Perseus Mining CEO and Chairman Jeff Quartermaine joined Sky News Business Reporter Edward Boyd to discuss the challenges of operating in Africa. Perseus Mining is Australia’s third largest ASX-listed gold producer and is worth around $3 billion. Operating exclusively in Africa, in particular Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Sudan and soon in Tanzania too. “We’ve got a very, very clear set of values here … and we apply them with no exceptions at all,” Mr Quartermaine said. “Everybody has the option of saying no, and that’s the course that we take.”

A rare display in the US state of Nevada has seen schools of people flock to the desert. Wildflowers have begun to bloom in the Nevada end of the Death Valley National Park. “The desert is really coming alive,” Death Valley National Park ranger Nichole Andler said. “You’re going to see a lot of yellow. “It just really stands out, especially on the dark rocks of this landscape.”

Torrential rain currently hitting the east coast of Australia has resulted in flood warnings being put in place for parts of Queensland and New South Wales. The Bureau of Meteorology has said the drier El Nino conditions have almost finished with the climate pattern now changing to neutral ENSO conditions. Rabobank Research ANZ General Manager Stefan Vogel joined Sky News Australia to discuss what the change in weather means for the nation’s farmers. “It’s overall positive news,” Mr Vogel told Sky News Business Reporter Edward Boyd. “That was already the good news when we had rains in November, we had rains in January, and now we’ve got more rain coming. “So I think good conditions in bringing back the confidence for them that there’s enough grass on the ground to feed the livestock throughout the season.”

Former US president and Republican candidate Donald Trump vowed to enact the "largest deportation in American history" of illegal migrants during a rally on Tuesday. Speaking at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, he vowed to combat what he called an "invasion" of dangerous individuals. Trump warned that the worst from every country would come to the United States unless he's elected to put a stop to it. "They're sending prisoners, murderers, drug dealers, mental patients, terrorists. The worst of every country is coming into our country now," he said. "We're going to end up with the largest deportation in American history, we have no choice ... because that's not sustainable by any country.”

Meta is being accused of encouraging and reinforcing youth crime in the Northern Territory. NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler is demanding an urgent meeting with the tech titan to discuss ways it can reduce criminality and harm among youths. She has written, young people are not coming into the CBD since the introduction of a youth curfew because there is no place to commit crime and share it on social media. Ms Lawler says her government is considering a 'post and boast' legislation. The rules could be similar to the legislation New South Wales has recently enforced.

White Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will not say if Jill Biden is defending Anthony Bernal from several sexual harassment allegations on Thursday. Bernal, regarded as one of the most powerful White House officials, is accused of verbal sexual harassment. According to the New York Post, three separate sources alleged Bernal speculated over the sizes of his coworkers genitals. After a reporter from the Post pressed Jean-Pierre about the allegations, she quickly jumped to Bernal’s defence, even calling him a friend. “I have known Anthony for some time now. I’ve known him for more than a decade. I’ve worked closely with him. And I consider him a friend, but also a colleague that I respect,” she said. White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients dismissed the allegations against Bernal, and did so without investigating them, labelling them “unfounded”. As reported by the New York Post, sources have said Bernal’s title as Jill’s senior advisor potentially puts his influence higher than Zients’. The initial claims against Bernal by former staffers were made last month, with him and the White House denying the allegations.

Bad weather in Taiwan has delayed a helicopter rescue for people trapped after Wednesday’s earthquake. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit 10km off Taiwan’s coast, near Hualien on Wednesday. This is the strongest tremor to hit the island in at least 25 years. Hundreds of residents are waiting for relief supplies. Authorities are searching for 18 missing people, as two Australians are believed to be among them. Several aftershocks struck the capital of Taipei, while most of the damage has been recorded in the eastern city of Hualien.

Grattan Institute Deputy Energy Director Alison Reeve says the nuclear energy debate is a “bit of a distraction” when there are “immediate problems” to worry about. Ms Reeve joined Sky News Australia to discuss the future of energy in the country. “The federal opposition has said they want to take the ban off nuclear power – they could do that,” she said. “The thing is that there’s a hell of a lot of things that would need to happen before you end up with being able to actually build a nuclear power station. “In the meantime, we’ve got an awful lot of other stuff that we need to concentrate on building.”

Plenty of Australia’s coal-fired power plants “have a long time to live,” says Centre for Independent Studies’ Aidan Morrison. Mr Morrison joined Sky News Australia to discuss the future of energy in the country. “It’s been commonly said that our coal power stations are sort of old and falling apart,” he said. “I think it’s overexaggerated. “Plenty of coal plants actually have a long time to live and if they were to live to their sort of natural and expected lives, some of those would still be going in the late 2040s up to around 2050.”

