News Analysis India

Tag: Trump

  • US President Trump extends ban on other work visas including H1-B until 31 March

    US President Donald Trump has extended restrictions on H-1B visas as well as other foreign workplaces for three months in the interests of American workers. Trump said that the corona virus treatment and vaccine are available, but the impact of the epidemic on the labor market and community health is not completely gone.

    This decision will affect a large number of Indian IT professionals and many American and Indian companies, who were issued H-1B visas by the US government. Trump had last year ordered a ban on work visas for various categories on 22 April and 22 June.

    The order was ending on 31 December, and a few hours before that, Trump announced on Thursday that it should be extended to 31 March. He said that the reasons for which these restrictions were imposed have not changed.

    The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers for certain occupations, where theoretical or technical expertise is required. Technology companies rely on this visa to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. This decision will also affect the Indian professionals waiting to renew their H-1B visa.

  • Biden Slams Trump For Not Reaching COVID Vaccine Distribution Goal

    President-elect Joe Biden on December 29 condemned US President Donald Trump for “falling behind” on distributing the coronavirus vaccines. In a live-streamed address on the COVID-19 pandemic crisis from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said, “As I long feared and warned, the effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should.” He berated the Trump administration, saying that the sitting US President had planned to vaccinate nearly 20 million Americans by the end of December and had been unable to achieve that target. “After ten months of the pandemic, we still don’t have enough testing. It’s a travesty,” the president-elect Joe Biden said in a tweet. Biden’s remarks came after he and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris held a COVID-19 meeting with experts. 

    In his address, Biden urged the Americans to wear a mask and follow health safety measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. He reiterated the warning that “things will get worse before they get better.” Biden told the Americans that as the New Year approaches, “We have to be honest that we have a very tough year ahead, maybe the toughest during the entire pandemic.” Biden added, “We’re grateful to the companies, the doctors, the scientists, the researchers, the clinical trial participants, and operation warp speed for developing the vaccines quickly. But as I long feared and warned the effort to distribute the vaccine is not progressing as it should.”

  • Trump approves Tibet policy, China rejects Dalai Lama’s selection policy

    Strongly opposing the intervention of the Chinese government in the process of choosing the Dalai Lama in Tibet, the US has passed a new law in support of religious freedom. China has rejected this new US law on Tibet. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday, saying that it has strictly rejected the new US law on Tibet. The law was signed by President Donald Trump over the weekend. Chao Lijang, deputy director of the information department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a regular media briefing on Monday refused to accept it, expressing strong displeasure over the new US law on Tibet, and said that issues related to Tibet were China’s domestic affairs.

    US President Donald Trump signed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 and finalized this America’s Tibet related policies. Under this, America’s commitment to support Tibetans in exile and the Tibetan government has been reiterated. By this law, America will prohibit China from choosing its own Dalai Lama. Tibet has thanked the President of America for making this law.

    In February this year, the House of Representatives Tests unanimously passed the bill to strengthen Tibet-related policies. The representatives of the Himalayan Buddhist region have considered it a step towards encouraging and empowering Tibet.

  • Over 100 House Republicans Broke From Trump To Override His Veto On Defence Bill

    In the latest blow for outgoing US President Donald Trump, over a hundred Republicans united with Democrats in the House of Representatives on December 28 to override his veto of a $741 billion Defence bill. If the same suit is followed by Senate later this week, it will also be the first-ever such rebuke of Trump presidency with only three weeks to go before President-elect Joe Biden takes over.

    On Monday, during the ‘high-stakes day’ on Capitol Hill, the Democrat-majority House even voted to boost the coronavirus relief payments to $2,000 per individual, a Trump-endorsed change but as per reports, it is unlikely to pass through Senate. 

    The bill which saw unusual teaming-up of Democrats and Republicans, the National Defense Authorisation Act is aimed at funding the service members’ pay, overseas military operations along with other requirements. It has been passed by Congress every year since 1967 but just last week, Trump had practised his veto power and sent the bill back with his objections that included its proposal of changing the names of 10 military bases that honour Confederate leaders.

  • From Trump’s ‘Christmas Portrait’ to Bone’s Brexit Joke, Here Are Bizarre X’mas Cards

    Every year, several politicians across the globe send out personalised Christmas cards to their friends, family and supporters. While some cards feature a nice photo with “Merry Christmas” written on top, others sometimes are awkward or downright bizarre. This year too US President Donald Trump and UK leader Keir Starmer’s cards have caught people’s attention for all the wrong reasons. But they are not alone, as in the past too politicians have sent out many embarrassing cards. Therefore, here are a few hilarious greeting cards of all time.

