Australia

It was another runaway win by Australia after beating Cook Islands 58-4 on Thursday in the opening pool round. The Jillaroos ran in another eight tries after their 11 on Thursday, with rookie left-side winger Meg ward bagging a double against England.

But the cloud of unsporting behaviour hung over the match.

Five-eighth Michael Morgan also grabbed a first-half brace as the Kangaroos, winners of 10 of the 14 versions of the tournament, ran in eight unanswered tries to set up a semi-final against New Zealand or Fiji in Brisbane next week.

Cameron Smith orchestrated Australia's attack with his usual efficiency from hooker and converted all but the last of the tries, while fullback Billy Slater made a typically lively contribution and grabbed a record-equalling 14th World Cup try.

Australia v Samoa

At the 2013 World Cup Paulo captained the US Tomahawks with distinction to a surprise quarter-final berth against the Kangaroos. 

It is Paulo’s family history which has enabled him to represent both nations. 

His mother Jane was born in American Samoa, a territory of the United States, while his father Aukuso hails from the island of Upolu in Samoa.

Paulo first competed for Samoa at the World Cup in 2008, alongside current squad member Ben Roberts.

The postal survey saw 16 million registered voters among Australia's population of 24 million asked for their views on overturning the prohibition.

With a turnout of 79.5%, the vote had a bigger turnout than the Brexit referendum and US presidential election.

As the majority voted in favour, the parliament will vote by December on legislation to lift the prohibition.

Pritchard and Roberts did not play in last Saturday's 14-14 draw against Scotland, which earned Samoa a play-off berth due to a superior for-and-against than the Bravehearts.

Papua New Guinea coach Michael Marum has also named star five-eighth Ase Boas for Sunday's quarter-final showdown with England in Melbourne after resting the Queensland Cup player of the year from last weekend's 64-0 defeat of USA.

Lachlan Lam makes way for Boas, despite scoring two tries in his Test debut for the Kumuls.

Opinion polls throughout the vote have put the Yes campaign ahead, which supports a change in the law.

About three quarters of the electorate - more than 12.6 million people - took part in the eight week-postal survey.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull supports marriage equality but faces conservative opposition within his governing coalition.

He has pledged that if there is a Yes vote in the non-binding poll, he will take steps to change marriage laws.

Created by renowned Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu, the unique map was thought to have been lost forever.

Archipelagus Orientalis (Eastern Archipelago), as it was called, was unearthed in 2010 in storage in Sweden after 350 years.

It has gone on show at Australia's National Library, its permanent home.

It is believed that the treasure was buried away when a 1950s antique bookseller who owned a stockpile of books and maps went out of business.

The owners, whose identity is unknown, only realised the rarity of the map when it was sold at auction.

The board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park voted unanimously to end the climb because of indigenous sensitivities.

The giant red monolith in the Northern Territory is a sacred site for Aboriginal Australians.

Local people have long asked visitors not to climb the outcrop, which was known for many years as Ayers Rock.

Signs at the start of the climb ask people to abstain from going up in respect to the traditional law of the Anangu Aboriginal people, the custodians of the land.

The UNEP's Emissions Gap 2017'report shows Australia is projected to miss its 2015 Paris Agreement pledge by more than a third.

Australia has said it will cut its 2005 emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2030.

The report released last night showed the country is projected to emit 592-million-tonnes of CO2-equivalent by 2030 compared with its maximum target of 440-million-tonnes.