Tag: crisis

China to EU: Drop calls for Ukraine’s ‘complete victory’

[ad_1]

Press play to listen to this article
Voiced by artificial intelligence.
Beijing’s top envoy to the EU on Wednesday questioned the West’s call to help Ukraine achieve “complete victory,” on the eve of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s possible arrival in Brussels.
Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, also criticized the bloc for “erosion” of its commitment on Taiwan, warning “senior officials from the EU institutions” to stop visiting the self-ruled island.
Fu’s provocative comments on Ukraine and Taiwan, two of the most sensitive geopolitical controversies between China and the West, come as Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning a trip to Moscow, according to the Russian government.

Insisting that the Russia-Ukraine “conflict” was merely an “unavoidable” talking point, Fu said Beijing otherwise enjoys a multifaceted “traditional friendship” with Moscow.
“Frankly speaking, we are quite concerned about the possible escalation of this conflict,” Fu said at an event hosted by the European Policy Centre in Brussels. “And we don’t believe that only providing weapons will actually solve the problem.”
“We are quite concerned about people talking about winning a complete victory on the battlefield. We believe that the right place would be at the negotiating table,” Fu added.
His remarks come on the same day as Zelenskyy visits London, his first trip to Western Europe since Russia launched its full-scale invasion almost a year ago. POLITICO reported that Zelenskyy — who according to his aides has never had his calls picked up by Xi, while the Chinese leader has instead met or called Putin on multiple occasions over the past year — was also planning a visit to Brussels on Thursday, before bungled EU communications threw the trip into doubt.
The idea of a “complete victory” for Ukraine has been most vocally supported by Baltic and Eastern European countries. French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed support for “victory” for Ukraine.
But toeing Xi’s line, Fu said the “security concerns of both sides” — Ukraine as well as Russia — should be taken care of.
Fu also dismissed the comparison between Ukraine and Taiwan, both of which face military threats from a nuclear-armed neighbor.
“I must state up front that [the] Ukrainian crisis and the Taiwan issue are two completely different things. Ukraine is an independent state, and Taiwan is part of China,” he said. “So there’s no comparability between the two issues.”
He went on to criticize the EU’s handling of the Taiwan issue.
“Nowadays, what we’re seeing is that there is some erosion of these basic commitments. We see that the parliamentarians and also senior officials from the EU institutions are also visiting Taiwan,” he said.
The European Commission has not publicized any details of its officials’ visit to Taiwan. The European External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic arm, has not replied to a request for comment.
If the EU signed an investment treaty with Taiwan, Fu said this would “fundamentally change … or shake the foundation” of EU-China relations. “It is that serious.”

[ad_2]
#China #Drop #calls #Ukraines #complete #victory
( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 8, 2023
India’s 140 cr people with Turkey in its crisis: PM Modi

[ad_1]
Bengaluru: Expressing concern and shock over the massive earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India’s “140 crore people are with the victims of the earthquake in Turkey”.
Speaking after inaugurating the India Energy Week, PM Modi said, “We are focusing on Turkey presently which has suffered from a huge earthquake. Large number of people have lost their lives and it has caused huge losses to the country.”
PM Modi further stated that the surrounding countries of Turkey also suffered heavy losses due to the impact of the earthquake. India is ready to help earthquake victims, he stated.
Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy. https://t.co/vYYJWiEjDQ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2023
Earlier, in response to a tweet by Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Modi said, “Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy.”
Over 600 people were killed in Turkey and Syria after a massive earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck a wide area near the two countries’ border, according to authorities.
Subscribe us on

[ad_2]
#Indias #people #Turkey #crisis #Modi

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 6, 2023
Measures in place to address excess volatility: Sebi on Adani crisis

