
No panic at the pump: Fuel prices hold steady despite Iran-Israel ceasefire
Despite recent tensions in the Middle East and fears of a global oil shock, fuel prices across Australia have remained surprisingly steady. The ceasefire between Iran and Israel — announced after a series of intense

Australia’s bulk billing clinics are not covered by Medicare subsidies, doctors say
Doctors warn that regional areas will soon be left with few bulk-billing practices if Medicare subsidies for general practitioners are not increased. An increasing number of practices in Australia have stopped using bulk billing in

Travellers warned to expect more disruptions in coming months
Source: ABCnews Australian air travellers have been warned to expect more disruptions over the next 12 months, as the industry scrambles to fill critical worker shortages ahead of the July school holidays. It’s been a

Australia’s ski resorts celebrate snowfall by opening early
Source: 9news Ski resorts in Australia’s alpine regions are kicking off the winter season early after a polar front brought heavy snow and icy temperatures to the country’s south-east. It’s been a lean couple years

Why does this iceberg lettuce cost $11.99 and how long will Australia’s high vegetable prices last?
Source: The Guardian A Queensland shopper this week spotted iceberg lettuce selling at a supermarket for $11.99. The photo quickly went viral as evidence of the cost-of-living pressures Australians are facing. Iceberg lettuce previously cost

Dangerous Precedents And Hypothetical Threats: The Deportation Of Novak Djokovic
Australia’s treatment of Novak Djokovic, the tennis world number one, has been revelatory. Unintentionally, this has exposed the seedier, arbitrary and inconsistent nature of Australia’s border policies. The approval by the Australian Federal Court of

Government commits to expanding electric vehicle charging stations but no subsidies to increase uptake
Source: ABCnews The federal government will partner with the private sector to fund 50,000 charging stations in Australian homes, in a bid to encourage more people to buy electric vehicles. The long-awaited Future Fuels strategy does

Karamanlis Inquiry: Fast-tracked parliamentary probe sparks political backlash
The Hellenic Parliament’s special inquiry committee into former Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis opened its first session today under accusations of political orchestration, as the government appears determined to fast-track the process surrounding the deadly Tempi train disaster of February 28, 2023. The committee, formally tasked with investigating whether Karamanlis committed

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

Greek state collects 1.138 bln€ with 26-week T-bills issue; yield at 0.15%
Demand for a new tranche of 26-week T-bills was slightly down on Wednesday, compared to similar issues over the past few months, with an auction of 875 million euros of paper attracting bids of 1.536

NATO Leaders gather in the Hague: 5% defence target, summit diplomacy, and speculation over a Mitsotakis-Erdogan chat
Today marks the beginning of a pivotal NATO summit in The Hague, with 32 leaders in attendance and a critical agenda ahead. At the heart of the discussions is a push led by US President Donald Trump to raise defence spending commitments to 5% of GDP by 2035, a sharp

China quietly doubles troop levels in Hong Kong, envoys say
Last month, Beijing moved thousands of troops across the border into this restive city. They came in on trucks and armored cars, by bus and by ship. The state news agency Xinhua described the operation as

Church of Greece and its Arguments Concerning Ukraine’s Autocephaly Issue
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, held on August 16-28, reviewed the recommendations of the Synodal committees for the dogmatic and canonical issues, as well as Orthodox and inter-Christian relations and recognized the

Hong Kong’s major events at protests
Hong Kong’s anti-government protesters have sustained their momentum for more than three months, facing off against police through summer heat and clouds of tear gas. Officers have met demonstrators head on with a variety of

Pipeline Wars Revisited
Pipeline wars are often overlooked in the scheme of things, where pipelines represent competing national interests of a purely economic sort, beyond the usual political rhetoric surrounding ideology and demagoguery. Because a gas pipeline transports

Cyprus repays remainder of Russian loan, two years early
Cyprus’ finance minister said on Monday that the country has repaid ahead of schedule the remaining 1.58 billion euros ($1.73 billion) of a 2.5 billion euro ($2.74 billion) loan it received from Russia in 2011

What is going on in Libya?
Libya is now ruled by the Government of National Accord (GNA). The GNA is recognized by the UN and holds Tripoli but little else. The situation is immensely complex and forever in flux. For eight