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REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Global fashion retailers including H&M (HMb.ST) and Gap (GPS.N) are committed to raising purchase prices for Bangladesh-made clothing to help factories there offset higher workers' wages, a U.S.-based association representing more than 1,000 brands said. Asked if they would raise purchase prices by the 5-6% that costs will rise, Stephen Lamar, chief executive of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), told Reuters: "Absolutely". "We also renew our pleas for the adoption of an annual minimum wage review mechanism so that Bangladeshi workers are not disadvantaged by changing macroeconomic conditions." Low wages have helped Bangladesh build its garment industry, which employs about 4 million people. Retailers in the United States and Europe are the main buyers of Bangladesh-made clothes.

Persons: Mohammad Ponir Hossain, Stephen Lamar, Lamar, Sheikh Hasina, Hasina, Krishna N, Ruma Paul, Miral Organizations: The Civil Engineering, REUTERS, Labour, American Apparel & Footwear Association, Reuters, International Labour Organization, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bangladesh, Retailers, Thomson Locations: Dhaka, Bangladesh, DELHI, U.S, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, United States, Europe

[1/5] Garment workers come out of a factory during lunch hours at the Ashulia area, outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, November 8, 2023. A panel of factory owners, union leaders and officials agreed to the increase unanimously, said Siddiqur Rahman, the owners' representative. "We continue to recommend that the government of Bangladesh adopt an annual minimum wage review mechanism to keep up with changing macroeconomic factors," the letter said. In addition to the wage increase, the government has said that workers would be given a 5% annual increment. Babul Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, urged global brands to pay more, saying: "There could be some problems for the owners to cope with the increased salaries."

Persons: Mohammad Ponir Hossain, Siddiqur Rahman, Rahman, Inditex, Hugo Boss, Fazlul Hoque, Hoque, Levi Strauss, Armour, Sheikh Hasina, Akter, Abdus Salam Murshedy, Murshedy, Krishna N, Ruma Paul, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Rights DHAKA, Reuters, Inc, Knitwear Manufacturers, Association, Labour, Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Puma, Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, Envoy Group, Walmart, Hasina's Awami League, Das, Thomson Locations: Dhaka, Bangladesh, DELHI, China, Zara, Ukraine, New Delhi

REUTERS/Mohammad... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreDHAKA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's main opposition party will boycott the next general election if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does not make way for a neutral government to conduct the poll, two party leaders said, amid a crackdown on opposition politicians and deadly protests. "The intensified crackdown on opposition party leaders and protesters over the weekend signals an attempt at a complete clamp-down on dissent," said Yasasmin Kaviratne, Amnesty's regional campaigner for South Asia. Hasina's main rival and two-time premier, BNP leader Khaleda Zia, is effectively under house arrest for what her party calls trumped-up corruption charges. Shakil Ahmed, an assistant professor at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, said street violence had become "regular in Bangladesh during the transfer of power". Reporting by Krishna N. Das in New Delhi and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sheikh Hasina, Hasina, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Zahir Uddin Swapon, Yasasmin Kaviratne, Khaleda Zia, BNP's, Tarique Rahman, Shakil Ahmed, Krishna N, Ruma Paul, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, REUTERS, Reuters, Amnesty, Police, Jahangirnagar University, Das, Thomson Locations: Dhaka, Bangladesh, Mohammad, DHAKA, United States, Canada, India, South Asia, New Delhi

☆ Preetika Rana — Technology Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Preetika Rana | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Preetika RanaPreetika Rana is an award-winning reporter for The Wall Street Journal in San Francisco, where she covers ride-hailing and food-delivery companies. She was the first to report a new CEO at Lyft, deep cuts at Uber during the pandemic and Airbnb's financials before the company went public. Prior to covering Silicon Valley, Preetika was based in the WSJ's Hong Kong and India offices. Her front-page articles ranging from healthcare to human rights have helped shape government policy, aided investigations and triggered public outcry. Preetika has won several awards, including from The Society of Publishers in Asia, The Society of Professional Journalists and The Asia Society.

