AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 21 at 1430
Budget (CANBERRA)
Former prime minister and treasurer Paul Keating has come to the defence of tax changes in the federal budget, as a Labor premier says workers are still paying too much.
Mr Keating said capital gains tax changes in the budget were "structurally sound", despite concerns from business owners it could stifle investment.
The Albanese government's fifth budget replaces the 50 per cent discount on capital gains held for more than a year with a rate based on inflation.
Real gains would be taxed at a 30 minimum rate, prompting concerns from businesses and start-ups.
Mr Keating said the changes were necessary in order to make housing more affordable, dismissing concerns it would hamper businesses in the process.
"Punters with a big idea won't be put off by some marginal change to the tax rate. The rush of entrepreneurial blood to the brain always dominates," he said in a statement.
Mideast Aust (CANBERRA)
Australia has condemned the actions of an Israeli minister as "shocking and unacceptable" after he posted a video of himself berating detained pro-Palestine activists, which may include Australians.
In a clip posted to social media and captioned "Welcome to Israel", national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is shown hurling abuse at the activists - who had been detained after trying to sail to Gaza with aid - while their hands were tied behind their backs and faces on the ground.
"They came with a lot of pride like great heroes. Now look at them. See how they look now. Not heroes, terror supporters," he says at one point, according to a translation by CNN.
More than 400 activists, including 11 Australians, had been trying to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza when their boats were intercepted and boarded by the Israeli Defence Forces off the coast of Turkey.
Ebola (GENEVA)
The Ebola outbreak linked to more than 130 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo likely started two months ago and is expected to continue to grow, the World Health Organization says.
The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine, was declared last Friday and has alarmed experts because of how long it went undetected while spreading across a densely populated area, making it difficult to trace and isolate the contacts of infected individuals.
The WHO had previously pointed to "a critical four-week detection gap" between when the first known case started showing symptoms and laboratory confirmation of the outbreak.
"Investigations are ongoing to ascertain when and where exactly this outbreak started," Anais Legand, WHO technical officer for viral threats, told reporters in Geneva.
SpaceX (NEW YORK)
SpaceX has taken the wraps off its initial public offering, opening the books of the company that has already revolutionised rocket technology, with even larger ambitions to colonise Mars and build AI data centres in space.
The listing is poised to become the first-ever trillion-dollar US market debut and could set the stage for a number of monumental IPOs in coming months, among them potentially technology giants OpenAI and Anthropic.
The sale would immediately cement SpaceX as one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies, the second in Elon Musk's sprawling business empire to surpass $US1 ($A1.4) trillion in market value.
"We do not want humans to have the same fate as dinosaurs," the filing stated.
SpaceX has grown into the world's largest space business since its founding in 2002 by launching thousands of Starlink internet satellites.
Iran (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
US President Donald Trump says negotiations with Iran are "in the final stages," while warning of further attacks unless Iran agrees to a peace deal.
Six weeks since Trump paused Operation Epic Fury for a ceasefire, talks to end the war have shown little progress.
Trump said this week he came close to ordering more attacks but held off to allow time for negotiations.
"We're in the final stages of Iran. We'll see what happens. Either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won't happen," he told reporters.
"Ideally I'd like to see fewer people killed as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way."
Speaking later at the US Coast Guard Academy, Trump reprised his either/or rhetoric - "We may have to hit them very hard ... but maybe not" - and reiterated his determination not to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Economy (CANBERRA)
An uptick in Australia's unemployment could scare the Reserve Bank off more rate hikes as fears grow about the impact of the Iran war on the economy.
The jobless rate is expected to remain at 4.3 per cent, with another 20,000 jobs added for April, when the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases the results of its latest Labour Force survey on Thursday.
"A resilient outcome in line with expectations would support the case for further RBA rate hikes in the months ahead," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"A noticeably softer result, however, especially one that sees the jobless rate edge toward 4.5 per cent, would see the rates market dial back expectations for additional rate hikes later this year."
BudgetTas (HOBART)
One question and one question alone will dominate Tasmania's budget day.
Having pledged to tackle the state's spiralling debt, how will the government do it?
This question has dominated Tasmania's politics for the past two years, intertwined with the billion-dollar stadium to be built on Hobart's waterfront.
Last May, the picture of deficit and debt - which hit $5 billion in 2025 and was forecast to double by 2029 - was so alarming, the parliament voted to have no confidence in Premier Jeremy Rockliff.
