The 2026 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) opened on Monday in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos, calling for constructive dialogue in a complex global landscape.
Under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue," the five-day event has drawn nearly 3,000 leaders and experts worldwide to discuss five pressing global challenges, including enhancing cooperation, unlocking new sources of growth and deploying innovation at scale and responsibly.
Mirek Dusek, managing director of the WEF, emphasized that in a world marked by intensifying geopolitical tensions, fragmentation and rapid technological advancements, the meeting remains an inclusive platform for bridging differences through dialogue.
"This place has always been very important for dialogue, and so that's what we are building on. But we are also sending a message that, of course, now we are in a much more competitive, contested world, and that in this kind of environment, having dialogue and engagement is even more important," said Dusek.
A series of publications released by the WEF in the lead-up to the meeting indicated rising risks and downward pressure on the global economy in an increasingly contested and fragmented world.
The latest Chief Economists' Outlook pointed out that while the global economic outlook has improved modestly, uncertainty remains. Factors such as shifting asset valuations, rising debt, geoeconomic realignment and the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence are expected to continue impacting the world economy.
The Chief Economists' Outlook summarizes the emerging contours of the current economic environment. The quarterly report incorporates the latest policy research and the results of a Forum survey with leading chief economists from both the public and private sectors.
World Economic Forum annual meeting opens in Davos
Axis powers during World War II should offer sincere reflection and apology, a Greek mayor said after Greece successfully repatriated a rare collection of 262 World War II-era photographs.
Greek officials traveled to Belgium to negotiate with the seller and brought the photographs back to Greece, after they were put up for sale online by a Belgian collector, said the Greek Culture Ministry.
The images were taken by Wehrmacht lieutenant Hermann Heuer, who served in Greece from 1943 to 1944, during World War II, and part of the collection documents the mass execution of Greek communists by Nazi troops in Kaisariani, east of Athens.
During World War II, German occupation in Greece met with fierce resistance. On May 1, 1944, German forces executed 200 Greeks at the Kaisariani firing range in retaliation for the killing of a German general by resistance fighters.
A memorial and a museum were set up after the war in Kaisariani to commemorate those who died in the mass execution.
"The photos really shocked us all because they were real documents from the day of the execution. We are shocked for many reasons. An important reason is that the 200 communists were singing with their heads held high before the execution in the photos, and they were not mourning because they were fighters," said Ilias Stamelos, mayor of Kaisariani.
The newly recovered photographs have drawn renewed attention to the historical trauma still felt in the community, as the images provide a direct visual record of the final moments of those executed.
In 1987, then German President Richard von Weizsaecker visited Greece and made a special stop in Kaisariani, reflecting on the profound suffering inflicted on the Greek people by Germany during World War II.
Ilias said that, like Germany, Japan, another Axis power during the war, should also be held accountable for the massive harm it caused to multiple countries and should offer sincere reflection and apology for its wartime aggression.
"And I think it's a common demand, because those responsible for the deaths in the World War II need to pay for what happened. It's known to all that back then it was Germany, Japan and Italy, the allies in this war, that each played different roles in the war, yet they do have common responsibilities," said the mayor.
Historic photos of Nazi mass execution of Greeks returned to Greece, mayor calls for historical accountability
