AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 21 at 1600
Legal: Stevens (MELBOURNE)
A couple's marriage disintegrated after an empty hole was left in their backyard by a former AFL player-turned-fraudster.
Ex-Carlton and Port Adelaide footballer Nick Stevens, 46, faced a pre-sentence hearing at Melbourne's County Court on Thursday where his victims aired the impact of his crimes.
A jury found him found guilty of 12 charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one of using a false document, for stealing about $157,000 from six regional families with his pool business in 2017.
While he installed six legally compliant pools under the supervision of a registered builder, Stevens went out on his own without the required licence, registration, permits or insurance.
Stevens had taken money from the families, but left them with non-compliant pools or failed to install a pool at all with giant holes left behind.
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.
In finance ...
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.
Arafura (SYDNEY)
A Gina Rinehart-backed rare earths miner will build its flagship project with help from the federal government to ease China's stranglehold on the sector.
Arafura Rare Earths has made the final investment decision to build its Nolans Project in the Northern Territory, which will be Australia's first fully integrated ore-to-oxide rare earths operation.
The decision came after years of building offtake relationships with companies, including Hyundai, Kia, Siemens, and as the miner became the first company to secure support under a federal government plan to build a rare earths strategic reserve.
China mines more than half the world's rare earths but refines as much as 90 per cent of global production.
Rare earths contain essential elements and alloys that are key to modern technologies with applications in defence and renewable energy.
In entertainment ...
Cannes (CANNES)
Rami Malek, Demi Moore and Halsey were among the stars who attended a screening for new film The Man I Love in Cannes.
Hollywood actor Malek, in a black dinner jacket, posed for photos on the red carpet for his latest project, directed by independent filmmaker Ira Sachs, at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
The musical drama is set in late 1980s New York City with Malek starring as actor Jimmy George, who is facing a life-threatening illness and takes on what may be his final big role.
Malek, 45, was joined by director Sachs and his co-stars Tom Sturridge and Luther Ford on the red carpet on Wednesday, local time.
Other celebrities at the screening included Hollywood star and producer Moore, who is best known for her roles in Ghost and St Elmo's Fire.
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 ...
Com26 Aust (SYDNEY)
It's still baby steps, but teenager Sienna Toohey isn't shying away from her dream of becoming Australia's next swimming golden girl.
With multiple Olympic gold medallist Kaylee McKeown in her corner, the 17-year-old schoolgirl is vying to make her Commonwealth Games debut this year in Glasgow.
Toohey broke on to the scene last year at age 16 after earning a spot in Australia's world championship team.
Hailed as the future of Australian swimming, the Albury teen swam a time of 1:07.24 in the 100m breaststroke heats, but missed out on a semi-final berth in Singapore by 0.24 of a second.
Toohey had been in the same heat as triple Olympian and three-time world record-holder Lily King, who scraped into the semis with a time of 1:06.93.
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.
Ends Bulletin
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