logo
SBS News in Easy English July 22 2025

SBS News in Easy English July 22 2025

SBS Australia3 days ago
The Prime Minister paid homage to the Welcome to Country, which opened the first sitting day of the 48th Parliament of Australia. 40 new senators and MPs will be sworn in to Parliament today as Labor holds an increased majority, with 94 of 150 lower house seats. He says the ceremony is an opportunity for MPs to embrace and show a profound love of home and country. "And the welcome to Country lets us touch the very beginning of the story, our story, the Australian story in the 48th Parliament. We write the next chapter. Let us do it with the same sense of grace and courage that First Nations people show us with their leadership." Ukraine and Russia appear close to agreeing to hold a new round of peace talks in Turkiye this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he want to see a planned agenda for the meeting. "We need more dynamics in the talks with Russia to end the war. This is very complex and we all understand that talks can only be effective if they are held on the level of the leaders. As we speak, our colleagues are working to prepare at least one more prisoner exchange with Russia. The Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov has proposed to the Russian side a new meeting between representatives of both countries in Turkey." However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the two sides hold opposite positions on how to end the war. The United Nations says wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are pushing global Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 and a meeting is reviewing the 2030 Agenda and its 17 goals. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says a sense of urgency is essential if the global community wants to meet the UN targets. 'The Sustainable Development Goals are not a dream. They are a plan. A plan to keep our promises to the most vulnerable people, to each other, and to future generations. People win when we channel our energy into development. But we must face a tough reality - only 35 percent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress.' Nick Kyrgios has lost his first match since March in a men's doubles defeat at the ATP Tour's Washington DC Open. Kyrgios had a tough opening draw alongside French veteran Gael Monfils, as they played against third seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Nys.
Kyrgios has been grappling with injuries since reaching the Wimbledon final in 2022.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UN says 6,000 trucks worth of aid ready to enter Gaza
UN says 6,000 trucks worth of aid ready to enter Gaza

ABC News

time3 hours ago

  • ABC News

UN says 6,000 trucks worth of aid ready to enter Gaza

The commissioner of the UN's aid agency has said 6,000 trucks carrying food and aid are waiting to enter Gaza, amid growing calls for action to prevent further deaths from starvation. Philippe Lazzarini, who heads the UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine, has spoken out amid growing calls for more aid to enter the Strip. In the last month, 48 people have died from starvation, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said. More than 100 aid organisations and dozens of governments including Australia this week called for Israel to increase the flow of aid into the Palestinian enclave, as local health authorities warn of growing rates of malnourishment and starvation. In a post on social media platform X, Mr Lazzarini said a colleague described people in Gaza as "neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses". "When child malnutrition surges, coping mechanisms fail, access to food & care disappears, famine silently begins to unfold,"he said. Mr Lazzarini said his organisation's workers were themselves only surviving on one meal a day, and "most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at risk of dying". He said the UNRWA had the equivalent of 6,000 trucks waiting to enter Gaza carrying food and medical supplies. "Allow humanitarian partners to bring unrestricted [and] uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza." The Israeli government has defended its handling of humanitarian aid, accusing Hamas of stealing aid and arguing the distribution of food and medicine in a war zone is complex. Israel has also previously accused UNRWA of harbouring Hamas fighters, an allegation it denies. Hamas has denied it is looting aid supplies. It comes an Israeli team preparing to negotiate a potential ceasefire with Hamas left talks on Thursday, leading the militant group to accuse Israel of "stalling" progress. Amid growing global pressure for an end to the war, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday its team of mediators would return to Israel. They had been negotiating with the militant group Hamas in Qatar, but Mr Netanyahu's office said they were returning for "further consultation" on Hamas's response to ceasefire proposals. Earlier, Israel said Hamas's latest response to the proposed ceasefire deal was "workable". Two sources familiar with the negotiations in Qatar told Reuters Israel's decision to bring its delegation back home did not necessarily indicate a crisis in the talks. A senior Hamas source told Reuters that there was still a chance of reaching a Gaza ceasefire agreement but it would take a few days because of what he called Israeli stalling. The source said Hamas' response included requesting a clause that would prevent Israel from resuming the war if an agreement was not reached within the 60-day truce period. A senior Israeli official was quoted by local media as saying the new text was something Israel could work with. However, Israel's Channel 12 said a rapid deal was not within reach, with gaps remaining between the two sides, including over where the Israeli military should withdraw to during any truce. Israel is facing international and domestic pressure to find a way to end the war. Numerous news organisations, including the ABC, have reported that journalists they rely on to report on events inside Gaza are struggling to find food. The Israeli government has not allowed the ABC to enter Gaza and report from there directly. The conflict began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage. In response, Israel's campaign against Hamas has killed more than 59,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities. Millions more people have been displaced, and at least 113 people have died of starvation since the conflict began. One local doctor in Gaza City told the ABC earlier this week that deaths from starvation were beginning to increase. Meanwhile, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces had killed at least 40 people since dawn on Thursday, including six waiting for aid. Israel's military said Hamas militants targeted a food distribution site in the south of the territory on Wednesday. The militants, though, claimed they had shelled "an enemy command and control site". Five of those killed on Thursday were in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah. Through 21 months of fighting, both sides have clung to long-held positions, preventing two short-lived truces from being converted into a lasting ceasefire. In Khan Younis, in the south, Umm al-Abd Nassar urged Hamas to secure a truce after her son was killed in an air strike on a camp for the displaced. "They need to do something. Enough with this destruction and people dying," she told AFP. Meanwhile, eight Israeli soldiers were wounded on Thursday local time when a driver deliberately rammed his car into a bus stop, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Police have described the incident as a "terror attack". "The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment and their families have been notified," it said in a statement. The army said two soldiers were "moderately injured" and six "lightly injured" in the attack at the Beit Lid junction near Kfar Yona in central Israel. "The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment and their families have been notified," the IDF said in a statement. ABC/Reuters/AFP

