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.
Greece remembers the Cold-Blooded Nazi massacre at Distomo
The massacre at Distomo remains to this day one of the most heinous crimes the Nazis committed against innocent women and children, just months before the German occupying forces pulled out of Greece. On June
UK’s Travel Warning for Greece: Capital controls, alcohol and mosquitoes
The UK Foreign Office has updated its travel warnings for popular British tourists destination. The list concerns more than 200 countries and territories, among them European countries like Greece, Spain and France. The information covers
Employers deny permission to four employees to join Uni entrance exams
Employers have denied permission to four employees, students at the Evening Highschool of Chania, to participate in the general exams for university entrance. The employers did not change the students’ shift in order to facilitate
Ioannina set to elect first Greek-Jewish mayor in country’s post-WWII era
The first Jewish mayor of a municipality in Greece in the post-war period was elected on Sunday, as medical professor Moses Elisaf won a hotly contested race by a razor-thin margin in the northwest lake-side
Greek Island installs lending libraries on its beaches
A group of islanders from Kimolos, located in the southwest of the island group the Cyclades, have installed free lending libraries at all the major beaches of the island to make tourists’ stays even more
The island of Serifos presents “the first smoke-free beach” in Greece
A paradise on Greece’s earth for non-smokers. The first smoke-free beach is here on the island of Serifos in the Cyclades. The pilot program starts this summer in cooperation of local authorities and the Laskaridis
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
US government shutdown ends after historic 43 days: Trump signs funding bill
On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law the funding bill that officially ended the historic 43-day federal government shutdown, the longest in American history. The signing took place in the
Israel proposes ‘Plan B’ for the Power Cable — Cyprus–Israel section first
In a move that reshapes the regional energy equation, the Netanyahu government has publicly proposed a major shift in the sequencing of the Greece–Cyprus–Israel (GSI) electricity interconnection project. Israel proposes ‘Plan B’ for the Power
How Soros’s $40 million charity network allegedly backed Zohran Mamdani
A series of new reports have raised questions about the role of billionaire philanthropist George Soros and his network of charitable foundations in funding political activity in the United States. How Soros’s $40 million charity
Greek kite surfer honoured with Hungary’s “Gold Medal of Honour” for saving father and daughter from drowning
For the first time in the history of the Hungarian state’s highest civilian distinction, the “Gold Medal of Honour” has been awarded to a foreign citizen — a young Greek athlete who performed a heroic
Syria conducts nationwide raids against ISIS ahead of President Sara’s meeting with Trump
Syrian security forces launched a series of large-scale preemptive operations across the country targeting cells of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), ahead of President Ahmed Al Sara’s upcoming visit to Washington for a high-level meeting
Thessaloniki–Skopje oil pipeline set to reopen after 12 years of inactivity
Skopje government approves payment for fuel transport via VARDAX pipeline – gas interconnection with Greece also advancing The government of Skopje has approved the final measure paving the way for the reopening of the Thessaloniki–Skopje
