(VOR News) – A recent wave of layoffs has had a disproportionate impact on workers of Indian origin, especially those on H-1B visas, shaking the US IT industry to its core.

The combination of this condition and the newly implemented new visa restrictions has resulted in the creation of a new environment that is becoming increasingly challenging for talented professionals and international students who are immigrants studying in the United States.

Loss of jobs in the United States’ technology sector

As a point of information, according to Layoffs.fyi, 438 technology companies have let go of 137,500 employees in a field that was previously believed to be recession-proof. As a result, employment prospects in the information technology industry are few.

In addition, the H-1B visa gives Indian employees a window of time in which to look for and accept a new position. They will have to depart the country if they are unable to locate and accept a new position within the designated period. According to data from the US Congressional Research Service, Indian labourers must wait incredibly long periods of time—up to more than 190 years—in order to be granted green cards.

Even when they have met all requirements for the workplace, this is still the case. Because of the growing number of petitions, the already shaky situation has gotten much worse.

The visa bulletin that was distributed by the United States Department of State in October 2024 contained information that was published regarding the availability of immigrant visa numbers for the fiscal year 2025. As part of the regular updates that applicants get, this bulletin is intended to inform them about the progress of their applications as well as the different visa categories that are currently available.

The findings of the study conducted by Telugu360 indicate that this had an effect on a number of different immigration categories, one of which was the EB-5 investment visa category in particular.

The latest visa changes and their impact on Indian workers

People are able to receive visas under the EB-5 visa program if they invest in specific projects, such as those that are located in rural areas or in regions with high rates of unemployment.

On the other hand, applicants from mainland China and India frequently experience delays, despite the fact that these visas are available everywhere in the world. On the other hand, there are indications that the processing times are gradually improvement, but they are definitely improving.

Not only that, but concurrently with this, there has been an increase in the number of H-1B visas issued. From $10 to $215, which is a 2150 percent rise, the cost per recipient experienced a significant surge. Over the course of the paper filing procedure, the application price has climbed from $460 to $780, representing a 70 percent increase. This increase occurred over the course of the entire process.

The restrictive measures that were recently implemented with regard to visas have also had an effect on individuals who are applying for green cards. At the moment, the fee for persons who wish to submit their I-30 petition online is $625, but the fee for filing the petition on paper costs $675.

There is a new method that has been implemented for the payment of the $600 asylum fees required for certain petitions.

The sorting of international students has also been brought about as a result of the adoption of increased scrutiny for applicants seeking visas under the F, M, and J categories. It is now expected of them that when they apply for appointments, they will present accurate information from their passport accounts.

The maximum validity duration for Employment Authorisation Documents has been expanded to five years, which is a positive development for those individuals who are eligible for the program. As a consequence of this, the standards for extending work permits will likely become less stringent.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT) are two examples of options for students to participate in practical training.

Students can still take advantage of these chances. The 24-month extension that is available for the STEM OPT is still accessible, despite the fact that there have been some of the employer requirements relaxed.

The necessity of enhancing safety, simplifying operations, and better managing costs is the justification for these modifications. On the other hand, they might also make it more difficult for candidates to meet their financial obligations and alter the ethnic composition of the American labour force.

SOURCE: HT

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Reacting with Rockets, Hezbollah Declares an ‘Open-Ended Struggle’ with Israel.

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(VOR News) – Hezbollah fired 100 rockets early Sunday across northern Israel to respond to hundreds of Lebanon attacks. Some of the rockets landed near Haifa. A Hezbollah leader predicted a “open-ended battle” as both sides prepared to combat.

Israel killed a veteran and many Hezbollah officers in Lebanon, and an extraordinary communications equipment hit sparked the nocturnal missile barrage. From northern Israel’s air raid sirens, hundreds of thousands hid.

At least three people were injured when one hit a residential building in Kiryat Bialik, near Haifa, igniting cars and buildings. Magen David Adom was hurt four. Avi Vazana, his wife, and 9-month-old fled to a bunker before the missile. Upon returning outdoors, he was checked for injuries.

Running barefoot or shirtless. He claimed, “I ran to this house when everything was on fire to find other people.” The Lebanon Health Ministry reported three civilian deaths and four injuries from Israeli border strikes.

