
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.

Greek elections: Landslide victory for centre-right New Democracy party
Incumbent prime minister Alexis Tsipras, of Syriza, calls rival Kyriakos Mitsotakis to concede defeat Voters in Greece have given Kyria-kos Mitsotakis’ centre-right New Democracy party a resounding mandate to form a new government after it

Ballot Box stolen from polling center in Exarchia and set on fire
At least one ballot box was stolen from a polling station in the anarchists’ district of Exarchia in Athens and were allegedly set on fire. The unprecedented incidents took place on early Sunday evening short

‘Evdokia’ the 1200 Year Old Olive Tree in Corfu, Greece
An imposing olive tree on Corfu, known as ‘Evdokia’ by the locals, has been estimated to be between 1086 and 1200 years old, according to stu-dies by German scientists from the Dresden University of Technology.

When calves seek shade at the beach you know it’s Heat Wave in Greece
Heat wave in Greece: It is currently so boiling hot in Greece that even calves seek the beach and shade under the sun umbrella. A swimmer was surprised to see a calf to have made

Austerity, unemployment behind ND lanslide
‘I am committed to fewer taxes, many investments, for good and new jobs, and growth which will bring better salaries and higher pensions in an efficient state’ Mitsotakis said. Greece’s opposition conservatives returned to power

Mitsotakis to CNBC: Talks with European partners will begin immediately; ND has presented a clear plan, ‘without surprises’
Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ first press statements after Sunday’s election victory by his center-right New Democracy (ND) came during an interview to CNBC, where he expressed gratitude over the election result – which will make him prime

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

100 Years of Silence
Pontus (“sea” in Greek),is an historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Anatolia, Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region and its

EU warns Turkey against ‘illegal’ Cyprus drilling
The EU on Monday warned Turkey not to press ahead with exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, calling the plan illegal and vowing to “respond appropriately”. The bloc’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said

Venezuela – another failed coup attempt – What’s next?
In the early morning hours of 30 April, 2019, the self-declare “Interim President”, Juan Guaidó, launched what at first sight appeared to be a military coup – Guaidó calls it “Operation Freedom” (sounds very much

The largest natural deposit in the world in Crete
NATURAL GAS worth € 600.000.000.000 An Amazing scientific proven discovery that could mean enormous economic benefits to Greece, a solution to the pension insurance and securing tens/hundreds of thousands of jobs for at least 50

Turkey drills for gas in Cyprus’ waters, prompting EU outcry
The EU and US have urged Turkey to stop drilling for gas in Cyprus’ maritime zone – but Ankara has told its allies it would do so anyway. Brussels and Washington spoke out over the

Cyprus: Turkey’s drilling bid violates international law
Cyprus’ foreign ministry says Turkey’s bid to drill for natural gas in waters where the island nation has exclusive economic rights is a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty under international law. The ministry in a

