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.
Thessaloniki mayor vows to protect city’s Jewish heritage
Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris said Friday that Jewish monuments will be repaired, no matter how many times they are vandalized. “Even if they vandalize the monuments 100 times we will repair them 110 times,” said
Greece is the third largest investor in the FYROM
Greek companies have invested 473 million euros over two decades in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), according to data released by Skopje’s National Bank. This makes Greece the third largest investor in FYROM
Who owns the Acropolis of Athens? An “unknown owner”…
The Acropolis of Athens narrowly escaped the risk to be target of property hunters after the Culture Ministry failed to claim the ownership on time. In the Hellenic Cadastre it was regi-stered to have an
A blackmailed Prime Minister is not a Prime Minister!
For days now and since the confidence vote and the ratification of the Prespa Agreement, the government, the political system, and, by extension, the entire country, are faced with a “pending institutional issue” and have
Greece warns Turkey ahead of Imia crisis anniversary
In what was seen as a thinly disguised warning against Turkey, newly appointed Defense Minister and former chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Evangelos Apostolakis said Greece will staunchly defend its national sovereignty
Mitsotakis says greece should Veto skopje’s accession to EU
As the Greek Parliament voted in favor to ratify the Prespa agreement on Friday, main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis released a statement saying that he is prepared to “fight” what might happen as a result
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
Hong Kong’s major events at protests
Hong Kong’s anti-government protesters have sustained their momentum for more than three months, facing off against police through summer heat and clouds of tear gas. Officers have met demonstrators head on with a variety of
Pipeline Wars Revisited
Pipeline wars are often overlooked in the scheme of things, where pipelines represent competing national interests of a purely economic sort, beyond the usual political rhetoric surrounding ideology and demagoguery. Because a gas pipeline transports
Cyprus repays remainder of Russian loan, two years early
Cyprus’ finance minister said on Monday that the country has repaid ahead of schedule the remaining 1.58 billion euros ($1.73 billion) of a 2.5 billion euro ($2.74 billion) loan it received from Russia in 2011
What is going on in Libya?
Libya is now ruled by the Government of National Accord (GNA). The GNA is recognized by the UN and holds Tripoli but little else. The situation is immensely complex and forever in flux. For eight
US slaps new tariffs on China; One minute later China retaliates
The biggest reason for last week’s torrid stock market rally was rekindled “optimism” that the escalating trade war between the US and China may be on the verge of another ceasefire following phone conversations, fake
Turkey sending fourth energy drill ship into Cyprus’ waters for oil exploration
Turkey has sent its fourth drilling ship to the eastern Mediterranean waters to participate in the exploration for natural gas and oil within the Cypriot maritime economic zones, defying European and international warnings. The Ministry
