A daily 5 minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability.
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT:
The federal government says it is trying to confirm the welfare of Australians caught up in the attack by Islamist group Hamas on Israel, which has killed hundreds and injured thousands of people.
Australians who are in Israel are being asked to contact their families to reassure them all of their safety.
Australia has also updated its travel advice for the Palestinian enclave of Gaza to do not travel.
.
The death toll from strong earthquakes in western Afghanistan has risen to at least 2000.
About six villages have been destroyed and hundreds of civilians are thought to be buried under the debris.
Afghanistan's national disaster authority says two powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquakes were detected followed by strong aftershocks in what is the deadliest to strike the country in two decades.
Arshad Malik, the country director for the N-G-O 'Save the Children' in Afghanistan, says access to essential services will be hard for the population.
“The children are definitely vulnerable. As I said, more than nine thousand families have their houses destroyed and children are part of these, like, we believe thousands of children are vulnerable and they have been forced out of their homes and they need immediate shelter, food and other support. We are also concerned whether there will be access to water, access to food, access to health services."
.
There's less than a week left until Australians head to the polls to vote in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum - and the latest polling indicates the chances of its success are slim.
Two separate surveys show the 'no' campaign is still ahead, and that Tasmania is the only state with a majority of 'yes' voters.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley has told Sky News she will be unhappy if the no vote succeeds, despite planning to vote no in the referendum.
The Prime Minister meanwhile has told Channel 9 he is still confident he can convince voters of the merits of the yes case.
"I'm not going getting ahead of the Australian people. I know there's some arrogance has crept into the no side campaign - but it's a campaign based upon fear. And it's similar to the sort of arguments that were put prior to the Apology to the Stolen Generations. And if people think about that, and the impact that it had, there weren't any negative consequences for anyone."
.
Scientists have identified a major new threat to the Great Barrier Reef, under the form of invisible groundwater flows delivering nutrients at harmful levels.
It has long been known that nutrient-rich river water is a major cause of poor water quality on the reef.
But a landmark study has shown groundwater that seeps from the land into the sea, below the water line, is a far bigger source of nutrients, including problematic nitrogen and phosphorous, which are heavily used in fertiliser.
Scientists say it is time to rethink protection strategies, which up until now have been heavily focused on addressing nutrient loads in river water.
.
Australians most at risk of developing complications from shingles are to be given access to a free vaccine against the virus.
More than five million people will become eligible from the first of November for the Shingrix vaccination as part of the National Immunisation Program.
That includes those aged over 65, Indigenous Australians over 50, along with immuno-compromised people 18 and older.
University of Sydney Infectious diseases expert Professor Robert Booy says many people don't realise how debilitating shingles can be.
"Shingles is a viral infection that especially affects the skin of the trunk or of the face. It actually happens because you've previously had chickenpox and then the virus hides for years in your nervous system...Shingles affects one in three Australians during their lifetime. Shingles is a serious medical condition. It impacts on people because not only can it cause acute pain and local tenderness and swelling and blistering, but it can cause long-term pain as well."