Persons: Preetika Rana Preetika Rana, financials, Preetika Organizations: Wall Street, Uber, The Society of Publishers, The Society of Professional Journalists, The Asia Society Locations: San Francisco, Lyft, Silicon, Hong Kong, India, Kashmir, Nepal, China, Asia

☆ Nathaniel Taplin — Asia Editor, Heard on the Street at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Nathaniel Taplin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Nathaniel TaplinNathaniel Taplin is the main columnist on China's economy and political economy for Heard on the Street, The Wall Street Journal's economic and financial commentary section. Before moving to the Journal, he spent five years in Beijing and Shanghai with Thomson Reuters and the independent macro consultancy Gavekal Dragonomics. While in China he traveled widely and reported on issues ranging from local government debt to protests against financial products gone bust and the market crises of 2015 and 2016. At Gavekal, he headed up global commodities coverage and wrote extensively on China’s energy sector, industry and trade. Nathaniel is a two time finalist for the Society of Publishers in Asia award for excellence.

Persons: Nathaniel Taplin Nathaniel Taplin, Heard, Nathaniel Organizations: Thomson Reuters, Society of Publishers Locations: Asia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Gavekal

☆ Selina Cheng — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Selina Cheng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Selina ChengSelina Cheng covers China's automobile and energy sectors for The Wall Street Journal from Hong Kong. Prior to joining the Journal, Selina was a reporter for Hong Kong Free Press. Earlier, she was a reporter on local news outlet HK01's investigations team, where her work won journalism awards in Asia and the U.S. Stories she broke included the Hong Kong government's lobbying efforts at the U.S. Capitol and Wikipedia's sanctions against a group of Chinese power users. Another story on systematic child abuse at a special needs school was shortlisted as a finalist by the Society of Publishers in Asia.

Persons: Selina Cheng Selina Cheng, Selina Organizations: Wall, Hong Kong Free Press, U.S, U.S . Capitol, Society of Publishers, Twitter Locations: Hong Kong, Asia

"Its permission to make products using propylene glycol (PG) is cancelled, and it is allowed to make and sell all other products." The Marion factory in Uttar Pradesh was closed in March, after an analysis last year by Uzbekistan's health ministry of two cough syrups made by Marion, Ambronol and DOK-1 Max. India's pharmaceuticals department told parliament that tests had also shown that a sample of propylene glycol (PG), an ingredient of cough syrups taken from Marion's factory contained EG. Reuters has reported that DEG and EG have been used by unscrupulous actors as a substitute for propylene glycol because they are cheaper. Uzbek state prosecutors told a court in Tashkent that distributors of the contaminated Marion syrups paid officials a bribe of $33,000 to skip mandatory testing there.

Persons: Anushree, Shashi Mohan Gupta, Gupta, Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Marion, syrups, Marion syrups, Krishna N, Saurabh Sharma, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Marion Biotech, Emenox, REUTERS, Reuters, World Health Organization, WHO, EG, Thomson Locations: Uzbekistan, Noida, India, DELHI, Uttar Pradesh, Gambia, Cameroon, Marion, Ambronol, Tashkent

Poli Devi, whose 11-month-old daughter Janvi was among the children who died due to kidney injury after consuming contaminated cough syrup, holds a photo of her at their house in Ramnagar on the outskirts of Jammu, India, March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - India's drug regulator has found that a cough syrup and an anti-allergy syrup made by Norris Medicines (NORI.BO) are toxic, according to a government report, months after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to 141 children's deaths worldwide. Koshia said Norris used to export the cough syrup, but did not say where. "We are aware of the CDSCO report and have communicated with that agency to ascertain where the products... have been exported," said a WHO spokeswoman. The CDSCO also found three batches of COLD OUT syrup made by Fourrts (India) Laboratories contaminated with DEG and EG.

