Alibaba fires manager after sexual assault case rocks industry

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/alibaba-fires-manager-after-sexual-assault-case-rocks-industry

In one of the highest-profile incidents so far, JD.com Inc. founder Richard Liu was arrested in the US in 2018 and accused of raping a 21-year-old female Chinese undergraduate, though prosecutors there subsequently decided not to press charges against the billionaire.

More recently, former Korean boy band member Kris Wu has been detained after a university student accused him of pressuring young women into sex.

"I expect the biggest impact to be recruitment and talent management," said Michael Norris, an analyst with Shanghai-based consultancy AgencyChina.

"Alibaba's growth required a strong talent pipeline across various business units. This incident may dissuade promising female graduates and highly-qualified female managers from joining Alibaba."

No FDA Head as Vaccines Seek Full Approval

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/fda-vaccines-joe-biden/2021/08/08/id/1031566/

It is not clear why someone has not been nominated six months into the presidency. But some experts believe it may be due to politics.

Currently, some Democrats are pushing for acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock to be nominated. But as pressure for a COVID-19 vaccine to gain full approval continues to mount, some health experts are warning that the position needs to be filled immediately.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said in a statement that she continues to "have concerns about Dr. Woodcock as a potential permanent FDA Commissioner, especially given the role she played in approving and labeling opioid-based medications. That's why I've called on President Biden to put forward an FDA commissioner who will act independently from the industry that he or she regulates."