TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
The Australian government is urging its citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible, as fears grow over a wider conflict in the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says if Australians don't leave now, they may be stranded for some time, and the government may not be in a position to help.
"Now is not the time for Australians in the region to wait and see what happens. Now is the time to leave. If you are in Australia and thinking of travelling to Lebanon, do not. There is a real risk that the conflict in the region escalates seriously. The security situation could deteriorate quickly with little or no notice. Some commercial flights are still operating. If you can leave, you should. Beirut airport could close completely if the situation worsens, and if that happens, the government may not be able to help Australians still in Lebanon to evacuate."
The warning follows Israeli attacks in south Beirut and Tehran, which the head of the United Nations has described as a dangerous escalation.
Israeli strikes killed Hamas's top political leader Ismail Haniyeh yesterday, as well as a top commander in Iran's ally Hezbollah in Beirut.
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The federal government is defending its economic strategy, after figures yesterday showed inflation remaining at 3.8 per cent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says back-to-back budget surpluses and lower deficits had helped ease inflation over the past two years.
He says international and domestic factors putting pressure on inflation were temporary.
In an interview with ABC Radio, he says there were some things to be optimistic about from yesterday's figures.
"Even when inflation comes down considerably, as it has in Australia, it doesn't come down in a straight line. It zigs and zags on the way down. But overall, acknowledging that inflation's more persistent than we want it to be, there were some welcome developments in the figures as well. Underlying inflation has come down again for the sixth consecutive quarter in annual terms. The monthly inflation read came down as well. The homegrown element to this - the non-tradeables sector - inflation in that quarter actually halved. And so, still too persistent but some welcome developments as well."
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A 17-year-old has been charged with the murder of three girls at a dance class in Southport, in the UK.
The teenager is due to appear in court on Thursday, charged with ten counts of attempted murder.
Three girls aged six, seven and nine died after a knife attack at the Taylor Swift-themed event on Monday.
Eight other children and two adults who were at the event were injured, with some still believed to be in a critical condition.
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And to the Olympics,
Australia's Jessica Fox has won another gold medal in the canoe slalom C1, becoming only the second Australian athlete outside of swimming to win three individual gold medals.
Fox is the first Australian ever to win six individual medals, surpassing the five individual medals won by Ian Thorpe, Liesel Jones, Shirley Strickland, Shane Gould, Anna Meares and Ariarne Titmus, who joined this group in Paris.
She has now also become the most successful athlete in Olympic canoe slalom history - surpassing Slovakian Michal Martikan.
That was SBS News in Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
