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Reuters July 2, 2020 Novartis AG agreed to pay more than $729 million to settle U.S. government charges it paid illegal kickbacks to doctors and patients to boost drug sales, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday. The Swiss drugmaker will pay $678 million to resolve claims it organized tens of thousands of sham educational events where it lavished doctors with exorbitant speaker fees, expensive dinners and alcohol to induce them to prescribe its cardiovascular and diabetes drugs more often. It will also pay $51.25 million to resolve charges it funneled money through three charitable foundations to cover co-payments of Medicare patients so they would purchase its drugs. Both settlements resolved civil charges that Novartis violated the federal False Claims Act. A Novartis spokesman said the costs of the settlement were covered by provisions that it had already made. Its shares were indicated 0.4% higher in pre-market activity on Thursday. Actin...

The Hindu July 2, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. vice president Joe Biden has said that he will lift the temporary suspension on H-1B visas, the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, if he wins the November presidential elections. On June 23, in a huge blow to Indian IT professionals eyeing the US job market, the Trump administration suspended the H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas until the end of 2020 to protect American workers in a crucial election year. Mr. Biden, in a digital town hall meeting on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) issues organised by NBC News, praised the contribution of H-1B visa holders. "He (US President Donald Trump) just ended H-1B visas the rest of this year. That will not be in my administration, " Mr. Biden, 77, said responding to a question during the town hall. He was referring to the temporary suspension of the H-1B visas and other foreign work visas by Trump for...

Hindustan Times July 1, 2020 A majority of voters approved changes to Russia’s constitution that would allow President Vladimir Putin to hold power until 2036, but the weeklong plebiscite that ended Wednesday was tarnished by widespread reports of pressure on voters and other irregularities. With most of the nation’s polls closed and 20% of precincts counted, 72% voted for the constitutional amendments, according to election officials. For the first time in Russia, polls were kept open for a week to bolster turnout without increasing crowds casting ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic — a provision that Kremlin critics denounced as an extra tool to manipulate the outcome. A massive propaganda campaign and the opposition’s failure to mount a coordinated challenge helped Putin get the result he wanted, but the plebiscite could end up eroding his position because of the unconventional methods used to boost participation and the dubious legal basis for the balloting. ...

The Print July 1, 2020 With two-cent airfares, high fuel costs and taxes, India’s aviation market already was one of the toughest around. The coronavirus pandemic could be the final straw for some of the country’s airlines. Indian carriers need as much as $2.5 billion to keep flying, CAPA Centre for Aviation in Sydney says, and that may only last to the end of this year if they’re lucky. Airlines suffered a total collapse in demand from March 25 to late May as India banned commercial passenger flights as part of its virus lockdown. Governments in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere have provided $123 billion to support airlines through the Covid-19 crisis. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, facing a widening fiscal deficit, hasn’t doled out funds to individual industries or airlines backed by private businesses and, in some cases, billionaires. The country’s airlines need significant investment or one or more will fail, said Satyendra Pandey, an independe...

Hindustan Times July 1, 2020 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to extend his support to Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli who is finding himself increasingly isolated within the ruling Nepal Communist Party after blaming India for a rebellion in his party, people familiar with the development told Hindustan Times. PM Oli had on Sunday accused his detractors of trying to push him out of power, accusing India and politicians in Nepal of being involved in a conspiracy to topple him for publishing the country’s new map that depicts Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepalese territory. This accusation, however, appeared on Tuesday to have backfired on PM Oli after rival leaders such as Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” demanded that he quit his leadership role in the party and government. They had earlier given him an option to retain one of the two posts. Imran Khan’s outreach to PM Oli comes at a time when he is struggling to stay in power. Officials t...

The Indian Express July 1, 2020 India will not allow Chinese companies to participate in highway projects, including those through joint ventures, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday amid border standoff with China. Gadkari also said the government will ensure that Chinese investors are not entertained in various sectors like Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The senior minister’s assertions assume significance against the backdrop of border standoff between India and China in Ladakh that also saw the death of 20 Indian Army personnel last month. Amid escalating tensions, the government on Monday banned 59 apps, mostly having Chinese links, citing threats to national security. “We will not give permission to joint ventures that have Chinese partners for road construction. We have taken a firm stand that if they (Chinese companies) come via joint venture in our country, we will not allow it,” Gadkari told PTI in an interview. The Road Tr...

