ATHENS: The body of a missing British scientist has been found in a ravine on the Greek island of Ikaria two days after she disappeared, Greek public television reported on Wednesday.
The cause of death of Nicosia-based astrophysicist Natalie Christopher, who had been on holiday with her partner, was not yet determined, the ERT channel said.
Greek police had been searching for the 35-year-old after she reportedly failed to return from a run on Monday.
A Greek police spokeswoman earlier told AFP that police had late Tuesday joined Ikaria port patrols, firefighters and volunteers already looking for the scientist.
According to Greek and Cypriot media, Christopher and her 38-year-old Cypriot partner had arrived on the Aegean island on Saturday and stayed near the port of Agios Kirykos. She left their hotel for a jog on Monday morning but never returned, her partner told media.
“The couple talked by phone around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) and she said she had gone for a run in the neighborhood,” a police spokesman told Cypriot television.
The Cyprus Mail website said Christopher’s companion notified the police that she had not returned at around 12:40 pm, while other press reports said her phone has been traced to the island of Fournoi, about 10 kilometers (six miles) away, without saying how it might have got there.
Greek media reports also said traces of blood had been found in the couple’s hotel room and were being examined.
Christopher, well known in Cyprus as an active sportswoman, was involved in several social media projects, including one — “Cyprus Girls Can” — which aims to break down barriers between Greek and Turkish youngsters on the divided island.
The incident comes three weeks after the murder of US molecular biologist Suzanne Eaton on the Greek island of Crete.
The 59-year-old had been attending a conference near the city of Chania and gone out on July 2 without taking her mobile phone, the police said.
Her body was found six days later in an abandoned World War II bunker near the town of Chania.
A 27-year-old farmer confessed to raping and killing Eaton, who had worked for the Max Planck Institute at Dresden University.
Missing British scientist found dead in Greece
Missing British scientist found dead in Greece
- Body of missing British scientist Natalie Christopher found in ravine on Greek island of Ikaria
- Greek police had been searching for Christopher after she reportedly failed to return from a run on Monday
UN chief Guterres warns ‘powerful forces’ undermining global ties
- Guterres paid tribute to Britain for its decisive role in the creation of the United Nations
- He said 2025 had been a “profoundly challenging year for international cooperation and the values of the UN“
LONDON: UN chief Antonio Guterres Saturday deplored a host of “powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation” in a London speech marking the 80th anniversary of the first UN General Assembly.
Guterres, whose term as secretary-general ends on December 31 this year, delivered the warning at the Methodist Central Hall in London, where representatives from 51 countries met on January 10, 1946, for the General Assembly’s first session.
They met in London because the UN headquarters in New York had not yet been built.
Guterres paid tribute to Britain for its decisive role in the creation of the United Nations and for continuing to champion it.
But he said 2025 had been a “profoundly challenging year for international cooperation and the values of the UN.”
“We see powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation,” he said, adding: “Despite these rough seas, we sail ahead.”
Guterres cited a new treaty on marine biological diversity as an example of continued progress.
The treaty establishes the first legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of marine diversity in the two-thirds of oceans beyond national limits.
“These quiet victories of international cooperation — the wars prevented, the famine averted, the vital treaties secured — do not always make the headlines,” he said.
“Yet they are real. And they matter.”
