Latest news with #DRL
India Today
an hour ago
- Automotive
- India Today
Matter Aera 5000+ review, first ride: Say hello to India's first geared electric motorcycle
Ahmedabad isn't the first place that pops to mind when one thinks of an electric motorcycle revolution. But that all changed back in 2019, when a few enthusiastic individuals came together to create Matter. For those who may not have heard this name before, Matter is an Indian electric mobility startup headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Matter isn't just assembling EVs, it's building them from the ground up. The company designs and manufactures its motors, battery packs, software systems, and vehicle platforms in-house. Unlike many EV brands that rely on white-labeled imports, Matter has focused on indigenous innovation, with an emphasis on performance, technology, and rider engagement. Its first product, the Aera 5000+, is India's first geared electric motorcycle, aiming to provide a more traditional riding experience. To answer whether Matter succeeded in this quest, we were recently invited to their home base, to visit the production facility, hit a go-kart track and ride it in the the point of the gears?The Aera 5000+ is India's first geared electric motorcycle, and not in a gimmicky way. This is a ground-up motorcycle designed by a homegrown startup that's building its own powertrains, software stack, and even batteries in-house. There is a clear emphasis on controlling the entire production system from the ground up, allowing for more factors to be monitored and adjusted as needed. Sure, the facility isn't the most cutting-edge, but it can be one day, which is good enough for me. And from the moment you see the Aera in person, it doesn't scream 'eco-commuter.' It looks like a modern 200cc street-naked which has a muscular tank, sharp panels, LED lighting, and a distinct DRL signature. It's an EV that isn't apologising for being one. And that's refreshing. After we toured the facility, it was time to head to the track, which is nearly 30km away from the production facility. Subscribe to Auto Today MagazineMust Watch
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Democrats call on Rubio to preserve State Department human rights bureau
A group of 10 Democratic senators are urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to save the State Department's human rights arm amid his sweeping reorganization effort. The State Department notified Congress last month that most offices in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) would be shuttered under the current proposal. The DRL's work focuses primarily on pro-democracy efforts in developing countries and autocracies including in Cuba, China, Nicaragua, North Korea, Iran, Russia and Venezuela. 'The proposed reorganization of DRL raises serious concerns about the Department's prioritization of democracy and human rights and the role of DRL in advancing U.S. national security priorities,' the senators wrote in a letter to Rubio, who was a senator for 14 years before President Trump appointed him to be the nation's top diplomat. The senators' letter was dated last Thursday, but it was released to reporters Monday. 'The proposed reorganization would result in a structural and substantive demotion of human rights promotion that runs counter to the spirit of the law and your personal legacy working on these issues,' the senators wrote. The letter was signed by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Chris Coons (Del.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.) and Peter Welch (Vt.). The senators acknowledged in the letter that they were trying to appeal to Rubio's 'longstanding commitment to U.S. support for emerging democracies and the brave dissidents and human rights defenders who challenge authoritarianism across the globe' and pointed to remarks he made in a 2017 Senate subcommittee hearing about the link between international assistance and national security interests. 'As you stated in the subcommittee hearing previously mentioned, 'millions of people around the world who live in societies dominated by fear and oppression look to the United States of America to champion their cause to fully exercise their God-given rights,'' they wrote. 'There are no greater champions more capable of advancing this noble cause than the dedicated staff in DRL.' The State Department didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Rubio said in a May 29 news release that the departmental overhaul plan was drafted after 'thoughtful and deliberative work' that considered input from lawmakers, long-time employees and others with vested interests. 'The reorganization plan will result in a more agile Department, better equipped to promote America's interests and keep Americans safe across the world,' he said.
