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Government bans replicas of weight loss drug Ozempic

The federal government will ban all compounding pharmacists from making replica versions of diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, widely used off-label for weight loss, amid public safety concerns.

It comes after a Four Corners investigation found a registered Australian pharmacist was running an international pharmaceutical racket manufacturing replica Ozempic and illegally exporting it to the United States.

The ABC also revealed patients who injected medication from Total Compounding Pharmaceuticals (TCP) suffered serious side effects including nerve damage, rashes, vomiting blood and bleeding gums, symptoms they believe are linked to the compounded drugs.

Currently, an exemption allows Australian compounding pharmacists to individually reproduce brandname drugs in times of shortage, meaning replica drugs are legal, but they are not subject to the same stringent safety checks as brandname pharmaceuticals.

Federal health minister Mark Butler today announced that loophole would be closed from October, when compounding of the active ingredients in drugs like Ozempic would be removed from the exemptions.

Amal Clooney was criticised for staying 'silent' on Gaza war:

Then she revealed her secret work.

Amal Clooney is arguably one of the most famous faces of human rights law and for months she has faced scrutiny for her silence on the Israel-Gaza war.

Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 and the country's subsequent invasion of Gaza, the international lawyer has been the target of online criticism over her decision not to speak out on the conflict.

As people speculated about the cause of her silence, the Lebanese-born barrister's foundation continued to tweet about press freedom and legal issues in Venezuela, Thailand and the United Kingdom while keeping quiet on the military action in the Middle East.

Now internet users have an answer .

Clooney was busy working with the International Criminal Court's (ICC) eight-member expert panel on an investigation involving some of the biggest players in the Gaza war.

Those names include the leaders of Hamas — Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri — as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yolav Gallant.

Both Israel and Hamas have previously dismissed allegations of war crimes.

Clooney is no stranger to high-profile cases, having previously represented countries, including Armenia in a genocide case, as well as individuals such as Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed.

She is also familiar with the legal complexities of international conflicts, serving as a member of the Working Group on Compensation for Damage Cause to Ukraine, a group of international legal experts appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and as counsel to victims of crimes against humanity in Darfur, Sudan.

PM equivalates on ICC's Hamas-Israel equivalence

The Australian - Page 1 & 7 : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Ben Packham, Janet Albrechtsen - Portmac.News Summary

The federal government is under scrutiny over its response to the International Criminal Court's move to seek an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

PM Albanese initially responded by stating that "I don't comment on court proceedings".

In contrast, US President Joe Biden has labelled the push to charge Netanyahu with war crimes as "Outrageous"; he also stated that there is "no equivalence between Israel and Hamas", whose leaders in Gaza may also face war crime allegations.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong subsequently issued a statement in which she said the decision on arrest warrants is a matter for the ICC.

Australians arrive home after evacuation from New Caledonia

The Guardian - Page Online : 22 May 2024 - Portmac.News Summary

Two repatriation flights that were arranged by the federal government arrived from New Caledonia arrived in Brisbane on Tuesday night.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has advised that the two military transport planes were carrying 108 Australians and other tourists, while government officials have stated that people are being prioritised for evacuation based on need.

The first New Zealand repatriation flight from the riot-stricken French territory has also arrived in Auckland, with 50 passengers.

There have been six confirmed deaths since the riots began.

Albanese vows to 'get the job done' before calling an election

The Daily Telegraph - Page Online : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Joe Hildebrand - Portmac.News Summary

PM Albanese has marked the second anniversary of his government by ruling out an early election, stating that Labor will not to go to the polls until it has addressed the cost-of-living crisis.

He adds that reducing the inflation rate is his government's top priority, and Labor will not focus on its re-election campaign until 2025.

Albanese has also noted that handing down a budget amid the current economic conditions is challenging, with the need to balance providing cost-of-living relief with the focus on combating inflation.

Ringing alarm bells' : Business panic over Dutton's migration numbers

The Age - Page Online : 22 May 2024 - Original article by David Crowe - Portmac.News Summary

Migration is set to be a key issue for the next federal election campaign, with both major partners committing to reducing the migrant intake.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton intends to cut net overseas migration to 160,000 during the Coalition's first year in office.

However, Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar say this target would be hard to achieve without having a severe impact on the economy, particularly sectors that still have significant skills shortages.

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox in turn contends that cutting the skilled component of the migration program would be a "momentous act of economic self-harm", and other categories of migrants should be prioritised for reductions.

Jobless welfare surges as small firms shocked

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Geoff Chambers - Portmac.News Summary

Data from the Department of Social Services shows that more than 900,000 people were receiving JobSeeker or Youth Allowance payments at the end of April.

This is almost 75,000 higher than in September, when the number of welfare recipients fell to a post-pandemic low.

Meanwhile, research undertaken on behalf of Energy Consumers Australia and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has found that 55% of small businesses have been affected by rising energy costs over the last year,

Meanwhile 32% found it hard to pay their power bills on time and in full.

