President-elect Joe Biden said Monday that he was “not afraid” to take the oath of office outside at his upcoming inauguration ceremony

US President-elect Joe Biden says he's 'not afraid' to take oath of office outside

US President-elect Joe Biden has announced that he has chosen Veteran Diplomat William Burns to be his Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director.

Biden picks Diplomat William Burns as a CIA director

Joe Biden receives his second and final dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Delaware. When asked about security concerns on his inauguration day, Biden responded by saying that he is not afraid of taking the oath outside.

Capitol riots raises security concerns for inauguration

Democrats and the US house representatives planned to start the impeachment proceedings of Wednesday unless outgoing President Donald Trump steps down or is removed.

Democrats plan to start impeachment procedure on Wednesday

The mob swarmed the home of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, succeeding in temporarily interrupting a formal vote to confirm Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

U.S. Capitol Siege: Mob included far-right extremist groups convicted criminals

US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo on Saturday said he was lifting of self-imposed restrictions on the US -Taiwan relationship.

WION Dispatch: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lifts self-imposed restriction on Taiwan

This week's Congress joint session and the followed riots crate opened Donald Trump's republican support and exposed the fault lines in the relationship

Republicans confront Donald Trump's effect on party

Days after Trump's loyalists unleashed violence in the Capitol hill, calls for the impeachment of outgoing President Donald Trump is gaining momentum. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that she is ready to start impeachment proceedings.

Calls for Trump's impeachment gain momentum

The US Department of Justice has announced new arrests in connections with the Capitol riots on January 6.

US Dept of Justice makes new arrests in Capitol riots

Days after India termed sentencing of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi as routine facial action, the US State Department has asked Pakistan to hold Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander accountable for the 26\11 Mumbai attacks.

US to Pakistan: Hold Lakhvi accountable for 26\11 Mumbai attack

United States intelligence agencies have less than six months to tell Congress everything they know about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). In December, when President Donald Trump signed the $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief bill into law, he also set into motion a 180-day countdown for the authorities to reveal all they know about UFOs, or perhaps aliens!

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As part of this, the Director of National Intelligence, along with the Secretary of Defense have less than six months to provide an unclassified report about "unidentified aerial phenomena" to the congress and committees of armed services.

The authorities have to reveal the information as part of the section in the Intelligence Authorization Act for 2021, which is a constituent provision of the spending bill.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/ufo-sightings-in-new-york-city-jumped-by-over-283-this-year-compared-to-2018-349410" hreflang="en">UFO sightings in New York City jumped by over 283% this year compared to 2018</a>

The report which has to be handed over to US Congress must include detailed analysis of UFO data, along with intelligence collected by the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as stated in the intelligence committee's plans.

As part of this information gathering, the report must also put out all data corresponding to the "centralized analysis of all unidentified aerial phenomena", along with designating an official for overseeing the process.

In addition, the report must pinpoint any potential threats to national security posed by UFOs, while attempting to analyse whether any of the adversaries of the US may be involved in the sightings of UFOs.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/pentagon-makes-three-ufo-videos-captured-by-us-navy-pilot-public-to-clear-peoples-misconceptions-295295" hreflang="en">Pentagon makes three UFO videos captured by US Navy pilot public to clear people’s misconceptions</a>

Even though the report can contain a classified annexe, it is required for it to remain unclassified. 
 
In April 2020, the Pentagon released three short videos showing "unidentified aerial phenomena". Earlier, the US Navy had confirmed the clips as real. The videos released by the Pentagon date back to 2004 and 2015, and show flying objects that cannot be identified. The objects in question were moving rapidly, and were captured by infrared cameras.

United States intelligence agencies have less than six months to tell Congress everything they know about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). In December, when President Donald Trump signed the $2.

