Serbia Prez Vucic Defies Europe, Arrives In Russia For Victory Day, Says This On Cam: ‘Never Allow…'
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić attended Moscow's Victory Day celebrations, defying mounting pressure from the European Union. His presence signals continued ties with Russia despite Western warnings and what he called "blackmail" attempts. The EU had threatened to take away Serbia's bloc candidacy if it attended the V-Day celebrations in Russia.
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Deccan Herald
33 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
UK's visa crackdown leaves City of London immigrants in limbo
By Meg ShortOne banker in the City of London is faced with paying an extra £40,000 a year in university fees for his children. Nursing homes are worried about finding enough caretakers for residents. The insurance industry says overseas relocations have now ground to a halt. Such is life in the UK after the government announced it would now take ten years for immigrants to receive preferential status known as indefinite leave to remain, or ILR. That's twice the time it used to take.'Ten years is a very long time to spend without certainty,' said Louise Haycock, partner at the immigration services firm Fragomen, who has been fielding frequent requests from businesses on the matter. 'The UK already has one of the most expensive immigration schemes.'The government, which is still finalising the changes, is attempting to navigate public pressure to tackle the number of people arriving in the country, as the right-wing populist Reform party gains ground in local and parliamentary elections. It's too soon to say whether the plans will apply retroactively to those already in the country, immigration minister Seema Malhotra said this week. Net migration to the UK quadrupled between 2019 and 2023. While official data suggests this rise is reversing as the post-Covid spike in foreign students ends and European Union citizens face more hurdles to move, the government is keen to drive the decline further. The rules are also tightening for those who wish to bring family members when they move. .The most obvious businesses hit by the crackdown are care homes, which rely heavily on workers from abroad. Under proposals set out by the Labour government after May's local elections, overseas recruitment in the care sector will end within months, reversing an exemption introduced in 2022. The charity Care England described the decision as a 'crushing blow to an already fragile sector.' Operators say funding pressures prevent them from offering higher salaries, meaning the jobs often only appeal to overseas government has said employers will be able to hire migrants who are already in the UK until sectors are concerned by the changes. Pharmaceutical companies, for example, face extra paperwork and costs that could restrict scientists moving to the UK. The hospitality industry also depends on attracting workers from abroad, who will find it tougher to qualify for skilled worker visas under the new, higher pay large multinational British company is anticipating the changes to immigration rules will raise costs for its staffing moves, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the topic. Despite the likely financial impact, the person said the company didn't plan on raising the issue with the government and will instead absorb the additional expense. City FearsIn the City of London, whose banks, law firms and professional services firms have long drawn skilled workers from overseas, there's rising City worker, who requested anonymity, is considering a move to Dubai or the US in order to fund his child's increased university fees and said he felt cheated by the changes the government is making. Some individuals relocated to the UK to enable their children to study at British universities. Yet parents without settled status will now face as much as £50,000 in annual international fees, instead of £9,535 in domestic fees. 'We've got people that are in the UK who are coming to us and saying, 'I've been in the UK for three and a half years, I've made it my home, my kids are in school, I pay my taxes, I want to buy a house. But I can't now because I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a mortgage in five years time if I'm going to have to wait another six, seven years for ILR,'' said Seema Farazi, global immigration leader for government affairs and financial services at EY. The headline measures announced by the government to restrict immigration were not helping the UK's image with high-skilled migrant workers, she added. 'We have seen a lot of people who are looking at alternative options in different parts of the world.'.Trump gets key wins at Supreme Court on immigration, despite some well as the extra years waiting for settled status, foreign bankers are also facing higher taxes relative to other global financial hubs, the end of the non-dom status that might have shielded their overseas wealth from UK tax and increasingly squeezed public services. One London employee at a major international investment bank, who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity, said she was now concerned about her position in the UK. She'd bought a house after relocating from Asia, in the confidence that she'd have permanent residency within five years and would be able to apply for a new job if she lost her current she said in a fiercely competitive industry, it was far from clear that anyone would keep their role for a decade. Had she known it might be that long before she would gain settled status, she said she would not have come to the will also need to pay the UK's £1,000 annual immigration skill charge for five additional years until workers become settled. Large international banks are expected to largely absorb the increased bureaucratic burden but the task won't be feasible for every firm. Smaller firms will be particularly hard hit by the reforms, said Craig Beaumont, executive director of the Federation of Small Businesses, in a speech in May. 'Small business owners are not immigration officers,' he said. 'To attract and retain experienced international talent, we need to have access to long-term visas that are compatible with families moving to the UK,' said Arabella Ramage, legal and regulatory director at the insurance trade body Lloyd's Market Association. The organization expects 260,000 skilled people to leave the insurance industry by 2035, based on the ages of of the immigration policy are still being finalized, and the government has said it will allow some people to qualify for ILR sooner, based on criteria yet to be decided that could measure immigrants' economic contribution. 'It's just another burden and it's clamping down on using highly skilled individuals,' said Richard Harris, chief legal officer at recruitment agency Robert Walters Group. Uncertainty is palpable, even for those already in the country. It's clear the government's intention is trying to find different ways they can make immigration more difficult, according to immigration barrister Catherine Taroni. 'The white paper itself is very broad. It's quite all encompassing,' she said.
