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TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.
President Donald Trump says the US will be done attacking Iran in 2 to 3 weeks.
He says the US may strike a deal with Iran before the next few weeks are up; but if that doesn't happen, the US military could launch further attacks, including targeting bridges.
He also says the US should not have responsibility for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked by Iran.
"I think that the people understand it. We'll be leaving very soon. And if France or some other country wants to get oil or gas, they'll go up through the Strait and the Hormuz Strait... What happens to the Strait, we're not going to have anything to do with because these countries, China, China will go up and they'll fuel up their beautiful ships and they will leave and they take care of themselves. There's no reason for us to do it."
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The federal government has announced measures to help small business hit by cost pressures triggered by the war in the Middle East.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Australian Tax Office has agreed to provide temporary relief for small businesses that are unable to meet their tax obligations due to fuel supply issues.
The measures include: more generous payment plans and support in varying pay as you go instalments where there has been a downturn in taxable income.
Mr Chalmers says treasury has modelled scenarios on the potential impacts of the war, so the government can form the best response.
"This war can't end soon enough. But the consequences will linger for longer. And that is why in the interim, we're working very closely together to try and shield Australians from the worst the world can throw at us. And part of that work is going through a whole range of scenarios and modelling to help inform the work that we're do from hour to hour and day to day. But also to inform the budget forecasts."
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Families hoping to get away over Easter are unlikely to get cheaper petrol before the long weekend - and those in regional Australia could be waiting weeks for relief.
The federal government has cut wholesale fuel prices by 26 cents a litre to ease cost pressures caused by the disruption to global fuel supply due to the war in the Middle East.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury says the change may take up to two days to be felt in metropolitan areas; and up to two weeks or more in regional Australia.
Nationals MP Sam Birrell says he welcomes the cut to the fuel excise, and he hopes petrol stations pass on the cut quickly.
"I think it will have a meaningful impact. And that is why we suggested it last week. I live in a regional area (electorate of Nicholls in northern Victoria). People spend an enormous amount on fuel. And 20 cents, 25 cents less per litre is significant. The issue that we have is the government did not offset it with anything. So I worry that that might be inflationary. But anyway. It's a good thing that it is coming off."
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US space agency NASA has given the go-ahead for the Artemis II mission to the Moon to launch tomorrow morning, Australian time.
Favourable weather conditions mean the four astronauts will be launched on a journey that will loop them around the moon before returning to Earth.
Christina Koch - the first woman to be included in a lunar mission - says the Moon is key to understanding our own solar system.
"The Moon is a witness plate to our entire solar system's formation. It's a stepping stone to Mars, where we might have the most likelihood of finding evidence of past life. But it's also a Rosetta Stone for how other solar systems form, all the billions of other solar systems in our galaxy."
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In football, Nestory Irankunda has scored twice to help propel the Socceroos to a 5-1 win against Curaçao.
The 20-year-old has been named player of the FIFA Series, something which he says has only motivated him to continue to improve ahead of the World Cup.
Irankunda celebrated scoring the Socceroos’ fourth and fifth goals with a Michael Jackson-style dance, as well as backflips.
Born to a Burundian mother in a refugee camp in Tanzania, Irankunda was called up to Australia's national side at the age of 17 in 2023.
He has told Channel Ten, he dedicates the goals he scored in this latest game to his family.
"The goals were for them. And obviously for my mother and my dad that are in the stands; and my two younger sisters; and my two older brothers. And I just enjoy playing in front of the crowd. They hype me and they hype the team as well."
That's SBS News in Easy English.
