
Albanese and Chalmers under pressure to act on negative gearing reform
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers are facing renewed pressure to overhaul Australia’s negative gearing rules amid growing concern about housing affordability and younger Australians being locked out of the property market. Unions

Victoria’s middle class the “new face” of poverty
A growing number of working families are being added to the queues of economically impoverished Australians relying on food donations during the cost-of-living crisis. Foodbank Australia, whose latest needs assessment shows 3.7 million households struggled

Fighting fires from space in record time: how AI could prevent a repeat of Australia’s devastating wildfires
Australian scientists are getting closer to detecting bushfires in record time, thanks to cube satellites with onboard AI now able to detect fires from space 500 times faster than traditional on-ground processing of imagery. Remote

Treasurer calms recession fears but admits Aussies face ‘Uncertain times’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has reassured Australians that the country is not heading for a recession, even as the economy shows its weakest growth in nearly three years. In an interview with Today, Chalmers addressed data

Fourth Victorian poultry farm detects bird flu
Victoria’s bird flu outbreak has now spread to a fourth poultry farm, a development anticipated by authorities amid ongoing investigations. Agriculture Victoria confirmed today that a farm near Meredith, west of Melbourne, tested positive for

Australia’s most trusted brands – 2024
Reader’s Digest has announced the results of the 25th Annual Most Trusted Brands survey. And the results speak volumes about the formula trusted brands use in a volatile market – retaining trust during difficult financial

Anger over medicinal shortages
Complaints are mounting from Australian citizens against the government for relying on international supply of medicines instead of local production as the nation faces a “severe” shortage of pharmaceuticals. It was revealed earlier this week

Turkish blocks research vessel from conducting surveys on behalf of Cyprus
Turkey is reported to have blocked the research vessel Fugro Gauss, sailing under the flag of Gibraltar, from conducting geophysical surveys on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus in a maritime area that Ankara considers part of its continental shelf, according to the newspaper Milliyet and other Turkish media outlets.

Gold mask, bronze helmets uncovered at ancient cemetery of Macedonian warriors
Archaeologists in northern Greece have uncovered a gold mask and bronze helmets from a vast ancient cemetery at Ahlada, near the town of Florina. In a statement Friday, the Culture Ministry said the most impressive

Archaeological Museum of Athens to host events on Antikythera Mechanism and the Moon
The National Archaeological Museum of Athens announced on Thursday that a total of four presentations on the Antikythera Mechanism and the understanding ancient Greeks had of the moon will be held in September, October, and

Greece to push for action on protecting cultural heritage at UN climate summit
Greece will present a proposal for coordinated action to protect cultural and natural heritage from the impact of climate change on Monday at the UN Climate Action Summit, taking place in New York City. Greek

Council of State rules “religion courses in schools only for Greek-Orthodox students”
`The Council of State ruled on Friday that religion courses in primary and secondary education schools are exclusively “Greek-Orthodox.” The ruling cancels the previous content of religious books as it was decided by SYRIZA Education

Plan to tax Airbnb, short-term rentals underway
The tourism ministry is considering imposing a tax on short-term rentals such as Airbnb on the grounds that it would establish equal treatment with hotel accommodations. As the daily Ta Nea has reported, sources say

Ruling ND still in ‘honeymoon period’, latest poll shows; 13.5%-point lead over main opposition SYRIZA
Ruling New Democracy (ND) continues what is apparently a “honeymoon period” after the July 7 election, with one of the first opinion polls of the new autumn season showing the center-right party with a 13.5-percentage

Israeli officials endorse Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza City
Israel’s security cabinet has officially approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza City, a move confirmed by his office and seen as a major escalation in the ongoing conflict that has now lasted 22 months. The decision follows a lengthy security cabinet meeting held in Jerusalem, which began

Greece blasts BBC for report on non existant “Oppressed Macedonian Minority”
Greece’s Ambassador to the UK, Dimitris Karamitsos-Tziras, send a letter of complaint to the BBC on Monday, following a report which spoke of the existence of a “Macedonian minority” in the country. Karamitsos-Tziras said the

Saker interview with Michael Hudson on Venezuela
There is a great deal of controversy about the true shape of the Venezuelan economy and whether Hugo Chavez’ and Nicholas Maduro’s reform and policies were crucial for the people of Venezuela or whether they

Council of Europe condemns Sharia councils in UK for contradicting Human Rights
Sharia Law is a legal system which regulates the lives of devout Muslims and is based on religious precepts and the text of the Quran. The exact number of Sharia councils operating in England and

Venezuela – The U.S. game plan for ‘Regime Change’ and how to respond to it
Yesterday the U.S. recognized a right-wing ‘leader of the opposition’ in Venezuela Juan Guaido as the president of the country. A number of right-wing led countries in South America joined in that move. Cuba, Bolivia

Hungary refuses to dance to US tune and step up pressure on Russia
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has boasted that he has good relations with Vladimir Putin and opposes EU sanctions against Russia; he has also challenged the EU’s immigration policy and slammed George Soros for his

“Surveillance Capitalism”: Google sister company to package and sell location data from millions of cellphones
A subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, Sidewalk Labs, is using real-time mobile location data from millions of cellphone users collected over long periods of time in order to help urban planners make critical decision