The Loop: Albanese's international Quad meeting, injuries from a 12-car pile-up, and Margaret Atwood with a flamethrower

Oh hi there. It's Tuesday, May 25, and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.

Today we heard a lot about: The Quad

Not that kind of quad. This one:

Anthony Albanese, who was sworn in as Australia's Prime Minister yesterday, has already travelled to Tokyo to join the leaders of Japan, the US and India for a meeting of what's known as the Quad — or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, if you want to get technical.

• This morning, US President Joe Biden joked that Mr Albanese could be forgiven for being a bit sleepy after rushing to Japan so soon after becoming Prime Minister

• When it was Mr Albanese's turn to deliver some opening remarks, he told the summit that Australia would help strengthen the Indo-Pacific amid the growing influence of China, and would take "ambitious action on climate change"

Here is some of the Prime Minister's opening speech to the Quad:

(And if you want to know more about the Quad and how it all works, check out this explainer)

PM Albanese delivers his opening speech to Quad leaders.

News you may have missed

• Peter Dutton is the only remaining candidate to take over the leadership of the Liberal Party following its election loss and Scott Morrison's resignation — but some Liberal MPs say he will be 'hard to sell' to voters
• There was a 12-car pile-up in Brisbane's south this morning and it caused a major traffic jam. No-one was seriously injured but six people were transported to hospital in stable condition after the accident on the Pacific Motorway. Police say the cause of the crash is unclear and it's "extremely lucky" there were no fatalities

Police say the cars were all severely damaged. (ABC News)

• NSW Police say they have "dismantled" the Alameddine crime network after arresting 18 people during morning raids in Sydney's south-west. It comes amid a drug war that has seen at least 13 assassinations in the city since October 2020, including three in the past four weeks

Police raided 29 properties across south-west Sydney on Tuesday morning. (Supplied: NSW Police)

Here's what Australia has been searching for online

• There's a lot of interest in Labor's Katy Gallagher. She was sworn in yesterday as Australia's new Finance Minister after holding the shadow finance minister position since 2019. She was previously the ACT chief minister and made the jump to federal politics in 2016 to fill a Senate vacancy

• There's also interest in WA Premier Mark McGowan. Despite his previous hardline stance on COVID-19 restrictions, Mr McGowan says masks and restrictions are unlikely to return to his state ahead of winter. It comes as WA's daily COVID-19 case tally broke through the 17,000-mark last week. Despite calls from some medical bodies to reintroduce masks and other public health measures, the state government has refused to do so

Here's how WA's COVID-19 cases are trending right now:

One more thing!

• Margaret Atwood! With a flamethrower! The beloved author of The Handmaid's Tale — a book that has previously been the subject of bans — has appeared in a promotional video trying to burn her own novel with a flamethrower, but it's for a good reason. A one-off, flame-resistant edition of the book is being auctioned off to raise funds for a nonprofit that advocates for free expression around the world

Please enjoy the footage in all of its glory …

You're up to date!

That's your Tuesday Loop, and the week is only heating up.

ABC/wires