![US defense secretary hosts Australian counterpart](https://gdb.voanews.com/AE0F96C9-3DBA-4596-A968-21D178AA1127.jpg)
US defense secretary hosts Australian counterpart
Voice of America
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, welcomes Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, left, before the start of their meeting at the Pentagon, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles to the Pentagon on Friday, after Australia made its first $500 million payment to the United States under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal involving Washington, Canberra and London.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250212193417.jpg)
A man weeds with a hoe at his farm just outside Harare on Feb. 12, 2025. Using hand tools has been the norm since most experienced commercial farmers were driven off their land by the government. Women pick weeds from a groundnuts field in Filabusi district of Zimbabwe, about 500 kilometers from Harare, in December 2024.