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H1B visa process, clearing 'green card' backlog and will ‘continue working toward upgrading country's legal immigration system,’ the White House informed. Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary, told reporters, “One of the steps, if we look at the H1B visa process, we have taken action to improve that and the process and backlog for lawful permanent residents (green card) who are eligible to become US citizens" The comment comes in the context that a section of Indian Americans feels that President Joe Biden is not putting as much effort into addressing the woes of legal immigrants as he is doing for illegal immigrants.

WTO) is the «top-most» priority. The appellate body of the system had been non-functional since December 2019 due to the blocking of the appointment of its members or judges by the US and this had called into question the WTO's overall credibility and the rules-based trade order it upholds. This was flagged by India during the working session on Dispute Settlement (DS) Reforms, at the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference here. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal along with a high-level official team is attending the four-day conference which started on February 26.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks moved in a flat-to-low range on Thursday in anticipation of more cues on U.S. interest rates from key inflation data, while Chinese markets rebounded from heavy losses in the prior session. 

BANGKOK (Reuters) — Thailand will ban the recreational use of marijuana by the end of this year, but continue allowing its use for medical purposes, the health minister told Reuters in an interview.

The BSE Sensex was trading 30 points or 0.04% lower at 72,274. Nifty50 was trading at 21,910, down 40 points or 0.18% at around 9.23 am.

U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon broke a leg at touchdown before falling over, and had just a few hours of power left before its anticipated premature shutdown Wednesday night. Intuitive Machines, the company that built the lander, released new photos Wednesday, six days after the landing, that showed at least one broken leg on the six-legged spacecraft. The lander came in too fast, skidded and tumbled over as it touched down near the moon's south pole last Thursday, hampering communications and power. It was supposed to operate for at least a week. CEO Steve Altemus said the lander, named Odysseus, was still generating solar power even though it was on its side. Later Wednesday, he said, flight controllers would «tuck Odie in for the cold night of the moon» so in three weeks, once lunar night lifts, they can try to regain contact.

H1B visa process, 'green card' backlog and other issues related to the country's legal immigration system, the White House has said. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. «One of the steps, if we look at the H1B visa process, we have taken action to improve that and the process and backlog for lawful permanent residents (green card) who are eligible to become US citizens,» White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday. She was responding to questions about the feeling among a section of Indian Americans that the president is not putting as much effort on addressing the woes of legal immigrants as he is doing for illegal immigrants.

QUAD continues the momentum of its past three years under India's presidency in 2024, the White House has said. «The president (Joe Biden) is incredibly proud of the progress QUAD has made over the past three years,» White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday. Members of the QUAD — the US, Australia, India and Japan — had held their first summit at the White House in March 2021. «The (QUAD's) anniversary is coming up and we are hoping to continue that momentum in 2024, under India's host year, as you just stated. And, we are talking about not just the United States, obviously, India, Japan and Australia,» Jean-Piere said in response to a question.

New Delhi stating that the nation that has institutionalized the systemic persecution of its minorities and has a truly abysmal human rights record has no right to comment on India. Speaking at the high-level segment of the 55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council, First Secretary Anupama Singh on Wednesday said it is regrettable that the Council's forum has once again been abused to propagate flagrantly false accusations about India.

(Reuters) — The Australian banking trade union said on Thursday that Westpac Banking (NYSE:WBK) Corp, one of the country's top lenders, has cut around 132 jobs across divisions, with some of these roles being shifted to companies in India and the Philippines.

By Jonathan Stempel

Sri Lanka’s bustling Colombo airport is busier than it has been in the past few years. Last year, the country welcomed 1.5 million tourists, a fifth of them from India. Long-stay Russians number 300,000 and have transformed some of the country’s southern resort towns, not always for the better.

The White House earlier Wednesday announced an executive order intended to help restrict the transfer of personal data to China, Russia and other countries on security grounds.

Indian Railways has barred for two years Jakson Ventures Private Ltd (JVPL), one of the largest and oldest suppliers of diesel generators in the country. Jakson is the authorised dealer for US-headquartered diesel genset maker Cummins Inc. Government officials aware of the development said JVPL had forged documents certifying earnest money deposit (EMD) as bank guarantee in a bid called by Central Periodical Overhauling (CPOH) Workshop of the Indian Railways in Prayagraj. Responding to queries from ET, Jakson Group said JVPL is an independent legal entity, which has filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court against the Railway Board order.

farm subsidies at the World Trade Organization (WTO) remained stuck on the third day of 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) with countries sticking to their respective positions. Developed countries are not yielding to the «legitimate» demands of developing nations, officials said, adding that an outcome on the ministerial is expected to be delayed to Saturday instead of Friday. The European Union and the United States also blocked pro-development agenda in the draft Abu Dhabi package such as India's proposal, backed by many countries, to lower the cost of cross-border remittances, and a paragraph on debt on «trade-related approach» to mitigate challenges on increasing levels of debt and global financial crises.

Air India has refinanced short-term loans with the State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) for a three-year loan at an attractive rate, thanks to the conglomerate's strong credit profile. The new Rs 19,000 crore loan will be used to finance the carrier's working capital needs and upgrade its aircraft fleet, people familiar with the details said. The loan has replaced the short-term Rs 18,000 crore bridge loan Air India had availed from SBI and BoB to complete the Tata group's takeover of the erstwhile national carrier in January 2022. It was subsequently renewed for a year in 2023.

Sharif said 'Shehbaz is the best choice for the prime ministership, especially in the current circumstances Pakistan is in’, English daily Dawn reported. “Nawaz officially nominated his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif and party loyalist Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for the posts of prime minister and speaker of the National Assembly.

By David Lawder

President Joe Biden is signing an executive order aiming to better protect Americans’ personal data on everything from biometrics and health records to finances and geolocation from foreign adversaries like China and Russia

South Sudan’s government is blaming the country’s economic crisis in part on fighting in neighboring Sudan and the instability in the Red Sea, where Yemen's Houthi rebels have been attacking international shipping

As Hong Kong moves toward enacting a new national security law, more than three years after Beijing imposed a similar law that all but wiped out dissent and vocal pro-democracy media in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, concerns are spreading among the...