Peter Dutton has confirmed all of Australia's defence troops have now been withdrawn from Afghanistan, coming earlier than the original September deadline.

The Defence Minister said there had been 1,500 troops in the country, which was recently reduced to 80, and now they have all been withdrawn under the advice of the chief of defence.

North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has criticised North Korean officials for their neglect in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and for their lack of long-term strategies in handling the virus.  

North Korea hasn’t officially confirmed any COVID cases, however, South Korean officials believe that due to the new restrictions in North Korea, COVID-19 may have been exposed.

Content warning for this next story which contains themes of Indigenous people who have passed away.

An Indigenous man has died whilst being held in custody last week.

The man is now the 9th Indigenous person to die in custody since the beginning of March this year. The man’s family came forward claiming he was completely healthy and that they’re in complete shock. 

A spokesperson for the NSW Government has said an investigation is currently underway and that they’re looking into the incident.

The Australian military is closely tracking a high-tech Chinese surveillance ship making its way towards Queensland ahead of large-scale military exercises which begin this week. 

Australian Defence Forces are expecting the vessel to arrive on Friday to monitor the Talisman Saber 2021 war games involving Australia and the United States, which will be officially opened today.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton confirmed that the Chinese ship poses no threat to Australia and that the same sort of vessel was sent from CHina for the same reasons in previous years.

A Queensland Police Officer has been stood down after using a warrant to access data from the Queensland Check In App in attempts to locate a stolen gun and taser. 

Officials are concerned the public confidence in the app may have been harmed after the government specifically promised it would only be used for contract tracing. 

An ethical standards investigation is now underway looking into the event.

A public health alert has been issued for Queensland residents after a positive case which was announced on Tuesday had their infectious period revised. 

A public health alert is being issued for more contact tracing locations in Kenilworth, Noosa, Eumundi and Sunshine Beach.

Queensland Health has urged all Queenslanders to monitor their symptoms closely and also check the list of exposure venues regularly. 

Thousands of Cubans have taken to the streets in anti-government protests as the country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in 30 years with chronic shortages of electricity, food and medicine.

The protests have resulted in at least 100 protestors, activists and independent journalists being detained nationwide. Along with the economic crisis the worsening coronavirus situation is seeing the rate of infections explode in recent weeks causing some hospitals to the edge of collapse.

Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenburg has denied any accusations of double standards in regards to a statement made by the Victorian Government about the support for New South Wales, saying he’s sick of the whingeing from the Victorian Government.  

The statement said it wasn’t the Prime Ministers job to be the “Prime Minister of New South Wales” and that “Victorians are rightly sick and tired of having to beg for every scrap of support from the federal government”.

Former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has denied leaking a letter releasing the details of his phone call to the chairman and chair executive of Pfizer about vaccine negotiations with Australia. 

This comes after an announcement from the Federal Government last week that the vaccine delivery date would be pushed forward earlier this year. 

Rudd’s letter was sent to current Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, stating he himself spoke to the chairman and secured the early access of 40 million vaccine doses by the end of 2021.