[ad_1]
New Delhi: Amid a raging controversy over a meltdown in Adani group stocks, regulator Sebi on Saturday said it is committed to ensuring the stock market’s integrity and all necessary surveillance measures are in place to address any excessive volatility in individual shares.
Without naming the Adani group specifically, the capital markets watchdog said in a statement that unusual price movement in the stocks of a business conglomerate has been observed in the past week.
Officials confirmed that the statement has been issued in the wake of the Adani matter only.
“As part of its mandate, Sebi seeks to maintain orderly and efficient functioning of the market and has put in place a set of well-defined, publicly available surveillance measures (including the ASM framework) to address excessive volatility in specific stocks.
“This mechanism gets automatically triggered under certain conditions of price volatility in any stock,” the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said.
Stock exchanges BSE and NSE have put three Adani group companies — Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, and Ambuja Cements — under their short-term additional surveillance measure (ASM), which basically means that intra-day trading would require a 100 percent upfront margin and is aimed at curbing speculation and short-selling in these stocks.
Sebi further said that in all specific entity-related matters, if any information comes to its notice, then, as per extant policies, the same is examined and after due examination, appropriate action is taken.
“Sebi has consistently followed this approach on entity-level issues and would continue to do so in future as well,” it added.

[ad_2]
#Measures #place #address #excess #volatility #Sebi #Adani #crisis
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 4, 2023
A Clan Crisis

[ad_1]
They may all be boatmen but they have a lot of divisions dictated by the services they deliver and the professions they adopt. Insha Shirazi reports about the newer challenges to the people living in Dal lake
“Houseboats were founded at the end of the eighties by Colonel R Sartorius, vc; and Sir H Harvey, Bart, and Martyn Kennard, I think, owned the first two crafts,” Lt Col Joshua Duke, the British Residency surgeon in Srinagar for many years, wrote in 1900. “Mr Kennard’s boat cost a great deal of money and is still on the river.”
Duke’s series of guidebooks, a huge collection of graphic descriptions of the nineteenth and twentieth-century Kashmir, however, acknowledges the fact that the boats existed in Kashmir prior to the intervention as well. “Since then they have multiplied in variety, shape, size, cost, etc, to a certain extent they take the place of houses, still very deficient in Srinagar.” The Doonga boat, however, existed.
Those were the days when the boatmen (Heanz) were the key drivers of life. They were the main transporters within the twin Kashmir lakes and managed most of the cargo between South and North Kashmir. Movement within Srinagar was only because of them. Given this advantage over others, they were close to any visitor that came to Kashmir. Most of the Kashmir travelogues are based on their interaction with the boatmen.
Divisions
Since then, diversity among the boatmen existed. There were different types of boatmen and that sub-division still exists. The divisions are based strictly on the type of professions the particular family was engaged with.

Fishing is a major economy for the communities living on the Wullar lake shores. Off late, however, the fishermen said the government is contributing negatively to the sub-sector putting them to losses. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur
Fisherman: These are the Gadeh–haenz’s whose main source of income is fishing. They live within and around the lake of Dal and Wular. Their men catch fish and their women sell it in the market.
Lotus Growers: They are called Gaer Haenz. These people are primarily farmers who grow Lotus and chestnuts. Though both grow naturally, they harvest the nadroo (Nilumbium) and the chestnut and market them. Water chestnuts mostly grow in Wular. Some of them, off late, have lost their access to water areas where the plant grows rendering them jobless. Now, they work for others during harvesting. Lotus stem apart, they also harvest green and black trapa, fodder, and other plants.
Vegetable Growers: In their own parlance, they are known as demb-heanz. They are the main cultivators of the Dal lake and most of the vegetables marketed in Srinagar city come from them.
Boatmen: Despite the fact that Doonga’s no longer exist but a major section of the boatmen who own houseboats and shikara taxis are locally known as Dungeh haenz. They offer accommodation to tourists in their luxurious houseboats and have decent careers doing so. This category of boatmen is the most advanced and economically sound. They are cosmopolitan in nature as they have relations across the world. Some of them have retained their houseboats and are living in plush homes. A number of them, now own good hotels as well.
Hunters: Though they do not exist, there has been a sub-group called Ayer-heanz, who made a living by hunting. It is said they used to live in or around forests.
Transporters: Kashmir’s transportation and cargo were managed by horsemen or boatmen. Boatmen who owned huge barges for moving cargo were locally known as Bahatsi–heanz. Interestingly, the section of these transporters who were transporting timber was called Mata-heanz.
Challenges
All these people have been under pressure for one or the other reason. The last 100 years saw the complete disappearance of the transportation dungas as the roads were built even within the Dal Lake. Hundreds of families were relocated off the lake under the Dal restoration plan. They have homes far away from the ecosystem they were brought up in.
Now, newer tensions have cropped up. “I have been running a Shikara boat in the Dal Lake for 40 years. I pick up customers from various ghats to the houseboats,” Ghulam Rasool said. “Our boats have problems but we are not being permitted to repair them.”
Official records suggest there were 1103 houseboats and Dunga boats in 2000 and 157 of them were decommissioned in 2007-08, reducing their number to 910. With repairs being denied the numbers will go down further as fires and routine wear and tear are taking their toll. Insiders in the lake said the number of working houseboats could be much lower as no new houseboat was built in the last more than two decades.
Tariq Ahmad Pingloo a houseboat owner in Dal Lake said they have been squeezed into the lake. “It is rare to see hanjis in the Jhelum River. Quite a few houseboats are left in the river now,” he asserted.
Caught in Kashmir’s age-old peculiar casteism – that sees them as a clan apart, the boatmen are regretting a peculiar stereotyping of the community. “We are being accused of polluting the lakes,” Tariq said. “Why do not people understand the fact that the lake is our universe and we cannot pollute it because it is linked to our survival?” The government has gone to court, more than once, accusing the community living in the lake of polluting the water body. This is the key factor for rejecting the repair request by owners.

