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ABC News
18 minutes ago
- ABC News
Thousands protest legislation that weakens anti-corruption agencies in Ukraine
Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine to urge President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to veto a controversial bill that threatens anti-corruption infrastructure. It marked the largest public protests against the government in more than three years of war. Many protesters carried signs reading "Veto the law", "Protect the anti-corruption system, protect Ukraine's future", or simply "We are against it". On Tuesday, Ukraine's parliament passed legislation that will tighten oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies, which critics say could significantly weaken their independence and autonomy and give Mr Zelenskyy's circle more control over investigations. The changes would grant the prosecutor general new authority over investigations and cases handled by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). "In effect, if this bill becomes law, the head of SAPO will become a nominal figure, while NABU will lose its independence and turn into a subdivision of the prosecutor general's office," the agencies said in a joint statement on Telegram. The legislation's passage triggered public outrage in Ukraine, with some saying it appeared to be a greater moral blow than the routine Russian drone and missile attacks. Some protesters accused Ukraine's leadership of prioritising loyalty and personal connections over the fight against corruption. "Those who swore to protect the laws and the Constitution have instead chosen to shield their inner circle, even at the expense of Ukrainian democracy," said veteran Oleh Symoroz, sitting in a wheelchair because both his legs were amputated after he was wounded in 2022. "Instead of setting an example of zero tolerance for corruption, the president is using his power to take control of criminal cases involving his allies," he said. The legislation has also drawn sharp criticism from the heads of both agencies and a top EU official. Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's bid to join the European Union and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid. In a post on X, the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos expressed concern over the vote in the parliament, called the Rada, calling it "a serious step back". "Independent bodies like NABU & SAPO are essential for Ukraine's EU path. Rule of Law remains in the very center of EU accession negotiations," Ms Kos added. The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticised parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and damages trust with international partners. The group urged Mr Zelenskyy to veto the law, warning that otherwise he would share responsibility with the Rada for "dismantling Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure". On Monday, Ukraine's domestic security agency detained two NABU officials on suspicion of links to Russia and searched other agency employees on unrelated allegations. Last week, Mr Zelenskyy reshuffled his wartime cabinet in a move widely seen as centralising power within his inner circle. AP
ABC News
18 minutes ago
- ABC News
Major government cuts loom as Transport for NSW to cut almost 1,000 jobs
About 950 jobs will go from Transport for NSW, as the agency pursues "financial sustainability reforms". Transport secretary Josh Murray announced the cuts in a memo to staff on Wednesday. "We have to get back to a model that is sustainable for the long term, delivers on our commitments, and provides appropriate career paths for our people," he said. Areas like communication, procurement, project and business support, government services and technology will be centralised as part of the efficiency measures. Mr Murray said there would be a reduction of "about 950 TSSM (transport senior service managers) and award positions." That is in addition to about 300 senior executive roles that have already announced, he said. Mr Murray said the agency had experienced "significant" growth over the past five years, with a 30 per cent increase in TSSM and award positions. "This largely occurred during and after the COVID period with 3,000 extra staff appointed," he said. Mr Murray said he appreciated the news would be "concerning" to many employees and has vowed to consult staff on "strategic objectives and budget targets".
