Page 2 - United States

Bill in US Congress seeks to end H-1B visa as route to green card

A hardline Republican lawmaker has introduced a draft legislation in the US Congress seeking an overhaul of the H-1B visa programme, including ending its use as a pathway to permanent residency in the United States. Congressman Chip Roy introduced the American White-Collar Worker Jobs Act on Thursday. The proposed legislation also seeks to scrap the optional practical training (OPT) programme, which allows foreign students to work in the US for a limited period after graduation. "For its nearly forty-year history, the H-1B visa has been abused, allowing employers to routinely sideline American STEM workers in favour of cheap foreign labour, while masking layoffs and wage suppression as 'shortages.' "It's time to end this lottery-based pipeline and replace it with a system that prioritises merit, enforces real wage standards, and puts American white-collar workers first," said Roy, who represents the 21st district of Texas in Congress. The bill is backed by US Tech Workers, the ...

Trump's lawyers sought to halt discovery in $10 billion BBC lawsuit

Trump has accused the BBC of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech to make it appear that he directed supporters to storm the US ‌Capitol

John Bolton reaches deal to plead guilty over classified information

The former Trump national security adviser plans to plead guilty to a count of illegal retention of classified information, which could result in a fine and possibly prison time of up to five years

Trump's trade chief says new tariffs can fit within existing deals

The EU and US agreed to a free-trade deal in July that would see the bloc erase levies on US industrial goods in exchange for a 15 per cent tariff ceiling on its exports

Trump says Iran has agreed to forgo nuclear weapons, may meet Mojtaba

Asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with the US on ending hostilities, Trump said, "He's involved, absolutely. ...I think they have a lot of respect for him"

Indian tyre exports hit record high in FY26 despite global challenges

Exports rose 9 per cent to ₹27,312 crore in FY26 as tyre makers expanded into new markets and strengthened manufacturing capacity despite trade and logistics challenges

War games and warnings on Strait of Hormuz went unheeded by Trump

Over the past two decades, Iran repeatedly threatened to close down the waterway. President Trump underestimated Iran's ability to do so

US-India trade deal 99% done, last-mile talks this week: US Ambassador Gor

US Ambassador Sergio Gor says 99 per cent of the bilateral trade pact is in place, with negotiators working to resolve final technical and legal issues during talks in New Delhi

Trump signs order seeking oversight of AI models for security risks

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on oversight of artificial intelligence Tuesday, less than two weeks after postponing a White House ceremony over his concerns that a similar policy could dull America's technological edge. The order establishes a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release. Participation by AI developers would be voluntary, the order says. "Advanced AI capabilities make our Nation stronger, but also introduce new national security considerations that require coordinated action across executive departments and agencies," the order says. It was not immediately clear to what extent the order differed from the one Trump declined to sign on May 21. The order says the government would have only 30 days to review an AI system, a shorter time frame than some in the industry were expecting. A longer time period might have been seen as too burdensome for

Trump orders US agencies to partner with AI firms on cyber defence

Tuesday's order emphasises voluntary participation by developers despite earlier deliberations about mandating government approval of new AI systems

Trump taps Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief after Gabbard resigned

President Donald Trump has tapped federal housing finance Director Bill Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. Trump made the surprise announcement Tuesday on Truth Social regarding Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Trump says Pulte "has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago." Trump says Pulte will keep his other positions even as he fills in for Gabbard, who resigned last month after revealing her husband's cancer diagnosis.

Iran says reviewing US ceasefire proposal as Trump says talks continuing

Trump said on Monday that negotiations with Iran were continuing and there would be a deal over the next week to extend a ceasefire agreed in early April and reopen the Strait of Hormuz

India, US begin 3-day talks to finalise details of trade agreement

The chief negotiators of India and the US on Tuesday began a three-day round of talks here to finalise the details of the proposed interim trade agreement, an official said. The framework for the pact was finalised in February. The US team is led by its chief negotiator Brendan Lynch. India's chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, who is an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce. The talks are underway at Vanijya Bhavan here, the headquarters of the Commerce and Industry Ministry. The two sides are looking to finalise the details of the interim trade agreement and take forward the negotiations for the broader bilateral trade agreement (BTA). On February 7, India and the US issued a joint statement finalising the contours or framework of the first phase of the BTA or an interim trade deal. According to the framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. It had removed the 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods for buying Russian oil and

It reflects 'compromises': US SEC defends settlement with Musk over Twitter

The SEC also said in a footnote that the settlement if approved will allow Musk to publicly deny its accusations, reflecting a recent policy change governing defendants who settle enforcement actions

'Now a classified space': Pentagon bars journalists from its press office

In another of a series of moves restricting media access at the Pentagon, the Defense Department has declared that its press office is now a classified space inaccessible to journalists. On X, acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed the move, saying there was "nothing controversial" about it and that it came because speechwriters, who use classified material, were now occupying the space. "The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility," Valdez wrote. "These speechwriters routinely handle classified material as a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. There's nothing controversial about that." The latest move, first reported by The Washington Post, took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between the U.S. media and the second Trump administration, which has played out both in the public ar

India-US trade deal to reflect Washington's tariff changes: Piyush Goyal

Goyal said large parts of the agreement had already been finalised and that discussions were currently focused on a few remaining issues

No room for speculation till final outcome reached in talks with US: Iran

Araghchi stated that 'it is not possible to judge until a clear conclusion is reached; everything that is being said now is speculation and should not be taken seriously until it is certain'

Trump plans to appeal order allowing tariff refunds for all importers

Businesses big and small have started receiving tariff refunds after the US Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump lacked the constitutional authority to impose higher import taxes on goods from nearly every other country. The process could grind to a halt, however, after the Trump administration said Friday that it intended to appeal a federal judge's order to allow all companies that paid the invalidated duties to seek refunds, not just the ones that filed lawsuits. Until the Department of Justice informed the judge of its planned appeal, the refund system overseen by US Customs and Border Protection had been working fairly smoothly. Refunds reached the bank accounts of the first successful applicants on May 12, about three weeks after importers and their customs brokers could start submitting claims through an online system, according to CBP. Applications for refunds totalling USD 85 billion - more than half of the USD 166 billion the agency estimated the government owes

US says it stopped another merchant ship attempting to breach Iran blockade

The US military has stopped another merchant vessel trying to break through the American blockade of Iranian ports, a US official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday. The Gambia-flagged bulk carrier Lian Star ignored multiple warnings from US forces overnight as it tried to enter an Iranian port, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. The ship was disabled by US aircraft in the Gulf of Oman and remains adrift there, the official said, adding that US forces have not boarded it. With the latest action, US military has stopped six ships trying to breach the blockade. One was allowed to proceed. The US launched the blockade on April 17 in response to Iran effectively closing the strait after the war began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28. A fragile ceasefire has held since April 7. Now the region and wider world await word on whether a deal is being reached to extend it by 60 days while new tal

Pete Hegseth reassures Pacific allies as he softens China threat rhetoric

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth assured Pacific allies on Saturday that Washington remained committed to the region, but toned down previous comments calling China a threat. Speaking to a group of world leaders, diplomats and top security officials at the Shangri-La defense conference in Singapore, Hegseth said that the region "has profound implications for US security and prosperity" and that Washington's priority was to "achieve a lasting and favorable balance of power in the Pacific." It was his second time addressing the forum. Last year, he raised the ire of Beijing by warning of rapidly developing threats from China, particularly its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. He said China is no longer just building up its military forces to take Taiwan, it's "actively training for it, every day." This year, however, the meeting comes only about two weeks after US President Donald Trump visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, following which Trump called Xi a "great leader" and