[ad_2]
#Clan #Crisis
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 4, 2023
Centre’s policy root cause of Kerala’s economic crisis: FM Balagopal

[ad_1]
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal, during the budget presented by him in the State Assembly here on Friday, attacked the BJP-led Centre by alleging that its policy was the root cause of the economic crisis in the southern state.
In his budget speech, Balagopal claimed that the centralisation of power and disregard for states, especially Kerala, has increased in an unprecedented manner.
Launching a scathing attack on the Centre, Balagopal, also a prominent leader of the state’s ruling CPI(M), said that change in fiscal federalism that goes against the spirit of the Constitution was a more serious threat than any other issue.
“During the tenure of the 10th Finance Commission, the share of Kerala was 3.875 per cent of the divisible pool to be distributed among the states. By the time of the 15th Finance Commission, it came down to 1.925 per cent. Through this, the Union government cut down the revenue of Kerala by tens of thousands of crores,” he charged.
The minister said there is a shortfall of around Rs 6,700 crore due to the reduction of the Revenue Deficit Grant by the Union government.
“As a result of the cessation of GST compensation, there has been a shortfall of around Rs 7,000 crore during the current fiscal. As a result of the policy of the Union government treating Public Accounts as debt liability, there is a revenue loss of around Rs 10,000 crore per annum,” Balagopal said.
He said the policy of treating the liability of institutions like Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), Social Security Pension Limited, etc., which raise funds from outside the budgetary allocation as that of the state, is also limiting the government’s borrowing capacity.
“There will also be a shortfall of Rs 3,100 crore on this account. Due to the restriction on the market borrowing limit, there has been a shortfall of around Rs 4,000 crore in the resource mobilisation,” the minister said.
He said it is anticipated that the fiscal constraints in 2023-2024 will be more than that of the current year. “This is because of the anticipated shortage of Rs 8,400 crore in Revenue Deficit Grant compared to 2022-23, the loss of around Rs 5,700 crore due to the cessation of GST compensation, the resource loss of around Rs 5,000 crore due to the restriction on the borrowing limit as well as the reduction on account of the debt likely to be borne by KIIFB and the Social Security Pension company during next year,” Balagopal said.

As the state recovers from the economic crisis and is on the path of growth, the fiscal policy of the Union government will adversely affect growth prospects, he added.
Stating that Kerala is countering serious constraints, he said in the current scenario, the state cannot surpass the strict and rigid norms stipulated by the Centre.
“The taxation powers of the state are limited. The borrowing powers are also strictly restricted. We have to understand the situation and move forward irrespective of party politics,” he said.
Balagopal said the state government was not of the opinion that loans should be given to debt-ridden corporates from the hard-earned money of common people by investing it in various financial institutions.
“Our opinion is that the Central and the State governments shall carry out more developmental, welfare activities by availing more loans. But the Union government is reluctant to relax the conservative stance,” he said.
Balagopal said the Left government considers the conservative financial policy enforced by the Union government as the biggest challenge to the alternative development model of Kerala.
“But we are not ready to abandon our alternative model or its virtues in spite of the hurdles posed by the Union government. Kerala has not reached here without facing any crisis,” he said.
A significant change towards the financial developmental planning approach is required to survive this new situation that has arisen due to the curtailing of the fiscal space, he added.
[ad_2]
#Centres #policy #root #Keralas #economic #crisis #Balagopal
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 3, 2023
Adani crisis: Banking sector resilient and stable, says RBI

