TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
Israel and Hamas have stopped short of rejecting an Egyptioan proposal to end their war.
The Egyptian plan calls for a phased hostage release and the formation of a Palestinian government of experts to administer the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told members of his Likud Party that he's determined to press ahead and intensify Israel's offensive in Gaza.
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A woman has died and more than 120,000 households have lost power on Quensland's Gold Coast after a ferocious storm brought winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour.
The storm brought down more than 300 powerlines and a woman died at Helensvale when she was struck by a falling tree.
Danny Donald from Energex has told the ABC it will be a major job to restore power.
"It's really becoming a marathon. This isn't going to be a sprint. it's a big job and some places, particularly in the more heavily wooded areas, maybe without power for a few days, the way it's looking."
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Cost of living pressures, higher tax payments and higher interest rates are expected to slow down Boxing Day sales.
Many Australians are changing their consumption habits following a drop in Christmas sales compared to 2022.
AMP's chief economist Shane Oliver says he's not predicting a significant boost in this year's Boxing Day retail figures.
"I don't think the Boxing Day sales, which is still in the month of December, of course, will be enough to offset that. And we certainly saw that a year ago, people were still out there in the blank on the Boxing Day sales, but it didn't quite have the same punch that it used to. In fact, we've seen this the last three years now."
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The founder of the Exodus Foundation charity which is today known as the Reverend Bill Crews Foundation says this Christmas has been particularly difficult for struggling Australians.
Reverend Bill Crews says there are more hard-working people than ever before looking for support for basic necessities and services.
"Well we've morphed from feeding the homeless to feeding the hungry, because people coming to eat here they can be working but not earning enough money. And it's also feeding the lonely. So many people are shutting their units and house, never getting out they're afraid. And through Covid we've been all worried about communities we isolated from each other, and all that's done is created anxiety."
The Prime Minister was one of many volunteers feeding homeless and struggling Australians at the foundation in Sydney's West on Christmas Day.
It's one of Sydney's largest frontline charities, serving up to 2000 meals for those who need it every day, as well as social support services.
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And the 78th annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race is underway, with 113 boats setting sail this afternoon.
A diverse fleet, including multiple former winners, will take on the 628 nautical mile race and they are bracing for the possibility of thunderstorms.
Veteran sailor and navigator Lindsay May will be racing in his 50th Sydney to Hobart, onboard the 'Whisper'.
His first race was back in 1973 and he says he didn't expect it to be a lifelong journey.
"I mean 1973, my first race, I never thought I would get to 50, and I had no idea what I was in for. I'd done very little racing. I had cruised to New Zealand on a boat. And it's just one of those things. You get on and if you do a good job people say to you, 'Oh, well do you want to come along next year?' And that's just what's happened year after year after year. What draws me back is getting to Hobart each year. The response from the people in Hobart and Tasmania is extraordinary. And you don't get anything like that in any other races around the world."
That was SBS News in Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