Hindustan Times
40 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
A top Taliban official offers amnesty to Afghans who fled the country and urges them to return
A top Taliban official said on Saturday that all Afghans who fled the country after the collapse of the former Western-backed government are free to return home, promising they would not be harmed if they come back. Taliban Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund made the amnesty offer in his message for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, also known as the 'Feast of Sacrifice.' The offer comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a sweeping travel ban on 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The measure largely bars Afghans hoping to resettle in the United States permanently as well as those hoping to go to the U.S. temporarily, such as for university study. Trump also suspended a core refugee program in January, all but ending support for Afghans who had allied with the U.S. and leaving tens of thousands of them stranded. Afghans in neighboring Pakistan who are awaiting resettlement are also dealing with a deportation drive by the Islamabad government to get them out of the country. Almost a million have left Pakistan since October 2023 to avoid arrest and expulsion. Akhund's holiday message was posted on the social platform X. 'Afghans who have left the country should return to their homeland,' he said. 'Nobody will harm them." "Come back to your ancestral land and live in an atmosphere of peace,' he added, and instructed officials to properly manage services for returning refugees and to ensure they were given shelter and support. He also used the occasion to criticize the media for making what he said were 'false judgements' about Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and their policies. 'We must not allow the torch of the Islamic system to be extinguished,' he said. 'The media should avoid false judgments and should not minimize the accomplishments of the system. While challenges exist, we must remain vigilant.' The Taliban swept into the capital Kabul and seized most of Afghanistan in a blitz in mid-August 2021 as the U.S. and NATO forces were in the last weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war. The offensive prompted a mass exodus, with tens of thousands of Afghans thronging the airport in chaotic scenes, hoping for a flight out on the U.S. military airlift. People also fled across the border, to neighboring Iran and Pakistan. Among those escaping the new Taliban rulers were also former government officials, journalists, activists, those who had helped the U.S. during its campaign against the Taliban.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
You Did Well, Jaishankar Tells Multi-Party Teams On Return To India As Leaders Share Feedback
Last Updated: Sources said the delegations told Jaishankar that they were received well and the countries were willing to listen to India's side of the story On Friday, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar met two delegations that have returned from the multi-country visits—one led by NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule and the other by NDA alliance partner Shiv Sena's parliamentary party leader Shrikant Shinde—the youngest amongst all the delegate leaders. The Sule-led delegation visited countries like South Africa, Ethiopia, and Egypt, while those on Shinde's list were UAE, followed by countries like Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Sources said Jaishankar was told that many countries that they went to want India to sit across the table and have a dialogue with Pakistan. Some countries have even asked why India did not take a stand on the escalation between several other countries. It is learnt that the members explained to these countries that it was not possible to speak to Pakistan because it cannot be trusted due to its policy to support terror. The delegations expressed how they were made to feel welcome, and people in these countries were willing to listen to India's side of the story. It is also learnt that the delegation told the minister that there is more need for better communication with these countries so that India can present its view. It would not be fair to judge them assuming that they would be supporting Pakistan by virtue of being a Muslim nation. Through these visits, the countries also said India should seek deeper engagement with them, not just in trade and commerce, but on other softer issues like culture, tourism etc. The delegation also gave feedback to the government that it was important to have better dialogue and engage with Western media to be able to explain India's narrative better. The Shinde team, on the other hand, had a much better engagement. A moment of silence in the memory of those who lost their lives in the Pahalgam attack was observed in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In fact, in Liberia, it was done in Parliament and Shinde was asked to speak at the podium. Jaishankar expressed satisfaction with the interaction of the teams to these countries, which have often been dismissed as insignificant, but will have a role to play in the future. 'These countries are not very prominent for many looking at it from a world view, but the kind of narrative that you have been able to bring back home. It is a great service to the country," the minister is said to have told the delegation. The delegation led by Shinde also expressed sentiments of the people of these countries who wanted better trade relations with India. The potential for investment and better trade could certainly be explored with deeper engagement, they said. Jaishankar was also told that Liberia, for example, has been looking out for a space to have its consulate in India. India is a great importer of rubber and rubber-related goods for which markets in these African countries can also be explored. These African countries can also be a great investment sector for mining, the delegation expressed. The delegation also added that there was a huge appreciation for India's role in UN peacekeeping and the kind of support India gave to these countries during Covid-19 by providing vaccines and other essential medicines, which is deeply appreciated. So far, five delegation members out of seven have met Jaishankar and shared the detailed feedback that they have been able to gather in their multi-party visits across many countries. The remaining two delegations from Ravi Shankar Prasad's team and Shashi Tharoor's team are likely to meet the minister some time next week. Some members have also submitted a detailed written report and note for the government of India to consider. A total of seven delegations, comprising 55 members—including MPs, former diplomats, and former Union ministers—were dispatched to 38 countries to explain India's stand on terrorism. These delegations were led by prominent leaders such as Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, NCP(SP)'s Supriya Sule, BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, Shiv Sena's Srikant Shinde, DMK's Kanimozhi, and JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha.