[ad_1]
Mumbai: Amid concerns over banks’ exposure to the embattled Adani Group, the Reserve Bank on Friday said India’s banking sector is resilient and stable, and the central bank maintains a constant vigil on the lenders.
Responding to media reports expressing concern about the exposure of Indian banks to a “business conglomerate”, the Reserve Bank said in a statement that it is constantly monitoring the banking sector.
However, the RBI did not name the Adani Group.
As per the current assessment, the RBI said, “the banking sector remains resilient and stable. Various parameters relating to capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity, provision coverage and profitability are healthy.”
“As the regulator and supervisor, the RBI maintains a constant vigil on the banking sector and on individual banks with a view to maintaining financial stability. The RBI has a Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) database system where the banks report their exposure of Rs 5 crore and above which is used for monitoring purposes,” the central bank said.
The RBI, the statement said, remains vigilant and continues to monitor the stability of the Indian banking sector.
It further said that banks are also in compliance with the Large Exposure Framework (LEF) guidelines issued by the RBI.

[ad_2]
#Adani #crisis #Banking #sector #resilient #stable #RBI
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 3, 2023
‘Not a gang discussion’: Debt crisis still seeking a savior

[ad_1]

“If they can’t get anywhere, there are a number of choices, right?” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said of Biden and McCarthy. But he’s not ready to put on his bipartisan gang gear yet: “I’m a little bit more fiscally conservative than some Democrats. But this isn’t where you negotiate that.”
If McCarthy and Biden’s talks flounder, that would seem to leave centrists in a strong position. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has sidelined himself and indicated that McCarthy’s in the lead for their party, however, which means his moderates are also taking themselves out of the game to avoid undercutting the speaker. In short, don’t expect one of the Senate’s often-active bipartisan groups to swoop in just yet.
Still, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has met with McCarthy and a handful of senators are informally chatting about possible debt-limit solutions. Other centrists are moving more formally: A group of House moderates met for the first time last week to discuss escape hatches if Congress gets too close to busting through the debt limit, expected to potentially hit in June.
Their discussions, according to three people familiar with them, included the long-shot option known as a discharge petition — which requires a majority of the House to force a debt-limit vote against the speaker’s wishes.
“The goal is to not have that,” Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) said of any potential fallback plans, before adding: “We’re in a dire situation.”
It will only grow more dire as the weather heats up, and with it the risk of default. And don’t put it past Congress to kick the can a little further, possibly tying the debt deadline to the expiration of government funding at the end of September.
But when it comes time for a deal, plenty of players are waiting in the wings to assist or supplant the president and speaker.
The Senate Gang
During the last Congress, a roving group of Senate centrists cut a series of seemingly improbable deals on same-sex marriage, infrastructure and gun safety. Right now, there’s no such movement on the debt ceiling.

