A five minute bulletin for English language learners
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TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Allan Lee
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Australia has sent 49 workers to help after the disaster in Nepal. Two social workers arrived overnight.
Thirty-six Australians are still missing.
Nepal's disaster agency says 4,996 people are still missing. This includes 589 people from other countries.
Officials say 1,341 bodies have been found in Nepal. Chinese officials say 43 people have died in Tibet.
Today, Nepal is holding a National Day of Mourning. People are remembering those who died in the disaster.
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The Coalition is worried about a new Federal Government plan for internet safety.
The government wants technology companies to have a digital duty of care. This means they would have a responsibility to help keep people safe online.
A draft law will be presented to Parliament this week.
Another bill will be introduced tomorrow. It aims to make Australia's social media ban for people under 16 stronger. The bill is expected to pass Parliament this week.
Liberal Senator Jane Hume says Labor's plan to decide what causes harm online is worrying and should be carefully examined.
“Now if there is work to be done on those harmful algorithms and they are sometimes harmful and they are addictive, particularly for children and they are pushing them in the direction of online harms, we would like to see agency go back to the individual and put more control back in the hands of the individual and particularly of parents.”
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Veterans say the government has not kept promises made after the Royal Commission into Veteran Suicide.
The Coalition of Veterans' Voices wants the government to stop plans for a $5,000 yearly limit on some health treatments.
The group also wants an independent investigation into how the Department of Veterans' Affairs handles claims.
Former Navy diver John Armfield joined other veterans at Parliament House in Canberra today.
The veterans placed their medals on the ground as a peaceful protest.
“Each medal represents deeds of valour, loyalty and sacrifice by both the veteran and their families - a sacrifice gladly and proudly rendered in service of the country we love. But the honour of these sacrifices cannot be honoured in ceremony and then abandoned in policy.”
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Officials from Ukraine, the United States and Europe are expected to hold more talks about ending the war with Russia.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday.
The day before, they met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
President Zelenskyy said the talks in Kyiv were useful.
But he said the war is likely to continue through winter.
Ukraine is asking the United States and Europe for more support.
"If the war continues in the winter. So far it looks like that, yes, but nevertheless, the teams today positively assess our future capabilities. Also, if the war continues in the winter, we are counting on the winter package, which we discussed in great detail today with Steve and Jared, with our European partners”
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Germany's far-right AfD party says it has earned the right to govern the state of Saxony-Anhalt after winning about 45 per cent of the vote in a regional election.
However, it is not clear if the party can govern on its own.
The party did not win enough votes for an outright majority.
Other major parties have said they do not want to work with the AfD.
The election result has led to protests in other parts of Germany.
Critics accuse the AfD of supporting fascist ideas. The party also campaigned strongly for lower migration.
AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund spoke about the criticism during his victory speech.
"However, and this is the crucial point which I must emphasize tonight, this election victory represents a leap of faith on the part of the people of this country. And we will live up to that trust. We will not compromise our principles; we will not give up on ourselves. We will never become like those who were rightly punished tonight. We are the Alternative for Germany.”
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In cycling, Wout van Aert has won stage 15 of the Vuelta a España race.
He won a sprint finish against four other riders on the route from Palma del Río to Córdoba.
Van Aert made a late attack near the finish line.
He passed Alessandro Romele and Thibau Nys to take the stage win.
The stage was meant to be 190 kilometres long.
But race organisers removed 80 kilometres because of several days of extreme heat.
“I knew people would not expect that we would choose attack. I smelled the moment there on the intermediate sprint and with Matthew (Brennan) behind there was no risk to try because we always had a good option in the bunch. So that’s how I like to race.”
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I'm Allan Lee, this is SBS News in Easy English.




