Biden to nominate Indian-American Gautam Rana as Slovakian ambassador

 Earlier, Rana served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and Charg d’Affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia

US President Joe Biden is set to nominate Indian-American career diplomat Gautam Rana as the new US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Slovakia. In a statement on Wednesday, the White House announced the president’s intent to send Rana’s nomination for further ratification.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, US – with rank of Counselor, Rana is currently Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Algeria and was the Charg d’Affaires ad interim there from August 2020 to February 2022. Earlier, Rana served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and Charg d’Affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Among other positions, Rana was Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the National Security Council staff and the Deputy Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the US Embassy in New Delhi.

We will bring you back home safe, sound: India to its citizens in Ukraine

 A government statement said Modi conveyed to Putin that India attaches highest priority to the safe exit of Indians from Ukraine and their return to India

India on Thursday mounted a major initiative to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine to neighbouring countries through land border crossings after Russia launched a large-scale military assault on the eastern European nation triggering major global concerns and sanctions against Moscow by several Western powers.

Amid the deepening crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and “sensitised” him about India’s concerns regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students. A government statement said Modi conveyed to Putin that India attaches highest priority to the safe exit of Indians from Ukraine and their return to India.

“The prime minister appealed for an immediate cessation of violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue,” an official statement said. With increasing concerns over the safety of Indians in Ukraine, Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) with a primary focus of evacuating the citizens.

Biden unveils new sanctions on Russian businesses after Ukraine attack

 Biden said the sanctions would limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen

Russia Ukraine Conflict: President Joe Biden unveiled harsh new sanctions against Russia on Thursday after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine, imposing measures to impede Russia’s ability to do business in the world’s major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises.

“This is a premeditated attack,” Biden told reporters at the White House, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected attempts by the West to engage in dialogue and had violated international law. “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences.” Biden said the sanctions were designed to have a long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and its allies. And he said Washington was prepared to do more.

Biden said the sanctions would limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen. Biden said NATO would meet on Friday to map out further measures. He reiterated that the United States would not engage in war with Russia, but that it would meet its Article 5 commitments to defend NATO partners…Read More

US violated international trade rules with tariffs on China, says WTO

A panel of three WTO trade experts on Tuesday said the US broke international rules when it imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018

The World Trade Organization undercut the main justification for US President Donald Trump’s trade war against China, saying that American tariffs on Chinese goods violate international rules. A panel of three WTO trade experts on Tuesday said the US broke international rules when it imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018. Washington has imposed levies on more than $550 billion in Chinese exports.

The panel said in its report “that the United States had not met its burden of demonstrating that the measures are provisionally justified.” While the ruling bolsters Beijing’s claims, Washington can effectively veto the decision by lodging an appeal at any point in the next 60 days. That’s because the Trump administration has already paralyzed the WTO’s appellate body, a tactic that has rendered toothless the world’s foremost arbiter of trade.

Section 301

The dispute centers on the Donald Trump administration’s use of a 1970s-era US trade law to unilaterally launch its commercial conflict against China in 2018. China claimed the tariffs violated the WTO’s most-favored treatment provision because the measures failed to provide the same treatment to all WTO members. China also alleged the duties broke a key dispute-settlement rule that requires countries to first seek recourse from the WTO before imposing retaliatory measures against another country.

The US tariffs against China were authorised under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which empowers the president to levy tariffs and other import restrictions whenever a foreign country imposes unfair trade practices that affect US commerce. The Trump administration has claimed the tariffs were necessary to confront China’s widespread violations of intellectual property rights and forced technology transfer policies…

Backlog on deciding US Green Cards for Indians runs into 195 years: Senator

In fiscal year 2019, Indian nationals received 9,008 category 1 (EB1), 2,908 category 2 (EB2), and 5,083 category 3 (EB3) Green Cards. EB1-3 are different categories of employment-based Green Cards

International News: An Indian applicant for a US Green Card may have to wait 195 years for a decision, a top Republican senator has said, urging his Senate colleagues to come out with a legislative resolution to end the backlog. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has allwed to reside permanently. Senator Mike Lee said on Wednesday that the current Green Card policy did nothing for the child of an immigrant whose dead parent’s Green Card application was ultimately denied because his or her job was no longer available.

“Someone from India entering the backlog today would have to wait 195 years to receive an EB-3 green card. Even if we give their children this limbo status, none of them will have a prayer of becoming a US citizen,” Lee said on the Senator floor. In fiscal year 2019, Indian nationals received 9,008 category 1 (EB1), 2,908 category 2 (EB2), and 5,083 category 3 (EB3) Green Cards. EB1-3 are different categories of employment-based Green Cards.

