logo
SBS News in Easy English 1 August 2025

SBS News in Easy English 1 August 2025

SBS Australia4 days ago
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English, I'm Camille Bianchi.
Police fear there will be more attacks by gangs, after a man with links to crime gangs was shot dead in Melbourne. 26-year-old Athan Boursinos had been linked with the death of a rival gang leader before he died, and there are concerns there could be more violence to come. Detective Inspector Dean Thomas is with the Victoria Police.
"This is deliberate and obviously targeted. We will work now to piece together what has gone on."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is travelling to the Northern Territory for Australia's largest Indigenous gathering. The Garma Festival is held over the next four days in remote northeast Arnhem Land - on the land of the Yolngu people. Yothu Yindi Foundation hosts the Garma Festival, and the foundation's chief executive is Denise Bowden.
"I think when those Yunupingu men first hatched the Garma idea, I do think they did understand it would be nationally significant. But maybe it needed some years to brew a little. Just imagine how incredibly difficult it is, given its very remote location and the logistics of barging supplies to Gove. And I am very pleased to say the 25th anniversary - it really is quite an honour."
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed at least 15 people and injured 155 others in Kyiv, Ukraine. Senior U-S diplomat John Kelley told the United Nations Security Council that President Trump wants a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine within one week.
"Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace."
Senior leaders in the Australian government say recognition of a Palestinian state will happen in the future. Canada has joined the U-K and France in recognising the state of Palestine before a UN General Assembly vote in September. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Palestinian statehood is the best pathway out of the violence in Gaza.
"From an Australian point of view, recognition of the state of Palestine is a matter of when, not if. And so in that light, this progress, this momentum that we're seeing, is welcome, but it's also conditional. We need to make sure that there's no role for Hamas in any future leadership. We need to make sure that the hostages are released and so our support is conditional on meeting some of those overcoming some of those obstacles."
In golf, Australian Grace Kim is hoping for success at the Women's British Open in Wales over the next few days. She is among nine Australians competing at the event, including Hannah Green and Minjee Lee - who wants to win the tournament. Kim says she is well prepared.
"It is the last major of the season. But yeah, I am going to try and carry on the mentality that I had which was worry-free. And I know my game is good enough. My team has been put into a lot of effort into my own game. My physical, everything behind the scenes. So hopefully, we just showcase that."
That's the latest SBS News in Easy English.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Jack de Belin attends court appearance of police officer who perjured himself during case
Jack de Belin attends court appearance of police officer who perjured himself during case

ABC News

time7 minutes ago

  • ABC News

Jack de Belin attends court appearance of police officer who perjured himself during case

A former NSW Police officer who perjured himself in relation to a sexual assault case involving NRL player Jack de Belin and his co-accused Callan Sinclair was suffering from deteriorating mental illness when he gave false evidence, a court has heard. The officer, who can only be identified as "Officer A" due to a court suppression order, was in court with supporters today alongside Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair, both of whom were joined by their families. The officer was a detective in the investigation into Mr De Belin and Mr Sinclair when the pair were charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old women in Wollongong in 2018. According to an agreed statement of facts, Officer A gave false evidence during an application to stay proceedings in February 2020. The application to halt proceedings was ultimately dismissed and the case went to two separate trials, both ending in hung juries. The case was then abandoned by prosecutors. Officer A was questioned about accessing and sharing privileged text messages between Mr de Belin and his lawyer Craig Osborne, during a review of the football star's phone in 2019. In a sworn affidavit, Officer A stated that he believed the messages from "Craig Lawyer" on the phone related to St George Illawarra Dragons business and not to Mr de Belin's legal defence. He later admitted under cross examination he knew Mr Osborne was Mr de Belin's solicitor in the sexual assault case but maintained they only appeared to detail "dragons business". Officer A has since pleaded guilty to perjuring himself by falsely affirming that the review of text messages "contained information about dragons football club business alone". In Wollongong District Court today he faced a sentencing hearing. Judge Christine Mendes will deliver a final sentence on September 12. Officer A served with NSW Police from May 2002 until his medical retirement in August 2023. In court today the Crown prosecutor Ciro Triscari said Officer A deliberately mislead the court when he claimed the text messages were about "dragons business" in a sworn affidavit. The prosecutor told the court around 190 messages accessed on the phone contained "privileged communications between Mr de Belin and his lawyer". "This represents a serious example of perjury when one considers the position occupied by the offender in question," Mr Triscari said. Officer A's defence lawyer Dr Peggy Dwyer said the long-serving officer and defence services veteran had been experiencing deteriorating mental health for months prior to his perjury. Dr Dwyer provided eight psychologist and psychiatrist reports detailing complex PTSD and depressive illnesses suffered by Officer A after he was exposed to "gruesome and disturbing incidents" in his role as a detective. "There can be no doubt he was suffering from PTSD in February and that it impacted his capacity to give evidence," she said. Dr Dwyer argued the perjury was "an innocent mistake" made "in a moment of panic" which did not impact the eventual trial of Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair. "This was not a case where anything [Officer A] did or didn't do changed whether or not they were charged," she said. The Crown argued the threshold for a custodial sentence had been breached in their final submissions to Judge Mendes. The defence called for any custodial sentence potentially required be served in the community under an Intensive Corrective Order, referring to one psychiatrist's report which found a jail term could be 'catastrophic' for the former police officer. The case will return to Wollongong Court for sentencing in September, after which spokespeople for Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair are expected to make statements. Mr De Belin spent three years out of the NRL during the criminal proceedings and will finish with St George Illawarra at the end of 2025 after the club declined to extend his contract.

Gregory Vaughn, 72, and Kim Worner, 66, identified as couple on board a light plane that vanished over the Bass Strait
Gregory Vaughn, 72, and Kim Worner, 66, identified as couple on board a light plane that vanished over the Bass Strait

News.com.au

time7 minutes ago

  • News.com.au

Gregory Vaughn, 72, and Kim Worner, 66, identified as couple on board a light plane that vanished over the Bass Strait

A Tasmanian couple who are missing after their light plane took off from the state's north coast then failed to arrive at their destination three days ago have been identified. Gregory Vaughan, 72, his partner Kim Worner, 66, and their dog Molly, have not been seen or heard from since their green Bristell S-LSA aircraft took off from George Town airport about 12.45pm on Saturday. The plane was scheduled to arrive in central NSW later that day but never landed, prompting family and friends to raise the alarm. Tasmanian Police inspector Nick Clark said the missing couple had not been in contact with anyone or aviation authorities since they left George Town. A police helicopter search of Tasmania's north coastline between George Town and Turners Beach on Tuesday failed to locate any sighting of the plane. Inclement weather and low cloud has complicated search conditions, while boats did not go out on the water due to the rough conditions. Inspector Clark said police would continue searching on Wednesday. 'Significant resources have been used in the search and Pol Air will continue to be used over the next two days, at which time the search efforts will be reassessed based on any possible new information that becomes available,' he said. 'The longer Gregory and Kim are missing the greater the concerns are for their welfare. 'If anyone has information that could assist the search, has seen a plane matching this description, or noticed anything such as unusual debris on land or in the water, they should contact Tasmania Police.'

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