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H1B initial registration period to close on March 22

The initial registration period for the most sought-after H-1B visas for foreign guest workers for fiscal 2025 closes at 12 noon Eastern Time on March 22, a federal agency has said. During this period, prospective petitioners and legal representatives must use an online account of US Citizenship and Immigration Services to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said on Monday. Online account users will also be able to collaborate on registrations and petitions with enhanced organisational account features in their online accounts, it said.Form I-129, petition for a non-immigrant worker, for H-1B petitions and Form I-907, request for premium processing service, are now accessible in USCIS online accounts, a media release said. USCIS will begin accepting online filing of the forms for H-1B cap petitions on April 1. "We will announce when online filing of non-cap H-1B petitions is available," USCIS said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

19 March,2024 07:57 AM IST | Washington | PTI
Donald Trump. Pic/AFP

Judge denies Donald Trump's request to exclude testimony from Stormy Daniels

The judge overseeing former US President Donald Trump's criminal prosecution in New York has denied Trump's attempts to exclude the "Access Hollywood" tape and testimony from key witnesses, including adult film star Stormy Daniels and Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen from his upcoming New York criminal hush money trial, ABC News reported. During the court proceedings, the defence had said that Michael Cohen, should not be allowed to testify as he has a history of lying and added that calling him to the witness stand would amount to suborning perjury. However, Judge Juan Merchan rejected the defence's argument, according to ABC News report. Merchan said, "This Court has been unable to locate any treatise, statute or holding from courts in this jurisdiction or others that support defendant's rational that a particular witness should be kept off the witness stand because his credibility has been previously called into question." The Judge will also permit Stormy Daniels to testify as she is the recipient of the USD 130,000 hush payment. Merchan wrote, "The probative value of the evidence is evident," ABC News reported. He refused to exclude the "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump is overheard bragging about how he approaches women. The criminal trial of former US President Donald Trump in New York has been delayed until at least mid-April. Last week, the judge overseeing former US President Donald Trump's 'hush money' trial delayed it by 30 days after new evidence was turned over to the parties, The Hill reported. Jury selection was set to begin on March 25, which would have marked Trump's first criminal trial. However, judge Juan Merchan agreed to delay the trial after prosecutors consented to the one-month delay. The court's decision came after the parties told the judge that the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York turned over more than 70,000 pages of records in recent days, some of which are relevant to the case. The judge, Juan Merchan, said he would adjourn the trial date for 30 days, adding that a hearing will be held on March 25 to discuss the schedule and the new documents, The Hill reported. "The Court will set the new trial date, if necessary, when it rules on Defendant's motion following the hearing," Merchan wrote, adding, "This Court's directive that the parties, including the Defendant, not engage or otherwise enter into any commitment pending completion of this trial remains in effect." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

19 March,2024 07:50 AM IST | New York | ANI
Kim Jong Un. Pic/AFP

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of artillery systems

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire drill of nuclear-capable "super-large" multiple rocket launchers designed to target South Korea's capital as he vowed to boost his war deterrent in the face of deepening confrontations with rivals, state media said Tuesday. The report came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries said they detected North Korea firing multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward waters off its eastern coast, adding to a streak of weapons displays that have raised regional tensions. Experts say North Korea's large-sized artillery rockets blur the boundaries between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during delivery. The North has described some of these systems, including the 600 mm multiple rocket launchers that were tested Monday, as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads. Photos published by the North's official Korean Central News Agency showed at least six rockets being fired simultaneously from launch vehicles and flames and smoke blanketing what appeared to be a small island target. The KCNA said North Korean troops following the salvo launches also conducted a separate test that simulated a midair explosion of an artillery shell at a pre-set altitude. The report didn't specify whether that test was to rehearse how a nuclear weapon would be detonated over an enemy target. Kim called the 600 mm multiple rocket launchers as key parts of his growing arsenal of weapons that are supposedly capable of destroying the South Korean capital of Seoul if another war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula. "(Kim) said that it is necessary to further impress upon the enemies that if an armed conflict and a war break out, they can never avoid disastrous consequences," the KCNA said. He called for his army to "more thoroughly fulfil their missions to block and suppress the possibility of war with the constant perfect preparedness to collapse the capital of the enemy and the structure of its military forces." North Korea's launches came days after the end of the latest South Korean-US combined military drills that the North portrays as an invasion rehearsal. It was unclear whether the North timed the launches with a visit to Seoul by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who on Monday attended a democracy summit and held talks with South Korean officials over the North Korean threat. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen since 2022, after Kim used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate his testing of missiles and other weapons. The United States and South Korea have responded by expanding their combined training and trilateral drills involving Japan and updating their deterrence strategies built around strategic US assets. There are concerns that North Korea could further dial up pressure in an election year in the United States and South Korea. In a fiery speech to Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament in January, Kim declared that he was abandoning North Korea's long-standing goal of reconciliation with the South and ordered the rewriting of the North's constitution to cement its war-divided rival as its most hostile adversary. He said the new charter must specify North Korea would annex and subjugate the South if another war broke out. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