Having won the snap election off the back of that vote, Mr Rockliff's government has regrouped and with a new treasurer at the wheel - Eric Abetz - will reveal its pathway to sustainability.
It's likely to be a long, hard road.
Mideast (JERUSALEM)
Israel's police security minister has drawn a sharp rebuke from his boss and triggered a backlash abroad after releasing videos taunting and telling detained activists from a flotilla that tried to get past the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip that they should be imprisoned for a very long time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said although Israel has every right to stop "provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters," the way that Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists "is not in line with Israel's values and norms".
Ben-Gvir on Wednesday released the videos of himself walking among some of the approximately 430 detainees, after their arrival on navy ships.
One video shows activists with their hands tied behind their backs kneeling with their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area at Ashdod port and on the deck of a ship.
In finance ...
Budget (CANBERRA)
The treasurer has hit out at "misinformation" fuelling a backlash against the government's budget tax changes.
Jim Chalmers has been forced onto the defensive by a growing campaign, led by young startup founders, who claim Labor's move to pare back the 50 per cent capital gains discount will effectively double their tax bill when they sell their companies.
"By removing the CGT discount on shares, and replacing it with a cost base indexation scheme, you have clocked us with a massive tax hit and then come up with a replacement that will make things even worse," 40 business owners under 40 said in an open letter to the prime minister.
"Rather than back us, you have ambushed us with a massive tax increase, a tax that will hit us, the Australians we hire, and the investors who believe in us, the hardest."
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market has bounced from a seven-week low on hopes of a deal between Iran and the United States, after President Donald Trump said negotiations were in the final stages.
The S&P/ASX200 jumped 138 points by midday on Thursday, to be up 1.62 per cent at 8,634.6, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 140.1 points, or 1.61 per cent, to 8,857.1.
"The story itself looked a bit like a rinse-and-repeat job: a reassurance by US President Donald Trump – the cynics would say in a bid to jawbone oil and equity prices – that the US and Iran are in the 'final stages' of negotiations," Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
A higher-than-expected April unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent gave the local indices an extra boost, because the outcome improves the odds the Reserve Bank will hold the cash rate steady in June, rather than hike for a fourth straight time.
In entertainment ...
Jenner (LONDON)
Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi are "figuring things out naturally".
Thirty-year-old model Jenner - who has previously dated the likes of Bad Bunny, Ben Simmons and Devin Booker - and Elordi, 28, were recently seen on a tropical getaway in Hawaii but are determined to take things slowly while they decide where they stand with each other.
"They're not trying to turn this into some big public thing. They enjoy spending time together in more private settings," an insider told People.
Jenner has grown fond of the Aussie actor very quickly, but the celebrity duo - who were also spotted together at the first weekend of Coachella - don't want to move too fast.
"They want to keep things low-key while they're figuring things out naturally," the source said.
In sport ...
Soc Aust (ADELAIDE)
Football Australia's losses almost doubled to a record $15.34 million last year, prompting plans to axe 20 per cent of staffers at soccer's governing body.
The unprecedented loss followed a then-record loss of $8.5 million in 2024.
In its financial report for the year that ended on December 31, FA detailed its losses despite revenue climbing to an all-time high.
"Revenues grew to $139,446,000, representing the strongest result since the separation of the A-League and continued commercial momentum and audience engagement across the game," FA's financial report states.
But FA still reported a massive loss, equivalent to 11 per cent of revenue.
"The net loss ... after tax for the year ended 31 December 2025 was $15,340,000," the financial report states.
Ten Open Aust (LONDON)
Australia's French Open challenge has been boosted by hugely encouraging wins in warm-up events for their top two men Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin, while comeback star Thanasi Kokkinakis has been confirmed as a definite starter in Paris.
The good news, though, after a difficult clay-court season for Aussie players was offset by the last three Australians in qualifying at Roland Garros all getting knocked out on Wednesday.
De Minaur, grittily, picked himself off the floor at the Hamburg Open, dusted off the clay caking his kit, got some medical attention and then battled to defeat tough Spaniard Alexander Davidovich Fokina 6-2 4-6 6-4 to move into the quarter-finals.
It was just the tonic the world No.9 needed after first-match exits in his previous two tournaments in Madrid and Rome, with the Paris grand slam kicking off on Sunday.
Ends Bulletin
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