
Capital Gains Tax discount reform under consideration
Speculation is intensifying that one of Australia’s most controversial tax concessions, the capital gains tax (CGT) discount, may undergo significant reform as a central feature of this year’s federal budget. Senior government ministers have stopped

Australia wipes student debt for millions – major HECS and HELP reforms begin
Starting today, millions of Australians with student loans will see thousands of dollars wiped from their debt as new HECS and HELP repayment rules take effect. The federal government has honoured one of its key

Australia, UK and Canada recognise Palestinian statehood in historic shift – Netanyahu furious
Australia has taken a historic step, joining Britain and Canada in formally recognising an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. The move, announced late Sunday (Sept 22), marks a major break from decades of Western policy

Australia to recognise Palestine: Albanese calls for peace and security
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed Australia will formally recognise a Palestinian state during this week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, joining the UK, Canada and several European nations in a move he

Australians selling burial plots online – Graves become lucrative investments
A striking and somewhat macabre trend is emerging across Australia: burial plots are being listed online as valuable assets, with some fetching more than $150,000. A nationwide shortage of cemetery space, especially in major cities,

Triple tragedy sparks outrage – Optus blamed for fatal emergency network failure
Australia is reeling after a catastrophic Optus outage cut hundreds of Triple Zero (000) emergency calls, resulting in three deaths—including an eight-week-old baby—across South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. Optus CEO Stephen Rue

Albanese embarks on pivotal tour to US, UK and UAE – First UNGA address as Prime Minister
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese departs today for a three-nation diplomatic mission covering the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The trip marks his first address to the United Nations General

EU–US backed power link shatters Turkey–Libya maritime claims
The Egypt–Greece 3 GW electricity interconnector has received a €9.56 million EU grant to support further studies and implementation. EU–US backed power link shatters Turkey–Libya maritime claims. The European Commission has approved the funding for additional preparatory work on the 3-gigawatt electricity link connecting the power systems of Greece and

Parthenon Marbles: Tough words by the Greek President to British Museum
Tough words by the Greek President, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, towards the British Museum on the thorny issue of the Parthenon Marbles. “The British Museum’s obsession is tantamount to supporting Elgin’s cultural grave robbing and theft. And,

Police cracks down gang bringing weapons, ammunition from Albania to Crete
Greek police as cracked down a criminal gang that was bringing Kalasnikov weapons and ammunition from Albania to the island of Crete. A big scale operation conducted by the Police Departments of Chania, Crete, and

Large percentage of Greek High School students graduate lacking essential life skills
Many Greek high schools students graduate practically illiterate in regards to basic life skills, much less skills that would place them in the job market, according to a new report by the Authority for Quality Assurance

Tsipras: “We made mistakes but we took the country forwards”
“We are still here, after four-and-a-half years of struggle, the struggle to keep Greece standing upright,” is how main opposition party SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras started his speech at the 84th Thessaloniki International Fair on

Colossal Amphipolis monument to open possibly by 2021
Greece’s Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni visited on Friday the monument of Casta in ancient Amphipolis, near the city of Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. After her visit, Mendoni described it as “a

Greece and Cyprus record EU’s largest quarterly employment increase
According to the latest data collected by Eurostat, the nations of Cyprus and Greece recorded the largest increase in employment in the entirety of the EU during the second quarter of 2019. More specifically, Cyprus recorded

EU–US backed power link shatters Turkey–Libya maritime claims
The Egypt–Greece 3 GW electricity interconnector has received a €9.56 million EU grant to support further studies and implementation. EU–US backed power link shatters Turkey–Libya maritime claims. The European Commission has approved the funding for additional preparatory work on the 3-gigawatt electricity link connecting the power systems of Greece and

Europe faces reckoning as its Ukraine ‘Victory’ illusion crashes
Europe faces a reckoning as its Ukraine ‘victory’ illusion crashes — after spending four years living in a fantasy that Ukraine would advance, Russia would collapse, and “victory” was only one more weapons package away.

Australia at centre of AUKUS push as UK and US call for faster delivery and greater burden sharing
Australia has been thrust firmly into the spotlight of the AUKUS security pact, with both the United Kingdom and United States urging Canberra to accelerate its commitments and take on a greater share of the

Germany: Record number of bankruptcies for businesses and individuals
Germany is experiencing its highest number of bankruptcies since 2014, with experts warning that the peak of the crisis “has not yet been reached.” According to the credit rating agency Creditreform, approximately 23,900 companies will

Hamas signals openness to “freezing or storing” weapons as talks enter difficult second phase
Hamas has indicated it is willing to discuss the “freezing or storing” of its weapons arsenal as part of the emerging ceasefire framework with Israel, according to senior official Bassem Naim, who spoke to the

Modi welcomes Putin with full honours in New Delhi
Russian President Vladimir Putin received a ceremonial welcome in India on Friday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosting him in a display designed to highlight the deep and enduring ties between the two nations. Putin

Deported neo-Nazi protester arrives in South Africa after visa cancellation
A South African national who took part in a widely condemned neo-Nazi demonstration in Sydney has arrived back in Johannesburg after being deported by Australian authorities. Matthew Gruter, 35, was removed from the country following

