
Trump Turns Up the Heat: Australia Pressured to Boost Defence Spending or Face Trade Penalties
The Trump administration is putting mounting pressure on Australia to drastically increase its defence spending, aligning with NATO’s new benchmark of 5% of GDP. While NATO allies recently accepted this demand, Australia is resisting calls

Melbourne: Australia’s most expensive city for travel
Melbourne has become the most expensive city in Australia for transportation, with average annual costs for households reaching $29,546. This surge is driven by rising insurance and fuel prices, straining family budgets. The Australian Automobile

Australia strengthens its defence cooperation with the USA and Canada
Australia and Canada have pledged to enhance their defence collaboration while condemning China’s assertive claims over contested waters in the Indo-Pacific region. Defence Minister Richard Marles, addressing reporters from Vancouver, emphasised the need for closer

Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Melbourne has climbed to 100 cases
The number of cases in a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Melbourne has climbed to 100, as authorities try to prevent the disease from spreading further. Two elderly people have died from the condition since the

Australia’s preeminent strategic thinkers: The era of Anglo-Saxon dominance in the Pacific is ending
This might be the most compelling and influential argument against AUKUS, particularly because it comes from one of Australia’s foremost strategic thinkers: Hugh White, the inaugural Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and

Life-changing cancer-treatment jab added to PBS
Australians fighting lung and liver cancer will soon be able to access a life-saving cancer treatment through a simple, seven minute injection. The nation’s first immunotherapy cancer jab, Tecentriq, is being added to the Pharmaceutical

Jess Fox and Eddie Ockenden named Australia’s flag bearers for Paris 2024 Olympics
Jess Fox and Eddie Ockenden have been announced as Australia’s flag bearers for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Chef de Mission Anna Meares bestowed the honor upon Fox, a canoe/kayak athlete, and Ockenden, a hockey player.

Mitsotakis pushes for EU action on Libya migration route and defence funding
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking after the conclusion of the EU Summit, called for urgent action to address a new irregular migration route emerging from Eastern Libya to Crete. “We will use every means available—carrot and stick—to ensure this route is not consolidated,” he stressed. Mitsotakis announced that the

Swordfish killed by swimmers on a beach in Chalkida, Greece
A swordfish which swam its way to the shallow waters of a beach in Chalkida on the island of Evia, was killed by beachgoers. The swordfish went to the shallow water to give birth and

Autonomy
The government intends to allow universities and not the education ministry to set the number of students they will admit each year. That addresses a basic need, the need (for many and varied reasons) for

Alarm bell
To avoid the errors of the past the current government must move swiftly to address the deficiencies left behind by previous ones. The extent of the natural disasters by which Greece was struck over the

Theofilus
About 150 years ago, the influential folk artist Theophilus (Theophilus Kefalas – Hatzimichail) was born in the village of Vareia, on the south-eastern tip of the island of Lesvos, overlooking the shores of Asia Minor.

Greek elections: Landslide victory for centre-right New Democracy party
Incumbent prime minister Alexis Tsipras, of Syriza, calls rival Kyriakos Mitsotakis to concede defeat Voters in Greece have given Kyria-kos Mitsotakis’ centre-right New Democracy party a resounding mandate to form a new government after it

Ballot Box stolen from polling center in Exarchia and set on fire
At least one ballot box was stolen from a polling station in the anarchists’ district of Exarchia in Athens and were allegedly set on fire. The unprecedented incidents took place on early Sunday evening short

Trump Turns Up the Heat: Australia Pressured to Boost Defence Spending or Face Trade Penalties
The Trump administration is putting mounting pressure on Australia to drastically increase its defence spending, aligning with NATO’s new benchmark of 5% of GDP. While NATO allies recently accepted this demand, Australia is resisting calls to push its military budget beyond its current trajectory of 2.3% of GDP—well short of

Moscow terror attack a blow to Putin, who promised Russia security
Barely a week since Vladimir Putin secured his fifth presidential term, Russia has been plunged into carnage and disarray. The appalling attack on the vast Crocus City Hall concert venue and shopping complex near Moscow,

Shock and dismay from the UN and EU over terrorist attacks in Moscow, but who was behind it?
The EU is shocked and dismayed by the reports of a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall in Moscow. The EU condemns any attacks against civilians. Our thoughts are with all those Russian citizens

World Happiness Report 2024
While the top ten countries remain largely unchanged, there has been much more action in the top twenty Finland has retained its position as the happiest country in the world for the seventh consecutive year,

Putin: Is he now more powerful than ever?
Vladimir Putin wins fifth term as President of Russia with a record percentage Vladimir Putin has secured his fifth term as president of Russia with a record-breaking percentage, amid protests and allegations. What does this

War in Ukraine: from caution to panic, what Macron’s change of heart hides
This is an exceedingly rare and fascinating article in the French magazine Marianne, who got access to “several confidential defense reports” from the French army on the situation in Ukraine: https://marianne.net/monde/europe/guerre-en-ukraine-endurance-russe-echec-de-la-contre-offensive-ce-que-cache-le-virage-de-macron . This explains the

Erdoğan-affiliated party competing in EU polls sparks fears in Germany
A group of Germans with Turkish roots have formed a political group to compete in the European elections, sparking fears it could be a vehicle for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to expand his influence