TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Greg Dyett.
Police have praised the efforts of witnesses for how they responded to a Sydney shooting until officers arrived at the scene.
Detective Inspector David El-Badawi says police found a group of workers holding a 79-year-old man on the ground, after he allegedly shot a 77-year-old man in the groin on Wednesday afternoon in a Sydney office block.
"The people inside the office were very brave. They restrained the offender until police arrived... There was numerous - around five to six (office workers)."
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Severe heatwaves that have baked Western Australia and South Australia have made their way east.
Heatwave conditions in the ACT are expected to start easing after a mid-week peak but maximum temperatures could still approach the mid-30s today.
In New South Wales, the sea breezes that parts of Sydney rely on for cooling are expected to have little effect today, with the weather forecast predicting temperatures around 10 degrees above the average.
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The United States has continued to support calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, arguing it would go a long way to easing a spiralling food crisis.
Aid convoys carrying food reached northern Gaza this week, the first major delivery in a month to the devastated area, where the United Nations says hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are experiencing worsening starvation.
Matthew Miller from the U.S. State Department says the security situation has prevented aid workers from addressing the humanitarian situation while peace talks continue in Paris.
"There are other ways that we are exploring to get humanitarian assistance in, but we are also - and it's why you hear us talk about this so much and why we're devoting so much effort trying to secure a hostage deal that would lead to a temporary cease-fire - because ultimately, that would resolve a lot of the issues regarding the distribution of humanitarian assistance."
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Ghana has approved a new bill that imposes longer prison sentences on people convicted of LGBTIQ+ plus activities in the West African country.
Gay sex is already punishable by up to three years in prison, but the new bill also imposes a prison term of up to five years for what it says is "the wilful promotion, sponsorship, or support of LGBTQ+ activities".
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Travel retailer Flight Centre says lower travel and accomodation prices are encouraging more people to fly, leading to its second best start to a year ever.
It's been revealed the cost of holiday travel and accomodation has fallen 7 per cent since last year.
Flight Centre's half year profit has reached $86.6 million, reversing a $20 million loss on the same time a year ago with its leisure business returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Chief Executive Graham Turner says the profits will benefit consumers.
"Airfares are also now falling 13 per cent decrease in Australia during the second quarter, and about a 7 per cent decrease globally. This is expected to stimulate demand in the next term."
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Beijing has been selected to host the 2027 World Athletics Championships.
Their selection follows the withdrawal of the Italian athletics federation from contention, after failing to receive final support for its bid from the government.
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China will also host next year's World Indoor Athletics Championships in Nanjing.
I'm Greg Dyett and that's SBS News in Easy English.