News.com.au
18 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Lunch Wrap: Miners muscle the ASX higher, but Telix sinks on SEC subpoena
Miners lift ASX as iron ore pops again Telix gets US SEC subpoena, shares tank 
 Woodside flexes LNG muscle, Paladin fizzles The ASX was up 0.6% at lunch time in the eastern states, riding a wave of momentum from the mining giants once again. Iron ore has been on a tear since yesterday, jumping another 2% this morning to a five-month high. Traders are frothing over fresh China's supply-side steel reforms, as well as news they're building mega dams up in Tibet. Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), BHP (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) once again charged higher off the back this news. Meanwhile, cancer imaging stock Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) faceplanted straight into the dirt, down by as much as 16% after revealing it had been subpoenaed by the US SEC over disclosures tied to its prostate cancer therapies. The company says it's cooperating fully, but investors weren't in the mood for nuance; they dumped the stock, sending it to its lowest level since last November. It's not the first time Telix has looked like a stock on the cusp of global stardom. It just launched Gozellix in the US, and the Illuccix pipeline remains strong. But an SEC inquiry, even if it's just a "fact-finding" one, usually has a nasty habit of stopping momentum. This is where things stood at about 1pm AEST: In other large caps news, Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) climbed 2% after hitting full-year zircon production guidance six months early. Iluka didn't hand out fresh guidance for next quarter though, blaming the mess of global tariffs and trade spats. Woodside Energy Group's (ASX:WDS) quarterly update also packed some punch. WDS said it's pushing ahead hard with its Scarborough and Trion projects (86% and 35% complete respectively) and just offloaded a 40% chunk of its Louisiana LNG venture to Stonepeak for US$5.7 billion. CEO Meg O'Neill called it a key play in positioning Woodside as a 'global LNG powerhouse.' Uranium play Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN), on the other hand, took a hit, down 9% after releasing updated production forecasts for its Langer Heinrich uranium mine. Paladin's guidance, 4 to 4.4 million pounds of U3O8, were decent, but the market had hoped for something flashier. Argonaut had forecast 5.83Mlb, with costs up to US$10/lb higher than its prediction. And over at oil & gas mob Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR), CEO Julian Fowles will be stepping down by mid-2026 as the company prepares to shift its centre of gravity from Melbourne to Brazil and the US. Karoon's board is now hunting for a Houston-based replacement, and its shares dipped 0.6% on the news. ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 23 : Security Description Last % Volume MktCap GTE Great Western Exp. 0.018 64% 5,921,161 $6,245,337 CDE Codeifai Limited 0.027 50% 41,056,863 $8,494,218 FAU First Au Ltd 0.006 50% 27,932,433 $8,305,165 HLX Helix Resources 0.002 50% 64,088 $3,364,194 RBR RBR Group Ltd 0.002 50% 4,365,000 $3,120,285 ATS Australis Oil & Gas 0.009 29% 7,877,481 $9,226,437 OPL Opyl Limited 0.027 29% 1,998,643 $5,161,135 GGE Grand Gulf Energy 0.003 25% 287,929 $5,640,850 ALY Alchemy Resource Ltd 0.006 20% 667,502 $5,890,381 AUR Auris Minerals Ltd 0.006 20% 84,033 $2,383,130 LMG Latrobe Magnesium 0.019 19% 7,660,479 $42,025,441 CR3 Core Energy Minerals 0.013 18% 1,226,026 $4,343,319 NOX Noxopharm Limited 0.080 18% 601,898 $19,872,181 AON Apollo Minerals Ltd 0.007 17% 72,800 $5,570,741 CCO The Calmer Co Int 0.004 17% 1,050,178 $9,034,060 FMR FMR Resources Ltd 0.378 16% 112,103 $8,781,221 RML Resolution Minerals 0.080 16% 13,670,406 $45,909,045 SMX Strata Minerals 0.015 15% 1,372,935 $3,183,078 PGY Pilot Energy Ltd 0.012 15% 8,327,314 $21,586,600 ICR Intelicare Holdings 0.016 14% 62,500 $6,806,634 IPT Impact Minerals 0.008 14% 9,952,231 $27,953,310 KRR King River Resources 0.008 14% 200,000 $10,372,165 CNQ Clean Teq Water 0.240 14% 90,600 $15,170,884 AAM Aumegametals 0.041 14% 1,159,232 $21,817,825 Codeifai (ASX:CDE) has added former Nvidia AI expert Rafael Possas to its advisory panel, as it gets ready to roll out its QuantumAI Secure platform. Possas, who helped build Alexa and now heads up machine learning at Canva, joins Codeifai's growing panel of tech heavyweights with experience at OpenAI, WhatsApp and Binance. It's another sharp move as Codeifai pushes deeper into AI, quantum security and global commercialisation. First Au (ASX:FAU) has