
Australian meth, cocaine, MDMA, and heroin use jumps 34% in one year
Australians consumed 34 per cent more methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and MDMA in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program. The survey found that 22.2 tonnes of these

Positive response to proposed changes on children’s online privacy
In a bid to bolster privacy protections, Australia’s Minister for Justice, Mark Dreyfus, has introduced a proposal for a children’s online privacy code. This initiative aims to impose strict regulations on how personal data of

Government and opposition reach landmark agreement on aged care reforms
Australia’s aged care system is set to undergo major reforms, following a historic agreement between the federal government and the opposition. After months of negotiations, a consensus was finally reached, ensuring the sustainability and quality

69-year-old man died after waiting 4 hours for an ambulance
A 69-year-old man in Melbourne’s east has died after waiting four hours for an ambulance due to severe shortages at Ambulance Victoria. The delays were caused by 50 ambulances being out of service due to

Top engineers call for data and solutions for unsafe water in remote Indigenous communities
An explainer released today on the 17th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) outlines the ongoing challenges to providing

Australia to set a minimum age for social media use
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday announced a landmark move to establish minimum age requirements for social media use, with the aim of protecting children from the mental and physical health risks associated with these platforms.

Gas stoves can remain
Victorians can keep using gas stoves in their kitchens for as long as they want because the Allan government has removed them from the net zero plan. New laws will be proposed to state parliament

Wildfires rage across western Greece and the islands, devastating homes and forests
In the past 24 hours, 48 new fires broke out, bringing the total to 109 incidents since the outbreak began. For a second consecutive day, firefighters battled relentless wildfires across Western Greece and several Aegean islands, as authorities reported a record number of fires sweeping through the country. The most

PM Mitsotakis announces generous tax cuts incl. properties ENFIA
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has set as his top priority to implement his pre-election program and proceed with taxation cuts as soon as possible. In his policy statement late on Saturday, he announced several tax

PIPES: Kastelorizo: Mediterranean flash point
That Athens controls this wisp of land implies it could (but does not yet) claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Mediterranean Sea extending 200 nautical miles to Kastelorizo. This would reduce the Turkish

EU agrees to sanction turkey for drilling in Cypriot water
A surprisingly muscular response beyond mere threatening rhetoric out of the European Union over Turkey’s violations of Cypriot territorial waters related to offshore drilling operations: the EU has agreed to bring financial and political sanctions

Archaeology Piece of skull found in Greece ‘is oldest human fossil outside Africa’
A broken skull chiselled from a lump of rock in a cave in Greece is the oldest modern human fossil ever found outside Africa, researchers claim. The partial skull was discovered in the Apidima cave

Athens-Piraeus again in ‘top 10’ in terms of global shipping hubs
The Athens-Piraeus area has returned to the world’s top 10 shipping hubs, according to a recent study by Baltic Exchange. The Greek capital bumped Korea’s Pusan from the “top 10” list, while Singapore remained first,

4.6 Magnitude Earthquake in Kozani, Northern Greece
According to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens, the epicenter of the quake was located 8 klm south of Kozani, in northern Greece. The earthquake struck at 13:50 on Sunday with a

August 15: Melbourne honours the “Easter of Summer” with splendor and devotion
August 15, the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, is one of the most important celebrations of Orthodoxy and is observed with deep emotion both in Greece and in Greek communities around the world. In Melbourne, celebrations began early in the morning, with the faithful filling churches to honor

EU adopts 18th sanctions package against Russia, targeting oil exports
The European Union has officially adopted its 18th sanctions package against Russia, further intensifying its economic pressure in response to Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine. According to diplomatic sources in Brussels, the new measures include

Libya’s UN submission is a proxy attack on Greece’s maritime sovereignty
Point 1 as a Strategic Choice According to the submitted list of coordinates, the northern boundary of the Libyan continental shelf begins (east to west) with points B and A, which form the eastern and

The geopolitical context of Albanese’s China visit
Prime Minister Albanese and I have a few things in common. We were both born on 2 March, and we have both been in car accidents, and as I write this, we are both in

Four killed in new Israeli airstrikes on Southern Lebanon
Beirut/Tribal Border – At least four people were killed yesterday in southern Lebanon amid fresh Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The strikes mark a concerning breakdown in the

Christodoulides-Fidan one-on-one after the dinner of the five powers on Cyprus
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a brief meeting after the dinner hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the United Nations headquarters. The dinner was attended by the Turkish

WSJ Report: The captain shut down engines before the crash of the Air India Boeing 787
A recorded conversation between the two pilots of the Air India Boeing 787, which crashed last month in Ahmedabad, India, reveals that it was the more experienced captain, who deliberately shut down the fuel supply