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Business Standard
05-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Dr Reddy's, Alvotech to co-develop biosimilar of cancer drug Keytruda
Global biotech major Alvotech and Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) have entered into a collaboration to co-develop, manufacture, and commercialise a biosimilar version of Merck's blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab), which recorded global sales of $29.5 billion in 2024. Shares of DRL rose 3 per cent on Thursday on the BSE following the announcement. Under the agreement, both parties will jointly manage development and manufacturing responsibilities, while sharing associated costs. Each company will also hold global commercialisation rights, subject to certain exceptions. Keytruda, developed by Merck & Co., is used to treat a wide range of cancers, including lung, melanoma, and head and neck cancers. With patents for Keytruda expected to expire in major markets over the next few years, competition among biosimilar developers is intensifying. The partnership is a strategic boost to Dr Reddy's oncology portfolio—a key therapeutic area for the company—and significantly expands Iceland-based Alvotech's biosimilar pipeline. The tie-up comes amid growing global demand for cost-effective biologic alternatives in cancer care, especially in immuno-oncology, where Keytruda remains a dominant therapy. 'We are happy to collaborate with Alvotech for the pembrolizumab biosimilar,' said Erez Israeli, CEO of Dr Reddy's. 'Oncology has been a top focus therapy area for us, and this collaboration further enhances our capabilities.' Alvotech Chairman and CEO Róbert Wessman said the partnership would accelerate development while broadening global access to critical biologics. 'This agreement demonstrates our ability to leverage our R&D and manufacturing platform to pursue growing global markets,' he said. Alvotech, listed on Nasdaq, is focused solely on biosimilars and already has approvals for adalimumab and ustekinumab biosimilars. Its pipeline includes candidates for autoimmune, respiratory, and oncologic indications. Dr Reddy's, which has commercialised six biosimilars in India and over 30 countries, has been scaling up global biologics operations. It launched its first biosimilar in the UK—Versavo (bevacizumab)—in 2024, and pegfilgrastim in the US and Europe through partners. With this collaboration, both companies aim to play a larger role in shaping the next phase of affordable cancer care globally.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rubio outlines plans to drastically cut human rights offices in State
Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to gut the State Department's human rights bureau as part of a sweeping reorganization of the country's diplomatic service, according to internal department documents and people familiar with the plans. The State Department sent a document to Congress on Thursday notifying lawmakers of the changes that call for the elimination of most offices in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor — or DRL as it's known in the diplomatic corps. That would lead to funding freezes or cuts on programs ranging from internet freedom initiatives in autocratic countries to support for pro-democracy civil society groups facing repression in sub-Saharan Africa. It is part of a wider effort to reorganize more than 300 bureaus and offices at State outlined in the document, which was obtained by POLITICO, all to tackle what the Trump administration views as an unwieldy and bloated foreign policy bureaucracy. Fox News previously reported on the wider reorganization plans but other details, including the scale and scope of the cuts to human rights offices and funding have not been previously reported. Under the proposal, the reorganization would cut DRL staff by up to 80 percent and leave in limbo more than $400 billion in grants for human rights programs in developing countries and autocracies that have already been appropriated, according to two former officials and a current official familiar with the matter. Some officials could transfer to other offices, while others would effectively be laid off. All were granted anonymity as they weren't authorized to discuss internal reform measures publicly. The State Department did not give a timeline on when it would carry out the proposed reforms. The reorganization also calls for the creation of new positions that reflect the Trump administration's cultural lurch to the right in foreign policy, including emphasizing so-called civilizational allies and debates over digital censorship. Those include a deputy assistant secretary of State for 'Democracy and Western Values' and an office of 'natural rights' that will 'ground the department's values-based diplomacy in traditional Western conceptions of core freedoms,' according to an internal State Department notification to U.S. lawmakers on the proposed reforms. 'For example, the office will build the foundation for criticisms of free speech backsliding in Europe and other developed nations,' the document reads — an apparent reference to the Trump administration's criticisms of close NATO allies such as the United Kingdom and Germany for laws against hate speech and the spread of disinformation, as well as Germany's move to classify a far-right political party growing in popularity as an 'extremist' group that opens it up to security and intelligence surveillance. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. The notice was sent to Congress but it's unclear how Congress could alter or halt the proposed reorganization, officials noted. Democrats could push back on the proposed changes but both chambers of Congress are controlled by Republicans, who widely support the Trump administration's efforts to slash the federal government. The reorganization would also eliminate the top official overseeing human rights issues: the under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights. That would be folded under a new position — the under secretary for foreign assistance and humanitarian affairs. This senior post would oversee the remnants of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which the Trump administration rapidly dismantled during its first months in office. The proposed changes have fueled internal anger and backlash among some officials who work on human rights within the department who argue that Rubio's efforts to trim the fat will cut too deep into the muscle and bone of the department's expertise on human rights issues. 'The impact will be devastating,' said Uzra Zeya, a former senior Biden administration State Department official and now CEO of Human Rights First, a nonprofit advocacy group. 'Rubio's chief point on the reorganization has been that we're not going to lose this capacity on human rights, we're just folding it into the regional bureaus where it can be better managed and rationalized. These cuts would eviscerate that capacity.' Other officials scratched their heads over DRL's refocus to issues such as 'natural rights' and scrutinizing close allies that are fully functioning democracies. 'Forget Russia's torture and killing of Ukrainians, let's focus on the real threat like U.K.'s laws against hate speech,' one of the department officials noted wryly. The State Department has framed the proposed reorganization as overdue and necessary to adapt the U.S. diplomatic corps to modern national security threats and cut down on overlapping or duplicative offices. Notably, the reorganization appears to target only domestic offices and not U.S. embassies or consulates abroad. According to the notification to Congress, the reorganization would cut the State Department's domestic workforce by up to 3,448 personnel, taking into account new reductions and voluntary departures that the Trump administration has offered career government officials under its deferred resignation programs championed by Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. 'The Department's domestic operations have grown considerably over the last 25 years. The resulting proliferation of bureaus and offices with unclear, overlapping, or duplicative mandates has hobbled the department's ability to rapidly respond to emerging threats and crises, or to effectively advance America's affirmative interests across the world,' the notification to Congress reads. Vice President JD Vance outlined the administration's criticisms of allies like Germany and the United Kingdom during a fiery speech at the Munich Security Conference in February that presaged how the State Department's reorganization could shift more scrutiny on allies. 'Expressing opinions isn't election interference, even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential,' he said in that speech. 'If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg's scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.'