Lego play and jigsaws provided for 'stressed' public servants

The Daily Telegraph - Page Online : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Clarissa Bye - Portmac.News Summary

The federal government is attracting renewed scrutiny over wasteful spending.

It has been revealed that Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry staff in Canberra have a special room to take a break when they feel stressed or need "time out".

The room is equipped with jigsaw puzzles and Lego building block sets.

The Institute of Public Affairs says the department's total wages bill for its 6,166 employees is $714m, so the de-stressing room could potentially cost taxpayers more than $8m a year.

The IPA contends that DAFF employees should be focused on reducing the regulatory burden on the agricultural sector.

Blackouts risk push for green transition

The Australian - Page 1 & 5 : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Joe Kelly - Portmac.News Summary

NSW Premier Chris Minns has responded to warnings from the Australian Energy Market Operator that there is a heightened risk of power blackouts in both NSW and Victoria during the upcoming summer.

Minns says his government's priority is to "Keeping the lights on" and to ensure that electricity prices remain as low as possible.

Minns adds that the state government will "keep everything on the table" to ensure that consumers do not incur a big increase in electricity prices. The government is still holding talks with Origin Energy about extending the life of the Eraring coal-fired power station.

Minns also warns that a big rise in electricity prices would have a major impact on public support for the transition to clean energy.

Fundies pick their hot - and not so hot - stocks

The Australian Financial Review - Page 27 : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Joshua Peach - Portmac.News Summary

The S&P/ASX200 has gained about 15% since reaching a low in October, and it finished just 35 points below its record high on Tuesday.

Amid concerns that Australian shares may be at risk of becoming over-priced, fund managers have identified stocks that they are both investing in and avoiding.

Dawn Kanelleas from First Sentier is bearish about uranium stocks, while she likes junior gold miner Capricorn Metals.

Michael Bell from Solaris Investment Management in turn likes Aristocrat Leisure and Life360, although the fund has reduced its exposure to Goodman Group and Altium, and completely divested its stake in Cochlear.

Alcoa amends bid for Alumina to get nod from shareholder CITIC

The Australian Financial Review - Page 17 : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Elouise Fowler - Portmac.News Summary

CITIC has yet to decide whether to support Alcoa's takeover bid for Australian-listed Alumina.

However, Alcoa has agreed to a special arrangement to secure the support of Alumina's second-largest shareholder for the $4bn deal.

CITIC will receive 1.5% of its Alcoa stock in non-voting convertible shares in order to comply with US legislation which prohibits it from holding more than 5% of any voting shares in a US public company.

Allan Gray MD Simon Mawhinney downplays suggestions that CITIC is getting a special deal.

He notes that the Chinese group is effectively getting a worse deal than other Alumina shareholders, given that a portion of its shares will be non-voting.

Mobile users to face hit in Telstra cuts

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 16 : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Jenny Wiggins - Portmac.News Summary

Telstra has revealed plans to reduce its global workforce by up to 2,800 before the end of 2024, as part of its plan to reduce costs by $500m via its T25 strategy.

The telco has advised that the job cuts and other cost reduction measures will help to reduce its expenses by $350m by the end of the 2024-25 financial year.

However, Telstra has conceded that it will fall short of the T25 target.

Telstra's enterprise division is expected to bear the brunt of the job cuts.

Telstra will also increase the price of some mobile phone and internet plans.

Prince Harry fails in bid to name Rupert Murdoch in phone-hacking case

The Guardian - Page Online : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Alexandra Topping - Portmac.News Summary

Britain's High Court has rejected an application by Prince Harry and other high-profile individuals to amend their case against News Group Newspapers.

NGN is a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation that publishes mastheads such as The Sun.

Amongst other things, Prince Harry has accused NGN of phone hacking and unlawful information gathering.

The court has ruled that individual allegations against Murdoch and some other senior executives should not be examined in the case, which is slated to be heard in January 2025.

Murdoch has been accused of "Turning a blind eye" to a cover-up of wrongdoing at his newspapers.

Dutton's views on tax credits wrong says MinRes

The Australian Financial Review - Page 13 : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Brad Thompson - Portmac.News Summary

Treasury modelling suggests that mining companies could receive $17.6bn worth of production tax credits over 14 years for the downstream processing of critical minerals.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has labelled the budget measure as "Billions for billionaires" and committed to vetoing the policy.

However, Mineral Resources' MD Chris Ellison believes that Dutton will eventually realise that he is wrong to oppose a policy that will support projects that will contribute revenue for more than five decades.

Meanwhile, Mineral Resources has begun loading the first shipment of iron ore from its Onslow Iron Project in the West Pilbara; work on the project started less than a year ago.

ASX retreats

The Australian Financial Review - Page 26 : 22 May 2024 - Original article by Cecile Lefort - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket edged lower on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 easing 0.2% to close at 7,851.7 points.

Rio Tinto was down 1.3% at $134.09, James Hardie fell 14.7% to $46.67 and Sonic Healthcare ended the session 6% lower at $25.01.

However, Technology One rose 4.6% to $16.75 and BHP was up 0.7% at $46.04.