TRANSCRIPT:
- Kamala Harris formally accepts the presidential nomination and lays out her agenda...
- Rescue teams say the freeing of a young whale was no easy feat...
- Latrell Mitchell returns to South Sydney to begin rehabilitation on his foot injury.
In the United States,
Vice President Kamala Harris has defined herself in sharp contrast to Republican Donald Trump as she accepts the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nomination.
She has delivered the biggest speech of her career on the final day of the Democratic National Convention amid her campaign to make history as the first woman elected U-S president.
She outlined her plan for what she calls an opportunity economy.
"We will create what I call an opportunity economy, and as president, I will bring together labor and workers and small business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs, to grow our economy and to lower the cost of everyday needs like healthcare and housing, and groceries."
She has reflected on her family's story with her mother a scientist who migrated from India and her father an academic who moved from Jamaica.
She says her success story is emblematic of the American dream.
"On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America."
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake has rattled parts of New South Wales with thousands saying they felt the tremor over an area spanning hundreds of kilometres from the south of Sydney to the New South Whales mid-north coast.
The quake hit Denman, around three hours north of Sydney in the upper Hunter region, at 12.02pm today.
More than 2000 people reported feeling tremors in the following hour, including many residents more than 200km away in Sydney.
A woman in Muswellbrook, about a 20 minutes' drive from Denman, reported multiple shocks saying "The whole house rattled, and then about half a minute later, it rattled again."
Defence Minister Richard Marles says it is an honour for Australia to take charge of an international mission to protect shipping routes in the Red Sea for the first time.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked shipping in the vital sea trade corridor to disrupt Israel's strikes on Gaza following October 7.
The Defence department announced today that Australia will assume command of Combined Task Force 153 from October for six months.
Defence Minister Richard Marles says it is a testament to Australia's significant military presence on the world stage.
"We are very proud of the fact that an Australian will be taking command. This is a very significant step, that an Australian will now be in charge of CTF 153, in securing shipping through the Red Sea. And it speaks to the fact that we have been a part of the combined maritime force for a long time now, and we have been part of this specific task force from the moment that it has been stood up."
Rescue teams have freed a young humpback whale that got itself tangled up in ropes in Sydney, saying the operation was no easy feat.
Wildlife officers had been trying to free the animal since yesterday afternoon when it was spotted near Shark Island in Sydney's harbour by members of the public.
Rescuers attached three large buoys to the whale, to slow it down and allow rescuers to keep track of its location.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service area manager for Sydney South, Ben Khan, says it took several hours of hard work due to how quickly the creature was moving.
"We picked up the whale again this morning at 6:30 and our team was out there about an hour later with the disentanglement gear. But the whale was moving quite quickly and that was the challenge with the operation. It did take a while for that whale to be able to slow down so it took all the kegs that we had available to us to use and then eventually we got it to the speed we needed to. So, once it was cut free, it certainly took off free swimming and looked fantastic."
In Rugby League,
Latrell Mitchell has returned to South Sydney to begin rehabilitation on his foot, with the Rabbitohs hoping to convince the N-R-L that any ban handed to the star be served this season.
Mitchell was due to enter his response to an NRL breach notice by last night after images circulated last week of him standing above a white powder.
There is no evidence the substance was of an illegal nature, but Mitchell has been hit hard by the N-R-L for bringing the game into disrepute.
While particulars of the sanction are yet to be published, AAP has been told the NRL is proposing a one-match ban for the fullback as well as a monetary fine.
