SBS News in Easy English 9 September 2022

Queen Elizabeth the Second has died at the age of 96.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was queen of the UK and 14 Commonwealth realms including Australia since her reign began in February 1952.

She is succeeded by her son Charles.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered his condolences to the Royal Family.

"There is comfort to be found in Her Majesty's own words. 'Grief is the price we pay for love'. This is a loss we feel deeply in Australia. Queen Elizabeth the Second is the only reigning monarch most of us have known and the only one to ever visit Australia. And over the course of a remarkable seven decades, Her Majesty was a rare and reassuring constant amidst rapid change."

To other international news, and in the United States, another shooting has shaken the town of Uvalde in Texas which is still reeling from a school massacre that claimed the lives of two teachers and 19 young students in May.

Police say up to six people have been shot in the town's Memorial Park.

Local media are quoting Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez saying two unidentified suspects are currently at large.

A fire in a karaoke parlour in southern Vietnam that has so far killed 32 people may be due to an electrical fault.

Investigators say an electrical short circuit is likely to have started the fire on either the second or third floor.

But officials have yet to access the entire building to complete their inquiry.

Russian warplanes have launched over a dozen airstrikes over northwestern Syria, killing seven civilians and wounding at least 12 others.

Four Russian jets allegedly launched 16 airstrikes targeting several positions in Idlib province, notably hitting a stone carving workshop and a civilian home.

The northwestern Idlib province of Syria is home to the country's last rebel enclave.

Conservation and environmental groups have welcomed the passing of the Albanese government's signature climate change bill.

Conservation group WWF Australia says they hope the bill will form the basis of stronger climate change action.

Head of climate Krista Singleton-Cambage says Australia can now build on the legislation to become a renewable energy superpower.

The bill passed with the support of key Greens and independent senators and MPs - but Greens Senator Larissa Waters remains frustrated the bill doesn't go far enough.

"The international energy agency in the coal 20-21 report showed that Australia has more new coal export mines than anywhere else in the world. So I want to know how the government thinks it can meet the 43 per cent target while opening these new coal mines."

New research shows over 80 percent of Australian women believe no alcohol should be consumed during pregnancy.

The research has been released to coincide with today's International Feotal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day.

Obstetrician Dr Vicki Carson says more education is still needed on the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.

"When I see a couple who already have a child affected by FASD the most common reason is that they didn't know to avoid or abstain from alcohol during that first pregnancy... We'd like to see 100 percent of women understanding that it's important to avoid alcohol while planning pregnancy, while pregnant, and while breastfeeding."

To cycling,

And Australian rider Jay Vine has been forced out of the La Vuelta grand tour race in Spain after crashing in the early kilometres of stage 18.

The Australian was one of the riders to come down in a high-speed crash shortly after the start of the stage.