Moves for an official portrait of colourful Queensland federal MP Bob Katter Jr to hang in federal Parliament have taken a step forward with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese giving his support to the idea. (below)

Speaker Milton Dick said the process for selecting an artist to undertake the commission would now begin. He said the process could take many months or perhaps a year or more.

Mr Dick said as a stop-gap measure he had authorised a special artwork capturing all of Mr Katter’s achievements as an MP since 1993 to be displayed in the House of Representatives wing of Parliament House. (main picture)

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French President Emmanual Macron says he is at a loss to explain the huge swing to far-right parties in last weekend’s first round of voting in the snap general election for the nation’s parliament he called last month.

“I called this election for the National Assembly three years before it was due and immediately after the far-right did so well in France at the elections for the European Parliament in early June,” President Macron said. (below)

“But just because the far-right thrashed other parties including my own at the European elections on 9 June, how was I to know that the same would happen just three weeks later?

“Who’d have guessed that could have happened? I just wish I knew who is to blame for this disastrous result,” he said.

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Senior figures within the US Democratic Party are urging President Joe Biden to declare he will end his campaign for a second term following his disastrous performance at last week’s debate with Donald Trump.

In a surprise move several prominent Democrats released an open letter saying the President should abandon his campaign.

They included 82-year-old Senator Bernie Sanders; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, 84; South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn, 83; and Maryland congressman Steny Hoyer, 85.

“Joe Biden needs to come out very soon to say that he is no longer shuffling for president,” the letter said.

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