Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Greg Dyett.
At least 38 people are dead in a plane crash in Kazakhstan.
The Azerbaijan Airlines jet, carrying 67 people, crashed in the Kazakh city of Aktau, killing at least 38 of those on board, after veering from its scheduled route.
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Russian authorities say they are investigating whether its forces have captured an Australian citizen in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
Oscar Jenkins was reportedly fighting for Ukraine.
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Dangerous fire conditions are set to hit multiple states as the southeast braces for a Boxing Day heatwave.
Damaging winds and extreme fire danger are forecast with hot, dry weather affecting Victoria, southwest New South Wales, and eastern South Australia.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Narramore says winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour could topple trees, damage power lines, and cause minor power outages.
"Winds and extreme fire dangers to impact parts of South Australia and Victoria Over the next 48 hours, and we can see a severe weather warning is already current for damaging winds for large parts of western Victoria, South West New South Wales, and much of East and South Australia. This does include the Grampians, where those ongoing fires are."
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Rescuers have abandoned hope of finding a 15-year-old alive after he was swept off rocks at North Avoca Beach on the New South Wales Central Coast on Christmas Eve.
Despite extensive search efforts on Christmas Day involving police, lifeguards, and a Westpac Rescue Helicopter, he was not found.
The teenager was one of three teenagers swept into the sea by a wave.
The other two managed to scramble back onto the rocks and raise the alarm.
Police Inspector Ben Campbell has expressed his sympathies to the family of the missing teen.
"A very tragic incident, and we feel for the family at this time of year. It's just a timely reminder about how dangerous the rocks can be around the ocean and how everyone has to be really careful about what's going on around them."
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Hamas and Israel have blamed one another over failing to reach a ceasefire agreement despite progress in recent talks.
Hamas claims Israel set new conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of going back on understandings already reached.
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Donald Trump's transition team is reportedly planning for the U-S to withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of his second term, aligning with his criticism of the agency.
The move would mark a major shift in U-S health policy, further isolating Washington from global pandemic efforts.
Mr Trump has nominated W-H-O critics, including vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Junior for key health roles.
In 2020, Mr Trump began withdrawing from the W-H-O, accusing it of favouring China, but President Joe Biden later reversed the decision.
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A massive soup kitchen has been set up in front of Congress in Buenos Aires for homeless people.
The event was organised by the Excluded Workers Movement, made up of thousands of people who live off recycling garbage.
Key sectors such as industry, construction, and retail trade are facing significant difficulties.
Thousands of people, mostly unemployed and retirees, depend on soup kitchens to make ends meet.
I'm Greg Dyett and that's SBS News in Easy English.
