
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.

Why I joined the demonstrations spurred by the rail disaster
Because although taking to the streets to express your grief, your anger and your questions may not bring back the young faces you saw in the photos that were published when devastated relatives were seeking

Evagoras Pallikarides a young Cypriot freedom fighter
This week 65 Years ago the English Queen awarded a belated posthumous medal to a young British soldier killed in Cyprus in 1956. He was just 19 and died when a bomb exploded the news

Sir George William Rendel (British Diplomat). A memorandum detailing atrocities committed during the Greek Genocide by the Turks
Sir George William Rendel (1889-1979) was a British diplomat who wrote a 7-page memorandum detailing atrocities committed during the Greek Genocide. Rendel was educated at Queen’s College, Oxford and in 1913 joined the British Diplomatic Service.

Biden is half right on Eastern Mediterranean arms sales
The Biden administration reportedly will ask Congress to approve a $20 billion sale of F-16s to Turkey , coupled with a separate sale of F-35 fighters to Greece . The White House is half right:

An Honest Broker No Longer: The United States Between Turkey and Greece
Over the course of 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has maintained a steady drumbeat of provocations targeting Greece. The year began with his foreign ministry issuing a statement threatening to declare Greece’s sovereignty as

Greek police find 92 naked migrants sent from Turkey to Greece
Greek police have rescued a group of 92 illegal migrants who were discovered naked, and some with injuries, close to its northern border with Turkey, police say. The migrants, all men, were discovered close to

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

Coalition pushes Albanese to meet Trump amid AUKUS uncertainty
Australia’s opposition is urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to urgently secure a meeting with US President Donald Trump, following news that the Trump administration is reviewing the AUKUS security pact. The review casts doubt over the

Elon Musk ignites political firestorm, suggesting it’s time for a new party
Elon Musk has asked whether it’s “time to create a new political party in America” as his increasingly acrimonious public feud with President Donald Trump intensifies. Why It Matters Musk resigned from his position at

The undermining of Greece’s geopolitical credibility under the Mitsotakis government!
The Mitsotakis government’s foreign policy has led Greece into an unprecedented crisis of geopolitical credibility, with serious consequences for national interests, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The policy of appeasement towards Turkey, the signing of

Moscow bans Greek official and warns of further retaliation
Russia is dangerously hardening its stance towards Greece, openly denouncing the New Democracy government as a servant of the West. Moscow bans a Greek official and warns of further retaliation, openly denouncing the New Democracy

Germany’s economy buckles into a full-blown bankruptcy crisis
Germany is bracing for a continued surge in major insolvencies throughout 2025 and even 2026, according to a recent analysis by credit insurer Allianz Trade. Germany’s economy buckles into a full-blown bankruptcy crisis after a disastrous

Sinai Monastery on the Altar of cheap energy
Corriere links Mitsotakis–Sisi deal to historic sell-off of the Sinai Monastery on the Altar of cheap energy. On the altar of cheap energy! Corriere della Serra links the issue of the Monastery of Sinai to

