
Australian meth, cocaine, MDMA, and heroin use jumps 34% in one year
Australians consumed 34 per cent more methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and MDMA in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program. The survey found that 22.2 tonnes of these

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

Regular cannabis use now more accepted by Australians than smoking tobacco, study finds
Source: The Guardian Regular cannabis use has become more accepted than smoking tobacco, the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) has found. The 2019 data, compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Wildfires rage across western Greece and the islands, devastating homes and forests
In the past 24 hours, 48 new fires broke out, bringing the total to 109 incidents since the outbreak began. For a second consecutive day, firefighters battled relentless wildfires across Western Greece and several Aegean islands, as authorities reported a record number of fires sweeping through the country. The most

30 Ancient ‘curse tablets’ discovered in excavated well, in Athens’ Kerameikos site
Thirty ancient Greek tablets, featuring curses in the form of invocations to the gods of the underworld, dated some 2,500 years ago, were recently discovered at the bottom of a well in the Kerameikos archaeological

Tesla €70 million project of “electric highway” through Greece
US electric vehicles pioneer Tesla wants to include Greece into Europe’s “electric highway.” The company of Elon Musk has reportedly already included significant part of the Greek national roads into a developing mega project involving

Two Greeks in quarantine in Athens hospital after returning from Wuhan
Two Greeks are in quarantine in a hospital in Athens after they arrived from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus broke out and has claimed so far the lives of more than 800

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

Asylum seekers to get social security number in Greece in apparent policy U-turn
Five key Greek ministries on Monday decided that the country will re-introduce the practice of granting a social security number to all migrants who have applied for asylum in Greece, something that the current conservative

Greece 2020: Starving child faints after unemployed parents pay taxes
A starving student recently collapsed on the way home and fell to the ground in front of the eyes of stunning passersby. The incident took place in Pyrgos, Western Peloponnese. According to local media, both

August 15: Melbourne honours the “Easter of Summer” with splendor and devotion
August 15, the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, is one of the most important celebrations of Orthodoxy and is observed with deep emotion both in Greece and in Greek communities around the world. In Melbourne, celebrations began early in the morning, with the faithful filling churches to honor

Turkish television discusses striking Greece
On Turkey’s pro-government TV channel AHaber, political analysts and national security specialists enthusiastically discussed how the Turkish Air Force could strike Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. Speaking in front of a map of Turkey

European solidarity with Ukraine: Sending generators in a time of crisis
The recent Russian missile and aircraft attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has prompted an extraordinary response from the European Union. In particular, Germany, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands have agreed to send 157 generators to

ISIS threat to Champions League confirmed as security tightens in Paris, Madrid and London
Concerns are growing as Europe goes on red alert following the threat of terrorist attacks at Champions League matches by Islamic State. France, Spain and Britain have all reacted swiftly to tighten security ahead of

Trump leads Biden in six of the seven most competitive states
Republican leader Donald Trump has a 2 to 8-point lead over incumbent President and Democratic leader Joe Biden in a poll conducted in six key states ahead of the November United States presidential election. According

Earthquake in Taiwan: Fear for those trapped inside tunnel
Rescue teams in Taiwan are racing to free trapped people after the more than seven-magnitude earthquake, the largest in 25 years, shook the country yesterday. Among them were more than 130 people trapped inside buses

Major 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan: Tsunami warnings
An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck Taiwan just before 8am (Taipei time). The epicentre of the quake was quite close to the island, prompting emergency tsunami warnings in Taiwan itself and on