USA

Washington, Oct 4 (PTI) The Canadian allegations regarding India’s involvement in the killing of a pro-Khalistan separatist are "serious" and need to be investigated fully, the White House has said.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), was killed in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

New York, Oct 4 (PTI) A speciality pharmacy company in the US and its Indian-origin chief executive officer have agreed collectively to pay USD 20 million to resolve allegations that they paid kickbacks to patients and physicians to protect its revenue stream, the justice department said.

“BioTek allegedly provided improper physician inducements and covered up kickbacks for patient referrals by waiving co-pays,” said US Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

GREENWICH, Connecticut, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, said on Tuesday that the relationship between China and the United States is "on the brink of red lines," although he does not see a war on the way.

Speaking at the Greenwich Economic Forum, Dalio said that there are irreconcilable differences between the world's two biggest economies, citing as examples the independence of Taiwan, the battle for chips and geopolitics.

MEXICO CITY, Oct 2 (Reuters) - A powerful faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by the sons of ex-Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has banned fentanyl production and sales in Sinaloa, according to roadside banners, though analysts doubted the group would leave such a profitable business.

The banners that appeared in the northern Sinaloa state on Monday, known as "narcomantas", were signed by Los Chapitos, a grouping of brothers who took over their father's criminal empire when Guzman was extradited to the United States in 2017.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Monday that China will steadfastly support the international system centered around the United Nations.

"China works tirelessly to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and firmly upholds the UN-centered international system," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the opening of the main session of the Fifth Committee of the 78th UN General Assembly, which deals with internal UN administrative and budgetary matters.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jury selection began Tuesday in the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried after a prosecutor revealed that no discussions about a potential plea agreement took place in the 10 months since the cryptocurrency executive was arrested and brought to the United States.

Once a billionaire, the 31-year-old crypto mogul faces the possibility of a long prison term if convicted at a trial that is expected to last up to six weeks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army is launching a sweeping overhaul of its recruiting to focus more on young people who have spent time in college or are job hunting early in their careers, as it scrambles to reverse years of enlistment shortfalls.

A major part of this is the formation of a new professional force of recruiters instead of relying on soldiers randomly assigned to the task.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, in an interview with The Associated Press, said some of the changes will begin in the next 90 days but a wholesale transformation will take years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the manufacturers of all of the first 10 prescription drugs selected for Medicare’s first price negotiations have agreed to participate, clearing the way for talks that could lower their costs in coming years and give him a potential political win heading into next year’s election.

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man is scheduled to die by lethal injection over 25 years after he killed women het met in north Florida bars during a dayslong spate of crimes.

Michael Zack III is set to die at 6 p.m. Tuesday for the murder of Ravonne Smith, a bar employee he befriended and later beat and stabbed with an oyster knife in June 1996. He was also convicted and separately sentenced to life in prison for murdering Laura Rosillo, who he met at a bar in a nearby county.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three federal firearms charges filed after his earlier deal imploded, setting the case on a track toward a possible trial in 2024 while his father is campaigning for reelection.

President Joe Biden’s son has been charged with lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days. He could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. When asked by Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke if he understood the charges against him, he said, “Yes, Your Honor.”