A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability.
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Greg Dyett.
President Joe Biden has confirmed the United States has killed the leader of al-Qaeda in a drone strike in Afghanistan.
Mr Biden says Ayman al-Zawahiri died in a counter-terror operation carried out by the CIA in the Afghan capital Kabul.
"He was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil. For decades he was a mastermind against attacks against Americans."
The Federal Opposition says the reduction in the fuel excise tax should be extended for another six months.
The price reduction is due to end at the end of September which means the price of petrol is likely to rise by 22 cents per litre.
Liberal Senator James Paterson says the government should extend the reduction.
"I think it would be reasonable to do so because if they don't then Jim Chalmers will be responsible for the 22 pent a litre increase that every Australian will pay when they next fill up at the bowser."
Victorian MPs are returning to the state's parliament for the first of four sitting weeks after a winter break.
The Andrews government is to introduce new laws to parliament that will give police more powers to investigate organised crime groups, confiscate assets and target cyber criminals.
Important koala habitats in southeast Queensland will be protected from development after it was revealed money put aside for a research centre was spent on a theme park rollercoaster.
A four square kilometre site on the Gold Coast will become a dedicated conservation area.
The additional conservation announcement follows news that $2.7 million of public funding for a wildlife research centre at Dreamworld was instead spent on a rollercoaster.
Experts warn the global reputation of the Australian mining is at stake with the industry falling short on safety, particularly for women.
The mining sector is in the spotlight after a damning Western Australian inquiry found the industry failed to protect women from sexual predators.
The New South Wales government has extended Refugee Employment Support Program delivered by Settlement Services International.
Refugees and people seeking asylum living across the state will continue to have access to pathways to secure, long-term employment until December 2023.
In five years, the program has assisted up to 8,000 refugees and 2,000 people seeking asylum in western Sydney and the Illawarra regions.
A former premier of South Australia has called for early education to be discussed at the upcoming Jobs summit in Canberra.
The jobs conference is expected to focus on expanding employment opportunities and addressing skill shortages, especially in key sectors.
Jay Weatherill, who is now leading the early childhood focused Minderoo Foundation, says early childhood centres are experiencing worker shortages and a high turnover.
He says it's important to find solutions.
"So the precondition for success in the job and skills summit is to first get early educators right."
I'm Greg Dyett and that's SBS News in Easy English.
