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Days Before Grammys, Academy Shakes Up Leadership Over ‘Allegation of Misconduct’

Report on Alleged Chinese Corruption in Maldives Due by June: Minister

NEW DELHI—A report on alleged Chinese corruption in the Maldives will be completed by June, the Maldives’ Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said on Jan. 16, as the current government investigates a surge of investments by China in recent years. The tropical archipelago grew closer to Beijing under the rule of former president, Abdulla Yameen, with China funding an airport, bridge and social housing as part of its “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) initiative. Critics of Yameen, who was voted out in 2018 after five years in office, say government contracts were awarded at inflated prices, and that the spending threatened to sink the islands’ tiny economy. Incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced a commission in November 2018 to look into deals made during Yameen’s…

Days Before Grammys, Academy Shakes Up Leadership Over ‘Allegation of Misconduct’

The organizers of the Grammy Awards have placed their president and chief executive, Deborah Dugan, on leave because of an “allegation of misconduct” they said in a statement, noting that the Jan. 26 show would go on as planned with an interim head.

The Recording Academy, whose members choose the annual winners of the esteemed music industry awards, said in an email statement on Thursday that they placed Dugan on leave “in light of concerns raised to the board of trustees, including a formal allegation of misconduct by a senior female member of the Recording Academy team.”

The organization did not provide further comment on the nature of the allegation or Dugan’s relation to it.

The awards ceremony will go forward as scheduled, they said, and include performances by award contenders and breakout stars Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and Camila Cabello.

Board chairman Harvey Mason Jr. will serve as interim president and chief executive until the investigation is complete, the Academy said, adding that two independent third-party investigators had been retained to look into alleged misconduct.

Dugan took the helm on Aug. 1 as the organization’s first female president and chief executive.

Reuters could not immediately reach Dugan or a representative to seek comment.

By Gabriella Borter and Rama Venkat

This article is from the Internet:Days Before Grammys, Academy Shakes Up Leadership Over ‘Allegation of Misconduct’

As China’s Xi Visits Burma, Ethnic Groups Rue ‘Disrespectful’ Dam Investment

MYITKYINA, Burma—The streets of Burma’s capital Naypyitaw were festooned with banners celebrating 70 years of Burma-China relations ahead of the arrival of Xi Jinping on Jan. 17 for his first visit to the Southeast Asian nation as China’s leader. But for thousands of villagers living in northern Burma (also known as Myanmar) close to the Chinese border, there is another anniversary that nobody can celebrate. It is 10 years since they were kicked off their land for a $3.6 billion dam, an unfinished project backed by Beijing that dogs relations between the two neighbors. The Myitsone hydropower dam in Kachin state is one many multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects that form part of Xi’s flagship “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) initiative. The Chinese leader intends…