Politico
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Rubio outlines plans to drastically cut human rights offices in State
Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to gut the State Department's human rights bureau as part of a sweeping reorganization of the country's diplomatic service, according to internal department documents and people familiar with the plans. The State Department sent a document to Congress on Thursday notifying lawmakers of the changes that call for the elimination of most offices in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor — or DRL as it's known in the diplomatic corps. That would lead to funding freezes or cuts on programs ranging from internet freedom initiatives in autocratic countries to support for pro-democracy civil society groups facing repression in sub-Saharan Africa. It is part of a wider effort to reorganize more than 300 bureaus and offices at State outlined in the document, which was obtained by POLITICO, all to tackle what the Trump administration views as an unwieldy and bloated foreign policy bureaucracy. Fox News previously reported on the wider reorganization plans but other details, including the scale and scope of the cuts to human rights offices and funding have not been previously reported. Under the proposal, the reorganization would cut DRL staff by up to 80 percent and leave in limbo more than $400 billion in grants for human rights programs in developing countries and autocracies that have already been appropriated, according to two former officials and a current official familiar with the matter. Some officials could transfer to other offices, while others would effectively be laid off. All were granted anonymity as they weren't authorized to discuss internal reform measures publicly. The State Department did not give a timeline on when it would carry out the proposed reforms. The reorganization also calls for the creation of new positions that reflect the Trump administration's cultural lurch to the right in foreign policy, including emphasizing so-called civilizational allies and debates over digital censorship. Those include a deputy assistant secretary of State for 'Democracy and Western Values' and an office of 'natural rights' that will 'ground the department's values-based diplomacy in traditional Western conceptions of core freedoms,' according to an internal State Department notification to U.S. lawmakers on the proposed reforms. 'For example, the office will build the foundation for criticisms of free speech backsliding in Europe and other developed nations,' the document reads — an apparent reference to the Trump administration's criticisms of close NATO allies such as the United Kingdom and Germany for laws against hate speech and the spread of disinformation, as well as Germany's move to classify a far-right political party growing in popularity as an 'extremist' group that opens it up to security and intelligence surveillance. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. The notice was sent to Congress but it's unclear how Congress could alter or halt the proposed reorganization, officials noted. Democrats could push back on the proposed changes but both chambers of Congress are controlled by Republicans, who widely support the Trump administration's efforts to slash the federal government. The reorganization would also eliminate the top official overseeing human rights issues: the under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights. That would be folded under a new position — the under secretary for foreign assistance and humanitarian affairs. This senior post would oversee the remnants of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which the Trump administration rapidly dismantled during its first months in office. The proposed changes have fueled internal anger and backlash among some officials who work on human rights within the department who argue that Rubio's efforts to trim the fat will cut too deep into the muscle and bone of the department's expertise on human rights issues. 'The impact will be devastating,' said Uzra Zeya, a former senior Biden administration State Department official and now CEO of Human Rights First, a nonprofit advocacy group. 'Rubio's chief point on the reorganization has been that we're not going to lose this capacity on human rights, we're just folding it into the regional bureaus where it can be better managed and rationalized. These cuts would eviscerate that capacity.' Other officials scratched their heads over DRL's refocus to issues such as 'natural rights' and scrutinizing close allies that are fully functioning democracies. 'Forget Russia's torture and killing of Ukrainians, let's focus on the real threat like U.K.'s laws against hate speech,' one of the department officials noted wryly. The State Department has framed the proposed reorganization as overdue and necessary to adapt the U.S. diplomatic corps to modern national security threats and cut down on overlapping or duplicative offices. Notably, the reorganization appears to target only domestic offices and not U.S. embassies or consulates abroad. According to the notification to Congress, the reorganization would cut the State Department's domestic workforce by up to 3,448 personnel, taking into account new reductions and voluntary departures that the Trump administration has offered career government officials under its deferred resignation programs championed by Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. 'The Department's domestic operations have grown considerably over the last 25 years. The resulting proliferation of bureaus and offices with unclear, overlapping, or duplicative mandates has hobbled the department's ability to rapidly respond to emerging threats and crises, or to effectively advance America's affirmative interests across the world,' the notification to Congress reads. Vice President JD Vance outlined the administration's criticisms of allies like Germany and the United Kingdom during a fiery speech at the Munich Security Conference in February that presaged how the State Department's reorganization could shift more scrutiny on allies. 'Expressing opinions isn't election interference, even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential,' he said in that speech. 'If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg's scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.'