John Hewson says we should sack the NACC
John Hewson says we should sack the NACC

ABC News

time6 hours ago

  • ABC News

John Hewson says we should sack the NACC

Former Liberal leader John Hewson says after two years the National Anti-Corruption Commission has failed in its mission to properly investigate allegations of systemic corruption. Hewson takes issue with the lack of action over things like procurement contracts and political pork-barrelling. He says we need an integrity commission which is prepared to have public meetings and that without that it can't be effective. GUEST: John Hewson, professor at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and former Liberal opposition leader. John Hewson, professor at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and former Liberal opposition leader. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer

AUKMIN: Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong to meet UK counterparts
AUKMIN: Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong to meet UK counterparts

News.com.au

time6 hours ago

  • News.com.au

AUKMIN: Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong to meet UK counterparts

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong will meet with their UK counterparts, with AUKUS set to dominate discussions. The annual AUKMIN talks with UK Secretary of State David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey are due to take place at Admiralty House in Sydney on Friday. It's the second meeting of its kind since UK Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected in July 2024. Conversations are expected to focus on deepening the defence relationship between the two countries, as well as emerging challenges as a result of China's increasing dominance in the Indo-Pacific. The group will then travel to Darwin to witness the deployment of a UK Carrier Strike Group warship as part of the Talisman Sabre exercises. Mr Marles said the UK was a 'critical partner for Australia'. 'We continue to work closely together, including through the AUKUS partnership, to address shared strategic challenges in an increasingly complex and uncertain world,' he said. 'I look forward to discussions in the coming days to advance our enduring relationship.' His sentiments were echoed by Senator Wong and said 'strengthening and modernising' Australia's 'longstanding' partnership with the UK was critical to advancing our 'shared interests' during 'uncertain times'. 'We take the world as it is – but together, we are working to shape it for the better,' she said. 'From building defence capability and boosting economic resilience, to standing up for human rights, advancing gender equality, and defending the international rules and institutions that protect us all.' The talks come amid anxieties about the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the United States and UK, with noted sceptic Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's policy chief, undertaking a review into the deal. However Sir Keir appeared to ease concerns about the future of the deal following a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump at the G7 in Alberta, Canada. Asked if AUKUS was going ahead, Sir Keir responded with: 'Yep, we're proceeding with that, it's a really important deal to both of us'. Anthony Albanese has also watered down concerns, saying a review was expected due to the new Trump administration, with the UK undertaking a similar review following the change of government. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister confirmed Australia recently completed a scheduled $800m payment to the US to help bolster their capacity to build warships, bringing the total to $1.6bn. 'We support AUKUS. We have an agreement. It's a treaty-level agreement with our partners that was signed, of course, in San Diego with the United States and the United Kingdom,' he told the ABC.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store