
A costly leadership: PM Anthony Albanese’s $7 million annual burden on taxpayers sparks debate
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under renewed scrutiny following revelations that the total cost of maintaining his role exceeds $6.87 million annually—placing a heavy burden on Australian taxpayers. A detailed analysis by the Institute of

Extreme weather is leading to more injury hospitalisations, with heat being the main cause
The number of hospital admissions for injuries associated with extreme weather – such as heatwaves, bushfires and storms – has increased over the past decade, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews resigns
Premier Andrews has resigned abruptly, stepping down from his role effective 5 pm Wednesday. Having recently surpassed John Cain Jr. as the longest-serving Labor Premier in Victoria’s history in April 2023, Andrews’ decision was celebrated

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

Shockwaves in PASOK: Cretan party official resigns amid OPEKEPE subsidy scandal
A political storm has erupted within PASOK following the resignation of Lampros Antonopoulos, Secretary of the Heraklion Prefectural Committee, after his alleged involvement in the controversial OPEKEPE agricultural subsidy case. Antonopoulos submitted a formal resignation letter to PASOK’s General Secretary, Andreas Spyropoulos, not only stepping down from his role but

Athens-Piraeus again in ‘top 10’ in terms of global shipping hubs
The Athens-Piraeus area has returned to the world’s top 10 shipping hubs, according to a recent study by Baltic Exchange. The Greek capital bumped Korea’s Pusan from the “top 10” list, while Singapore remained first,

4.6 Magnitude Earthquake in Kozani, Northern Greece
According to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens, the epicenter of the quake was located 8 klm south of Kozani, in northern Greece. The earthquake struck at 13:50 on Sunday with a

Greece’s Milos voted “Best Island in Europe” by Travel & Leisure Magazine
The readers of the famous “Travel + Leisure” magazine recently voted the Greek island of Milos as “the best island in Europe” for 2019. The list is comprised of 15 islands across Europe, with Greece

Swordfish killed by swimmers on a beach in Chalkida, Greece
A swordfish which swam its way to the shallow waters of a beach in Chalkida on the island of Evia, was killed by beachgoers. The swordfish went to the shallow water to give birth and

Autonomy
The government intends to allow universities and not the education ministry to set the number of students they will admit each year. That addresses a basic need, the need (for many and varied reasons) for

Alarm bell
To avoid the errors of the past the current government must move swiftly to address the deficiencies left behind by previous ones. The extent of the natural disasters by which Greece was struck over the

Iran and European powers to resume nuclear talks amid rising tensions
Iran has agreed to resume nuclear negotiations with the European trio – Germany, France, and the United Kingdom – in a diplomatic effort to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The new round of talks is scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Friday, July 25, according

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