19 March,2024 07:48 AM IST | Seoul | AP | PTI
President Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin gets 5th term as Russian president

Election commission results on Monday showed that President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term with an overwhelming number of votes, in an election that held little suspense after the harshest crackdown on the opposition and free speech since Soviet times. After facing only token challengers and harshly suppressing opposition voices, Putin was set to extend his nearly quarter-century rule for six more years. Even with little margin for protest, Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon on Sunday, the last day of the election, apparently heeding an opposition call to express their displeasure with the president. Putin has led Russia as president or prime minister since December 1999, a tenure marked by international military aggression and an increasing intolerance for dissent. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the presidents of Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela quickly congratulated Putin on his victory, as did the leaders of ex-Soviet nations Belarus, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, the West called the vote a sham as voters had no choice but to vote for Putin. Navalny’s widow casts ballot with his name Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya cast her ballot in Russia’s presidential election in Berlin on Sunday. She spent more than five hours queuing and told reporters after casting her vote that she wrote her late husband’s name on the ballot. Navalny died at a prison in Yamalo-Nenets in Western Siberia on February 16. Putin claims he backed release for Navalny Vladimir Putin said Monday that he supported an idea to release opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prisoner exchange days before the man died. In his first comments to address Navalny’s death, Putin said that several days before Navalny’s death, “certain colleagues, not from the administration” told him about “an idea to swap Navalny for certain people held in penitentiary facilities in western countries.” He said he supported the idea. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

19 March,2024 07:40 AM IST | Moscow | Agencies
Pak Army Chief Gen. Syed Asim Munir and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza laying a soldier to rest

Eight terrorists ‘sent to hell’: Pakistan Army

Pakistani airstrikes targeted multiple suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban inside neighboring Afghanistan early on Monday, killing at least eight people and drawing return fire from the Afghan Taliban, officials said. The Pakistani strikes were carried out in Khost and Paktika provinces bordering Pakistan, according to two Pakistani security and intelligence officials. The airstrikes came two days after insurgents killed seven soldiers in a suicide bombing and coordinated attack in northwestern Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban denounced the strikes as an aggression on Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, saying they killed several women and children. The defense ministry in Kabul said Afghan forces later on Monday “targeted Pakistan’s military centers along the border with heavy weapons,” without providing details. Chief Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that Monday’s airstrikes killed three women and three children in the district of Barmal in Paktika province while two women were killed in Khost province. “Such attacks will face bad consequences,” he said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

19 March,2024 07:38 AM IST | Islamabad | Agencies
Smoke billows after Israeli bombardment in central Gaza City. Pic/AP

Israel launches another raid at Shifa Hospital

Israeli forces launched another raid on the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital early Monday, saying Hamas militants had regrouped there and had fired on them from inside the compound, where Palestinian officials say tens of thousands have been sheltering. People sheltering in the hospital said Israeli forces backed by tanks and artillery had surrounded the medical complex early Monday and that snipers were shooting at people inside. They said the army raided a number of buildings and detained dozens of people. “We’re trapped inside,” said Abdel-Hady Sayed, who has been sheltering in the medical facility for over three months. “They fire at anything moving. …Doctors and ambulances can’t move.” The army last raided Shifa Hospital in November after claiming that Hamas maintained an elaborate command center there. In a separate development, the European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, accused Israel of continuing to hinder efforts to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the territory faces an “entirely man-made” famine as “starvation is used as a weapon of war”. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

