June 25, 2025: Best photos from around the world
Credit: Reuters Photo
A woman votes in the primary election, which includes the race for the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor in the November's election, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City
Credit: Reuters Photo
Venice ahead of the expected wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 12th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, in Pyongyang
Credit: Reuters Photo
Anil Kapoor and Boney Kapoor attend Ganga Aarti
Credit: PTI Photo
Omar Abdullah meets tourists in Gulmarg
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Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
American job slowdown, H‑1B backlash: Is the clock ticking for Indian talent in the US?
Is the clock ticking for Indian talent in the US? In August 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) did something uncharacteristically jarring—it quietly downgraded previous job estimates, revealing that 258,000 jobs initially reported for May and June had not, in fact, materialised. July's fresh data wasn't any better: Only 73,000 new jobs were added, marking the weakest performance since the COVID-19 collapse of 2020. The picture was bleak enough to prompt a public reckoning. As Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, told CNN, 'The job market is terrible. Outside of education and health, the economy has lost private sector jobs in the past three months. That's terrible. ' It wasn't just a statistical correction—it was an unmistakable signal that the engine of job creation was losing steam. President Donald Trump's reaction to the BLS report? Swift and severe. He fired BLS Commissioner Dr Erika McEntarfer, accusing her of intentionally damaging the economy's image ahead of the election cycle. The move sent shockwaves—not only because it politicised statistical reporting—but because it underscored a dangerous truth: when narratives trump numbers, policy decisions can become erratic and targeted. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Simple Morning Habit for a Flatter Belly After 50! Lulutox Undo For Indian professionals on H‑1B visas, many working in sectors (mostly tech) directly affected by these shifts, this wasn't just a Washington shake-up. It was a flashing red light. Economic gloom and the growing crisis for Indian techies on H-1B visa Nowhere has the economic slowdown hit harder—or more symbolically—than in the technology sector, the very engine room of American innovation and the primary destination for skilled Indian immigrants on H‑1B visas. According to Crunchbase, over 95,000 U.S.-based tech workers were laid off in 2024, with an additional 4,500 roles eliminated in just one week of July 2025. The CRN list of 2025 tech layoffs reads like a who's who of Silicon Valley titans: Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Salesforce, Intel, and Oracle. Salesforce, notably, has placed a full freeze on hiring new software engineers this year. These aren't merely cyclical belt-tightening measures. They mark a structural recalibration of the sector—away from expansive hiring and toward leaner, AI-driven operational models. And that recalibration comes with a sharp, often underdiscussed casualty: H‑1B visa holders, the majority of whom are Indian and heavily concentrated in tech roles. Indeed, according to the National Foundation for American Policy, Indian nationals received 72% of all H‑1B visas in recent years. Top sponsoring firms include Amazon, Cognizant, Infosys, and TCS—all deeply enmeshed in the tech ecosystem now undergoing contraction. The fallout is visible and brutal. As per Bloomberg, more than 200,000 tech workers were laid off in the U.S. between November 2022 and January 2023 alone, and industry estimates suggest that 30–40% of those affected were Indian IT professionals. Nearly 80,000 Indian workers on H‑1B and L‑1 visas have faced job losses since late 2022, many with just 60 days to find a new employer before being forced to leave the country. This is not just an economic hiccup. It's a systemic shock—a cold pause that is statistical, immediate, and structurally skewed against the very immigrant talent that helped build the American tech miracle. The rising heat against OPT and H‑1B deepens the crisis The American economic engine may be sputtering, but for Indian professionals in the U.S., it's not just the slowdown that's cause for alarm. A rising wave of political hostility toward high-skilled immigration—especially the OPT and H‑1B visa programmes—is turning an economic risk into a full-blown career crisis. The Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme—long considered the vital bridge from American universities to the U.S. workforce for international students—is now facing the threat of repeal. Critics have labelled it a regulatory loophole, arguing that it allows foreign graduates to bypass traditional labour certification and take American jobs. Leading the charge are figures like Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, who calls OPT a 'shadow guestworker programme.' And in a chilling turn, Joseph B. Edlow, now USCIS Director, has declared his intent to 'remove the ability for employment authorizations for F‑1 students beyond the time that they are in school.' This isn't just political theatre. Ending OPT would dismantle the first step in the employment ladder for thousands of Indian graduates, especially in STEM fields where they make up the overwhelming majority. For many, OPT isn't just optional—it's their only on-ramp to long-term employment and eventual H‑1B sponsorship. The rhetoric extends well beyond student pathways. Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon has called for an immediate moratorium on all foreign student visas, declaring: 'No foreign students should be in the country right now.' His remarks have been echoed—more pointedly—by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has explicitly demanded a ban on Indian H‑1B visa holders, claiming they displace American tech graduates. What was once fringe positioning is now bleeding into legislative language and policy debate. The MAGA playbook is evolving from anti-undocumented sentiment to a more coded, targeted hostility toward high-skilled immigrants—particularly those from India, who dominate both the H‑1B and OPT pipelines. A vicious loop: Job cuts, visa heat, and the Indian immigrant squeeze The combination of shrinking tech opportunities, hostile political rhetoric, and legal uncertainty is producing a chilling effect that's both economic and existential. None of these developments—slowing job growth, rising layoffs, or anti-immigrant sentiment—exist in isolation. They're mutually reinforcing. A weaker economy provides the political cover to restrict immigration. Restricting immigration further strains sectors already short of talent. It's a vicious loop, and Indian workers are caught in the middle. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Bonhomie to blowback: Uneasy silence among Indian Americans over Trump moves
In the 2024 US elections, Donald Trump secured the highest-ever share of Indian-American votes for a Republican candidate. Traditionally seen as a loyal Democratic voting bloc, Indian-Americans showed signs of a significant realignment, especially among first-generation business owners and men under voted for Trump for familiar reasons: economic concerns, rising inflation, and a fair immigration policy. But layered over these motivations was something more personal: the enduring image of a bromance from Trump 'Howdy Modi' rally in Houston, followed by 'Namaste Trump' in Ahmedabad, was celebrated as the final coming of the India-US relationship. For many Indian Americans, Trump wasn't just a US leader; he was someone who 'got' India, someone who genuinely admired Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There was a prevailing belief among the Indian-American diaspora that Trump's return to the White House would turbocharge US-India strategic partnerships. Instead, seven months into his second term, a deep unease is setting in. It began almost immediately after Trump returned to office. His tariff threats on Indian exports, repeated warnings about trade deficits, and India's lack of acknowledgement of Trump's diplomatic efforts in the India-Pakistan conflict have unsettled policymakers in New publicly took credit for brokering peace between India and Pakistan. While India maintained its version of the events that led to the ceasefire, Trump and his team released multiple statements emphasising that 'it would not have been possible without Trump's intervention', raising eyebrows in New Delhi and came something more dramatic, and for many, incomprehensible: Trump's invitation to Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, to the White House, a move seen in New Delhi as a diplomatic slight, if not a direct leaders who once filled stadiums to cheer Modi and Trump together are now grappling with a profound sense of disillusionment. Those who proudly rallied for Trump in 2024 — organising rallies, fundraising events, and social media campaigns — are now asking difficult questions. Why is the administration siding with Pakistan in sensitive diplomatic forums? What is the future of visa holders and green card applicants who are increasingly targeted in public rhetoric by MAGA-aligned influencers and lawmakers?Some Indian Republican leaders point to the lack of Indian American representation in Trump's inner circle. In his first term, there were at least a few visible Indian faces. But in 2025, that pipeline has dried up. There is no direct line between the community and the White House, and that disconnect is now being felt shift the blame to New Delhi. After Operation Sindoor, India's lack of acknowledgement for Trump's role has been seen as a missed opportunity to reinforce goodwill, particularly given Trump's sensitivity to public praise. In their view, India's silence may have triggered the White House's hardening of where the blame lies, the diaspora's mood has shifted. That confident, upward-looking attitude, the proverbial 'spring in the step', has given way to apprehension. Across