Metro Observer Daily

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu also told Press Trust of India in an interview this week that they are also prioritising work visas: H-1B's and L visas, the most sought-after by IT professionals from India.                              US is on track to issue more than a million visas to Indians this year. Washington: The US is on track to issue more than a million visas to Indians this year, a top official has said, assuring that the Biden administration is committed this summer to make sure it processes all of the student visas for Indians whose school starts this fall. US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu also told Press Trust of India in an interview this week that they are also prioritising work visas: H-1B's and L visas, the most sought-after by IT professionals from India. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies ...

  Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani almost certainly did not flee Kabul as it fell to the Taliban with millions of dollars in stolen cash, a US government watchdog’s report said Monday. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report, which will be published on Tuesday, is an interim document, as the office is still awaiting answers to questions sent to Ghani. First reported by Politico, it interviews witnesses as well as officials who were in the helicopter convoy with Ghani as they hastily fled the Presidential Palace in Kabul while the Taliban marched into the capital on August 15, 2021. In subsequent days, multiple reports suggested that Ghani and the other officials took up to $169 million in Afghan government money with them. Ghani has always fiercely denied these claims. “Although SIGAR found that some cash was taken from the grounds of the palace and loaded onto these helicopters, evidence indicates that this number did not exceed $1 million a...

  White House rejects Ukraine’s appeal, saying implementing a no-fly zone could draw US into war with Russia. A satellite image shows a blaze at warehouse 'Epicentr K' and destroyed fields in Chernihiv, Ukraine  Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelenskyy calls for no-fly zone to stop Russian bombardment, but White House says US is not considering such a move. ICC prosecutor says he plans to launch investigation into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity in Ukraine. High-level talks between Kyiv and Moscow end with no agreement except to keep talking. US, UK, EU, Canada impose sanctions on Russia’s central bank. Civilian death toll now stands at 352 people, including 14 children, Ukraine’s health ministry says. More than 520,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russian invasion began, UN says. FIFA and UEFA suspend Russia from international football.