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has been inundated with more hate crime complaints than JK Rowling after the country’s new laws passed. “The new hate speech laws over in Scotland where you can get locked up for seven years for calling someone a boomer or having a go at someone about being transgender,” Sky News host Caleb Bond said. He said police received nearly 4,000 complaints within 24 hours. “Well, it turns out the majority of those complaints are for, wait for it – the First Minister of Scotland. “How delicious to see this.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says gender-confused children will be fine if they’re “left to their own devices”. Mr Macpherson’s remarks come after a study conducted in the Netherlands found most gender-confused children grow out of it. “It was typically teenage girls who had the most confusion about their body changing as they go through adolescence,” he said. “We see that in the statistics now in terms of young people wanting to transgender. “If they’re just left to their own devices, they’ll be fine.”

The price of gold has risen as people look for “alternative assets”, says Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “The continuing increase of interest rates is supposed to actually quell demand and not have record prices," Mr Greenwood said. “But people are out there on a buying spree at the moment for all these things in anticipation that interest rates will be cut. “The stock market, even though it’s down one per cent over the week, has been at all-time record prices – yesterday closed close to it. “The gold price again, overnight ... up almost 17 per cent – people feel inflation might stick around, they’re looking for alternative assets rather than that record stock market which they’re getting concerned about."

The world's oldest man has died in Venezuela at the age of 114. Juan Vicente Perez attributed his long life to 'working hard, resting on holidays and going to bed early'. Perez also noted drinking a glass of strong liquor every day. He died less than two months before his 115th birthday. He leaves behind a family of 11 children, 42 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

A New South Wales severe weather warning has been upgraded on Friday morning. Sky News Meteorologist Rob Sharpe has discussed what people in New South Wales can expect on Friday amid heavy rainfall and damaging winds. “The worst of the weather for Sydney and surrounding areas tonight I would expect before the heavy rain and wild winds run down the coast for tomorrow,” Mr Sharpe said. Areas through southeast NSW, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra could see heavy rainfall with totals up to 200 millimetres. “For the Illawarra Escarpment there’s potential for up to 300 millimetres,” he said.

CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski says oil prices have risen to their highest levels due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. “We have seen oil prices really surge ahead because of the conflict in the Middle East so we’ve seen new highs since October being set for both the US and European benchmark,” Mr Piotrowski told Sky News Australia. “They're up by more than a per cent in both cases. “Brent Crude well north of US$91 a barrel at one stage. “So that has been a factor that has just given markets a little bit of a wobble.” Presented by CommSec.

At least ten people have died and more than 700 people are stranded after Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years. The Japanese Meteorological Agency reported the quake at around 8am (local time), about 18 kilometres southwest of Hualien City. The 7.4 magnitude earthquake is the strongest tremor to hit the island in at least 25 years. Several aftershocks struck the capital of Taipei, while most of the damage has been recorded in the eastern city of Hualien. Rescue crews are working to free those beneath the rubble after the quake caused landslides and collapsed buildings.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the 75th anniversary celebrations of NATO to say that Ukraine will become a member. Mr Blinken's comments came after he met with Ukraine's foreign minister in Brussels. “Ukraine will become a member of NATO,” Mr Blinken said. “We will see I think in the summit a very strong support for Ukraine going forward,” he said. The US Secretary of State joined foreign ministers from around the world to celebrate the alliance, but it's not clear what the future holds.

Israel could offer compensation to the families of aid workers who were killed in Gaza. Israel's government has come under increasing criticism over the strikes that killed seven aid workers including Australian Zomi Frankcom. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed the attacks were a clear violation of international law. After completing its investigation into the incident the Israeli government is expected to offer compensation to the victims families.

US President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken on the phone for the first time since an airstrike killed seven aid workers in Gaza. The US President told his Israeli counterpart that the US's policy regarding Gaza would depend on Israel's ability to implement "specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm". "He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these steps," the White House said in a statement following the leaders call. "He underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilise and improve the humanitarian situation and to protect innocent civilians." He had previously expressed his 'outrage and heartbreak' at the deaths of seven aid workers and emphasized that "the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable".

Sky News host Liz Storer says Queensland Premier Steven Miles has gone “straight for the jugular” with a proposed pumped hydro-electricity project. Premier Steven Miles admits he can’t say exactly what taxpayers could pay for a pumped hydro-electricity project in the works in Queensland. It is predicted the project could balloon to $18 billion. “He’s just gone straight for the jugular being like – 18,” Ms Storer said. “If that’s your starting point, God help Queenslanders.”