But that may well change. And some senators are open to establishing a group to wrestle weighty fiscal issues — once the debt ceiling is raised.
“I’d be more than happy to do that, truthfully. That’s what it’s going to take. Take the debt limit stuff off the table, because it’s playing with fire,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). “I am more than fine with deficit reduction. It has to be separate from the debt ceiling.”
Though there’s a real possibility that’s where Congress ultimately ends up, few want to admit it now. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), a frequent member of the chamber’s bipartisan policymaking gangs, said “the Senate is not really talking about getting involved at this point.”
“This is not a gang discussion,” said Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a member of her chamber’s Democratic leadership. “Not on the question of whether or not we’re going to crash the economy.”
The big reason there’s no gang right now: Most Democrats argue that a debt ceiling increase shouldn’t be subject to negotiations, period. And Republicans believe that their position will erode if centrists start breaking ranks with the current GOP position of leaving things to McCarthy.
Rogue House dealmakers
House moderates have eyed a possible major role in the volatile debt talks ever since the GOP’s flimsy four-vote majority was sealed in November.
Now that there’s an empowered bloc of deal-making moderates in both parties, the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus is edging its way into the talks. While the full group has yet to meet, a smaller band of its leaders gathered last week to begin preliminary discussions.
People familiar with the meeting made clear that the Problem Solvers have no intention of getting ahead of their respective party leaders, but pointed to early conversations about possible spending caps or broader fiscal reform that could prove valuable when negotiations kick off in earnest.
“We should just do a clean debt limit. That may not be realistic given where Republicans are,” said Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), who drafted a bill in recent years with now-Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) that proposed several ideas for Congress to avert semi-annual debt brinkmanship.
And if the McCarthy-Biden talks flame out, Peters said this bipartisan House cohort wants to be prepared: “There’s a group of people here who want to be prepared.”
Some Problem Solvers expect the group will ultimately launch a dedicated internal effort to tackle the debt, as they previously have with other policy ideas, such as infrastructure. One big topic likely to be discussed — how to force a debt ceiling bill to the floor that doesn’t have uniform GOP support.
The idea of a discharge petition is getting floated, though some Hill aides and budget experts see that route as too slow and unwieldy to accommodate a rapidly-changing default deadline. Some members are also discussing procedural gambits that would take less time to bring a bill to the floor, such as a House motion for a “previous question,” which has far more flexible rules.
Mitch McConnell
The Senate GOP leader successfully negotiated a debt ceiling detente with then-Vice President Biden more than a decade ago, yielding a decade of spending caps that squeezed both defense and domestic spending. McConnell also struck a 2021 deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that allowed Democrats to advance a $2.5 trillion debt ceiling hike with a simple majority.
But his work on that debt deal, as well as December’s government funding agreement, spent big political capital and earned him some criticism. So despite McConnell’s vaunted pedigree of negotiating with Biden, he is currently declining to step into negotiations and leaving things to McCarthy — who criticized several bills that McConnell supported last Congress.
“There’s no way that the House is going to accept something that 60 senators vote on on a bipartisan basis,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). “That’s [McConnell’s] position.”
Some believe that, as Republicans float a variety of fiscal concessions with no clear plan or unifying potential — including another set of spending caps and debt-to-GDP spending targets — that the GOP leader may once again have to step in. McConnell and Biden have maintained their uniquely productive relationship through this year, appearing together at an infrastructure event last month in Kentucky.
“I cannot imagine there’d be a major deal here and Mitch McConnell isn’t going to be part of it,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.). “I suspect he’ll be involved in negotiations when he thinks it’s appropriate.”
But not yet. Even talking about McConnell’s involvement “would be damaging to” McCarthy during talks with the president, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said: “I think we’re better off sticking with him as the lead sled dog.”
[ad_2]
#gang #discussion #Debt #crisis #seeking #savior
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 2, 2023
Government refuses to comment on Adani Group crisis

[ad_1]
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday refused to comment on the fraud allegations levelled by a US short seller on Adani Group, which triggered a massive USD 90-billion rout in the group firms’ shares, saying it does not comment on individual company matters.
“We in government don’t respond to issues related to a particular company,” Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said during the post Budget interaction with media here.
Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Tuesday had also refused to comment on the impact of the rout in Adani Group shares following a damning report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research.
Shares of Adani Group firms slumped on Wednesday and have lost more than Rs 7 lakh crore or about 38 per cent of their combined market cap in the last five trading sessions amid concerns over US-based short seller Hindenburg Research’s report.
Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg in the report made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation, at the Gautam Adani-led group.
Hindenburg released the report on January 24 — the day on which Adani Enterprises’ Rs 20,000-crore follow-on share sale opened for anchor investors, while the allegations have been rejected by the conglomerate.
At the end of Wednesday’s trading session, all the group companies settled in negative territory with shares of three companies hit their lowest price band.
Shares of Adani Enterprises nosedived 28.45 percent to close at Rs 2,128.70 on the BSE despite the company’s Rs 20,000-crore share sale sailed through on the last day on Tuesday after non-retail investors bid in big volumes. There was, however, a muted response from retail investors and company employees.
The counter of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone plunged 19.69 percent, Adani Total Gas slumped 10 percent, Adani Green Energy declined 5.78 percent, Adani Wilmar fell 4.99 percent, Adani Wilmar went down 4.99 percent, Adani Power dropped 4.98 percent and Adani Transmission slipped 2.46 percent.

