Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Tee Mitchell.
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire for three more weeks after a meeting at the White House.
The agreement to stop fighting builds on a 10-day ceasefire that was set to expire on Monday.
Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, which is a militant group in Lebanon, but Hezbollah was not part of the peace talks.
United States President Donald Trump says the meeting between Israel and Lebanon went very well.
"And we had a great meeting with the very high officials of Lebanon and very high officials of Israel. And we think that the president of Lebanon and the prime minister of Israel over the next couple of weeks will be coming here. They've agreed to an additional three weeks of, I guess no firing, ceasefire, no more firing. Let's see. We hope that happens. Not going to happen between them, but they do have Hezbollah to think about."
.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a public safety net will be ready in time to catch Australians who lose support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Around 160,000 people are going to lose their support from the NDIS because of changes the government plans to make.
Programs run by state governments are supposed to replace them - but most of these have not been developed yet.
States have complained that they will have to pay more because of the changes, but Mr Albanese says these complaints are not justified.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns says the public health system won't be able to offer the same level of care to the people who will be affected.
"I understand the reason for reform from the federal government, and I'm not like some other state leaders, hammering them for making the changes. I understand that it needs to be as best as possible, an affordable program. But we also have to be honest with people. If they're not going to be provided with NDIS support, we can't provide equivalent care in the state system."
.
First Nations Australians with a disability say they are concerned about how the plans to change the NDIS will impact them.
They are asking the government to consult with their communities and hear their concerns.
The First Peoples Disability Network Australia says it does not oppose changes to the scheme, but the group is worried First Nations people could lose the support that they need.
They say Aboriginal people who have a disability and live in remote areas already get less support because there are fewer providers.
.
Indigenous communities are also being impacted by the war in the Middle East.
They are expressing concern about the rising cost of living as the war in the Middle East pushes up the price of liquid fuels.
Hundreds of communities in remote areas rely on diesel to generate electricity, and it's also crucial for trucks to bring in supplies.
They were already paying about 40 per cent more than people in cities, and say the federal government should be providing more help.
Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation CEO Nathan McIvor has told NITV News that people are struggling with rising costs.
"So, you've already got people on the poverty line that are not even going to be able to afford to buy what the ordinarily would have been able to buy 8 weeks ago, potentially you could end up having half or more of their normal goods costing 50-60-70 per cent more."
.
Resources Minister Madeleine King says the government is not planning to change the way it taxes gas exports.
The federal government has been facing pressure to introduce a new 25 per cent tax on gas exports as part of the budget this May.
The Greens have been leading a Senate inquiry to hear from activists, experts, and gas executives on the proposal.
Independent senator David Pocock says the gas industry should face an extra tax on top of standard corporate tax.
"I don't think we should have a system and you have these huge rates of compounding investment, you get the gas for free. Sure, that might be a deduction on your corporate profit. But at least pay us for the gas. I am talking about the actual gas. Who else in the economy, gets their input for free?"
I'm Tee Mitchell. This is SBS News in Easy English.











