
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

Sydney workers evacuated as smoke triggers alarms at offices, train stations
A thick blanket of smoke has blanketed on Sydney triggering smoke alarms and forcing the cancellation of outdoor events. Smoke alarms are going off in Sydney office buildings and train stations as the air quality

Mental health, environment top concerns for young Australians
Mission Australia’s Youth Survey Report 2019 has found that mental health weighs as the most pressing issue for Australia’s young people, closely followed by climate change. Australia’s youth now consider the environment the second most

Mystery Lotto winner set to be instant millionaire
A resident or visitor of a Victorian city became an overnight millionaire after winning the division one prize in the TattsLotto draw last month – but they don’t know it yet. The mystery winner bought

HACCI Excellence Awards Winners 2019
It was a night of glamour, elegance, joy and excellence at the magnificent Plaza Ballroom, as HACCI celebrated the best and brightest of the Hellenic-Australian community at its annual Gala Ball, on Friday 15 November.

‘Malicious, reckless’ acts may have started Sunshine Coast blazes
A fire that’s destroyed homes and forced hundreds of evacuations on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast may have been deliberately lit. Malicious behaviour may have contributed to the bushfire emergency across Queensland amid fears a destructive Sunshine

Melbourne’s Federation Square awarded heritage status
Melbourne’s Federation Square has been added to the state’s heritage register, two years after the Victorian government announced parts of it would be demolished for an Apple store. One of Melbourne’s most popular public spaces,

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

Athens marks liberation from the Nazis with ceremony on the Acropolis
In a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary since Athens was liberated from German occupation on October 12, 1944, the Greek flag was raised on the Acropolis on Saturday. The event was addressed by the government’s

Archives, possible throne room discovered in ancient Palace on Crete
The Greek Ministry of Culture announced on Thursday that a new storage room for valuables in Zominthos Palace, on the plateau of Mount Psiloritis on Crete, was discovered at the sprawling site during this year’s excavation season.

Greek gov’t measures for workers, businesses affected by Thomas Cook collapse
The Greek government announced on Saturday a series of measures for tourist businesses and workers affected by the collapse of British Thomas Cook. The measures were announced after a meeting of representatives from the Finance,

Turkey furious as Greece, Cyprus and Egypt “condemn its unlawful actions”
Turkey fumes over a joint statement issued by Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. In an angry statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry described as “baseless claims” the trilateral statement that, among others, condemned “Turkey’s unlawful actions in

Greek teen’s art installation spotlights our addiction to plastic
Young people around the world are joining forces and making an effort to combat the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. The international movement Fridays for future climate strikes have inspired students around the globe to

Moody’s: Thomas Cook liquidation is “credit negative” for Greek, Cypriot banks
The collapse of British tour operator Thomas Cook is “credit negative” for Greek and Cypriot banks, because it reduces the cash flow of businesses in the tourism sectors of these countries, ratings agency Moody’s said

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

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

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