The Hindu June 30, 2020 The United States began eliminating Hong Kong’s special status under U.S. law on Monday, halting defense exports and restricting the territory’s access to high technology products as China prepares new Hong Kong security legislation. The U.S. move comes as the top decision-making body of China’s parliament deliberates a draft national security law for Hong Kong that pro-democracy activists in the city fear will be used to eliminate dissent and tighten Beijing’s control. “The Chinese Communist Party’s decision to eviscerate Hong Kong’s freedoms has forced the Trump administration to re-evaluate its policies toward the territory,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. He said the United States, effective Monday, was ending exports of defense equipment to Hong Kong and will also take steps to end the export of dual-use technologies to the territory. Dual-use technologies have both commercial and military uses. Commerce Department regulat...

DAWN June 30, 2020 A LITTLE an hour after the attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange, a banned group, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), sent out emails to journalists and posted a message on its Twitter account claiming the responsibility for the attack. The group said its Majeed Brigade executed the attack. Later in the day it also released a picture of the four militants who took part in the assault, donning camouflage outfits and carrying guns. In yet another statement issued in the evening, the BLA said the purpose of attack was to simultaneously target Pakistan’s economy and China because of its involvement in Balochistan. The choice of the target, the claim about Majeed Brigade carrying out the attack, and the style of execution left little doubt about the intent of the masterminds. Majeed Brigade, named after a guard of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was killed while attempting to assassinate him (ZAB), was formed by the BLA in 2011. Its pr...

The Hindu June 29, 2020 Beijing said on Monday it will impose visa restrictions on U.S. individuals with “egregious conduct” on Hong Kong-related issues, mirroring U.S. sanctions against unnamed Chinese officials deemed responsible for curbing freedoms in the city. The announcement comes as the top decision-making body of China's parliament deliberates a draft national security law for Hong Kong that pro-democracy activists in the city fear will be used to eliminate dissent and tighten Beijing's control. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who announced the new sanctions during a press briefing in response to a question about Washington's new visa restrictions, did not specify which U.S. individuals have been targeted. “The U.S. is attempting to obstruct China's legislation for safeguarding national security in the HK SAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) by imposing the so-called sanctions, but it will never succeed,” he told rep...

The Indian Express June 30, 2020 The country’s top drug regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, has granted approval to Bharat Biotech India to conduct human clinical trials for ‘Covaxin’, making it the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine candidate to receive this approval, the firm said Monday. These trials are scheduled to start across India in July. Drug Controller General of India Dr V G Somani approved Bharat Biotech’s application to conduct phase I and II clinical trials for Covaxin, it stated in a release. The permission was granted after the company submitted results from pre-clinical studies of the vaccine that demonstrated its safety and immune response, said Bharat Biotech in its release. The vaccine was developed in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Virology. “The collaboration with ICMR and NIV was instrumental in the development of this vaccine. The proactive support and guidance from CDSCO have...

Telegraph India June 30, 2020 The Modi government has decided not to purchase any goods made in China through the Government e-Marketplace (GEM) after having asked for the country of origin to be mentioned on all goods last week. The ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution through an office memorandum “directed that it should be ensured that any item made in China may not be purchased through GeM or other sources”. The latest move has come amid public outcry over Chinese imports and the government’s call for self-reliance. Last week, the government procurement portal GeM had made it mandatory for products to have inscriptions of the country of origin. Sellers need to mention the ‘Country of Origin’ while registering all new products. Those who had already uploaded their products have been warned that they shall be removed from the portal if the country of origin is not updated. “More importantly, the ‘Make in India’ filter has now been enabled on t...

FirstPost June 29, 2020 Responding to Nagaland governor and Naga Accord interlocutor RN Ravi's scathing letter slamming the state machinery for "failing to address growing concerns" about law and order, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) said it did not extort the public but levied "legitimate taxes on them." The NSCN-IM issued this statement after Ravi, in a 16 June letter to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, claimed that the “constitutionally-established state government is being challenged on day-to-day basis by armed gangs that question the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.” The NSCN-IM, in its press statement, said it is “the inherent right of any sovereign people and nation to collect taxes from the people and commercial establishments. This is the universal practice as seen all over the world. Taxes have been the sources of sustenance that has brought the Naga political movement this far. This was legitimately ac...

Hindustan Times June 30, 2020 Businesses are banking on a bumper harvest and high rural incomes to drive demand for goods after the coronavirus pandemic stunted growth in the country’s cities, where most of the factories and offices are located. Business leaders expect a normal monsoon, record sowing of summer crops, improved winter harvest and a raft of government measures to help farmers and boost rural incomes to boost demand for goods ranging from two-wheelers to tractors. Among others that stand to benefit are consumer durables makers, farm inputs producers, cement companies and essential goods manufacturers. Tractor sales, a bellwether for rural demand, have picked up strongly across rural belts and are headed for a record growth in June, industry executives said. “Demand is robust due to various factors, including a strong Rabi (winter crop) output, good price realisations and higher government spending in rural India,” said Hemant Sikka, president, farm equi...