kicked off a 3000m diamond drilling program at its Nimba Gold Project in Liberia, following a month-long mapping campaign led by director Lei Shi. The drilling aims to confirm structural interpretations around a key Hamak Gold hole, and test new targets spotted during mapping. It's targeting the dip, depth and strike of potential gold zones, with core re-logging from previous holes also underway. Pilot Energy (ASX:PGY) has kicked off a formal farmout process for its massive WA-481P permit in the offshore Perth Basin, targeting a partner to help drill the 1.1 TCF Leander Gas Prospect. The prospect's ready to go, with direct access to WA's domestic gas market via existing infrastructure. With gas demand rising and delays hitting rival projects, Pilot reckons it's got a fast-track, high-impact play on its hands. ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 23 : Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.001 -50% 385,807 $6,507,557 RIM Rimfire Pacific 0.018 -25% 735,910 $60,621,453 SCP Scalare Partners 0.130 -24% 100,050 $7,111,954 GLL Galilee Energy Ltd 0.009 -18% 909,666 $7,779,122 ANO Advance Zinctek Ltd 0.915 -17% 6,274 $68,910,718 CUL Cullen Resources 0.005 -17% 1,692,777 $4,160,411 ENT Enterprise Metals 0.003 -17% 200,001 $4,113,952 PRM Prominence Energy 0.003 -17% 200,000 $1,459,411 SPQ Superior Resources 0.005 -17% 3,700,000 $14,225,896 TFL Tasfoods Ltd 0.005 -17% 100,000 $2,622,573 ENV Enova Mining Limited 0.006 -14% 3,195,749 $10,203,200 IPB IPB Petroleum Ltd 0.006 -14% 10,000 $4,944,821 SPX Spenda Limited 0.006 -14% 515,855 $32,306,508 IND Industrialminerals 0.130 -13% 30,465 $12,048,375 HTG Harvest Tech Grp Ltd 0.014 -13% 1,094,377 $14,544,293 OMG OMG Group Limited 0.007 -13% 1,542,151 $5,826,359 RLG Roolife Group Ltd 0.004 -13% 161,900 $6,371,125 EMU EMU NL 0.021 -13% 337,322 $5,069,963 TLX Telix Pharmaceutical 22.140 -12% 4,518,579 $8,500,584,362 AAJ Aruma Resources Ltd 0.008 -11% 1,000,000 $2,951,465 KGD Kula Gold Limited 0.008 -11% 3,716,355 $8,291,283 RDG Res Dev Group Ltd 0.008 -11% 789,175 $26,557,723 ATX Amplia Therapeutics 0.255 -11% 5,985,655 $110,771,711 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Bubalus Resources (ASX:BUS) has spotted some compelling Fosterville-style targets at the Crosbie North gold-antimony prospect within its Crosbie project in the heart of the Victorian Goldfields. Theta Gold Mines (ASX:TGM) remains undervalued despite the potential for early gold production from its 6.1Moz Transvaal Gold Mining Estates project. West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI) ' s Qala Shallows just got a major upgrade, with revenue and cash flow surging and payback time slashed as lender talks roll on. LAST ORDERS Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) has launched a share purchase plan to raise $1m, with the goal of accelerating drilling at the Mile gold prospect within Miramar's 80%-owned Gidji JV project. Management says M2R is looking to determine the scale of the 8 Mile prospect as quickly as possible. QPM Energy (ASX:QPM) has wrapped up an oversubscribed share purchase plan after scaling the capital raise up to $7m to include interested shareholders. The fresh cash will go to accelerating the Isaac Power Station workstreams and initiatives directed at growing gas supply. Verity Resources (ASX:VRL) has a drill rig ready to roll at the Monument gold project, poised to target a resource upgrade for the tenure's 154,000oz resource. The drilling program will initially focus on the larger Korong deposit before moving to the Waihi deposit. Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) is working to produce a conceptual study for processing antimony concentrate at its Antimony Canyon project using Metso's proprietary Ausmelt TSLs melting technology. The study will assess a smelter flowsheet concept aligned to produce 3000-5000 tonnes per year of 99.65% purity antimony ingot. ClearVue (ASX:CPV) has entered a two-year collaboration with erbas, a prominent sustainability engineering and consulting company, to integrate ClearVue solar façade solutions, working to support carbon neutral and net zero goals in the built environment. Altech Battery's (ASX:ATC) CERENERGY battery funding is tracking well, with a major European bank close to signing on after final site visits. It's also progressing a federal guarantee and looking for a 49% strategic partner, with offtake deals already lined up. At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Miramar Resources, QPM Energy, Verity Resources, Trigg Minerals, West Wits Mining, Altech Battery and ClearVue are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