United States intelligence agencies have less than six months to tell Congress everything they know about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). In December, when President Donald Trump signed the $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief bill into law, he also set into motion a 180-day countdown for the authorities to reveal all they know about UFOs, or perhaps aliens! As part of this, the Director of National Intelligence, along with the Secretary of Defense have less than six months to provide an unclassified report about "unidentified aerial phenomena" to the congress and committees of armed services. The authorities have to reveal the information as part of the section in the Intelligence Authorization Act for 2021, which is a constituent provision of the spending bill. Also read: UFO sightings in New York City jumped by over 283% this year compared to 2018 The report which has to be handed over to US Congress must include detailed analysis of UFO data, along with intelligence collected by the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as stated in the intelligence committee's plans. As part of this information gathering, the report must also put out all data corresponding to the "centralized analysis of all unidentified aerial phenomena", along with designating an official for overseeing the process. In addition, the report must pinpoint any potential threats to national security posed by UFOs, while attempting to analyse whether any of the adversaries of the US may be involved in the sightings of UFOs. Also read: Pentagon makes three UFO videos captured by US Navy pilot public to clear people’s misconceptions Even though the report can contain a classified annexe, it is required for it to remain unclassified. In April 2020, the Pentagon released three short videos showing "unidentified aerial phenomena". Earlier, the US Navy had confirmed the clips as real. The videos released by the Pentagon date back to 2004 and 2015, and show flying objects that cannot be identified. The objects in question were moving rapidly, and were captured by infrared cameras.

US agencies have less than 6 months to reveal what they know about UFOs

House Democrats are prepared to impeach President Donald Trump if he doesn’t immediately resign, as the president came under increasing pressure from members of both parties for encouraging a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.

House Democrats readying for unprecedented second impeachment

Hours after hundreds of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy, a shaken Congress on Thursday formally certified Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.

US Congress confirms Biden's victory after harrowing Capitol Hill assault

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that Tehran is in no rush for the United States to rejoin the 2015 Nuclear Agreement. He urged that sanctions imposed on Iran to be lifted.

Iran to US: Lift sanctions immediately

The seat of power in the United States came under siege. A violent mob, instigated by US President Donald Trump stormed the US Congress.

Your Story: National Guardsmen pour into D.C to respond to Capitol Hill rioters

The storming of # Capitol Hill was no Hollywood thriller. It was genuine American carnage. How did it unfold? How did a rally turn into a strike on US Democracy?

Decoding the sequence of events of Capitol Hill seige

U.S. President Donald Trump has finally conceded defeat. As the call for Trump's removal grows, reports say Trump is planning to pardon himself. Can he do that?

Gravitas: Trump concedes defeat, finally.

The United States on Thursday announced that it will modify the selection process for H-1B visa, giving priority to salary and skills instead of the current lottery procedures.

The final rule to be published in the federal register on January 8, officials said, is aimed to protect the economic interests of US workers and better ensure the most highly skilled foreign workers benefit from the temporary employment programme.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

Modifying the H-1B cap selection process will incentivise employers to offer higher salaries, and/or petition for higher-skilled positions, and establish a more certain path for businesses to achieve personnel needs and remain globally competitive, said US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The final rule will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

The next H-1B visa filing season is slated to start on April 1.

"The H-1B temporary visa programme has been exploited and abused by employers primarily seeking to fill entry-level positions and reduce overall business costs," said USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow.

"The current H-1B random selection process makes it difficult for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the programme to compete for the best and brightest international workforce, and has predominantly resulted in the annual influx of foreign labor placed in low-wage positions at the expense of US workers," he said.

This effort will only affect H-1B registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) submitted by prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

It will be implemented for both the H-1B regular cap and the H-1B advanced degree exemption, but it will not change the order of selection between the two as established by the H-1B registration final rule, USCIS said.

The Department of Homeland Security had previously published a notice of proposed rulemaking on November 2, 2020.

It carefully considered the public comments received before deciding to publish the proposed regulations as a final rule, USCIS said.

According to the final rule, a version of which was released by Department of Homeland Security, Instead, a registration system that faithfully implements the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) while prioritising registrations based on wage level within each cap will incentivize H-1B employers to offer higher wages, or to petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled aliens that are commensurate with higher wage levels, to increase the likelihood of selection and eligibility to file an H-1B cap-subject petition.

Moreover, it will maximize H-1B cap allocations, so that they more likely will go to the best and brightest workers; and it will disincentivise abuse of the H-1B programme to fill relatively lower-paid, lower-skilled positions, which is a significant problem under the present selection system, it said.

