Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.
The New South Wales Electoral Commission says 14 local council elections in the state have been called off due to a lack of candidates.
The local government areas that will not hold elections on September 14 include: the Cobar, Cowra, Junee, Warrumbungle and Berrigan shire councils.
The commission says a by-election will be held at a later date to fill the vacancies in the local government areas that received "fewer candidate nominations than the number of councillors required".
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The Democratic National Convention has kicked off in Chicago, with about 50,000 people gathering for the event.
That includes thousands of people protesting near the venue, voicing their opposition to the war in Gaza.
The convention holds particularly high stakes for the party, one month after Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race to allow Kamala Harris to be the party's nominee against Republican Donald Trump.
The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Minyon Moore, says it is a historic moment.
"Throughout his term, he (Joe Biden) has brought us together and revived our country and our country's soul. And last month, in a true act of patriotism, he passed the torch to the next generation and the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris."
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Experts are meeting in Bangkok this weekend to make progress on what would be the first international treaty to tackle the problem of plastic pollution.
It comes ahead of a final round of negotiations in South Korea in November.
Environmentalists, tribal leaders and a number of representatives from the plastic industry say they have not been given access to attend this weekend's meeting.
Bjorn Beeler, from the International Pollutants Elimination Network, says after three years of negotiations, the stakes are very high for this global agreement.
"Plastics are really made out of fossil fuels, oil and gas. So oil and gas exporting countries have a very large stake, especially as the world transitions away from fossil fuels from energy towards materials. And so you've got many countries, mainly in the Gulf states, for example, that are exporting fossil fuels, who have a very large stake. And this is really slowed down the process."
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A report has found one in four Australians have severely limited access to childcare while another 700,000 have almost no access at all.
Victoria University's Mitchell Institute mapped childcare access across nine nations for more than 10 million children, tracking approaches that provided fairer access for families.
About 24 per cent of Australians live in a childcare desert, where there is more than three children per childcare spot.
The research found in countries likes Australia, France, England, and Wales, wealthier areas had better access to childcare.
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After seven years of construction – and 21-point-6 billion dollars – Sydney’s new metro extension has become one of largest suburban rail projects in the world.
The new Metro line will operate under Sydney Harbour, between Chatswood and Sydenham, connecting the booming northwest region to the CBD.
This passenger says the improved wheelchair accessible options are very welcome.
"Finally having a transport line that is fully wheelchair accessible, level access for boarding - fully wheelchair accessible trains is going to be a huge gamechanger for people like me."
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In cycling, Australian Kaden Groves has narrowly missed out on victory in stage three of the Vuelta a Espana, which has taken place in Portugal.
He's finished second, beaten in a sprint to the line by race leader Wout van Aert of Belgium.
It's van Aert's first victory in a stage of any race since Febraury.
He now leads the race by 13 seconds overall. He says his victory is a triumph of patience.
"It is worth it to be patient. So, it has been quite a while since I could raise my hands and this feels so good."
I'm Biwa Kwan. This has been SBS News in Easy English.
