
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

Liberal MP breaks ranks to call for increase to Newstart
Liberal senator Dean Smith has broken ranks with the federal government to call for an increase to the Newstart payment. WA Senator Dean Smith has become the first Liberal MP to publicly back an increase

Aged care homes spending as little as $7 a day on residents food
Some aged care homes spend as little as $7 a day on food for each resident, a royal commission has been told. Celebrity chef Maggie Beer says that sort of budget is inadequate to prepare

Vic wants federal funds to remove cladding
The Commonwealth is being asked to stump up $300 million to help remove dangerous cladding from hundreds of buildings across Victoria. The state Labor government is establishing a $600 million fund, to be overseen by

Asylum seeker tries to set himself on fire at Melbourne detention facility
Another incident of self-harm has occurred in an Australian detention centre. An asylum seeker detained in the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation facility has been taken to hospital after trying to set himself on fire, according

No paperwork, increasing rent: Sydney landlords exploiting international students
International students are being exploited by landlords in Sydney’s tight housing market, a new report has found. International students in Sydney are falling victim to financial exploitation by dodgy landlords, who are overcharging on bonds,

Record number of Aussies rush to file tax returns
A record number of Australians have lodged their tax returns in the hope of getting their hands on a hefty refund. About 650,000 people have already filed their tax returns, with this year’s early rush

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.

EU Defence Agency apologizes for controversial Cyprus report amid political backlash
The European Defence Agency (EDA) has issued a formal apology following the publication of a report conducted jointly with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), which sparked widespread criticism for its references to the

The inner circle around Alexis Tsipras: key collaborators shaping his next moves
With Alexis Tsipras stepping down from Parliament and preparing for his forthcoming book on his government’s record, attention has turned to the core team of collaborators surrounding the former prime minister. Their influence will likely

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,

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

Greece – the clearance sale of military bases to the United States
The United States have profited cleverly from Greece’s financial problems in order to force them to sign a contract which would enable the USA to block the ocean passage from the Black Sea to Russia.

A Most Convenient Virus
I prefer to write on things I know about, but once in a while an opportunity presents itself for me to comment on some aspect of widespread mistrust and confusion while resting on a solid

The Terrorists Migrating into Europe
“Most migrant terrorists involved in thwarted or completed attacks were purposefully deployed to the migration flows by an organized terrorist group to conduct or support attacks in destination countries.” — Todd Bensman, “What Terrorist Migration

Gas Wars in the Mediterranean
The unexpected alliance between Turkey and Libya is a geopolitical earthquake that changes the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean and across the Middle East. Turkey’s audacious move has enraged its rivals in the

A Global Catastrophe: “260 Million Christians Experience High Levels of Persecution”
Dictatorial paranoia continues to make North Korea (#1) the worst nation. “If North Korean Christians are discovered, they are deported to labor camps as political criminals or even killed on the spot.” — World Watch

Battle of the ages to stop Eurasian integration
The coming decade could see the US take on Russia, China and Iran over the New Silk Road connection. The Raging Twenties started with a bang with the targeted assassination of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani.

