
Nationals heavyweight rules out leadership tilt as Littleproud faces challenge
A senior figure within the Nationals has ruled out mounting a leadership challenge against David Littleproud, as internal pressure continues to build on the party leader ahead of parliament’s return. Nationals senator Matt Canavan has

Australia concedes defeat in high-stakes battle to host COP31, handing victory to Turkey
Australia is preparing to concede defeat in its bid to host next year’s major United Nations climate summit, COP31, despite months of lobbying, millions of dollars in preparatory work, and strong public advocacy from senior

Greece expands tourism footprint with new GNTO (EOT) office opening in Melbourne, Australia
Greece has taken a significant step toward strengthening its presence in the Australian tourism market with the official launch of a new Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) office in Melbourne. The office, housed within the

ANZ and NAB chiefs face parliamentary scrutiny after record fines and misconduct
Australia’s largest banks are facing intense parliamentary scrutiny as the government examines past misconduct, employment practices, and customer protections. ANZ’s new chief executive, Nuno Matos, publicly apologised to a parliamentary committee for the bank’s historic

Australians hold 209 million days of unused annual leave as employment landscape shifts
Australian workers are heading into the summer break with a massive stockpile of unused annual leave, collectively sitting on 209 million days of accrued holidays, new data from research firm Roy Morgan shows. The near-record

Surge in social media use replaces sport, reading and arts among Australian children
A dramatic rise in social media use among children and adolescents is reshaping daily routines and pushing aside key developmental activities such as sport, reading and music, according to a major new study by the

Optus fined $826,320 after major verification flaw allows scammers to steal customer identities and tens of thousands of dollars
Optus has been hit with a substantial $826,320 penalty after a serious security lapse allowed scammers to bypass customer verification processes and steal as much as $39,000 from individual victims. The Australian Communications and Media

The hidden prayer of the Greek Alphabet
An ancient prayer—an invocation—has existed and functioned silently within the Greek alphabet since its very inception. The hidden prayer of the Greek Alphabet. The sequence of the letters in their full pronunciation (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc.) is by no means accidental. Beneath it lies a complete grammatical, syntactic and semantic

Greek rapper Negros Tou Moria cracks Guardian’s top two Global Albums of 2025
Greek rapper Negros Tou Moria has emerged as one of the standout figures in global music this year, with his latest album Mavri Ellada ranked No. 2 on The Guardian’s Best Global Albums of 2025

Holiday traffic normalizes after Tuesday’s gridlock
After yesterday’s disruptions, traffic on the Athens–Lamia and Athens–Corinth highways is expected to return to normal today, Wednesday, as farmers and traffic police coordinated to improve vehicle flow ahead of Christmas. On Tuesday, drivers faced

Mitsotakis meets Abbas in Ramallah: Greece supports peace in Gaza
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday in Ramallah, ahead of his visit to Jerusalem and participation in the Greece–Cyprus–Israel trilateral summit. Support for the Palestinian Authority and

Trilateral Summit sends clear message to Ankara: “Do not even think of reviving empires”
A strong geopolitical message was sent from Jerusalem on Monday following the completion of the 10th Trilateral Summit between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a pointed warning to those “who

PASOK intensifies internal debate over potential alliances – Geroulanos rules out ND, Kastanidis open to Tsipras dialogue
Intense discussions are underway within PASOK ahead of the party’s upcoming congress, as leaders debate the strategic direction and potential alliances. Former minister Pavlos Geroulanos has firmly rejected any possibility of a coalition with the

Greek Prime Minister to visit Jerusalem for trilateral summit with Cyprus and Israel, talks also planned with Palestinian leadership
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will travel to Jerusalem on Monday to take part in a high-level trilateral summit between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, as regional diplomacy intensifies amid shifting geopolitical dynamics in the Eastern

Israel orders Doctors Without Borders to halt operations in Gaza by February 28
Israel has announced it will terminate the activities of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) in the Gaza Strip by February 28, citing the organisation’s refusal to provide a list of its Palestinian employees. In a statement, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which oversees the registration of humanitarian

Hamas signals openness to “freezing or storing” weapons as talks enter difficult second phase
Hamas has indicated it is willing to discuss the “freezing or storing” of its weapons arsenal as part of the emerging ceasefire framework with Israel, according to senior official Bassem Naim, who spoke to the

Modi welcomes Putin with full honours in New Delhi
Russian President Vladimir Putin received a ceremonial welcome in India on Friday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosting him in a display designed to highlight the deep and enduring ties between the two nations. Putin

Deported neo-Nazi protester arrives in South Africa after visa cancellation
A South African national who took part in a widely condemned neo-Nazi demonstration in Sydney has arrived back in Johannesburg after being deported by Australian authorities. Matthew Gruter, 35, was removed from the country following

Europe’s fear isn’t of Russia, it’s of itself
Europe’s fear isn’t of Russia, it’s of itself. The Guardian splashed its front page with the usual hysteria, hoping readers wouldn’t notice the one line that undercut the entire narrative: “We are not planning to

SIPRI reports record arms sales in 2024
Global arms sales hit record $679 billion amid ongoing conflicts The world’s top 100 arms manufacturers reached record revenues in 2024, totaling $679 billion (€586 billion), marking a 5.9% increase compared to the previous year,

US fighter jets patrol international airspace around Venezuela, WSJ reports
US fighter jets have been conducting near-continuous patrols in international airspace surrounding Venezuela amid sharply escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas, according to a Wall Street Journal report published on Saturday. The development comes shortly