WhatsApp groups, temple gatherings, and tech meet-ups, conversations are tinged with is a growing fear that Indian Americans may face political blowback if the US-India relationship continues to deteriorate. Already, some voices in the conservative ecosystem are pushing for reductions in high-skill immigration, arguing that Indians are displacing American workers in tech and healthcare isn't just noise. Policy observers believe that if Trump decides to back a Republican-led immigration package, it could include provisions to curb H-1B, limit green card eligibility, and introduce restrictive policies that would disproportionately affect Indian families. The bigger question many are now asking is this: Did we misread the Trump-India dynamic? Was the perceived bonhomie based on genuine alignment of interests, or just the optics of stadium rallies and personal chemistry?For more than a decade, Indian Americans had grown accustomed to seeing their dual identity reflected in a thriving strategic partnership. From Obama's pivot to Asia, to Trump's early outreach to Modi, to Biden's landmark Quad Summits, the relationship seemed immune to domestic politics. But the post-2024 phase has shattered that optimists argue that this is just a temporary disruption that Trump, transactional as ever, will come around once mutual interests realign. After all, the US still needs a strong India to counterbalance China, and India still needs American support on defence, tech, and trade. But even they admit that the damage to trust is are more resigned. They believe that Indian Americans overplayed their hand, investing too much political capital in a personal equation that was always subject to Trump's volatile impulses. The absence of strategic depth, they argue, has left the community vulnerable to shifts in mood, messaging, and media the Indian-American community finds itself in an unfamiliar place: quiet, cautious, and uncertain. The proud 'model minority' label once worn like a badge now feels precarious. The golden era, once assumed to be the new normal, now feels like a fleeting moment in the story isn't over. The relationship between the world's two largest democracies is too consequential to be defined by one election—or one administration. The coming years may be rocky, but many Indian Americans still hope to play a role in rebuilding trust, re-establishing influence, and helping shape the next chapter of this vital partnership.(Rohit Sharma is an award-winning journalist residing in Washington, DC)- Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Zohran Mamdani an AEW fan? Throwback video of NYC mayor-designate cheering for Bryan Danielson resurfaces
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Indian-origin politician from the US, became the talk of the town in June when he beat New York governor Andrew Cuomo to win New York City's Democratic mayoral primary election. He secured nearly 43% of the vote to pull off the career-changing feat. He has since been in the limelight because of his strong views. Now, an old video has resurfaced and it highlights his love for pro-wrestling. When Zohran Mamdani enjoyed an AEW bout In 2021, Mamdani attended AEW Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium and enjoyed the action while seated on economy sets instead of the skybox. In a video that has resurfaced, he is seen enjoying Bryan Danielson's match against Kenny Omega. He seemed impressed by Bryan's skills and cheered on with much enthusiasm. The match in question ended as a draw and received rave reviews. Winner of the NYC Democratic Mayoral Primary, Zohran Mamdani, was at the first ever AEW Grand Slam and was stupidly locked in for Kenny Omega vs Bryan Danielson😭🔥 In the clip, he is also seen grooving to CM Punk's Cult of Personality theme song. The track is composed by Living Colour and is a rage among pro wrestling enthusiasts. As such, this should endear him to the pro wrestling community even more. Zohran is a CM Punk fan?!? OMG can this day get any better. 😂😂😂#WWERaw Interestingly, Mamdani is not the only US politician with a pro-wrestling connection. President Donald Trump is a WWE Hall of Famer. He also appeared at WrestleMania 23 and participated in the 'Battle of the Billionaires'. As part of it, he was in Bobby Lashley's corner as he battled Vince McMahon's pick the late Umaga. 'The Boss' won the bout and Trump shaved McMahon's hair as part of the pre-agreed stipulation. About Zohran Mamdani Born in Uganda in 1991, Zohran Mamdai is the son of director Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani. He shifted to the U.S. as a child and spent his formative years in New York City. After completing his schooling, he graduated from Bowdoin College with a degree in Africana Studies. Mamdani later worked as a foreclosure prevention counselor. His role involved helping tenants sort out housing issues. This experience shaped his out and encouraged him to pursue a career in politics. It is also one of the reasons he attaching a lot of importance to 'affordability. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending
