
Australia’s productivity collapses to zero amid weak investment and population surge
Australia’s labour productivity has effectively stalled, with new analysis showing growth has collapsed to zero, placing the country near the bottom of advanced economies since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an OECD assessment cited in

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

Telstra moves call centres back to Australia after customers made their preference ‘loud and clear’
Source: 9news Telstra has moved all its call centres that service Australian customers and small businesses back to Australian shores to appease its customers. Telstra CEO Andy Penn has announced the move today, saying it

Cybersafety expert’s alarm over Snapchat’s new precise location feature: ‘Literally shows where you sleep at night’
Source: 9news Sometimes it feels like a full-time job keeping our children safe from online predators. So the last thing we need is technology making the job even harder. But a new feature on the

PULS missile system paves the way for Greece’s “Achilles Shield” as defence cooperation with Israel and UAE deepens
Greece is moving decisively to strengthen its military deterrence, following parliamentary approval for the acquisition of the Israeli-made PULS multiple rocket launcher system, a key component of the country’s planned multi-layered air and missile defence architecture known as the “Achilles Shield”. The Special Standing Committee on Armaments Programs of the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier belongs to all Greeks – must be kept out of daily political tug-of-war
Greece’s Minister of State, Akis Skertsos, has praised the Prime Minister’s recent decision to assign the Ministry of National Defense exclusive responsibility for protecting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, emphasizing the monument’s national and

Greece and Cyprus invited to Trump’s international summit on Gaza
Greece and Cyprus are among the nations invited by U.S. President Donald Trump to the new international conference on Gaza, set to take place on Monday in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The summit is expected to

KKE to honour political prisoners with memorial event on Gyaros island
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) will hold a commemorative event and pilgrimage this Saturday, October 11, on Gyaros Island — a place of exile and suffering for thousands of resistance

Farmers demand payment schedule as minister Tsiaras promises payouts “in the coming days”
Tensions are rising among farmers in Thessaly as Agriculture and Food Minister Kostas Tsiaras announced that payments to producers will begin “in the coming period,” following a lengthy three-hour meeting in Larissa with agricultural representatives,

Famellos on a possible Tsipras party: “No time to wait – progressive Greece needs initiative”
Socrates Famellos, president of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance (SYRIZA-PA), addressed questions regarding a potential new party led by Alexis Tsipras during a visit to Pyrgos, Ilia. Speaking under the campaign slogan “Progressive Greece”, Famellos emphasized that a

New Democracy unites over AI: handshake between Mitsotakis and Karamanlis at Stylianidis’ book launch
The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis shared a warm handshake and applause as they attended the book presentation of Evripidis Stylianidis, dedicated to the challenges and dangers of Artificial

Robert Fico confronts Brussels, claiming EU has abandoned democracy
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has crossed a line Brussels hoped no European leader would openly cross — and he has done so publicly. In a sweeping and highly confrontational statement, Fico accused the European Union of suppressing free speech, manipulating democratic processes, enforcing double standards on energy policy, and

‘Signal to the world’: Singapore ready and waiting for Australian travel bubble
Singapore’s so-called “Cruises to Nowhere” have been a big hit since being given the green light last November, with more than 120,000 passengers. “They’ve made something that sounds tacky actually quite fun and enjoyable,” said

Flights between India and Australia suspended until May 15
Flights to and from India into Australia have now been suspended, amid increasing concerns over the nation’s escalating COVID-19 situation. Flights to and from India into Australia have now been suspended, Scott Morrison has announced,

Greek passport eighth most powerful in the world
Due to the enormous ramifications of the global pandemic on travel worldwide, the gap in citizens’ freedom to travel anywhere they wish is the largest in decades, and how the vaccine rollout goes will foretell

U.S. says Turkey violated international law, NATO commitments in Mediterranean
Turkey broke international law and its NATO commitments in the eastern Mediterranean during a dispute with Greece last year over territory, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Bilateral disputes should be settled peacefully and

The EastMed alliances threaten Turkey’s expansionist agenda
The discovery of huge gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and the standardization of cooperation between the countries of the region will change the geopolitical landscape in a few years The discovery of huge gas

Donald Trump should lift the arms embargo on Cyprus now
Every day the arms embargo remains in place undermines U.S. national security, undercuts the deployed U.S. military, and signals to U.S. allies that Washington is unreliable. On July 20, 1974, Turkish forces—utilizing U.S.-made and supplied

