SBS News in Easy English 25 June 2025

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A ceasefire between Iran and Israel appears to be holding after a shaky start.

US President Donald Trump had expressed frustration with both sides, saying they have fought for so long and so hard that they don't know what they are doing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel's war against Iran has "brought to ruin" the country's nuclear program.

"Today, in the early hours of the morning, hours before the ceasefire, we dealt the Iranian regime its strongest blow since the beginning of the war, and even its most devastating since its establishment. We destroyed hundreds of the regime's factories and personnel, in a devastating blow that Tehran had not suffered in 50 years."

He says Israel More than 100 Australian citizens have been airlifted out of Israel aboard an Australian military jet, after the country’s airspace was opened.

The passengers, including 118 Australians and one New Zealand citizen, left Tel Aviv in the early hours of Wednesday.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says there are many more still hoping for government assistance to escape the conflict in the Middle East.

He said the Department of Foreign Affairs and the military were working tirelessly to ensure that Australians could be safely removed from the danger zone.

"There's still thousands of Australians who have registered to get out of Iran and to get out of Israel and we will continue to work really hard and around the clock to take the opportunities when they arise to get more people out."

Leaders of the 32 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member states have gathered for the NATO summit in The Hague.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also attending the summit, and warned European NATO members they risked attack from Russia if it was not defeated in Ukraine.

Russia denies any plans to attack the alliance.

NATO Secretary general Mark Rutte says the alliance is determined to expand and upgrade its defences to deter any attack from Moscow.

"The world is a dangerous place. We are confronted with profound security threats that span from the Euro-Atlantic to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific. But I'm absolutely confident that together with the leaders in this room tonight, we will emerge stronger and make our countries and the world safer."

In men's lawn hockey, Germany stormed back from two goals down to claim a 3-2 win over the Kookaburras.

The loss to Germany follows another loss for the Kookaburras after they went down 1-2 to England on Sunday.

Australia came out with the intensity that had seen them win five from six matches on their European tour.

But a second-half burst from Germany saw the hosts snatch the lead and hold on in the final minutes.

The match was the 105th international appearance in green and gold for Queensland defender Tim Howard,

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