
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.

Today, Maria Karystianou returns to the European Parliament to deliver a speech on the Tembi Train incident
Here’s how you can watch her address: Today, Maria Karystianou returns to the European Parliament to deliver a speech on the Tembi Train incident. This crucial session represents another significant step towards justice for the

A dangerous memorandum with the USA
Tabled in the Greek Parliament on Friday by the New Democracy Party a dangerous memorandum with the US opens the door for Greek troops to go to Ukraine under US command. It provides for the

Maria Karystianou to travel to the EU Commission on Monday regarding the Tempi Train collision cover-up, along with more than 1.3 million signatures
On Tuesday, 18 March, the president of the “Tempi 28-2-2023” Association, Maria Karystianou, who lost her daughter Marti in the fatal railway accident in Tempi, will speak to the Commission asking for support to abolish

We are House Atreides. There is no call we do not answer. There is no faith that we betray.
Duke Leto Atreides: We are House Atreides. There is no call we do not answer. There is no faith that we betray. The Emperor asks us to bring peace to Arrakis. House Atreides accepts! Dune

European prosecutors: The failure of the Greek Government to implement a key signals automation contract helped cause the Tempi train collision
While the Mitsotakis government‘s decision acquitting former Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis for the tragic Tembi accident with 57 dead, blaming the fatal accident only on the stationmaster and the dead drivers has been seen as

Indian Wells Masters: Tsitsipas moves into the last 16, taking out Tiafoe in straight sets
Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 11 seed, won against American Frances Tiafoe, the No 18 seed, 6-3, 6-3 to move into the last 16 of the Indian Wells Masters at the Indian Wells Tennis

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