Lee, the senator from Utah, was speaking on the legislation moved by Senator Dick Durbin that seeks to protect immigrant workers and their children who are stuck in the green card backlog. “Green cards are critical in the lives of so many who are here on temporary work visas. The backlog puts families at risk of losing their immigration status as they wait year after weary year to finally make it through this green card backlog,” Durbin said.

Backlog on deciding US Green Cards for Indians runs into 195 years: Senator

In fiscal year 2019, Indian nationals received 9,008 category 1 (EB1), 2,908 category 2 (EB2), and 5,083 category 3 (EB3) Green Cards. EB1-3 are different categories of employment-based Green Cards

An Indian applicant for a US Green Card may have to wait 195 years for a decision, a top Republican senator has said, urging his Senate colleagues to come out with a legislative resolution to end the backlog.

A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has allwed to reside permanently. Senator Mike Lee said on Wednesday that the current Green Card policy did nothing for the child of an immigrant whose dead parent’s Green Card application was ultimately denied because his or her job was no longer available.

“Someone from India entering the backlog today would have to wait 195 years to receive an EB-3 green card. Even if we give their children this limbo status, none of them will have a prayer of becoming a US citizen,” Lee said on the Senator floor. In fiscal year 2019, Indian nationals received 9,008 category 1 (EB1), 2,908 category 2 (EB2), and 5,083 category 3 (EB3) Green Cards. EB1-3 are different categories of employment-based Green Cards…Read More

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US H1-B visa ban: Who is affected by Trump’s new rules on work visas?

The effects of the proclamation may not be immediately felt as the issuance of work visas had already dramatically declined due to the coronavirus pandemic

US President Donald Trump suspended the entry of certain foreign workers on Monday until the end of the year, a move the White House said would help the coronavirus-battered economy, but which business groups strongly oppose. The effects of the proclamation may not be immediately felt as the issuance of work visas had already dramatically declined due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The following visa categories are affected:

H-1B: The United States grants 85,000 H-1B visas every year to ‘high-skilled’ workers, often in the technology industry. They are generally valid for up to six years. In fiscal year 2019, the Department of State issued 188,123 H-1B visas for both new applicants and renewals. Some 131,549 were for Indian citizens, followed by 28,483 for mainland Chinese citizens.

ALSO READ: Donald Trump blocks H1B visa as businesses say it will hurt US recovery

Only 143 H-1B visas were issued in May 2020, compared with 13,678 in May 2019, according to Department data.

H-2B: H-2B visas are for seasonal non-agricultural labor. The United States issues 66,000 per year, although it sometimes grants additional visas based on demand. They are generally valid for up to three years and are popular in industries like food processing, hotel work, and landscaping. In fiscal year 2019, the Department of State issued 97,623 H-2B visas for both new applicants and renewals. Some 72,339 were for Mexican citizens…Read More

Trump sought China’s help to win 2020 US election, claims Bolton’s memoir

The book, ‘The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir’, is due to be published on June 23, but the Trump administration has sued to block its distribution

In a stunning accusation against his ex-boss, former US National Security Adviser John Bolton has claimed in his new book that President Donald Trump personally asked his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 presidential election, CNN reported.

According to an excerpt from his upcoming memoir published by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, during one notable interaction between Trump and Xi at the G-20 Summit in Osaka last June, the US President “stunningly” turned the conversation to the upcoming 2020 election.Bolton went on narrating in the book that Trump had “stressed the importance of farmers and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome,” adding that he “would print Trump’s exact words, but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise.” 

ALSO READ: Trump signs order on police reforms after meeting victims’ families

The former NSA also said the conversation turned back to the trade deal, and Trump “proposed that for the remaining $350 billion of trade imbalances (by Trump’s arithmetic), the US would not impose tariffs, but he again returned to importuning Xi to buy as many American farm products as China could.” The book, ‘The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir’, is due to be published on June 23, but the Trump administration has sued to block its distribution, claiming that it contains classified information and would compromise national security.

Trumps feels 'differently' about trade deal with China after Covid-19

The US and China had signed a deal in January to end their 22-month-long trade war during which the two countries slapped tit-for-tat tariff hikes

Once dubbed as historic by him, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he now feels differently’ about the trade deal he signed with China earlier this year. He said this while once again venting out his frustration with the Beijing leadership, accusing it of letting coronavirus spread, news agency PTI reported.

Till Tuesday, over 92,000 Americans have died and 1.5 million tested positive for coronavirus that has globally killed around 320,000 people. The US and China had signed a deal in January to end their 22-month-long trade war during which the two countries slapped tit-for-tat tariff hikes on products worth nearly half a trillion USD. Under it, Beijing agreed to increase its purchase of US goods by $200 billion in 2020-2021.