Persons: Poli Devi, Janvi, Anushree, Koshia, Norris's, Norris, Vimal Shah, S.V, Veeramani, Adani Wilmar, Krishna N, Jennifer Rigby, Andrew Heavens, Nick Macfie, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Norris Medicines, Central Drugs Standard Control, EG, Drug Control Administration, Reuters, World Health Organization, WHO, Laboratories, World Health Organisation, Fourrts, Pharmaceuticals Export, of India, Thomson Locations: Ramnagar, Jammu, India, DELHI, Gambia, Uzbekistan, Cameroon, Gujarat, Fourrts, Iraq, pharmexcil

Two other cough syrups made in India killed 19 children in Uzbekistan around December, according to the Uzbekistan government. India's overall pharma exports in the April-June quarter rose 5% to $6.58 billion. COUNTRY VISITSPharmexcil delegations have visited countries including Nigeria, Egypt and Russia in recent months to allay any concerns about Indian drugs, he said. Apart from Gambia, no other country has asked for additional tests for Indian drugs since the deaths, he said. Manufacturing a drug in Europe or the United States costs more than 30% than in India, giving India a big advantage, he said.

Persons: syrups, Udaya Bhaskar, Bhaskar, drugmakers, Krishna N, Alison Williams Organizations: Reuters, World Health Organization, WHO, pharma, Pharmaceuticals Export, of India, India's pharma, Marion Biotech, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Gambia, India, Uzbekistan, United States, China, U.S, Nigeria, Egypt, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, Europe

Dustin VolzDustin Volz is a Washington-based cybersecurity and intelligence reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Before joining the Journal in 2018, Dustin worked at Reuters and National Journal. In addition to Washington, Dustin has reported from London, Berlin and the Dominican Republic. He is a graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to starting his journalism career, Dustin spent a year living in Indonesia as a Fulbright teaching assistant.

Persons: Dustin Volz Dustin Volz, Dustin, Gerald Loeb, Robert F, Arizona State University's Walter Organizations: Wall Street, Reuters, National Journal, White, Correspondents ' Association, Society of Publishers, Kennedy Center for Justice, Human, Arizona State, Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Communication Locations: Washington, Asia, London, Berlin, Dominican Republic, Indonesia

The company, Marion Biotech, bought the ingredient — propylene glycol (PG) — from trader Maya Chemtech India, as reported by Reuters. "Marion bought commercial-grade propylene glycol," said a second source, an investigator, who declined to be named while the inquiry is ongoing. International standards allow only trace amounts of EG and DEG in pharmaceutical-grade propylene glycol. The toxins were found in cough syrups exported to Gambia by the other Indian company, Maiden Pharmaceuticals. India made it mandatory for companies to have their cough syrups tested before export from June.

Persons: Marion, Deepak Sharma, Max, Vijay Kumar, Tuhin Bhattacharya, Mool Singh, Atul Rawat, Jaya Jain, Sachin Jain, Rohan Gupta, syrups, Maiden, Saurabh Sharma, Krishna, Jennifer Rigby, Olzhas, Sara Ledwith, Michele Gershberg, Deepa Babington Organizations: Reuters, Marion Biotech, Indian, EG, World Health Organization, Authorities, . Police, Marion, Court, Maya, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, WHO, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Uzbekistan, India, Delhi, Marion, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad, Gambia, Indonesia, London, Almaty

The new rule highlights how governments are reassessing their reliance on India's $42 billion pharmaceutical industry since the contamination came to light last year. India's industry supplies nearly half of the pharmaceuticals used in Africa. In April, India’s government said its officials had held meetings in Africa to ensure its drug exports did not suffer after at least 70 children died in Gambia after ingesting the cough syrup last year. "Quntrol shall conduct document verification, physical inspection of the consignment and sampling, for laboratory testing for each shipment," the letter said. Since June 1, India has made tests mandatory for all cough syrups before they are exported.

Persons: India’s, Janneh Kaira, Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Raghuvanshi, Krishna N, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Reuters, Medicines Control Agency, MCA, Quntrol Laboratories, Bank, World Health Organization, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Gambia, India, Africa, Mumbai

The Additional Chief Secretary, G. Anupama, said in a text message, "Enquiry is underway" and directed Reuters to the health minister for Haryana state, Anil Vij, for further details. Its chief minister and health minister, to whom Yashpal also sent his complaint, did not respond to requests for comment. Naresh Kumar Goyal, the founder of Maiden Pharmaceuticals, told Reuters in December his company did nothing wrong in the production of the cough syrup. The bribery allegation was one of about half a dozen claims of corruption by Yashpal against Taneja in the letter. Yashpal told Reuters he did not comply, because he did not feel comfortable bringing such details to the deputy of someone he had accused of corruption.

