AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 21 at 0000
Ebola (GENEVA)
The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday there were 600 suspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths and numbers are expected to rise given the time the virus circulated before the outbreak in Congo and Uganda was detected.
A WHO Emergency Committee met on Tuesday in Geneva and confirmed the latest Ebola outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus was a public health emergency of international concern but not a pandemic emergency, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
"The WHO assess the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels and low at the global level," Tedros said.
He declared the emergency on Sunday, and he said it was the first time a WHO chief had taken that step without first consulting experts, due to the urgency of the situation.
Legal: Caddick (SYDNEY)
Investors defrauded by Melissa Caddick who have recouped losses through a class action will not benefit from a final payout from liquidators of her property.
Caddick was a self-styled financial advisor who conned 55 family and friends out of $23 million between 2012 and 2020 and lived a life of luxury through her investment scam.
The 49-year-old disappeared in November 2020, days after her luxury home in Sydney's affluent east was raided by ASIC agents investigating her Ponzi scheme.
Liquidators retained to claw back the lost funds have completed their task with the Federal Court approving one final repayment to investors.
About $7.3 million had already been sent back in two tranches to victims, ensuring they received 31.4 cents in the dollar back, barrister Nicola Bailey said during a court hearing on Wednesday.
Oly32 Hotel (BRISBANE)
Mum-and-dad home owners are set to strike 2032 Brisbane Olympic gold, turning spare rooms into Games success because of a major hotel shortage.
Short-term rentals have been backed to fill visitor demand and share the Olympic tourism boom after it was revealed barely a quarter of the hotel rooms required for the 2032 Games were on track to be delivered.
Hotel building across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast has almost stopped despite strong bookings and higher room rates, according to a Property Council of Australia report released on Wednesday.
Queensland is well behind the state government's own hotel targets, with the current pipeline expected to deliver about 24 per cent of the 14,700 extra rooms needed by 2032, according to CBRE, a global real estate and investment firm.
Legal: Gillham (MELBOURNE)
A leading orchestra's directors were caught off guard by a "reputation shredding" decision to cancel a pianist's concert over his onstage comments about the war in Gaza, a court has been told.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra board member Martin Foley, who led Victoria's response to COVID-19 as state health minister before retiring from politics in 2022, gave evidence to Jayson Gillham's unfair dismissal case on Wednesday.
Gillham introduced a composition piece at an August 2024 concert by saying Israel deliberately targeted journalists to prevent the reporting of war crimes.
The orchestra responded by cancelling his next appearance, triggering his unfair dismissal case in the Federal Court on the basis of alleged discrimination due to his political beliefs.
Mr Foley was co-deputy chair of the orchestra's board when the incident occurred and said he was contacted by then-managing director Sophie Galaise two days after Gillham's performance.
Legal: Latham (SYDNEY)
He might be off the hook in court but firebrand MP Mark Latham is still copping accusations of lying and character assassination from his former partner.
Nathalie Matthews, 38, applied for an apprehended violence order against Mr Latham after accusing him of sustained emotional and physical abuse.
But she withdrew the private application by consent before a three-day hearing was set to begin.
Mr Latham's lawyer Zali Burrows told reporters outside Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court it was a good result for her client, who was excused from attending.
"The application has been withdrawn and dismissed," she said.
Mr Latham has repeatedly denied his ex-partner's allegations and has not been charged with criminal wrongdoing.
The NSW upper house independent claimed the apprehended violence order application was withdrawn as far back as seven months ago but was finally proved right on Wednesday.
Legal: Plane Boy (MELBOURNE)
Prosecutors have claimed a teen accused of trying to hijack a commercial plane was politically motivated as they pushed for his case to be heard in a higher court.
The now-19-year-old is accused of bringing a firearm and fake bomb onto an aircraft at Avalon Airport, southwest of Melbourne, in March 2025.
About 160 passengers were on board the Jetstar plane, which was due to fly to Sydney.
The teen, who was 17 at the time, appeared in a children's court via video link on Wednesday as prosecutors applied for his case to be heard in either the county or supreme courts.
The prosecutor argued the penalties available in the children's court - a maximum sentence of a two-year supervision order - were inadequate to reflect the seriousness of the alleged crime.
Webjet (SYDNEY)
Australia's online travel market is undergoing momentous change as the cost of living bites and more customers use artificial intelligence to make their itinerary.
But one agency, which has been hit with a triple whammy of millions of dollars in potential lost revenue, lacklustre bookings and leadership changes at a sensitive time, believes it can recover.
"This is placing significant pressure on our industry, but travel is like water," outgoing Webjet chief executive Katrina Barry said on Wednesday.
"It finds a way."
