SBS News in Easy English 2 March 2023

A high-angle photo shows a small inflatable boat with people in it, positioned next to a large whale. The whale is partially tangled in a fishing net, and a rescue effort appears to be underway.

Rescuers help a whale caught in a shark net off the coast of Queensland. Source: AAP / Jerome Delay

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


Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Hannah Kwon.

Australia Post is set to change the way it operates, following a drop in letter deliveries and an increase in parcel services.

Australia Post delivered over 500 million parcels in the previous fiscal year, but letter deliveries have been steadily going down.

The federal government released a discussion paper to modernise and financially sustain the postal service.

Australia Post Chief executive Paul Graham says it's a welcome announcement.

"We are on a path towards significant losses as Australians and the national postal service continue to change. We are an entirely self funded business. And so we do not want to become a burden on the Australian taxpayer and using the funds that we would otherwise lose to ensure that the government continue to invest in the right things for the community hospitals, schools, roads, etc."

Hundreds of people are being evacuated from five remote communities west of Katherine in the Northern Territory where floodwaters threaten to isolate residents.

It comes as the Victoria River broke its banks after intense rainfall.

Many have been forced onto their rooftops as floodwaters cover the streets.

Shenagh Gamble from the Bureau of Meteorology is warning residents of flash flooding across the Top End.

"We're currently sitting above the major flood level for Kalkarindji and it's forecast to get to at least 17.5 metres, which will see it similar to the 2001 record flood event in that community."

Some people in Greece have been protesting outside Thessaloniki, after at least 43 people died in a deadly train crash.

Many of the victims were thought to be university students returning home after a long holiday weekend.

Video shared on social media showed a large crowd gathered outside the railway station chanting to condemn what they perceive as a government failure to address railway conditions.

Greece's Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis has since quit his job.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific is welcoming the federal government's announcement that it will co-sponsor Vanuatu's request for an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on climate change.

It comes as Cyclone Judy has forced people in Vanuatu to evacuate.

Climate activists say it shows a need to change global efforts to stop climate harm and protect the human rights of vulnerable people.

Australia is one of 105 countries that have officially registered as co-sponsors of the resolution, which will ask members to refer the case to the world's highest court.

General counsel for Greenpeace Australia Katrina Bullock says it is a big step towards fighting climate change.

"If we can get the issue of climate change and human rights to the International Court of Justice, for the first time in history, we could see a new baseline set for government action on climate change around the world. This has the power to breathe new life into international climate negotiations and influence the way that courts hold governments and big polluters to account it can really strengthen states obligations to protect human rights from the adverse effects of climate change and in catalyse more ambitious climate action."

People who experience online sexual abuse, including through popular dating apps, have been found to rarely report their experiences to police.

A new study from the Australian Institute of Criminology has found only one in seven people who were sexually harassed or assaulted in person after meeting someone through dating apps made a police report.

This drops to one in 12 people reporting online sexual harassment to police.

Women were also less likely to report their experiences to police.

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SBS News in Easy English 2 March 2023 | SBS News