Persons: Sagnia, Edward McAllister, Yashpal, Manmohan Taneja, Taneja, Maiden, Yashpal –, –, Shatrujeet Kapur, Kapur, Anupama, Anil Vij, Vij, Naresh Kumar Goyal, Goyal, Narendra Modi, Taneja's, Lalit Kumar Goel, Goel, Krishna N, Jennifer Rigby, Sara Ledwith, Michele Gershberg Organizations: REUTERS, World Health Organization, WHO, Reuters, Corruption Bureau, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, pharma, Corruption, Taneja, EG, Thomson Locations: Yundum, Gambia, DELHI, Haryana, New Delhi, Vietnam, India, London

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and federal and state regulators attended the session in February, according to a statement from the health ministry that did not mention cough syrups. A source with knowledge of the matter said the policy change could mean increased oversight of India's $41 billion pharmaceutical industry, which is the world's largest supplier of generic medicines. Increased testing of cough syrups as well as of raw materials for drugs in general is one of the steps being considered, said the source. India has acted against a second Indian company whose cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 19 kids in Uzbekistan, including the arrest of three of its employees. Indian health officials have expressed concern that the incidents of contaminated syrups will harm its pharmaceutical industry.

The World Health Organization said last year the syrups, made by Indian manufacturer Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd, contained lethal toxins ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG) – used in car brake fluid. "If you ask and you don't get informed, it's a dead end," Rutendo Kuwana, the WHO's team lead for incidents with substandard and falsified medicines, told Reuters in an interview on March 31. Drug inspectors found a dozen violations at Maiden last October related to the production of the cough syrups sold to Gambia, a government document showed. Among these, some of the COAs of raw ingredients used in making the syrups, including propylene glycol, were missing batch numbers. Kuwana said the WHO was sure of its own cough syrup test results from two separate independent laboratories, both of which showed contamination.

Apple mainly assembles iPhones in India through Taiwan contract manufacturers but plans to expand into iPads and AirPods, as it looks to cut reliance on China. His comments came after a meeting on Wednesday with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook in the capital, New Delhi. He inaugurated an Apple store in New Delhi on Thursday two days after opening its first outlet in Mumbai, the commercial capital. "We've come here only to see Tim Cook," said Manika Mehta, 32, an Android phone user who queued at the Delhi store. I'm drawn to Tim Cook, seeing the man he is and the journey."

Liza LinLiza Lin covers Asia technology news for The Wall Street Journal from Singapore, focusing mostly on China, the internet, supply chains and surveillance. In 2021, Liza was part of a team at the Journal that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting, for their coverage of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Liza, alongside other Journal reporters, won the Gerald Loeb Award for International Reporting in 2018 for a series of stories on China's surveillance state. Liza is the co-author with Journal colleague Josh Chin of the book "Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control." A Fulbright scholar, she has also worked for Bloomberg News in Singapore and China.

Persons: Liza Lin Liza Lin, Liza, Xi Jinping, Gerald Loeb, Josh Chin Organizations: Wall, New York Press Club, Society of Publishers, Social Control, Bloomberg News Locations: Asia, Singapore, China, Shanghai

The Indian government last year gave a $6 billion contract to state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HIAE.NS) for 83 of the locally produced Tejas jets for delivery starting around 2023 - four decades after it was first approved in 1983. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, keen to reduce India's reliance on foreign defence equipment, has also been making diplomatic efforts to export the jets. Britain said in April it would support India’s goal of building its own fighter jets. India currently has a mix of Russian, British and French fighter jets. read moreIndia is looking to ground all its Soviet-era Russian fighter jets, the MiG-21, by 2025, following a number of fatal crashes, the Times of India daily reported last month.

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