SBS News in Easy English 20 May 2024

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A daily 5-minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability. 


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TRANSCRIPT:

An investigation is underway after the discovery of two bodies on the New South Wales far north coast.

Police say they're of a 38 year old man and a two year old child.

Officers carrying out a welfare check found the bodies after forcing entry to the unit in East Lismore.

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Defence Force jets have been placed on standby to help evacuate of hundreds of Australians stranded in New Caledonia.

There are about 300 Australians in New Caledonia registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says the defence force is "ready to fly" once commercial flights to the territory resume.

One of those Australians, Mary Hatton, has told Channel 7 there is a plan to evacuate via a domestic airport if necessary.

"It's that road to the airport which is crucial, but of course the French authorities haven't given the OK yet for that airport to reopen. So that apparently is supposed to come today or tomorrow morning."

Other Australians stranded in New Caledonia have complained of a lack of communication from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - like Sydney woman Taran Jenkins.

"There has been quite a delayed response from DFAT. It has been quite... (there's a) lack of information probably to say the best. You know, and we have lots of different people who use technology quite differently. We've noticed so that's why we've ended up sort of working together. I created a WhatsApp group myself just to rally everyone together because there was sort of simply not much information coming through from from DFAT, unfortunately. So we we started to plan our own evacuation strategy, to be honest."

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A new report has concluded many people have found it hard to get help from their bank if they fall into hardship.

Mortgage stress is at its highest level since the global financial crisis.

But a scathing report from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ((ASIC)) says some home lenders have made applying for financial assistance too difficult.

They say one-in-three home owners struggling with mortgage stress give up trying to get support.

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The High Court in London will rule today on the extradition of WikiLeak's founder Julian Assange to the United States.

US authorities allege Assange was reckless, damaged national security, and endangered the lives of agents through his Wikileaks activities.

His global supporters argue the prosecution is an assault on journalism and free speech, and revenge for causing embarrassment.

Julian Assange's wife Stella says the case has been going on for far too long.

"I think it's important to have that in mind, that this has gone on for over five years. Julian has been in the UK's most notorious prison for this entire time and seven years preceding that in the Ecuadorian embassy and one and a half years under house arrest. In fact, every day since the seventh of December 2010 he has been in one form of detention or another, the seventh of December 2010 is seven days after WikiLeaks started publishing the diplomatic cables."

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The New South Wales government will investigate what power it has to impose an age limit on social media users in the state.

Labor is preparing to hold a summit to discuss the harms associated with social media, amid concern that its widespread use is directly impacting on youth mental health.

The federal government is due to pilot age-verification technology, while South Australia is also looking at a potential ban for users under the age of 14.

NSW Premier Chris Minns says they're all aware that something needs to be done.

"2008 to 2022 in Australia, the rates of self harm for people aged between the ages of 15 and 19 doubled, and the rates of self harm for children girls in particular under the age of 14 tripled. In 2011, just 18% of 15 to 24 year olds felt psychological distress, that number rose to 42% last year. Now this almost happens, or is directly correlated, with the birth and widespread use of social media in Australia and around the world."

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