Hezbollah answers to historic blows

Rocket attacks followed an Israeli airstrike Friday in Beirut that killed at least 45 people, including Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Akil, fighters, women, and children.

Several days earlier, Hezbollah had been hit by a sophisticated attack that resulted in the destruction of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies. In order to avoid starting a war by bombing deeper into Israel, we must balance bombing deeper into Israeli neighbourhoods and infrastructure with avoiding large-scale civilian attacks.

Hezbollah deputy commander Naim Kassem called the rocket launch a war with Israel on Sunday.

Pain exists. We are humans. You’ll suffer like us, Kassem told Akil’s funeral attendees. He warned of “from outside the box” rocket strikes but claimed Hezbollah will defend Gaza by fighting Israel.

Netanyahu pledged to protect the north and enable relocation.

The nation cannot accept city rocketing. We can’t tolerate it either, he said. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told reporters, “We have many capabilities that we have not yet activated.” Army pressure on Hezbollah is imminent.

Others were buried Sunday for airstrike victims. Mays al-Jabal, southern Lebanon, buried seven people—three mothers and two children. Lebanese Christian senator Melhem Khalaf stated Israel “relies on the laws of the jungle instead of international conventions, especially with protecting civilians.”

White House national security spokeswoman John Kirby told ABC’s “This Week” of the U.S.’s “extensive and quite assertive diplomacy.” He continued, “We want to make sure we can continue to do everything we can to try to prevent this from becoming an all-out war there with Hezbollah across that Lebanese border.”

Israel claims to have stopped a massive Hezbollah attack.

Israeli forces hit 400 terrorist sites, including rocket launchers, in southern Lebanon in 24 hours, preventing a greater strike. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said “Hundreds of thousands of civilians have come under fire across a lot of northern Israel”. Fire entered Israel today.” The military intercepted many drones after Iran-backed Iraqi Islamists claimed a drone hit on Israel.

The Health Ministry stated all northern Israeli hospitals would transfer to safe sites if school was postponed.

Al-Jazeera’s West Bank bureau, suspended this year, was raided by Israeli forces for supporting militants. Jazeera denied it.

Regional disaster, says UN ambassador.

Since the Gaza war began over a year ago, Hezbollah has supplied Hamas and the Palestinians with rockets. Low-level violence has killed scores in Israel, hundreds in Lebanon, and displaced tens of thousands across the border.

Hezbollah hasn’t struck Tel Aviv or civilian infrastructure, and neither side sought conflict until recently. In recent weeks, Israel has emphasised Lebanon above Gaza. It’s unlikely that Hisbollah will stop striking if the Gaza war stops.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid on Israel killed 1,200 and took 250, starting the Gaza War. A third of their 100 hostages may die. Around 41,000 Palestinians died, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Over half of the deceased were women and children, despite not mentioning how many had fought.

“With the region on the brink of a catastrophe, there is NO military solution that will make either side safer,” UN Lebanon envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said on X.

The Lebanon conflict worries Gazan and Israeli prisoner families.

The heightened tensions with Hezbollah worry me because they could misdirect the public’s and the world’s attention, said Udi Goren, a relative of Israeli Tal Haimi, who was assassinated Oct. 7 and taken out.

Gaza-displaced Palestinian Enas Kollab shared these concerns. “We are afraid that the situation in Lebanon will affect us — that all attention will turn to Lebanon and we will be forgotten,” she said.

Hezbollah claims new weapons.

Hezbollah fired hundreds of Fadi 1 and 2 missiles at Ramat David airbase southeast of Haifa in retaliation to repeated Israeli attacks that devastated multiple Lebanese neighbourhoods and killed several civilians.

July saw the group release drone-based surveillance footage.

Hezbollah attacked Rafael’s defence business facilities in Haifa after the wireless device strike. The Israeli military declined comment and provided no proof.

Hezbollah pledged retaliation after pager and walkie-talkie bombs on Tuesday and Wednesday killed 37, including two children, and wounded 3,000. Israel was accused of the strikes without admitting guilt.

