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
ANZ and NAB chiefs face parliamentary scrutiny after record fines and misconduct
Australia’s largest banks are facing intense parliamentary scrutiny as the government examines past misconduct, employment practices, and customer protections. ANZ’s new chief executive, Nuno Matos, publicly apologised to a parliamentary committee for the bank’s historic
Australians hold 209 million days of unused annual leave as employment landscape shifts
Australian workers are heading into the summer break with a massive stockpile of unused annual leave, collectively sitting on 209 million days of accrued holidays, new data from research firm Roy Morgan shows. The near-record
Surge in social media use replaces sport, reading and arts among Australian children
A dramatic rise in social media use among children and adolescents is reshaping daily routines and pushing aside key developmental activities such as sport, reading and music, according to a major new study by the
Optus fined $826,320 after major verification flaw allows scammers to steal customer identities and tens of thousands of dollars
Optus has been hit with a substantial $826,320 penalty after a serious security lapse allowed scammers to bypass customer verification processes and steal as much as $39,000 from individual victims. The Australian Communications and Media
Albanese issues ultimatum to Turkey over hosting COP31 Climate Talks
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has drawn a firm line in ongoing negotiations with Turkey over the hosting of next year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), ruling out any possibility of co-hosting the event. Speaking
Australian families face rising private health insurance premiums in 2026
Australian families may be set to pay significantly more for private health insurance in 2026, as premiums are projected to rise between 3.9 and 4.4 per cent. According to analysis by Money.com.au, this increase could
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.
Koukolopoulos follows Gervoulanos in warning over PASOK’s stagnant polls
Greek MP and former minister Paris Koukolopoulos has announced that he may raise the issue of PASOK’s stagnant polling in party bodies if there is no recovery by Christmas. Speaking after Pavlos Gervoulanos referenced the
Mitsotakis rules out Turkey’s participation in EU SAFE program amid Aegean disputes
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has reiterated that Turkey cannot participate in the EU’s Strategic Armaments Framework (SAFE) program as long as it maintains a casus belli against Greece and disputes the sovereignty of Greek
Mitsotakis: Comprehensive european defense, competitiveness, and green transition on summit agenda
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will participate today Thursday in the European People’s Party Summit and the European Council meeting, where key topics will include defense, security, competitiveness, the green transition, the Middle East, and
Gerapetritis: “The Western Balkans must accelerate their path toward the European family”
Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis called for the acceleration of the Western Balkans’ European integration during the Berlin Process Summit held in London, emphasizing that “the only sure path to peace and prosperity in the
Gerapetritis’ Blunder: The phrase that diminished Greek diplomacy
No matter how much we try to hide it, reality speaks for itself. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs under George Gerapetritis seems unable to find its footing. Gerapetritis’ Blunder: The phrase that diminished Greek diplomacy.
Dionysis Savvopoulos: The voice that sang Greece has fallen silent
The beloved Greek singer-songwriter Dionysis Savvopoulos has died at the age of 81, marking the end of an era in modern Greek music and culture. Known affectionately as “Nionios,” Savvopoulos was more than a composer
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
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
Game over for oil… The economy is next
It’s game-over for most of the U.S. oil industry and the repurcussions are global Prices have collapsed and storage is nearly full. The only option for many producers is to shut in their wells. That
The coming Greater Depression of the 2020s
While there is never a good time for a pandemic, the COVID-19 crisis has arrived at a particularly bad moment for the global economy. The world has long been drifting into a perfect storm of
Turkey: Pressures, Attacks, and Discrimination against Christians
When Protestants introduce themselves to the authorities as a church, they receive warnings that they are not legal and may be closed down. In 2019, however, many members of the foreign clergy, as well as
Stocks savaged, Italy on lockdown, Trump seeks to reassure as coronavirus spreads
ROME (All of Italy under lockdown, reeling financial markets and rioting prisoners made clear on Monday how the global coronavirus epidemic was extending its reach into all aspects of social and economic life. Police officers
Are Turkish Cypriots Done with Ankara?
For the Turks, Turkey is the homeland and Cyprus is the “baby homeland.” In January 2018, several thousand Turkish Cypriots marched against what they said was Turkey’s unwanted influence that has emboldened hard-right groups to
