
Australia deploys Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to Gulf as Iran conflict escalates
Australia will deploy a Royal Australian Air Force surveillance aircraft to the Middle East after a request from the United Arab Emirates, as regional tensions escalate amid Iranian attacks involving drones and rockets. Prime Minister

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

Greece’s political crisis intensifies amid scandal storm
A society at boiling point amid daily scandals and misuse of public funds – growing calls for immediate elections, as the public dismisses manipulated polling Greek society is increasingly on edge, with daily scandals and the alleged misuse of public funds fuelling public anger. Greece’s political crisis intensifies amid scandal

PIPES: Kastelorizo: Mediterranean flash point
That Athens controls this wisp of land implies it could (but does not yet) claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Mediterranean Sea extending 200 nautical miles to Kastelorizo. This would reduce the Turkish

EU agrees to sanction turkey for drilling in Cypriot water
A surprisingly muscular response beyond mere threatening rhetoric out of the European Union over Turkey’s violations of Cypriot territorial waters related to offshore drilling operations: the EU has agreed to bring financial and political sanctions

Archaeology Piece of skull found in Greece ‘is oldest human fossil outside Africa’
A broken skull chiselled from a lump of rock in a cave in Greece is the oldest modern human fossil ever found outside Africa, researchers claim. The partial skull was discovered in the Apidima cave

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

Iran War Ceasefire: Hormuz Reopens as Two-Week Deal Halts Escalation
Iran has agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks, guaranteeing safe maritime passage under coordination with its armed forces. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated the arrangement would allow shipping traffic to resume while diplomatic efforts proceed. Ceasefire Deal and Strait of Hormuz Reopening The agreement includes

2,300 Year old Greek Necropolis found in Bari, South Italy
Bari, the capitol of south Italy’s Puglia region was one of the many coastal city states of Magna Greacia (‘Great Greece’) settled by the Greeks from the 8th century BC. The enduring legacy of Greek

‘We are building a European Defense Union
The following interview with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. Germany and France lead the way for the European Defense Fund. Is it spurred by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union and the

Turkey claims airspace violations in the Aegean are “legal”
Turkey has claimed that airspace violations in the Aegean are “legal” and “no threat to Greece.” Calling Turkish flights over Aegean “a threat” is incompatible to good neighborly ties, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in
Recognition of Macedonian language a ‘grave mistake,’ says prominent linguist
Greece committed a “grave mistake” in recognizing the existence of a Macedonian language, prominent linguist and former education minister Georgios Babiniotis said, adding that the clause in the Prespes accord signed between Athens and Skopje

US Urges ‘Calm’ between India-Pakistan Conflict
International powers this week anxiously urged India and Pakistan to avoid further escalation of military confrontation. Given the two nations have gone to war on three occasions during the past seven decades and are both

Venezuela orders PDVSA to relocate to Moscow; Putin affirms support to Maduro
President Nicolas Maduro instructed the Lisbon branch of PDVSA to relocate to Moscow A top Venezuelan official has announced that President Nicolas Maduro has ordered national oil and gas company PDVSA to close its current

