
Australia to mandate cash payments for essential purchases from 2026
Australia will introduce a nationwide cash mandate requiring major grocery and fuel retailers to accept cash payments from January 1, 2026, in a move aimed at protecting consumers who rely on physical currency for everyday

Statement from the Premier
This week I had another round of scans and a meeting with my care team at the Alfred and got some good news. The broken vertebra has almost fully healed and they’re letting me take

What is the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine? Will it be available in Australia soon? And does it use mRNA?
Source: abcnews The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine has been found to have more than 90 per cent efficacy, paving the way for it to be available later this year in Australia. The successful results from the phase 3

‘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,

Trans-Tasman travel bubble: The big difference between Australia and New Zealand
Stepping foot on-board one of the trans-Tasman bubble flights was a cause for celebration. But the surprise came on the journey home. A year in the making, it was the flight Australia was itching for.

Qantas sticks to international travel plan despite COVID vaccine delay
Despite the majority of Australians unlikely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 until next year, Qantas is holding firm on their plan to fly overseas by October 31. Australia had been aiming to open its international

Mitsotakis unveils major housing, loan and farming measures during Budget speech
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used his address to Parliament during the debate on the State Budget to announce a series of significant policy initiatives targeting housing affordability, Swiss franc loan holders, and farmers. The announcements were described as some of the most substantial interventions of the current parliamentary term.

How the “Aegean Prespes” will be served
The signs that a full-scale Greek-Turkish negotiation is being launched – with the blessing and behind-the-scenes mediation of the Americans – are too many to ignore. In an article a few days ago, I referred

The Pan-Macedonian Association demands Channel 9’s misleading advertisement must be withdrawn
“Historic Macedonia is in Greece” The Pan-Macedonian Association of Melbourne and Victoria is demanding the withdrawal of the misleading advertisement of Tripadeal, aired by Channel 9 and which refers to Skopje as “Historic Macedonia”, in

Cyprus: Mass migration leads to demographic replacement
The Republic of Cyprus, whose population is approximately 1.2 million, is struggling with a significant mass migration crisis that is gradually leading to the demographic replacement of the island’s native population. Since at least 2016,

Drilling rigs go to work on the deposits of Crete
Indications of the existence of the largest natural gas deposit in the Mediterranean, with a size of 30 trillion cubic feet – Interest from energy giant Chevron to get involved in the project – Countdown

Allegations of coverup, evidence overlooked in Tembi train tragedy probe
ATHENS – A year after a head-on train collision killed 57 people, an investigation into the causes has lagged and seen relatives of victims complaining about evidence being overlooked and media reports of a cover-up.

Has PM Mitsotakis’s same-sex marriage decision backfired?
If gay marriage and the adoption of children by such couples was a political gambit by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to entertain the country’s forthcoming first-ever condemnation by the European Parliament for the rule of

Libya parliament speaker declares Turkey–Libya memorandum invalid, opens door to talks with Greece, Egypt and Turkey
Libya’s House of Representatives Speaker, Aqila Saleh, has publicly declared the 2019 Turkey–Libya maritime memorandum “invalid,” marking the first such statement in six years and signalling a potential shift in Libya’s approach to maritime disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean. Speaking to the Libyan News Agency, just days after an official

Skopje responds to Bulgarian Deputy PM’s threat over Zaev’s “Macedonian language”
The VMRO leader accused the representatives of the former Yugoslav republic of wanting to “validate a false version of history” The Foreign Ministry in Skopje has responded to Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and VMRO party

FYROM’s name change deal may be an achievement for the E.U., but undemocratic
After the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1991, Greece’s northern neighbor stole the Greek name “Macedonia”—but Athens refused to recognize it, saying it gave legitimacy to territorial, historical, and ethnic claims over the millenial old northern

Ancient Greek and Roman artifacts found in Alexandria
An announcement from the Archaeological Mission of Alexandria has revealed that an array of Greek and Roman artefacts has been found in Alexandria, Egypt. That date back to the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. The

