A daily 5 minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability.
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Sam Dover.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will not be stopping in Israel on his diplomatic trip to the United States next week.
Mr Albanese rejected calls to visit Israel, after two Labor ministers have said there needs to be an investigation into potential war crimes committed by the country.
Science Minister Ed Husic claimed yesterday that Palestinians were being "collectively punished" for Hamas militant attacks on Israel, while Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly has asked for a war crimes investigation.
The Albanese government supported a parliamentary motion on Monday which said that they condemn Hamas and supported Israel's right to defend itself.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has urged both sides of the conflict to protect civilian lives.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley told Channel 7 that the Prime Minister needs to control his fellow ministers.
"You don't get to freelance on government policy, on foreign policy when you're a cabinet minister. The Prime Minister has got a real problem here, he's going to Washington, he may well be asked, who is running foreign policy in Australia? Is it Penny Wong? Is it Ed Husic? "
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A bushfire is threatening properties in central Queensland with residents unable to return to their homes.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services have issued what's called a "not safe to return" alert for Oyster Creek near Gladstone, with warnings also in place for Deepwater.
Firefighters have been battling a fire that has burned through more than 3000 hectares since Sunday.
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The Sydney Opera House is celebrating its 50th birthday today, with the anniversary being marked by around 250 performances by Australian and international artists.
37,000 people are expected to explore inside one of Australia’s most famous buildings for its first open days in eight years this weekend, in addition to events and experiences taking place throughout the year.
The UNESCO Heritage listed building perched on the edge of Sydney Harbour was completed in 1973 to the designs of architect Jørn Utzon who won a 1956 competition out of 223 entries from 28 countries.
Since then, it has hosted over 118,000 performances, with over 63 million tickets sold, while close to 11 million people visit the Opera House every year.
The director of programming Fiona Winning says that the opera house, which also runs kids' and contemporary music programs, is a space for everyone.
"I can’t tell you the number of people that I’ve met who’ve walked around, like exercised around the Opera House but never been inside or just didn’t think it was for them, so we’re working really hard, to actually really invite people into a range of different experiences."
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In cricket,
Virat Kohli has hit a century as India maintained their perfect record in their home World Cup in their fourth consecutive victory with a win against Bangladesh.
Kohli ended with an unbeaten 103, hitting a six to reach his hundred, exciting the crowd and securing India's win with 51 balls and seven wickets to spare on Thursday.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma told official broadcaster Fox Sports that his team could not have won without an excellent fielding display as well.
"It is something that is in your control, you try and put in as much as you can when you talk about the effort, and I thought there was no letting down when you talk about the effort on the field."
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I'm Sam Dover and this has been SBS News in Easy English.
