Afternoon Update: Kamala Harris’s big moment; Gina Rinehart urges government to ‘drill, baby, drill’; and whale in Sydney Harbour freed
Good afternoon. The Democratic national convention has wrapped up in Chicago, with Kamala Harris formally accepting the party’s presidential nomination. In her acceptance speech, Harris forcefully rebuked Donald Trump, warning of the “extremely serious” consequences of electing him again. She urged voters to be “guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish”.
Harris said she would “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself” but also spoke of Gaza, saying “the scale of suffering is heartbreaking”. The convention ended without a Palestinian American speaker on the main stage, a key demand of the uncommitted movement.
Despite the rumours that Beyoncé was going to perform, there was no surprise musical guest – neither Queen Bey nor Taylor Swift.
Top news
Rinehart calls for massive defence upgrade | Presenting at News Corp’s bush summit, the mining magnate Gina Rinehart has urged the government to “drill, baby, drill and dig, baby, dig” in order to pay for a massive defence upgrade, including with an Israeli-style “iron dome” missile deflection system.
Prosecutors call for life sentence for nine-year-old’s killer | Kallista Mutten, the mother of murdered schoolgirl Charlise Mutten, has told the court she “hates herself” for trusting her daughter’s murderer, as prosecutors called for a life sentence for Justin Stein.
Transgender woman wins discrimination case | A judge found Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman, had been indirectly discriminated against by a women-only social media app in a landmark decision that tested the meaning and scope of the Sex Discrimination Act.
First known case of deadlier mpox variant in Asia | Thailand has confirmed Asia’s first known case of a new, deadlier strain of mpox in a patient who had travelled to the country from Africa.
Whale freed in Sydney harbour | A humpback whale has been freed after being entangled in ropes in Sydney Harbour. The young adult whale, between 10 and 15 metres long, was spotted about 1pm on Thursday by a tour group, who alerted the volunteer organisation Orrca.
Safework investigating Swillhouse | SafeWork NSW is investigating the Sydney bar and restaurant group Swillhouse after a series of allegations by staff of harassment, discrimination and unsafe workplaces. On Friday, a SafeWork NSW spokesperson said: “The allegations of serious work health and safety issues highlighted in recent media reports relating to Swillhouse Group are concerning.”
Global surge of water-related violence | Israeli attacks on Palestinian water supplies in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip accounted for a quarter of all water-related violence in 2023, as armed conflicts over dwindling resources surged globally, according to new research.
Iceland volcano erupts for sixth time since December | A volcano in south-western Iceland has erupted for the sixth time since December, spewing lava through a new fissure on the Reykjanes peninsula. Live video images showed orange lava bursting out of a long fissure, illuminating billowing smoke rising up into the night sky.
What they said …
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“What is really keeping women living unsafe in their homes, unable to leave – it’s because the family court system keeps women bound and weighted down to their abuser.”
Lara Glasson, the secretary of Domestic Violence Advocacy Australia, told a parliamentary inquiry that the family court system was an “inaccessible and unsafe place” for victims to go to for support.
Before bed read
‘I’m a tyrant!’: pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter on freakish fame, fighting Disney and writing the song of the summer
After 14 years in obscurity, she has now been streamed by billions, censored by the BBC and toured with Taylor Swift – and she’s still only 25. But the Espresso singer says the public aren’t making life easy.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: MACH. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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