
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

Measles alert: Second case in Cairns – Vaccination urged for Bali travellers
Queensland health authorities have confirmed a second case of measles in Cairns, urging travellers to Bali to ensure they are vaccinated. The new case involves a close contact of a person diagnosed last week after

Dementia now Australia’s leading cause of death
Dementia has overtaken all other illnesses to become the leading cause of death in Australia, according to a sobering new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). In 2023, nearly 17,400 Australians

Awkward Moment for Anthony Albanese at Pacific Summit – $100 Million Pledge to Climate Fund
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese found himself in an awkward situation during the Pacific Islands Forum in the Solomon Islands when he arrived wearing the wrong shirt. Instead of the navy-blue shirt worn by the

Alleged tobacco ‘mastermind’ arrested after major Melbourne raid
Melbourne authorities have charged the alleged ringleader of a criminal syndicate believed to supply illegal tobacco across the city, following a raid on a North Coburg property. The 49-year-old man is accused of orchestrating a

Australia launches world-first Koala Vaccine to combat Chlamydia
Australia has approved a groundbreaking vaccine to protect its koala population against chlamydia, marking a world-first initiative. Researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast spent over ten years developing the single-dose vaccine, designed to

Long wait times still plague Services Australia calls despite recent improvements
New operational data from Services Australia for April–June 2025 has revealed which Australians face the longest call wait times — and who gives up first. Older Australians experienced the longest waits, averaging 36.5 minutes, while

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.

2nd Greek Youth Diaspora Symposium in Athens: “Connecting the Voices of Young Greeks Worldwide”
The 2nd Greek Youth Diaspora Symposium, a key initiative for strengthening ties between Greece and young Greeks around the world, will take place in Athens from 25 to 28 November 2025 at the Hellenic Cosmos

Mitsotakis says Europe can build its own powerful AI models
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has emphasised that Europe is capable of developing its own powerful artificial intelligence systems, rooted in European values, languages and cultural identity. Speaking in a public discussion with Arthur Mensch,

1,200 millionaires are coming to Greece with €7.7 billion in their suitcases – the country ranks eighth worldwide
Greece ranks eighth globally as a destination for millionaires, attracting over 1,200 individuals annually who seek safety, stability, and a better quality of life for themselves and their families. According to a recent report by

From Austria to Neo Voutza: A new fire truck for volunteers
A new high-capacity fire truck has recently joined the ranks of the Neo Voutza Volunteer Fire Department (PY.S.E.TH.), significantly enhancing its ability to prevent and combat fires in the region. The vehicle is a Mercedes

Greece ejects Turkey’s objections to updated Maritime Spatial Planning Map
Greece has firmly dismissed Ankara’s latest objections to the updated Greek Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) map uploaded to the European Commission’s platform, stressing that Turkey’s claims lack any basis in European or international law. In

The Norwegian energy success story and what Greece can learn
As part of my ongoing analysis on NewsBreaks artilce regarding energy policy and national resource management, Michalis Christodoulides examine here how Norway transformed its hydrocarbon reserves into a long-term national advantage — and what lessons

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

