Defence Minister Peter Dutton has warned Labor will adopt an “appeasement” policy to counter China’s increased aggression, and said the Opposition lacked the “culture” to stand up for Australia.

Mr Dutton was grilled by Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell as to whether the government was ratcheting up the rhetoric around China to “scare” voters away from Labor.

But the Defence Minister said the Opposition’s record on defence funding when last in government and recent comments by senior frontbenchers showed the party’s “naivety” to the threat from China.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/defence-minister-peter-dutton-accuses-labor-of-appeasing-china-and-says-the-alp-is-backing-beijing-over-the-united-states/news-story/0cd50268cc4f14464bd70c38617ad822

Putin slams West’s "reckless" sanctions on Russia, blames US for global food crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a combative speech on Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, saying that Russia's economy had weathered Western sanctions imposed after Moscow's intervention in Ukraine.

Putin accused the United States of treating other countries as "colonies," and said gloomy forecasts for the Russian economy had not been fulfilled.

He also described European sanctions on Russia as “reckless” and as a “double-edged sword,” detailing economic losses the European Union (EU) has suffered from imposing sanctions on Russia.

The Russian president blamed the U.S. for the global food crisis and reaffirmed his country’s obligations to boost production and increase exports to countries in most need.

Amid a lengthy denunciation of the United States and its allies, Putin said: "Nothing will be as it used to be in global politics."

https://youtu.be/0_3BMtDpuaQ