast botanical riches. Viewed according to the number of plant species by area, Greece even boasts the highest diversity of species anywhere in Europe. The recently published book Vascular Plants of Greece: An Annotated Checklist delivers impressive proof.

Nowadays there is too much academic specialization, and there are not enough comprehensively educated experts on the region, complained the American expert on East Asia, Ezra Vogel, in his keynote address opening the Graduate School of East Asian Studies (GEAS) at Freie Universität Berlin.