Good afternoon. The former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has posed alongside Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin at a military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war.
Andrews, the most senior Australian at the event, stood several rows behind the North Korean dictator, who is facing complaints of alleged crimes against humanity. The presidents of Russia and China, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, appear alongside Kim in the front row, with the leaders of Iran, Indonesia and several other countries also in the group photo.
The Victorian MP Vicki Ward said Andrews had attended as a “private individual”, while the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said Andrews needed to explain his presence and “what that actually tells the world”.
The former federal foreign affairs minister and New South Wales premier Bob Carr is also in Beijing, but reportedly did not attend the military parade.
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In video
Cardi B says she is “not going to settle” after a jury cleared the rapper of assaulting a security guard at a doctor’s office during her then-secret first pregnancy. The jury of six men and six women at a small courthouse in Alhambra, California, deliberated for only about an hour before finding Cardi not liable in the lawsuit brought by Emani Ellis, who alleged Cardi cut her face with a fingernail and spat on her in the hallway of a Beverly Hills obstetrician in February 2018.
What they said …
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“Some of the weirdest and craziest stuff happened … stuff that I’ve never experienced before.” – Jerome Laxale
The Labor MP and chair of the electoral matters committee alleged “a line was crossed” by some campaigners in the May federal election. Concerning reports of aggression and intimidation allegedly experienced by voters and electoral workers have prompted a review of the 2025 election by the federal parliament, with security around polling places and concerns about cashed-up, shadowy and “hyper-partisan” campaign groups to be investigated.
Full Story
Anti-immigration rallies and the rise of neo-Nazis
Thousands attended the “March for Australia” anti-immigration rallies around the country on the weekend. Among the marchers were neo-Nazi groups and far-right figures who have captured the headlines. While organisers have distanced the events from white supremacists, and Anthony Albanese said some “good people” attended too, the protests have still been widely condemned as hateful.
Reged Ahmad speaks to independent researcher into rightwing extremism Dr Kaz Ross on whether we are seeing a growing anti-immigration movement in Australia and an emboldened far right.
Before bed read
As a card-carrying (or not) member of the ever-shrinking minority of people who still prefer to carry cash, Fiona Katauskas writes that while a preference for analogue money may seem eccentric at best, and desperately uncool at worst, there are good reasons why old-school currency still has currency.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: RAM. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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