
Australia to mandate cash payments for essential purchases from 2026
Australia will introduce a nationwide cash mandate requiring major grocery and fuel retailers to accept cash payments from January 1, 2026, in a move aimed at protecting consumers who rely on physical currency for everyday

Does washing fruit and vegetables really remove pesticides?
Testing in Australia has uncovered the banned pesticide thiometon on fresh berries sold in New South Wales, along with high levels of the legal pesticide dimethoate. While within legal limits, experts warn that both adults

Albanese blames pro-Palestinian protests for office closure
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has blamed ongoing pro-Palestinian protests for the closure of his long-standing electorate office in Sydney’s inner west, ending nearly three decades of presence in Marrickville. The office, leased from St.

Australian teens traumatised after seeing Charlie Kirk assassination video with no warning
Australia is facing renewed scrutiny over online safety after multiple teenagers reported seeing unfiltered footage of US political commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination without any warning on Saturday morning. The shocking event occurred earlier this week

Australia must stamp out Islamophobia, PM Albanese says
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered a strong call for unity and social cohesion on Friday, declaring that the country “must stamp out the hate, fear, and prejudice that drive Islamophobia.” His comments came during

Australia’s big four banks slash thousands of jobs – Everyday customers to bear the cost
Australia’s four major banks – ANZ, Commonwealth Bank (CBA), NAB, and Westpac – are continuing a worrying trend of large-scale redundancies, with thousands of positions cut over the past year. Banks aim to boost profits,

Anthony Albanese praises EU for following Australia’s lead on social media restrictions for children
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed the European Commission’s decision to follow Australia’s lead in implementing strict social media restrictions for children under 16. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the creation

Mitsotakis unveils major housing, loan and farming measures during Budget speech
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used his address to Parliament during the debate on the State Budget to announce a series of significant policy initiatives targeting housing affordability, Swiss franc loan holders, and farmers. The announcements were described as some of the most substantial interventions of the current parliamentary term.

“Medusa 14”: A Greek–Egyptian message of strength and deterrence in the southeastern Mediterranean
The large-scale air–naval exercise “Medusa 14” is in full progress in the wider area of Alexandria, Egypt, from 16 to 26 November. The exercise, which began a decade ago as a bilateral joint-operation initiative between

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

“His hand worked like a compressor, it was brutal” – Eyewitnesses describe 29-year-old’s fatal beating of 58-year-old in Neos Kosmos
Eyewitnesses have described extreme violence in the assault that led to the death of a 58-year-old man in Neos Kosmos. The 29-year-old attacker reportedly targeted the man because he had blocked him on the road.

Dendias’ stark message on war casualties alarms Europe
A storm has erupted in recent days over Defence Minister Nikos Dendias’ deeply unsettling comments about a supposed shift in Europe’s “culture of sacrifice”. Dendias’ stark message on war casualties alarms Europe and Greece. In

Mitsotakis calls for return of Parthenon Marbles, highlights tourism strategy
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has reaffirmed Greece’s long-standing position that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to the Acropolis Museum, describing the issue as “highly complex” and noting that progress in negotiations with the British

Over 23,000 protesters marked the 52nd anniversary of Polytechnic Uprising
Over 23,000 people participated in peaceful demonstrations across Greece yesterday to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic Uprising. Large gatherings were also reported in Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa, and other major cities. The central

Libya parliament speaker declares Turkey–Libya memorandum invalid, opens door to talks with Greece, Egypt and Turkey
Libya’s House of Representatives Speaker, Aqila Saleh, has publicly declared the 2019 Turkey–Libya maritime memorandum “invalid,” marking the first such statement in six years and signalling a potential shift in Libya’s approach to maritime disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean. Speaking to the Libyan News Agency, just days after an official

“Drums of war” in the Middle East: Awaiting Iran’s retaliation – Israel on high alert
The Middle East appears ready to explode as the war atmosphere intensifies just hours after the U.S. declared that Tehran might attack Israel within the next 24 hours. All eyes are on Iran and the

Stock markets around the world are crashing right now, but why?
The answer to this question is the Yen carry trade, a term you’ll probably hear many times this week. So what exactly is the Yen carry trade and why did it cause a market downturn?

Japan’s Nikkei is down 12%, the largest drop ever
Japan’s Nikkei is down 12%, the largest point ever, as fears of a US recession shook global markets. The Topix index erased its yearly gains, experiencing its steepest sell-off since “Black Monday” in October 1987.

Will Turkey attack NATO with American ships?
President Joe Biden pushed through his sale of F-16s and upgrade kits to Turkey on the logic that the deal was necessary to get Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to drop his objection to Sweden

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

The impending conflict between NATO allies: Greece and Turkey
The relations between Turkey and Greece have never been normal. The legacy of Mongol Turkish conquest of Greece in the fifteenth-century poisons all connections between Turks and Greeks. The Greeks remember their Turkish oppressors like