19 March,2024 07:38 AM IST | Rafah | Agencies
Russian President Vladimir Putin/ PTI

People are 'source of power' in Russia: Vladimir Putin in victory speech

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his victory speech, extended his gratitude to the citizens of Russia for their active participation in the recently concluded presidential election, state-controlled media reported. Following the conclusion of the election, Russia's Central Election Commission showed Putin securing a fifth term in office with over 87 per cent of the vote. Speaking from the election headquarters, Putin emphasised the importance of every voice in shaping the destiny of the nation, Russia Today reported. "I would like to thank the citizens of Russia, all of them because we are one team," said Putin, acknowledging the collective effort of the Russian people in exercising their democratic rights. "The source of power in a country is the Russian people and the voice of every citizen of Russia," he added, underscoring the fundamental role of public participation in governance. Reflecting on the significance of the election, Putin remarked, "Out of every voice, we are building one commonwealth of the people of the Russian Federation." He stressed the role of citizen engagement in driving the country's progress across various sectors, including defence, science, and education, as reported by Russia Today. Amid challenging circumstances, Putin extended a special appreciation to the armed forces, acknowledging their dedication in safeguarding the nation's interests. "I would like to express a special gratitude to our warriors, to those lads who are at the line of contact ensuring the conditions for the development and existence of our country," Putin affirmed, highlighting the sacrifices made by those serving on the front lines. Russia has finished voting in its seventh modern presidential election, spanning three days and including four new regions: Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk, and Lugansk People's Republics. The recent election witnessed a historic turnout, with over 74 per cent of Russia's 112.3 million eligible voters participating between March 15 and 17, according to the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) on Sunday. This level of engagement marks the highest in the country's modern history, unmatched for over two decades, as reported by Russia Today. Securing a crushing victory, Putin also said that he had agreed to a prisoner swap involving Alexei Navalny before the opposition leader's sudden death in an Arctic prison in February. Calling Navalny's death a 'sad event', Putin said there were other cases of people in prisons passing away. In his address at his election headquarters on Sunday, Putin said, "As for Mr. Navalny--yes, he passed away. It is always a sad event. And there were other cases when people in prisons passed away. Didn't this happen in the United States? It did, and not once." Putin added that he was told of a proposal to exchange Navalny for prisoners held in Western nations days before the Opposition leader died in prison. On February 16, jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

18 March,2024 10:45 AM IST | Moscow | ANI
Representational Image. Pic Courtesy/iStock

10 rescued as under-construction building collapses in Kolkata

At least 10 people were rescued after an under-construction building collapsed here late on Sunday night, officials said. The five-storey building collapsed in Hazari Mollah Bagan in the Garden Reach area around midnight. A search operation is underway to find survivors who may be trapped under the rubble, the officials said on Monday. Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal visited the spot and took stock of the rescue operation. "An under-construction building collapsed in the Garden Reach area late on Sunday night. We have rescued a few people. The recuse operation is still going on," a police official said. Ambulances were stationed at the spot. According to locals, who were the first responders, concrete chunks fell from the building before it collapsed. There was a loud sound and a thick cloud of dust engulfed the area as the building collapsed. The debris fell on nearby shanties in the densely populated area, they said. "Although no one lived in the under-construction building, it collapsed on the adjacent shanties. We fear that many individuals might still be trapped under the rubble," said a local resident. In a post on X, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said, "I urge @chief_west, Secretary @HomeBengal, @CPKolkata to immediately involve West Bengal State Disaster Management Team for immediate Rescue & Relief." "I am receiving frantic calls regarding probable casualties. Please dispatch any team which can help in rescuing the victims, be it Fire Servicemen, Police or any other team," he said. Adhikari also shared pictures from the building collapse site.  This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

