Sky News host Rita Panahi has blasted the Albanese government for its “absurd” move of giving tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars to projects on “every far-left obsession”. “The wacky world of academia was in the spotlight again this week as we learned how tens of millions of our hard-earned was going towards absurd research projects,” Ms Panahi said. “Every far-left obsession was catered for from race, slavery and colonialism to trans issues to global warming.”

Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres has addressed the Voice referendum with Monday marking its one-year anniversary. “It was a referendum that we undertook to the Australian people that we would do,” Mr Ayres told Sky News Australia. “We respect the result that we got. “There is a lot of work to do in closing the gap.”

Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres has addressed the “ambitious” second-term agenda for the Albanese government. “We are proud of what we have achieved so far in a short amount of time in government,” Mr Ayres told Sky News Australia. Mr Ayres added security challenges, the Future Made in Australia and the cost of living crisis will be some of the issues “squarely on the government’s agenda” in its second term.

Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres has commented on the “feverish speculation” of an early election caused by the release of the parliamentary calendar. “The Prime Minister said that there will be an election in the first half of 2025,” Mr Ayres told Sky News Australia. “We’ve released the parliamentary calendar … it adds nothing to what the Prime Minister or the government said about election time.”

Sky News host Rita Panahi says the Iranian regime is “emboldened” and “enriched” under the Biden-Harris administration. “All of that good work where the Iranian regime was on its knees was reversed almost immediately by the Biden-Harris administration,” Ms Panahi said. “We are seeing the effects now – the Iranian regime is emboldened; it’s enriched; it’s got this alliance with China, Russia, North Korea.”

Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell has revealed the Coalition will release “major” economic and nuclear policies this year. “We won’t have to wait until an election campaign or for next year to get that detail,” he said. “The big question has been when will Opposition Leader Peter Dutton release the cost of his policy to build seven nuclear power stations.”

Cypress College Political Science Professor Peter Mathews says Joe Biden is trying to keep the “very precarious situation” in the Middle East “under control”. “It was a long phone call – at least half an hour – and Kamala Harris joined the phone call,” he told Sky News Australia. “This is a very, very precarious situation. “Biden is trying to keep it under control somehow, so it doesn’t spill out of hand, and Netanyahu seems to not want to listen to Biden very much.”

The doctor of US Vice-President Kamala Harris says she is in “excellent health” and has the mental resilience to serve as president. The Harris camp is looking to draw contrast to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who released few details of his health in recent years. Mr Trump posted a letter from his physician on social media, stating he was in “excellent” physical and mental health.

A United Nations peacekeeper has been injured by gunfire from an unknown source in Lebanon. It is the fifth incident of its kind in the last three days. Meanwhile, Israel is pushing forward with its military offensive, issuing evacuation orders in Lebanon and Gaza.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has pledged $365 million to open 50 new bulk-billing GP clinics if he wins the state election this month. The LNP has labelled the promise “desperate” as it wrapped up the second week of its campaign in the Central West.

Security experts are warning Australia needs to prioritise national security over trade after Beijing agreed to lift its ban on lobster. Trade Minister Don Farrell is confident the government can balance both, as he celebrates the trade war win, with fishermen in Western Australia. The lifting of the ban on Australian lobster comes after Beijing removed hefty tariffs on barley in August last year and on wine earlier this year.

Kamala Harris has been campaigning in Arizona, which could be a deciding swing state in the US election. The Democratic presidential candidate attempted to tackle a political vulnerability at the border state. While former US president Donald Trump is set to visit Arizona on Sunday for his own campaign rally.

Around 16 per cent of home buyers are relying on their relatives to help buy a property. Figures from Macquarie Bank show the average amount given was $68,000, while 10 per cent of borrowers would rather use family members as a guarantors. Home loan negotiations are also up on last year, rising above 30 per cent.

The death toll from Hurricane Milton has risen to at least 17 after an 83-year-old was found dead on Friday. While the hurricanes didn't reach the levels many had feared it would, it still had a devastating effect as the storm caused life-threatening flooding and tornadoes, while millions were left without power. Early estimates have suggested the damages caused by Hurricane Milton could be worth around $50 billion.

The northern lights lit up the night sky with bright pink and green hues visible across parts of England on Thursday night. The colourful phenomenon was captured in South London and Kent. According to a spokesman from the UK's Met Office, the geomagnetic storms and clear sky conditions caused the lights to be visible.

Australians in Lebanon will no longer be offered government-assisted flights, due to a decline in demand with the final flight leaving Beirut on Sunday. Commercial airlines will then be the only option out. Of the 15,000 citizens in Lebanon, close to 2,500 people have been evacuated with the help of authorities.

Former UK prime minister Liz Truss has delivered a grim assessment of the West as she sat down with former prime minister Tony Abbott for the Australian launch of her new book. Ms Truss discussed the meaning behind her new book and outlined her concerns about the way some of the biggest Western nations are governed. "What we have is we have virtually the entire Anglosphere, now governed by socialists. We have Trudeau in Canada, we have Biden in America, we have Albanese here in Australia and we have the worst of the lot, Sir Keir Starmer in the United Kingdom," Ms Truss said.

Parts of France remain cut off after Hurricane Kirk swept the country. The worst of the storm has passed - but floodwaters around Paris and Versailles are expected to peak today. The ex-hurricane also drenched Belgium - but the country was spared any damage. One person has been killed as a result of the weather system.

With less than four weeks until US election day, the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is immensely close. It comes as a new Wall Street Journal poll that found little separation between Trump and Harris in seven battleground states. The poll found Trump leading Harris 46 per cent to 45 per cent. Axios political reporter claiming it's "really hard to overstate how close this election seems to be at this point".

Fire has engulfed the engine room of an oil tanker off Germany's Baltic Sea. All seven crew members were rescued and taken to hospital with some sustaining minor injuries. The blazing tanker carrying 640 metric tons of oil was extinguished by firefighters and towed to the nearest port.