| | | 14/05/2024 Budget’s $9.3bn surplus, BHP’s $65bn raid rejected, Trump’s ex-lawyer takes the stand |
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| | | Morning everyone. Anthony Albanese is calling today’s budget one for “every Australian”. The bottom line is that it projects the first back-to-back surplus since the global financial crisis (but deficits in coming years). In a different part of the financial world, BHP has seen its second whopping bid for mining company Anglo American rejected, and Israel has deepened its offensive in Rafah despite growing opposition at home. Plus, Donald Trump’s former lawyer has given evidence in New York. |
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| Australia | | Bail crackdown | Alleged serious domestic violence offenders will find it harder to get bail and will be fitted with ankle monitors if they are released as part of major legal reforms proposed by New South Wales premier Chris Minns (pictured). | In the black | Jim Chalmers will be in the lucky position of being able to project a surplus for the second time running when he hands down the federal budget in parliament tonight. He puts it down to Labor’s sound financial management that this is the first time the budget has been in the black for successive years since 2007-08. But there’s red ink in the forward estimates. | ‘Not happy’ | A “terrible IT problem” has left Woolworths stores in Queensland stripped clean of fruit and vegetables with bosses saying they “are not happy about it”. | Border breach | Australian border force officials allegedly forced an Australian-US dual national to hand over the passcodes to his phone by threatening to keep the device indefinitely and then searched it out of his view, the man has alleged. | Lynn trial | A jury in Melbourne is expected to begin hearing evidence today in the double murder trial of Greg Lynn, a former Jetstar pilot who is accused of killing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay in March 2020. |
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| World | | ‘Deadly trap’ | Israeli troops have continued their offensives across Gaza, deploying tank fire, artillery bombardment and airstrikes against Hamas militants. The parents of more than 900 Israeli soldiers have signed a letter urging the military to call off its ongoing offensive, calling it a “deadly trap”, while Benjamin Netanyahu was heckled during his Memorial Day speech. Dozens of students walked out of Duke University’s commencement ceremony as some chanted “free Palestine” to protest its guest speaker, the pro-Israel comedian Jerry Seinfeld. | Cohen called | Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen has told a Manhattan courtroom that the ex-president told him to “handle” negative stories about an alleged “love-child” and an affair with the playmate Karen McDougal ahead of the 2016 election as the hush-money trial continued. Trump has a clear lead in five battleground states, according to new polls. | Mining matter | BHP has failed for a second time to buy Anglo American after the London-listed mining rival rejected an improved offer of A$65bn. In other finance news, shares in the US “meme stock” GameStop doubled overnight after “Roaring Kitty”, the man at the heart of the stock market frenzy surrounding the video gaming chain three years ago, resurfaced on social media. | Canada fire threat | An intense wildfire is headed for a town in western Canada amid strong winds that have fuelled an out-of-control blaze which has already forced the evacuation of thousands. | ‘Mind-blowing’ | The European Commission has fiercely criticised Eurovision organisers for banning audience members from waving the EU flag at Saturday’s grand final in Sweden. |
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| | | | | We're funded by readers, not billionaires The Guardian is fiercely independent, which means we can report on fact, not fiction, at a time when powerful people are getting away with more and more. | | |
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| Full Story | | Can the Queensland police service change? Ben Smee discusses why Queensland police sacked its First Nations advisory body and how members of the group had repeatedly raised concerns about how the police had stalled on cultural reforms. | |
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| In-depth | | When Telstra customer Vicki Russell was told she had to pay $200 for the company’s Fetch service or lose access to the library of films and shows she had paid to download over the years, she was understandably furious. “What a shitty thing to do,” she posted. Josh Taylor reports on how the case has highlighted the risks contained in small print and how buying physical copies might be the only way to safeguard your library. |
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| Not the news | | When Melissa Noble (pictured) first met her long-lost brother, the first thing she noticed was that he had inherited her own father’s large forehead, nose, and trademark bulging calves. She explains how the entry of Shawn into her family’s life changed it for the better. |
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| Media roundup | Pro-Palestine protesters have disrupted an Israel remembrance event at Monash University, the Herald Sun reports. “Fat bike” riders are plaguing Manly, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, and a crackdown is on the way. Universities say planned curbs on foreign students are “horrible in every way”, the Fin Review reports. Queensland opposition leader David Crisafulli tells the Courier Mail that he will focus on key issues rather than internal LNP warfare over lobbyist Santo Santoro. |
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| What’s happening today | Canberra | ACT supreme court to sentence whistleblower David McBride. | Northern Territory | Budget handed down. |
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| Brain teaser | And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. | |
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| Contact us | If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email customer.help@guardian.co.uk |
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