
Australia backs ‘status quo’ amid US pressure on Taiwan
In a move that highlights the delicate balance of international relations, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reiterated his government’s stance on Taiwan amidst increasing pressure from the United States. During a visit to Shanghai,

America’s “unique” relationship with Australia?
The enthusiasm of the members of Albanese’s staff seems to have run away with them. They declared that ‘the Australian-United States relationship is unique in scale, scope and significance reflecting more than 100 years of

A rethink of Australia’s national security
Sam Roggeveen’s basic storyline in The Echidna Strategy – that the China threat is grossly exaggerated, and that Australia should not, and need not, rely on America for our security protection – is causing predictable

Are earthquakes becoming more common in Melbourne?
Approximately 7,000 Victorians were alarmed by tremors at about 1:32am this morning as a magnitude 4.6 earthquake hit 127km east of Melbourne, near Rawson. Victoria has been hit by several quakes recently, including three in

This outrageously expensive subs deal simply caters to the US. Again
In one week the government’s justification for needing outrageously expensive nuclear submarines has shifted from defending the continent to the old 1960s forward defence policy in Asia which lured us into Vietnam – with all

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
Irene Mourtzoukou to testify today over four child murders – Dozens of notes and new attempted murder allegations
Today, Sunday, July 13, Irene Mourtzoukou is scheduled to appear before the Patras investigating magistrate to testify in connection with the chilling case of four child murders — a case she has already confessed to. Yesterday, Saturday, she spent her last hours before testifying at the 11th floor of the

Sinai Monastery on the Altar of cheap energy
Corriere links Mitsotakis–Sisi deal to historic sell-off of the Sinai Monastery on the Altar of cheap energy. On the altar of cheap energy! Corriere della Serra links the issue of the Monastery of Sinai to

The fall of Constantinople 29th March 1453: An Orthodox perspective on betrayal and loss
On 29 May 1453, the heart of Eastern Christendom fell. Constantinople — once the crown jewel of the Byzantine Empire and the spiritual stronghold of Eastern Orthodoxy — was overrun by the forces of Sultan

Tsitsipas hires Goran Ivanišević, Djokovic’s former coach, to revive career
Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas hires Goran Ivanišević, Djokovic’s former coach, to revive career in a decisive move to reverse a prolonged slump and re-establish himself among the world’s elite. The 26-year-old two-time Grand Slam

Greek sovereignty undermined, Turkish mafia targets Greek agents
EYP Ethniki Ypiresia Pliroforion (Εθνική Υπηρεσία Πληροφοριών) agents were inside the vehicle that came under fire from another car on Thursday afternoon in Thermi, Thessaloniki. Greek sovereignty undermined, Turkish mafia targets Greek agents according to

EU Prosecutor slams Greek intimidation in farm fraud probe
European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi has vowed to press ahead with a major investigation into alleged fraud involving the EU’s substantial agricultural budget in Greece. The EU Prosecutor slams Greek intimidation in farm fraud probe

Encroachment by acquisition: Strategic alarm over property purchases in Thrace
Amid rising geopolitical tensions and demographic shifts in Southeast Europe, a growing wave of property acquisitions by Turkish and Bulgarian nationals in Northern Greece, especially in the Evros border region, is raising strategic alarm. This

Australia backs ‘status quo’ amid US pressure on Taiwan
In a move that highlights the delicate balance of international relations, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reiterated his government’s stance on Taiwan amidst increasing pressure from the United States. During a visit to Shanghai, Albanese was directly confronted with a probing question: What would Australia do if the United

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

Skopje responds to Bulgarian Deputy PM’s threat over Zaev’s “Macedonian language”
The VMRO leader accused the representatives of the former Yugoslav republic of wanting to “validate a false version of history” The Foreign Ministry in Skopje has responded to Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and VMRO party

FYROM’s name change deal may be an achievement for the E.U., but undemocratic
After the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1991, Greece’s northern neighbor stole the Greek name “Macedonia”—but Athens refused to recognize it, saying it gave legitimacy to territorial, historical, and ethnic claims over the millenial old northern