26-05-2025
SBS News in Easy English 26 May 2025
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Welcome to SBS News in Easy English, I'm Camille Bianchi.
Bringing emergency supplies and medication is a focus for emergency services helping 14 flood-hit communities in New South Wales. About 32,000 residents are cut off from roads in the mid-north coast region, and crews have done more than 770 rescues. Five people have died in the floods. State Emergency Service Deputy Commissioner Daniel Austin says more than 300 properties are no longer able to be lived in.
"Resupply and particularly medication is something that we've focused on very significantly over the last few days. There is a significant state-level plan to try and get resources back in where possible.'
Today marks National Sorry Day and the start of Reconciliation Week in Australia. This year's theme is Bridging Now to Next - connecting the past, present and future. The day and week remembers the impact of government laws when as many as 1 in 3 Indigenous children were taken from their families, until the 1970s. These children have become known as the Stolen Generations. Heidi Tucker is the CEO of Anchor Community Care.
"Aboriginal children are still 22 times more likely to be taken into the care of the state than non-Aboriginal children. Those are statistics that we need to change. What can we do now that bridges future goals and future outcomes for Aboriginal people. We need to commit to now and the future of reconciliation."
A big shopping centre in Melbourne's north was shut down on Sunday afternoon, during a fight between around 10 people and some had knives. Police arrested two people and one person was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Victoria Police are still searching for all those involved. Superintendent Kelly Lawson says the meeting was planned between groups and this was not a random attack on shoppers.
"There have been others identified and police are working through identifying the remaining gangs, as you know, Victoria Police has a focus through Operation Alliance in relation to our gangs, and we will know who these people are, and it will not take very long to go and arrest them."
The International Committee of the Red Cross says the war in Gaza must end now, after two of their staff members were killed by a missile. Israel says it attacked the same area on Saturday. Ali Abu Hashem is a friend of the two Red Cross staff members who were killed.
"What is the reason for assassinating them? What did they do? Words cannot express all this. Israel don't distinguish press or safety; they don't have any red lines."
In cycling, Carlos Verona has won stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia. The 32-year-old from Spain has been cycling on the World Tour for 13 years. He says he did not expect to win the stage. "And actually, I was enjoying this Giro the most because it was the first one I didn't have the ambition maybe to win a stage, you know? Yeah, and then everything changed yesterday, like we lost Cicco. And today I said 'Okay, maybe I don't want to do it for me, but I have to do it for the team'. I only got one victory before; it was in the same situation - the day before we lost our leader. And today I was riding with my mind and my legs in them. And today I was fully with all my heart for this team."
Isaac Del Toro is the overall winner - with one week left of the race.
And that's the latest SBS News in Easy English.
