A news bulletin for English language learners.
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TRANSCRIPT
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is making urgent enquiries with local authorities in Thailand to determine whether any Australians were affected in a deadly fire in Bangkok.
At least 27 people have died after a fire broke out in the northern part of the Thai capital.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited the site of the fire and spoke to survivors.
"Many of them were not able to make their way out because they went to the back of the building and tried to hide themselves away from the smoke and flames in the toilet. And that is where we find most of the bodies."
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Digital passenger arrival cards will replace paper cards at all Australian airports as part of a national rollout to begin from next year.
It follows a trial involving more than 450,000 passengers on Qantas international flights.
The federal government says $56.1 million has been allocated to "traveller modernisation" measures over the next four years.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says the change will improve the country's biosecurity.
"What this information coming electronically will mean is, is that we're able to get more information, but importantly, we're also able to be dynamic and adapt to challenging and changing biosecurity needs. So if there's an additional question or more information, we're able to update that really quickly without having to reprint these traveler declaration cards."
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A national inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is conducting public hearings in Perth [[Mon 13]].
The chair of the West Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation, Dr Jim Morrison has told the inquiry that more resources need to put into a process of understanding the impacts of colonisation on First Nations peoples.
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In Solomon Islands, the local fisheries industry is training observers to monitor overfishing.
Observers are stationed on many commercial fishing vessels, and the job can be at high risks.
According to the Association of Professional Observers, since 2015, at least 14 fisheries observers have gone missing or died at sea - some under what human rights groups identify as suspicious circumstances.
Speaking to SBS, Director of Fisheries Operations at the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency Allan Rahari says despite the risks, observers play key roles in keeping the pacific's tuna sector sustainable.
"The biggest risk for our region … are mainly what we call unreported fishing, meaning fishing vessels are not providing their catch reports accurately. So they're catching fish, they're licensed, but they're not reporting their cuts accurately. So instead of reporting say 10 tons, they're probably reporting nine tons of fish."
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Melanoma pathologist and former Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer is being remembered at a memorial service.
He died from brain cancer last week at the age of 59.
Emeritus professor John Thompson says Richard Scolyer's impact went beyond his professional achievements.
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To sport and in cycling,
Mathieu van der Poel has won stage nine of the Tour de France.
It is the rider's first Grand Tour win this year, and he says the intense 34-degree heat provided an extra challenge.
"Yeah, it was, wow, a super hard day. Yeah, start of the Tour was not great for our team, but, I think, like, always we stayed calm, we have a really nice group here, and we kept believing that it will turn around, and maybe not today, maybe second week, maybe third week, but yeah, it’s really nice to go to the first rest day with a win."
Four-time champion Tadej Pogacar remains the overall race leader.
Thanks for listening. That's SBS News in Easy English.