In addition, Ambuja Cements tanked 16.56 percent, while ACC dropped 6.34 percent and NDTV went down 4.98 percent.
[ad_2]
#Government #refuses #comment #Adani #Group #crisis
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 1, 2023
FDA chief: No one getting fired over baby formula crisis

[ad_1]
“But the short answer is no one’s going to be reassigned or fired because of the infant formula situation,” Califf told reporters.
Scrutiny of the FDA’s foods division increased after advocates and lawmakers accused the agency of failing to rapidly and effectively address an infant formula contamination event that had a major impact on U.S. supply. The actions unveiled by Califf on Tuesday follow an external review of the foods division that found “constant turmoil” within its ranks, and a complex leadership structure that left staff “wondering which program is responsible for decision-making.”
Baby formula supplies have bounced back since the widespread shortages triggered by a recall that sent parents scrambling for supplies last year. But some families — especially those with medically vulnerable children — are still struggling to find formula.
Top FDA officials were warned about food safety concerns at a key infant formula plant months before the agency’s inspectors found strains of a bacteria that can be deadly to babies. Months after those warnings, Abbott, the company at the center of the formula crisis, issued a recall of some formula products and shut down the facility, triggering widespread shortages across the country. The company, which maintains there is no connection between the bacteria found at the plant and the deaths of several babies, is now under criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
“Where there could have been better performance, that’s reflected in the performance evaluation system. And, of course, that’s confidential information between supervisors and employees,” Califf said in response to the question from POLITICO.
Califf said the proposed foods division reforms included streamlining reporting structures; clarifying the relationship between the Office of Regulatory Affairs, which is the lead for field food safety inspections, and the food oversight division; and creating a Center for Excellence in Nutrition. Califf also proposed unifying much of the foods program under a single leader who reports directly to him, which would mean “removing redundancies” and “enabling the agency to oversee human food in a more effective and efficient way.”
FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock told reporters on Tuesday that FDA’s formula response was “a systems problem, not an individual problem.” She also noted an internal review of FDA’s infant formula supply chain response last year. As POLITICO reported, the report didn’t name any specific teams responsible for breakdowns at FDA and surprised stakeholders with its lack of accountability.
“And so the system fixes that we are putting in place, both the information technology support as well as many of the changes, will address all the different issues,” Woodcock said.

“This was a failure of the systems — to the extent there was a failure — to provide the information to the right people at the right time,” Woodcock added.
Califf and other top FDA officials, despite acknowledging to lawmakers a string of internal breakdowns that contributed to the crisis, have pushed back against claims that there were any major failures at the agency. That includes a breakdown in internal FDA communication that some senior FDA officials said prevented them from knowing about the food safety issues until just weeks before the recall.
Califf and Yiannas said a whistleblower report alleging food safety problems at the plant, which was mailed in October 2021, did not reach the FDA’s highest ranks until mid-February 2022. Califf, in testimony to lawmakers, said senior officials didn’t receive the whistleblower report due to pandemic “mailroom issues.”
[ad_2]
#FDA #chief #fired #baby #formula #crisis
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 1, 2023
Peace Corps evacuates volunteers from Peru amid worsening political crisis

[ad_1]

A person familiar with the move, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive withdrawal, said the volunteers are headed to the Peace Corps’ post in Ecuador.
The decision comes after weeks of popular unrest against a government that has taken over following a failed December coup attempt by a Peruvian president facing impeachment. The South American country has had a politically tumultuous few years, cycling through several presidents amid various corruption and other scandals.
Peace Corps volunteers often work in areas far from national capitals and with less immediate protections than U.S. diplomats — meaning they are sometimes the first group of U.S. workers to be evacuated when unrest hits.
Though the U.S. has issued some travel alerts for Peru, there’s no current indication that the U.S. Embassy in Peru, U.S. Agency for International Development officials or other government agents are leaving the country.
The Peace Corps has a long, though somewhat intermittent history in Peru. Hundreds of volunteers cycled through the country between 1962 and 1975, when the program closed due to political and economic instability. It returned to the country in 2002.
Analysts are fearful that the situation in Peru — and the conditions that allowed Peace Corps volunteers to work there — aren’t set to improve.
“The government has doubled down on the crackdowns,” said Jo-Marie Burt, a professor of Latin America studies at George Mason University. “Things are going to get worse before they get better.”
[ad_2]
#Peace #Corps #evacuates #volunteers #Peru #worsening #political #crisis
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 31, 2023