TRANSCRIPT
- Kamala Harris supporters gather in Arizona ahead of campaign rally
- Australia and New Zealand announce $42.6 million program to store and manage disaster relief supplies
- Algerian boxer Imane Khelif celebrates a gold medal win
Crowds supporting Kamala Harris have gathered in Arizona ahead of the vice president's rally with Governor Tim Walz.
The rally comes as Ispos polls on Thursday indicated that Harris is leading Republican candidate Donald Trump 42 per cent to 37 per cent in the race for the 5th of November US Presidential election.
Sixty-year old Sally Solis said she supports Kamala because she stands up for women's rights.
"Kamala supports women and our right to choose for our bodies, and that matters more than anyone could ever imagine. I think women have finally realized that we have the right to stand up and say, no. We get to decide what we want with our bodies, and Kamala supports that and so does Tim Walls. So I'm very, very thrilled to be supported by these two wonderful, positive, progressive leaders."
Mr Trump and Ms Harris will debate on September 10, setting up the first face-to-face match-up between the rivals in what polls show is a close race.
Meanwhile, a mechanical issue caused Trump’s plane to be diverted Friday as he headed to a rally in Montana.
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Australia and New Zealand have agreed to build and stock warehouses with disaster aid across the Pacific.
Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers met in Fiji on Friday ahead of the leaders' meeting in Tonga from August 26.
Australia and New Zealand announced a combined $42.6 million for a warehousing program to store and manage disaster relief supplies needed to respond to an emergency within the first 48 hours.
Australia has agreed to help support and expand the Solomon Islands police force, with Defence Minister Richard Marles saying on ABC Radio that supporting this measure was "the most cost effective thing" Australia can do in the "promotion of our own national security".
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At least 35 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes that took place on Friday.
Israeli tanks have returned to the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, forcing families to evacuate, as Palestinian fighters continue to attack Israeli troops from the ruins.
This comes amid renewed ceasefire talks, with leaders from the US, Egypt and Qatar attempting to revive efforts and scheduling a new round of negotiations for Thursday.
Fears are growing of a possible broader conflict, as Iran has vowed to retaliate after Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran and Israel killed a top commander of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
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A parents advocacy group welcomes the childcare educator wage increase announced on Thursday, saying it's a reform that's been decades in the making.
Campaign Director from The Parenthood Maddy Butler says the early learning system is complex and reform is not simplistic but the wage increase signals a strong step towards gender equity and high quality early learning.
"There has just been such severe workforce shortages. Educators have been leaving the sector in droves due to many reasons, such as low pay burnout and inflexible conditions, and this just places pressure on remaining staff, particularly in regional areas where when staff get sick or they leave rooms, or even whole centres have been forced to close. I mean, we've heard from families who receive texts at 7am saying that the centre can't accept their child that day because an educator is sick."
Childhood early educators are set to receive a 15 per cent pay increase staggered over two years, with the first 10 per cent increase commencing from December this year, and the remaining 5 per cent from December 2025.
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To the Olympics, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has claimed gold at the Paris Olympics, emerging as a champion following huge scrutiny over her eligibility.
Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5-0 in the women's welterweight division gold medal bout on Friday night in Paris, wrapping up the best series of fights of her boxing career with victory at Roland Garros.
Khelif said the level of abuse "harms human dignity," calling for an end to bullying athletes.
Meanwhile, Australia's women's beach volleyball pair Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy missed out on a bronze medal, beaten in straight sets.
And as Breaking made its Olympic debut, Australia's Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, lost all three of her battles.
But in golfing, Australia's Hannah Green carded a superb 66 to move up the leaderboard, six shots shy of the leader and four behind the bronze medal position.
Australia now has a total of 48 medals, including 18 gold, and are third on the leaderboard behind the US and China.