     On December 19, US First Lady Melania Trump had shared the Christmas portrait. While wishing “Merry Christmas”, the Trumps’ shared a post where the duo can be seen standing on the Grand Staircase of the White House. The picture had taken the internet by storm as people thought the US President and his wife might have been photoshopped into their greeting card. 

  • Donald Trump Administration Says US Ready To Build Stronger Post-Brexit Ties With UK, EU

    The United States has congratulated Britain and the European Union for reaching a trade agreement before the end of the transition phase on December 31. The White House National Security Council congratulated both UK and EU for concluding the historic Brexit deal and said that it “stands ready” to work with all and build stronger transatlantic ties. Britain and the EU announced reaching a trade agreement on the eve of Christmas after months of negotiations between London and Brussels. 

    Both sides agreed on a Brexit trade deal on December 24, just a week before the United Kingdom was scheduled to leave the European Union fully. Britain had officially exited the 28-nation bloc on January 31, 2020, following which it moved into a transition phase to negotiate a trade agreement with the EU. Britain will become free from the liability of the bloc starting January 1, 2021, onwards, meaning it will no longer have to comply with EU rules.

  • Trump Spends Christmas Eve Golfing After Claiming To Work ‘tirelessly’ For COVID-19 Relief

    While the country is still roled with the pandemic and the crucial COVID-19 relief bill is left in disarray, US President Donald Trump was spotted at his golf club in West Palm Beach on December 24. As per reports, just after Trump claimed to have been “working tirelessly for the American people” with a jam-packed schedule of “many meetings and calls”, the US President decided to spend his Christmas Eve golfing in Florida. 

    However, in Washington, a Democratic proposal to elevate the direct payments to US citizens under the relief bill from $600 to $2,000 was blocked on Trump’s demand that was expressed in a surprise video address on Tuesday night. But, as per reports, it was dismissed by Republicans who opposed the higher spending throughout stimulus talks amid the global health crisis. 

    If the relief bill ultimately fails, millions of Americans will be left without the much-required relief at least until the President-elect Joe Biden takes the office after inauguration day on January 20, 2021. As of now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that the Democrats would try again on December 28.

  • US Opens Virtual Mission In Disputed Western Sahara In Line With Trump’s Proclamation

    The United States government has announced the opening of a “virtual post” in Western Sahara ahead of a fully functioning consulate, the State Department said on Thursday. The opening of the virtual diplomatic mission in the region is in line with US President Donald Trump’s proclamation on recognising the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over Western Sahara. 

    The State Department informed that the virtual post will be managed by the US Embassy in Rabat, Morocco until a fully functioning consulate is established in the region. POLISARIO is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement aiming to end Morocco’s presence in Western Sahara. Even though the party has been banned in parts of Western Sahara currently under the control of Moroccans, the United Nations recognises the movement as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. 

  • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Equates Trump With Former Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein

    In a renewed attack on Donald Trump, Hassan Rouhani described the outgoing US President as a “madman” and equated him with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The Iranian president’s provocative remarks come ahead of Trump’s White House exit after one term in office, which saw a colossal rise in regional tension in the face of the US’s aggressive policies in the Middle East. 

     Rouhani called both Trump and Hussein, who launched a devastating war against Iran in the 1980s, mentally unstable. Saddam Hussein was captured by US forces after the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq and hanged to death in a Baghdad prison 14 years ago.

    With Trump’s exit, the Islamic Republic hopes to normalise diplomatic ties with the US under the incoming Biden administration. Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the nation would fully implement the 2015 nuclear deal if US President-elect Joe Biden lifts all sanctions on Iran. Zarif’s remarks came after Biden reaffirmed his stance on Middle East foreign policies and said his administration would lift sanctions if Iran returned to “strict compliance with the nuclear deal.”

  • Trump Orders New Federal Buildings Must Be ‘beautiful’

    Outgoing US President Donald Trump on December 21 issued an executive order stating that future federal buildings across the country must be “beautiful”. The order, titled “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture”, states that too many federal buildings reflected “brutalist” designs of the last century. Now, while the new order will create a new council to advise the president on future federal buildings, Trump has said that the new structures should preferably be built in a classical Greek, Roman or similar style. 

    According to the executive order, Trump, who only has a few weeks left in the office, said that the federal building in Washington DC in recent times have created a “discordant mixture of classical and modernist designs”. He said that with some exceptions, the government had “largely stopped building beautiful buildings”. Further, Trump said that the use of classical and other traditional architecture “should be encouraged instead of discouraged”.