SOURCE: AP

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Diddy Combs Faces Public Scrutiny Over Alleged Sex Crimes As Questions Arise About Future Of His Music

 

 

Earlier this year, Combs withdrew a lawsuit filed last year against Diageo as part of a settlement with the London-based spirits giant, making the company the sole owner of Ciroc and DeLeon.

Combs may have lost his major deals but his music remains untouched, at least for now. While awaiting further details, let’s delve into Combs’ music and his public image in the wake of the indictment.
Where his music stands

Combs’ Bad Boy Records might be associated with 1990s artists like Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e and 112, but his label was still in the mix with recent releases by a couple of popular performers.

Diddy Combs Faces Public Scrutiny Over Alleged Sex Crimes As Questions Arise About Future Of His Music

Last year, Combs released his first solo studio album since 2006 with “The Love Album: Off the Grid” and Janelle Monae put out “The Age of Pleasure” through his label. Both projects were Grammy nominated including Monae’s album, which earned a nomination in the Record of the Year category.

In 2022, Machine Gun Kelly dropped his album “Mainstream Sellout” under the Bad Boy umbrella too.
Despite his arrest, Combs’ music is still available on several major streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. The streamers have yet to comment on their plans for how his music will be featured on their platform in the future.

Before the release of “The Love Album,” Combs reassigned his Bad Boy publishing rights back to artists and songwriters. The move came after some criticized him over the years for mistreating his artists.
How Diddy’s peers are reacting

Some expressed concern for Combs’ children, while others feel shame over his alleged missteps and actions, which have become the subject of jokes.

Entertainers from 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Shyne, Aubrey O’Day, Charlamagne tha God and the Notorious B.I.G.’s mother have publicly shared their thoughts on Combs.

“I feel for his kids,” LL Cool J told The Associated Press in a recent interview. He and Combs collaborated on the 1997 album “Phenomenon.”

While LL Cool J showed concern, 50 Cent took a jab in a social media post. The rapper turned TV mogul trolled Combs after he learned law enforcement seized drugs, videos and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant during raids at his Los Angeles and Florida homes.

50 Cent posted his thoughts after a recent appearance on the Drew Barrymore’ talk show.
“Here I am keeping good company with @thedrewbarrymoreshow and I don’t have 1,000 bottles of lube at the house,” said 50 Cent, who often has criticized Combs during the accusations. He expects to release a docuseries on Netflix about the allegations against Combs.

Shyne, a former Bad Boy artist, said he finds no satisfaction in seeing Combs potentially facing prison time despite past trouble between them.

“This is someone who destroyed my life,” said Shyne, who was convicted of assault and other charges stemming from a Manhattan nightclub shooting that injured three people in 1999. Combs’ then-girlfriend, singer and actor Jennifer Lopez, also was there when shots rang out.

Combs was acquitted of charges that he took an illegal gun into the club and tried to bribe his driver to take the fall for the weapon. However, Shyne was convicted of assault and other charges in the shooting and served about eight years in prison.

Now going by Moses Barrow, he is a member of the House of Representatives in his native Belize, where his father was once prime minister.

Diddy Combs Faces Public Scrutiny Over Alleged Sex Crimes As Questions Arise About Future Of His Music

“But do I take any joy or any satisfaction with what he’s going through? Absolutely not,” he continued. “I am different than most people. No one has to fail for me to succeed.”

After B.I.G.’s mother, Voletta Wallace, saw Combs’ attack of Cassie, she wanted to “slap the daylights” out of him. She felt embarrassed for Combs, who along with her son played a huge role in shaping 1990s East Coast hip-hop.

Are people canceling Diddy’s music?
The short answer is mostly no. However, listeners of Combs’ music are proceeding with caution. Some online are questioning whether it’s time to back away from his records.

Most online are saying that could be challenging, especially since many of his biggest hits are collaborations with other artists.

Combs has had several infectious singles including “I’ll Be Missing You” with Faith Evans and 112, “Victory” featuring The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes, “I Need a Girl (Part One)” with Usher and Loon, “Last Night” with Keyshia Cole and “Been Around the World” with Ma$e, who also teamed with Combs on “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down.”

SOURCE | AP