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
Regular cannabis use now more accepted by Australians than smoking tobacco, study finds
Source: The Guardian Regular cannabis use has become more accepted than smoking tobacco, the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) has found. The 2019 data, compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Telstra moves call centres back to Australia after customers made their preference ‘loud and clear’
Source: 9news Telstra has moved all its call centres that service Australian customers and small businesses back to Australian shores to appease its customers. Telstra CEO Andy Penn has announced the move today, saying it
Cybersafety expert’s alarm over Snapchat’s new precise location feature: ‘Literally shows where you sleep at night’
Source: 9news Sometimes it feels like a full-time job keeping our children safe from online predators. So the last thing we need is technology making the job even harder. But a new feature on the
NASA successfully launches its first rocket from newly created Arnhem Space Centre
Source: ABCnews NASA has successfully launched its first rocket from Australian soil in more than a quarter of a century. After rain and wind delayed the launch by more than an hour, the suborbital sounding rocket took
16 hours from Australia to Greece may become a reality with Qantas
Source: Greekcitytimes Qantas has launched direct flights between Australia and Europe with non-stop routes becoming available between Perth to Rome. The new route will be the only direct flight between Australia and continental Europe offered
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
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
Greek court hands down maximum sentences in Siemens bribery case; prominent defendants tried in absentia
A three-justice Athens appellate court on Monday handed down mostly the maximum possible prison sentences to defendants convicted last month in the more than decade-old Siemens bribery and money laundering case – although four of
EU Backs Athens and Nicosia, asks Turkey to publish Turkish – Libyan accord
During the daily briefing of the European Commission in Brussels on Wednesday, the EU asked Turkey to publish its agreement with Libya, and at the same time expressed its unequivocal solidarity with Greece and Cyprus
Dendias: Turkey blackmailed Libya
The Libyan-Turkish memorandum delineating common maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean is the product of Turkish blackmail to the embattled Libyan government and is totally devoid of substance, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said Sunday. “The Turkish
Greece issues damning statement following Turkey’s disrespectful remarks on Pontian Genocide
The Greek Foreign Ministry issued a damning response on Sunday morning to the Turkish slander published on Saturday evening regarding a conference about the Pontian Genocide, where Greece’s PM was present giving a speech. The
Greek PM from Pontian Genocide Conference: “Greece has always overcome the storms of History”
The Pontian Genocide was a tragic chapter in the history of modern Greece, and the lessons it holds must prevent its repetition anywhere in the world, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday, during his
Magnificent icon believed to be Early El Greco discovered on Crete
A religious icon believed to be an early work of master painter El Greco, born Domenikos Theotokopoulos, one of the most-renowned artists in the entire history of Western art, was recently discovered on Crete. The icon
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
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
US slaps new tariffs on China; One minute later China retaliates
The biggest reason for last week’s torrid stock market rally was rekindled “optimism” that the escalating trade war between the US and China may be on the verge of another ceasefire following phone conversations, fake
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
US demands that Turkey should cease all activity in Cyprus waters
The US State Department has called on the Turkish authorities to remove its drilling vessels from the territorial waters around Cyprus and to cease immediately any “unlawful activities”. The demand comes as Turkey has established
