SBS News in Easy English 18 September 2024

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TRANSCRIPT:

Teenagers using Instagram in Australia will face new stricter rules on their accounts from today.

The social media platform has announced it is making accounts for those aged under 18 private by default because of concerns about the mental health and safety of young people.

Meta's Regional Policy Director Mia Garlick says those under 16 will need a parent's permission to change any of the built-in protection settings.

"The Instagram teen account protections are designed to address the biggest concerns of parents including who their teens are interacting with online, the content they're seeing, and whether their time is being well spent. Some of the new features will include daily time limits, private accounts, stricter messaging restrictions, sensitive content restrictions, and also sleep mode."

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Unions say strong worker protections must be part of Australia's new free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates.

ACTU president Michele O'Neil says the U-A-E ranks among the worst countries in the world for workers' rights.

She says it would be one of the most repressive countries any Australian government has ever done a bilateral trade agreement with.

She has called for strong and enforceable labour rights, including repercussions for businesses that withhold wages or confiscate workers' passports.

Trade Minister Senator Don Farrell has in turn called on unions to back the agreement, saying it would benefit Australian workers and businesses.

"More trade, with more trading partners, means more jobs for Australians. more opportunities and a lower cost of living. The Albanese government is delivering on our commitment to secure new trade and investment opportunities for Australian exporters, producers, farmers and businesses."

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An operation is underway in the New South Wales Hunter Valley to recover the body of a man in a mine shaft.

New South Wales Police say the man fell into the decommissioned mine shaft while he was working at Ellalong, about 15 kilometres south of Cessnock.

He is yet to be formally identified, but is believed to be a man in his late 50s.

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The Greens have criticised Labor for threatening a double dissolution election in an attempt to push housing legislation through Parliament.

Labor's Help to Buy bill has been delayed in the Senate after the Greens, Coalition, and key crossbenchers, voted against a motion to bring the bill to a vote.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a double dissolution election has not been ruled out.

But Greens leader Adam Bandt says the party is standing firm on its demands for those who rent.

"It would be a betrayal of the millions of renters and stressed mortgage holders who are struggling right now, for the Prime Minister to go to an early election, rather than negotiate an outcome to help people through the housing and rental crisis."

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A man has faced court today over allegations he created and maintained a secret network for criminal communications.

He is one of dozens arrested following days of raids targeting the alleged creator and users of the secret app.

Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney says the network allegedly used encrypted phones to organise drug trafficking deals - and plot murders.

"Importantly, the AFP has prevented the death or serious injury of over 50 lives because we have been able to decrypt these messages."

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A giant steel company has announced plans to develop green iron.

BlueScope Steel says it will work with the Helios Project in Israel to make iron from Australian ores without adding to greenhouse gas emissions.

Nearly two billion tonnes of steel are made annually worldwide, contributing almost 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Helios says it is developing a more sustainable method of producing green iron from iron ores and tailings.

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