
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

Victoria’s middle class the “new face” of poverty
A growing number of working families are being added to the queues of economically impoverished Australians relying on food donations during the cost-of-living crisis. Foodbank Australia, whose latest needs assessment shows 3.7 million households struggled

Fighting fires from space in record time: how AI could prevent a repeat of Australia’s devastating wildfires
Australian scientists are getting closer to detecting bushfires in record time, thanks to cube satellites with onboard AI now able to detect fires from space 500 times faster than traditional on-ground processing of imagery. Remote

Treasurer calms recession fears but admits Aussies face ‘Uncertain times’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has reassured Australians that the country is not heading for a recession, even as the economy shows its weakest growth in nearly three years. In an interview with Today, Chalmers addressed data

Fourth Victorian poultry farm detects bird flu
Victoria’s bird flu outbreak has now spread to a fourth poultry farm, a development anticipated by authorities amid ongoing investigations. Agriculture Victoria confirmed today that a farm near Meredith, west of Melbourne, tested positive for

Australia’s most trusted brands – 2024
Reader’s Digest has announced the results of the 25th Annual Most Trusted Brands survey. And the results speak volumes about the formula trusted brands use in a volatile market – retaining trust during difficult financial

Anger over medicinal shortages
Complaints are mounting from Australian citizens against the government for relying on international supply of medicines instead of local production as the nation faces a “severe” shortage of pharmaceuticals. It was revealed earlier this week

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

Turkey sending fourth energy drill ship into Cyprus’ waters for oil exploration
Turkey has sent its fourth drilling ship to the eastern Mediterranean waters to participate in the exploration for natural gas and oil within the Cypriot maritime economic zones, defying European and international warnings. The Ministry

Mitsotakis govt announces measures to prevent another 2015-like migrant/refugee crisis
A recent spike in the number of landings of vessels carrying irregular migrants and would-be asylum seekers to a handful of eastern Aegean islands generated a Greek government reaction on Saturday, with a top defense

Greek FM summons Turkey’s Ambassador over mass migrants’ arrivals
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias summoned the Turkish ambassador to Athens in order to express Greece’s deep dissatisfaction over the increased influx of migrants from Turkey, that culminated with the unprecedented mass arrivals of more than

Major spike in number of illegal migrants, would-be asylum seekers landing in Lesvos last week
A significant spike in the number of small craft carrying third country nationals, mostly Afghans, to the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos (Mytilene) was recorded on Thursday, with no less than 13 flimsy inflatable vessels

Cosco-led Piraeus Port Authority submits revised master plan; worth 800 mln€
A revised master plan by the Cosco-managed Piraeus Port Authority was tabled on Friday for review by a shipping ministry ports committee in the coming period. The revised master plan, which according to the port

Mitsotakis to Observer: Athens will ask for loaning of Parthenon Marbles amid 2021 series of events
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to the “loaning” of the Parthenon Marbles – 14 friezes or metopes – from the British Museum in London to Greece on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of

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

Austria joins the global conservative uprising
FPÖ’s Victory Marks a Major Rejection of the Woke Agenda The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) has delivered a game-changing victory in the Styria regional elections, securing a remarkable 34.8% of the vote. Austria joins

How China could re-dollarise without funding US wars
China issued a US dollar-denominated bond in Saudi Arabia, directly challenging the petrodollar system. Although the bond was relatively small, at $2 billion, the rate and uptake are noteworthy. China was able to issue US

UK confirms ‘Storm Shadow’ strike in Russia, risking severe escalation
British state media has confirmed that Ukraine launched British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets deep within Russia’s Kursk region. UK confirms ‘Storm Shadow’ strike in Russia, risking severe escalation of the ongoing conflict. This strike,

US, UK, France approve strikes on Russia, NATO set for direct conflict in Ukraine
Bombshell from Le Figaro! US, UK, France approve strikes on Russia, NATO set for direct conflict in Ukraine. This is a transparent attempt to escalate the Ukraine War before Trump takes office. Biden is now

Samaras and Karamanlis apply the brakes on Gerapetritis
Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan came for a package solution, and his Greek counterpart reiterated Athens’ “firm positions” on the continental shelf and EEZ. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attempted to impose the logic of a “holistic

Donald Trump Taps Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to Lead Nonexistent Department of Government Efficiency
“These two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” said Donald Trump in a statement. President-elect Donald Trump announced