ALSO READ: US response to coronavirus ‘incompetent’: China hits back at Trump

“I feel differently now about that deal than I did three months ago, Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. We will see what all happens, but it’s been a very disappointing situation. Very disappointing thing happened with China because the plague flowed in and that wasn’t supposed to happen and it could have been stopped,” he said…Read More

International coronavirus dispatch: Trump warns of ‘toughest’ weeks ahead

From US President Donald Trump warning about the toughest weeks ahead, to Greece quarantining its second migrant camp, and the UAE is ramping up its stimulus, read these and more in today’s dispatch

US President Donald Trump started his briefing on Saturday by stating, “there will be a lot of death, unfortunately”. The number of people infected in the US has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll going past 8,400 — more than 3,500 of those in the state of New York alone. Meanwhile, there has been growing evidence that Italy’s official death toll vastly understates the real total figures, because of the number of people who are dying at home. Here is a round-up of important coronavirus pandemic reports from across the globe.

Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total confirmed cases: 1,216,422

Change over the previous day: 77,215

Total deaths: 65,711

Total recovered: 252,538

Nations hit with most cases: US (312,245), Spain (130,759), Italy (124,632), Germany (96,108), and France (90,853). (Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center)

Trump says ‘toughest’ weeks ahead as coronavirus spreads: US President Donald Trump warned that the country could be headed into its ‘toughest’ weeks yet as the coronavirus death toll mounted, but at the same time he expressed growing impatience with social distancing guidelines and said he was eager to get the country reopened and its stalled economy back on track. Read more here.

Houston: Modi endorses Trump to Indian Americans ahead of 2020 US Prez race

Indians form about a fifth of 20 million Asian Americans and are often more educated and earn more than other immigrant groups

International News: President Donald Trump received the endorsement of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they shared a stage in Houston, walking hand in hand in a rock-star-like show to address more than 50,000 Indian Americans — an influential voter base.

Modi said Trump told him the first time they met that India has a “true friend” in the White House, and the U.S. leader’s presence at the Texas event is proof of that. He also praised Trump on his efforts to drive the US economy and taking ties between the two nations to a new level.

“I admire him for something more: his sense of leadership,” Modi told the gathering at the home of the National Football League’s Houston Texans — branded as “Howdy Modi!” In his speech, he echoed Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan, saying that “he has already made the American economy strong again.”

Indians form about a fifth of 20 million Asian Americans and are often more educated and earn more than other immigrant groups, the Washington-based Pew Research Center found. About 65% of Indian Americans were Democrats or leaned toward the Democrats, according to a 2014 Pew Research paper. That didn’t stop the Republican president from getting loud cheers in the arena, especially when he addressed issues such as security….

Thousands are targeted as US prepares to raid undocumented migrant families

The operation, backed by President Trump, had been postponed, partly because of resistance among officials at his own immigration agency

Across the nation attacks to capture a great many individuals from undocumented families have been planned to start Sunday, as indicated by two present and one previous country security authorities, pushing ahead with a quickly evolving task, the last subtleties of which stay in transition. The task, upheld by President Trump, had been delayed, halfway in view of obstruction among authorities at his own migration organization.

The assaults, which will be led by illegal Immigration and Customs Enforcement over different days, will incorporate “guarantee” extraditions, as indicated by the authorities, who talked on the state of secrecy due to the fundamental phase of the task. In those extraditions, the experts may keep settlers who happened to be on the scene, despite the fact that they were not focuses of the assaults.

Whenever possible, relatives who are captured together will be held in family confinement focuses in Texas and Pennsylvania. But since of space impediments, some may wind up remaining in lodgings until their movement reports can be readied. ICE will probably expel the families as fast as would be prudent.

The authorities said ICE operators were focusing in any event 2,000 migrants who have been requested expelled — some because of their inability to show up in court — however who stay in the nation wrongfully. The task is relied upon to occur in at any rate 10 noteworthy urban communities…

Modi invites Donald Trump to be chief guest for Republic Day 2019: Report

Washington is said to have indicated to New Delhi that the Trump administration is favourably considering the invite

 

India has invited US President Donald Trump to be the chief guest for next year’s Republic Day parade, the Times of India reported on Friday.

An official response from the US is still awaited.

However, in the past few weeks, Washington is said to have indicated to New Delhi that the Trump administration is favourably considering the invite, the daily reported. The invite was sent in April and followed up by several rounds of diplomatic engagement.

The invitation by the Narendra Modi government comes amid difference with the US over trade tariffs and the latter’s sanctions on Iran.

Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, was the chief guest for the 2015 Republic Day parade and celebrations.

Leaders of all the 10 countries of the ASEAN bloc were the chief guests for the 2018 parade.(CLICK HERE : BS)