
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

Liberal MP breaks ranks to call for increase to Newstart
Liberal senator Dean Smith has broken ranks with the federal government to call for an increase to the Newstart payment. WA Senator Dean Smith has become the first Liberal MP to publicly back an increase

Aged care homes spending as little as $7 a day on residents food
Some aged care homes spend as little as $7 a day on food for each resident, a royal commission has been told. Celebrity chef Maggie Beer says that sort of budget is inadequate to prepare

Vic wants federal funds to remove cladding
The Commonwealth is being asked to stump up $300 million to help remove dangerous cladding from hundreds of buildings across Victoria. The state Labor government is establishing a $600 million fund, to be overseen by

Asylum seeker tries to set himself on fire at Melbourne detention facility
Another incident of self-harm has occurred in an Australian detention centre. An asylum seeker detained in the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation facility has been taken to hospital after trying to set himself on fire, according

No paperwork, increasing rent: Sydney landlords exploiting international students
International students are being exploited by landlords in Sydney’s tight housing market, a new report has found. International students in Sydney are falling victim to financial exploitation by dodgy landlords, who are overcharging on bonds,

Record number of Aussies rush to file tax returns
A record number of Australians have lodged their tax returns in the hope of getting their hands on a hefty refund. About 650,000 people have already filed their tax returns, with this year’s early rush

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

Partners with Cyprus in joint Anti-Aircraft defense exercise
France partnered with the Republic of Cyprus in testing its anti-aircraft defense capabilities in a joint military exercise which was conducted across the free territories of the Republic on Monday. Numerous French ”Rafale” fighter jets

Greece – the clearance sale of military bases to the United States
The United States have profited cleverly from Greece’s financial problems in order to force them to sign a contract which would enable the USA to block the ocean passage from the Black Sea to Russia.

A Most Convenient Virus
I prefer to write on things I know about, but once in a while an opportunity presents itself for me to comment on some aspect of widespread mistrust and confusion while resting on a solid

The Terrorists Migrating into Europe
“Most migrant terrorists involved in thwarted or completed attacks were purposefully deployed to the migration flows by an organized terrorist group to conduct or support attacks in destination countries.” — Todd Bensman, “What Terrorist Migration

Gas Wars in the Mediterranean
The unexpected alliance between Turkey and Libya is a geopolitical earthquake that changes the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean and across the Middle East. Turkey’s audacious move has enraged its rivals in the

A Global Catastrophe: “260 Million Christians Experience High Levels of Persecution”
Dictatorial paranoia continues to make North Korea (#1) the worst nation. “If North Korean Christians are discovered, they are deported to labor camps as political criminals or even killed on the spot.” — World Watch