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SBS News In Easy English 28 March 2024

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 5 minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability.


TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.

Rescuers in the United States have recovered the bodies of two men from a vehicle in the river where the Baltimore bridge collapsed after been hit by a container ship.

Roland Butler from the Maryland State Police says the two men were aged 26 and 35.

"Divers located a red pick-up truck submerged in approximately 25 feet of water in the area of the middle span of the bridge. divers recovered two victims of this tragedy trapped within the vehicle."

The US Coast Guard says the ship is stable but it contains almost 6.8 million litres of oil and other hazardous material.

The chief of the Australian Defence Force has apologised to personnel and veterans for the military's failures.

General Angus Campbell is the sole witness at the final public hearing for the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

General Campbell says the ADF is committed to doing better.

"Our people deserve and should rightly expect the wellbeing support and care they need both during and after their service. I acknowledge that this has not always been the case and has tragically led to the deaths by suicide of some of our people. I apologise unreservedly for these deficiencies. Defence is committed and I am committed to doing better."

24 hour mental health support is available to veterans and their families by contacting Open Arms on 1800 011 046 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Australia's coal heartland will receive a $1 billion boost towards renewable energy.

A former coal-fired power station in the Hunter Valley will be transformed into a solar panel manufacturing hub as part of the Solar SunShot program.

Australia is a world leader in solar uptake, with solar panels installed on one in three households.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the investment will help Australia capture a greater share of the solar panel production market.

"This is about us seizing the opportunities which are there to have a future made in Australia. We can be either scared of the future, tread water like we did under the previous decade. Or we can seize the opportunities that are there from the transition to net zero."

A criminal syndicate is accused of laundering more than $39 million in cash to China using a network of associates in Melbourne.

Four alleged members of the gang have been charged by the Australian Federal Police, in a joint investigation with Victoria Police and finance crime regulator Austrac.

AFP investigators started targeting the syndicate in January 2023.

They allege $39 million in illegal cash collections and remittance funds was laundered to China through the network of associates in Melbourne between July and August 2022.

A survey by Australia's competition regulator has found some parents are skipping meals to keep their children fed and families say they have turned to frozen fruits and vegetables as a cheaper alternative.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says rising prices at supermarkets are forcing more lower income households to spend up to a quarter of their total income on groceries.

More than 13,000 Australians responded to an ongoing survey by the regulator as part of their inquiry into supermarkets price gouging.

In football,

Ukraine has qualified for the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament.

The 24-nation tournament opens on June 14 and will be played in 10 German cities.

Ukraine is in Group F with Belgium, Romania and Slovakia.

That was SBS News in Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.


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