18 March,2024 07:48 AM IST | Kolkata | PTI
Vladimir Putin. Pic/AFP

Putin returns as President with 87.17 pc votes, sets priorities for new term

Russian President Vladimir Putin won the presidential elections, receiving 87.17 per cent of the votes based on the result of processing 70 per cent of the electoral protocols, Russia-based TASS reported, citing data from the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation candidate Nikolai Kharitonov secured the second spot with 4.1 per cent of the votes while New People Party candidate Vladislav Davankov stood third with 4.8 per cent votes. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) candidate, Leonid Slutsky, received a mere 3.15 per cent of the votes counted. According to preliminary data as of 6 pm (Moscow time) on Sunday, the voter turnout in the presidential elections, which for the first time took place over three days from March 15-17, stood at 74.22 per cent. Voter turnout for the elections held in 2018 was 67.54 per cent. Putin received more votes in comparison to the 2018 elections where he bagged 76.69 per cent of the total votes counted. The performance of the other candidates was lower than that of the previous competitors of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018, according to reports. In 2018, Pavel Grudinin, who was the candidate for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, received 11.77 per cent of the votes while LDPR candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky (LDPR) bagged 5.65 per cent votes. All three parties that nominated candidates for the 2024 elections can count on receiving funds from the federal budget, TASS reported, adding that as per law, all parties have the right to funding even if their candidate vying for the post of head of state overcomes the three per cent barrier. For each vote, the party will receive 152 Roubles, the report noted. This was the first time, remote electronic voting was used for the presidential elections in Russia. Residents used the federal platform in 28 regions while people in Moscow cast votes on their own platform. The final turnout for online voting on the federal platform stood at 94 per cent, meaning that 4.4 million people cast their votes online. In Moscow, almost 3.7 million electronic ballots were issued, including voters who used special terminals at polling stations. According to the results of remote electronic voting on the federal platform, Putin secured the first spot with 87.41 per cent of the votes while Davankov stood in second place with 6.28 votes. Slutsky followed at 3.75 per cent while Kharitonov received just 2.56 per cent of the votes counted. Putin won with 89.1 per cent of the votes in Moscow followed by Davankov in second place with 4.4 per cent. Kharitonov and Slutsky were in the third and fourth spots with 3.3 per cent and 3.2 per cent votes respectively. Putin also secured handsome wins in Donbas and Novorossiya by huge margins. He also posted wins in areas of Ukraine such as Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk, TASS reported. Based on the results of processing 100 per cent of the protocols, Putin received 88.12 per cent of the votes in the Kherson region, 88.12 per cent votes in Zaporizhzhia, 94.12 per cent votes in the Luhansk People's Republic and 95.23 per cent votes in the Donetsk People's Republic, according to TASS. Putin arrived at his election headquarters and expressed gratitude to his staff while stressing that Russia must become "even stronger and more effective". He also thanked the people of Russia who voted while acknowledging the involvement of those in the ongoing military operations against Ukraine. Speaking to reporters, Putin said the tasks in his new term include the solution of problems within the framework of the Northern Military District and strengthening the country's defence capability. He stressed that the actions of the Russian military were more than active defence, according to TASS. Kharitonov said observers from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation did not record any serious violations during the elections, the state agency reported, adding that Slutsky, too, said there were no significant violations and called the incidents reported by the LDPR "very minor rough edges". Davankov said he was pleased to take second place according to the results of remote electronic voting, the agency reported. Putin has served four terms as Russian President. He was first elected President in 2000 and again in 2004, 2012, and 2018. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

18 March,2024 07:48 AM IST | Moscow | ANI
People walk past a television showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul. Pic/AFP

North Korea launched suspected ballistic missile, says Japan

North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile, the Japanese Prime Minister's Office announced on Monday. The South Korean military said North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile towards the East Sea on Monday, Yonhap News Agency reported. In a post on X, the Japanese Prime Minister's Office stated, "[Emergency alert] North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile. More updates to follow." South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the missile but stopped short of sharing further details. The suspected missile launch by Pyongyang marked its second this year since January 14. North Korea launched the missile just days after South Korea and the US concluded the annual Freedom Shield exercise on Thursday, according to Yonhap News. The two nations participated in the exercise for 11 days to strengthen deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. On February 2, North Korea fired several cruise missiles off the west coast, marking its fourth cruise missile launch this year, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the South Korean military. Monday's was the latest in a series of the North's cruise missile launches this year. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), it detected the North's launch around 11 am (local time) from its west coast. However, it did not specify the number of missiles, according to Yonhap News Agency. "While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military has been closely coordinating with the United States to monitor additional signs of North Korea's provocations," the JCS stated in a text message sent to reporters. North Korea launched the missile just three days after Pyongyang conducted a test of the Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missile off the west coast. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

18 March,2024 07:40 AM IST | Pyongyang | ANI
A protest in Tel Aviv demanding the release of Israeli hostages. Pic/AP

18 Hamas terrorists killed in Gaza Strip

Israeli troops continued operations in the central Gaza Strip, where over the past day approximately 18 terrorists were killed by sniper, shell, and aerial fire, the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday morning. During one of the strikes, soldiers identified and directed an air strike against four terrorists operating adjacent to the forces. In addition, ground forces identified three terrorists entering a Hamas compound. Israeli aircraft eliminated the threat and struck the terrorist cell as they exited. Within a couple of minutes, a terrorist exiting another Hamas compound near the troops was hit by an airstrike. In Khan Yunis, soldiers identified two terrorists loading military equipment on a motorcycle. Israeli aircraft eliminated the terrorists and two others who were advancing toward the troops. In a joint ground and Air Force activity, a military compound from which an anti-tank missile was fired at IDF troops was struck, as well as a terrorist operating adjacent to the forces. Israeli soldiers also seized weapons in Khan Yunis. Ship targeted in Gulf of Aden A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a ship early Sunday in the Gulf of Aden, potentially marking their latest assault on shipping through the crucial waterway leading to the Red Sea. The rebels did not claim responsibility. Israel strikes target several sites in Syria Israeli airstrikes hit several sites in southern Syria early Sunday wounding a soldier, Syrian state media reported. State news agency SANA, citing an unnamed military official, said air defences shot down some of the missiles, which came from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights at around 12.42 am local time. The strikes led to “material losses and the wounding of a soldier”. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

18 March,2024 07:38 AM IST | Tel Aviv | Agencies
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