The potential takeover target stands to lose millions of dollars in annual revenue after Virgin Australia revealed plans to set up its own online travel package offering, thereby reducing its commissions.
The decision left Ms Barry disappointed, although she said the carrier remained a "valued partner" through other commercial agreements, ahead of the change taking effect on July 1.
Iran (SINGAPORE/WASHINGTON)
Two Chinese tankers laden with oil have left the Strait of Hormuz, brightening hopes that the US-Israeli conflict with Iran may soon be resolved after positive comments from the US president and his deputy.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the war would be over "very quickly" while Vice President JD Vance talked up progress in talks with Tehran about an agreement to end hostilities.
"We're in a pretty good spot here," Vance told a White House press briefing.
Trump made his comments a day after saying he had paused a planned resumption of hostilities following a new proposal by Tehran to end the conflict.
"I was an hour away from making the decision to go today," Trump told reporters at the White House.
In finance ...
Budget (CANBERRA)
A group of young startup founders claim they have been ambushed by tax changes in the budget amid a growing campaign against the contentious reforms.
In an open letter to the prime minister, 40 business owners aged under 40 say the decision to pare back the 50 per cent discount on capital gains tax will impact every growing company in Australia.
Among the signatories are the co-founders of digital menu platform me&u, satellite imaging company HEO and financial services provider Arbor Group.
"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," the open letter says.
Fuel (CANBERRA)
Australia's mining industry is using a quarter more diesel than it did four years ago just to achieve the same output, despite fuel shortages crippling the nation.
Every major Australian coal mining company is using more fuel now than in 2021/22, modelling from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis shows.
But even as the price of diesel skyrockets due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, fuel intensity rates are locked in, due to Australia's mining sector not yet having the ability to move to alternatives.
Workers also have to dig deeper in open-cut mines to reach coal seams than they did in previous years.
With large volumes of dirt and rock having to be removed, more fuel is burned as a result
In entertainment ...
Arts Opera (MELBOURNE)
Opera Australia's latest performance is less Verdi's La Traviata, and more AC/DC's Back in Black.
The national company has posted a major turnaround in its finances, balancing the books in 2025 following 2024's big losses of more than $10 million.
"It's very close to break even, which is fantastic ... the return to good times is not an anomaly," said chief executive Alex Budd, who began his role in November and is part of an overhauled senior management structure.
He said the improvements under acting chief executive Simon Militano had been driven by more disciplined cost controls, a carefully balanced repertoire, and a focus on rebuilding the company's finances.
While total revenue reached $122.8 million in 2025, Opera Australia posted a small deficit of $36,051 prior to the inclusion of the company's capital fund, which took the final result to a profit of $3.6 million, according to its annual results released on Wednesday.
Minogue (LONDON)
Kylie Minogue battled cancer for a second time in secret after being diagnosed in 2021.
The Australian pop star, 57, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 - prompting her to cancel a tour and a headline slot at Glastonbury festival - and she went on to make a full recovery after undergoing treatment, but Minogue has now revealed she suffered another health scare five years ago when she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time.
Minogue finally lifted the lid on her secret cancer battle in her new self-titled Netflix documentary, saying: "My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself ... Not like the first time."
Minogue did not give details about her diagnosis or treatment, but assured fans she was healthy.
In sport ...
Ath Oceania (DARWIN)
Josh Azzopardi's decision to prioritise the defence of his Oceania 100m title has paid off in a big way, with the Australian making an increasingly compelling case for an individual spot in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games team.
Azzopardi overcame a sluggish start to storm home and claim the win in 10.21 seconds at Arafura Stadium on Wednesday.
It was two hundredths of a second slower than the 26-year-old Sydneysider had run in the semi-final earlier in the day, but the victory was the main thing with the Commonwealth Games squad to be named in early June.
Sub-10 second man Lachie Kennedy earned automatic Games selection off the back of his 100m national title triumph in April, with Azzopardi right in the frame to also be picked in the individual event as well as the 4x100m relay.
Soc WACL City (MELBOURNE)
Melbourne City's hopes of a ground-breaking treble have gone up in smoke with a 3-1 semi-final loss to Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the Women's Asian Champions League.
City sealed a domestic premiership-championship double with Saturday's 2-1 A-League Women grand-final win over Wellington.
But Tokyo scored two goals in the opening 10 minutes to bring City back down to earth and leave Michael Matricciani's charges with an uphill battle to qualify for the final.
City fought their way back into the contest and the excellent Aideen Keane scored in the 37th minute, before Yuzuho Shiokoshi's second goal in the 78th minute snuffed out the comeback.
It could well be the final time some of City's players, headlined by star striker Holly McNamara, play for the club in the forseeable future given expected interest from overseas clubs.
Ends Bulletin
Rolling News Desk inquiries : 02 9322 8611
