
Capital Gains Tax discount reform under consideration
Speculation is intensifying that one of Australia’s most controversial tax concessions, the capital gains tax (CGT) discount, may undergo significant reform as a central feature of this year’s federal budget. Senior government ministers have stopped

Mental health, environment top concerns for young Australians
Mission Australia’s Youth Survey Report 2019 has found that mental health weighs as the most pressing issue for Australia’s young people, closely followed by climate change. Australia’s youth now consider the environment the second most

Mystery Lotto winner set to be instant millionaire
A resident or visitor of a Victorian city became an overnight millionaire after winning the division one prize in the TattsLotto draw last month – but they don’t know it yet. The mystery winner bought

HACCI Excellence Awards Winners 2019
It was a night of glamour, elegance, joy and excellence at the magnificent Plaza Ballroom, as HACCI celebrated the best and brightest of the Hellenic-Australian community at its annual Gala Ball, on Friday 15 November.

‘Malicious, reckless’ acts may have started Sunshine Coast blazes
A fire that’s destroyed homes and forced hundreds of evacuations on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast may have been deliberately lit. Malicious behaviour may have contributed to the bushfire emergency across Queensland amid fears a destructive Sunshine

Melbourne’s Federation Square awarded heritage status
Melbourne’s Federation Square has been added to the state’s heritage register, two years after the Victorian government announced parts of it would be demolished for an Apple store. One of Melbourne’s most popular public spaces,

Cleanaway ready for takeover of SKM
Waste management giant Cleanaway could be on track to return Australia’s SKM back to “sustainable footing” with the company ready to take over the collapsing recycler. SKM’s recent collapse has resulted in Australia’s recycling industry

Turkey’s provocation playbook: Escalation disguised as diplomacy
Turkey’s provocation playbook: Escalation disguised as diplomacy — just days before a scheduled meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ankara has stepped up its aggressive rhetoric, once again placing territorial waters firmly back on the agenda and heightening tensions in the Aegean. Just

Athens fires back at Ankara over East Med dispute: “Turkey cannot lecture others on International Law”
Greece has issued a stern diplomatic response to fresh accusations from Turkey regarding its stance on the controversial Turkey-Libya maritime agreement. The Greek Foreign Ministry, through diplomatic sources, denounced Turkey’s latest comments as “incompatible with

Mitsotakis pushes for EU action on Libya migration route and defence funding
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking after the conclusion of the EU Summit, called for urgent action to address a new irregular migration route emerging from Eastern Libya to Crete. “We will use every means

Karamanlis Inquiry: Fast-tracked parliamentary probe sparks political backlash
The Hellenic Parliament’s special inquiry committee into former Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis opened its first session today under accusations of political orchestration, as the government appears determined to fast-track the process surrounding the deadly Tempi

Wildfire disaster in Chios: Tens of thousands of acres burned as blaze continues to rage
Chios is currently experiencing one of the most severe environmental disasters in recent Greek history. For the third consecutive day, an uncontrollable wildfire has scorched vast swathes of the island, with more than 30,000 hectares

Tensions flare with Libya over offshore licensing south of Crete
An unexpected complication has emerged ahead of Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis’ planned visit to Libya, where he was due to hold meetings in both Tripoli and Benghazi. Tensions flare with Libya over offshore licensing

Petro-Loukas Chalkias: The great clarinet virtuoso dies at the age of 90
Petro-Loukas Chalkias was the patriarch of the Epirus clarinet, an authentic representative of the musical soul of Epirus, who honoured his homeland and Greece as a whole with his career and artistry. Through his unique

Israel orders Doctors Without Borders to halt operations in Gaza by February 28
Israel has announced it will terminate the activities of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) in the Gaza Strip by February 28, citing the organisation’s refusal to provide a list of its Palestinian employees. In a statement, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which oversees the registration of humanitarian

Plans for a nuclear strike on an asteroid threatening the moon – challenges and prospects
The scientific community is seriously considering the use of a nuclear weapon to intercept asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a significant chance of colliding with the Moon in 2032. Measuring approximately 55 meters in diameter,

Trump Restores Death Penalty in Washington D.C.
Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum reinstating the death penalty in Washington D.C., a move described by the U.S. administration as a strong preventive measure against serious crimes. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the

Clear European warning to Putin: “We are ready to shoot down Russian aircraft”
Tensions on NATO’s eastern borders are escalating as European diplomats delivered a clear warning to Moscow: incursions into alliance airspace will not go unanswered, including the potential downing of Russian aircraft. According to Bloomberg, the

Erdogan: “We will take our share in the Mediterranean – win-win Cooperation with Neighbours”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, returning from the UN General Assembly in New York, reiterated Ankara’s hardline stance on the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus. Speaking to journalists aboard his flight, Erdoğan declared Turkey’s determination to

Trump and Erdogan meet at the White House – “We can make a deal on F-35s, but Erdogan must do something for us first”
U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a long-awaited meeting at the White House on Thursday evening, in an atmosphere of cautious optimism. The two leaders met for over two hours,

Australia’s social media age laws praised as ‘world-leading’ at UN
Australia has taken centre stage on the global arena after passing landmark legislation raising the minimum age for social media use from 13 to 16. The reforms, unveiled at the United Nations in New York,

