Hello, and welcome to Afternoon Update.
Barack Obama has coined what may well become a new chant for Kamala Harris’s campaign for president: “Yes, she can!”
The former US president and his wife, Michelle, were the keynote speakers on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Barack received a standing ovation as he declared that “America is ready for a new chapter.”
Michelle also took a swipe at Donald Trump’s much-derided comment about undocumented migrants taking “Black jobs”, asking: “Who’s going to tell him that the job he is currently seeking might be one of those ‘Black jobs’?”
The former first lady had earlier sung Harris’s praises, saying she was “one of the most qualified people ever” to run for president, adding that “America, hope is making a comeback.”
Top news
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News Corp executive’s ‘Nazi salute’ | Footage has emerged of the Foxtel Group CEO, Patrick Delany, performing a Nazi salute over a decade ago, appearing to jokingly mimic the infamous action from 1996 of the former Socceroos player Mark Bosnich who appeared alongside him in the video.
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Shorten reaches NDIS deal | The NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, announced a done deal with states on reform including “an agreement to introduce faster timeframes for approving NDIS rules”.
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Erin Patterson to face trial | The woman accused of murdering and attempting to murder her relatives by serving them a meal laced with deadly mushrooms is expected to face trial in April. She has pleaded not guilty.
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Huge NT solar farm gets environmental approval | The government has given the green light to the first stages of the country’s “biggest renewable energy project ever”. The Mike Cannon-Brookes-backed farm would send energy from the Northern Territory to Singapore via subsea cables.
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‘Enraged’ man fires at home after hunting wife and children | The man who was found dead in western Sydney overnight had just hours before fired a gun into a home where his wife and children were seeking refuge as part of a “planned separation”.
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Olympic defector could face two-year ban | AusCycling is exploring whether the triple Olympic medallist Matthew Richardson could be banned from international cycling for two years after his shock defection to Great Britain.
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Court approves shooting brumbies from helicopters | The New South Wales government’s shooting of brumbies from helicopters in Kosciuszko national park can continue after a judge dismissed a challenge by a local non-profit group.
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Jetstar allegedly failed to refund Covid-era flights | Jetstar Airways is facing a class action over allegations it didn’t refund customers whose flights were cancelled during the pandemic.
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Gaza ceasefire elusive as Blinken leaves | The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said “time is of the essence” to secure a Gaza ceasefire, as he wrapped up a Middle East tour with an agreement between Israel and Hamas still elusive.
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Russian PoWs ‘abandoned by our command’ | Ukraine has said large numbers of Russian servicemen – reportedly in the hundreds – gave themselves up during the Kursk offensive that began on 6 August.
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More than 200 unexploded shells found near school | Workers at a school in Solomon Islands discovered a buried stockpile of the second world war munitions as they “dug a hole for sewage”, police said.
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Jennifer Lopez files for divorce from Ben Affleck | After just over two years of marriage, and two decades from their first engagement, actor Ben Affleck and pop star Jennifer Lopez have filed for divorce.
Full Story
Why Dutton wants to close the door to Gaza refugees – Full Story podcast
Just three days after the Asio chief, Mike Burgess, asked politicians to watch their words about the Middle East, Peter Dutton escalated his rhetoric against Palestinians fleeing Gaza.
Guardian Australia’s political editor, Karen Middleton, and community affairs reporter, Mostafa Rachwani, tell Tamsin Rose about the political calculations behind the opposition leader’s latest line of attack.
Full Story
Why Dutton wants to close the door to Gazan refugees – Full Story podcast
What they said …
“This idea that robust debate excuses the behaviour in the chamber is absolute rubbish, and it’s the excuse that’s been used for far too long by far too many MPs that have been in this place for too long to justify poor conduct” – MP Zali Steggall
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– Independent MPs Kylea Tink, Allegra Spender, Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall expressed their dismay at the behaviour standards in parliament, as they suggested term limits on federal politicians to curb the normalisation of disrespectful parliamentary behaviour.
In numbers
On average, one child has a hospital stay related to domestic or family violence every day in Australia, according to new data published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Before bed read
When a couple doesn’t want more kids (or any), who should get snipped? It’s an interesting and thought-provoking question explored by the writer Hannah Seo, as she speaks to four couples on why they chose sterilisation surgery – and how they decided which of them would get it.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: BRAT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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