"While administering a random lottery system is reasonable, it is inconsiderate of Congress's statutory purposes for the H-1B program and its administration," said the final rule.

The changes in this final rule will apply to all registrations, including those for the advanced degree exemption, submitted on or after the effective date of the final rule.

As per Congressional-mandated cap, USCIS in one year can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas.

It can also issue another 20,000 H-1B visas to those foreign students who have completed higher studies from a US university in STEM subjects.

During the public notice period, the department said, several commenters expressed support for the rule and the need to stop visa fraud, abuse, and flooding of petitions by certain staffing or consulting companies.

One commenter said the proposed rule would disincentivize companies from abusing the H-1B programme and harming US workers.

Other commenters said the proposed rule would decrease potential visa abuse by employers and make sure all workers were paid according to their skillset as employers no longer would be able to lower labor expenses by hiring foreign workers.

Another said that the proposed rule would have a positive impact on US employees and college educated US citizens who take out loans for their education by making it harder for technology companies to discriminate against US citizens; US workers are being laid off in large numbers because corporations are outsourcing for profits; and the proposed rule is necessary because Indian corporations are acquiring US jobs, it said.

The United States on Thursday announced that it will modify the selection process for H-1B visa, giving priority to salary and skills instead of the current lottery procedures.

The United States on Thursday announced that it will modify the selection process for H-1B visa, giving priority to salary and skills instead of the current lottery procedures. The final rule to be published in the federal register on January 8, officials said, is aimed to protect the economic interests of US workers and better ensure the most highly skilled foreign workers benefit from the temporary employment programme. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. Modifying the H-1B cap selection process will incentivise employers to offer higher salaries, and/or petition for higher-skilled positions, and establish a more certain path for businesses to achieve personnel needs and remain globally competitive, said US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The final rule will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. The next H-1B visa filing season is slated to start on April 1. "The H-1B temporary visa programme has been exploited and abused by employers primarily seeking to fill entry-level positions and reduce overall business costs," said USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow. "The current H-1B random selection process makes it difficult for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the programme to compete for the best and brightest international workforce, and has predominantly resulted in the annual influx of foreign labor placed in low-wage positions at the expense of US workers," he said. This effort will only affect H-1B registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) submitted by prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. It will be implemented for both the H-1B regular cap and the H-1B advanced degree exemption, but it will not change the order of selection between the two as established by the H-1B registration final rule, USCIS said. The Department of Homeland Security had previously published a notice of proposed rulemaking on November 2, 2020. It carefully considered the public comments received before deciding to publish the proposed regulations as a final rule, USCIS said. According to the final rule, a version of which was released by Department of Homeland Security, Instead, a registration system that faithfully implements the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) while prioritising registrations based on wage level within each cap will incentivize H-1B employers to offer higher wages, or to petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled aliens that are commensurate with higher wage levels, to increase the likelihood of selection and eligibility to file an H-1B cap-subject petition. Moreover, it will maximize H-1B cap allocations, so that they more likely will go to the best and brightest workers; and it will disincentivise abuse of the H-1B programme to fill relatively lower-paid, lower-skilled positions, which is a significant problem under the present selection system, it said. "While administering a random lottery system is reasonable, it is inconsiderate of Congress's statutory purposes for the H-1B program and its administration," said the final rule. The changes in this final rule will apply to all registrations, including those for the advanced degree exemption, submitted on or after the effective date of the final rule. As per Congressional-mandated cap, USCIS in one year can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas. It can also issue another 20,000 H-1B visas to those foreign students who have completed higher studies from a US university in STEM subjects. During the public notice period, the department said, several commenters expressed support for the rule and the need to stop visa fraud, abuse, and flooding of petitions by certain staffing or consulting companies. One commenter said the proposed rule would disincentivize companies from abusing the H-1B programme and harming US workers. Other commenters said the proposed rule would decrease potential visa abuse by employers and make sure all workers were paid according to their skillset as employers no longer would be able to lower labor expenses by hiring foreign workers. Another said that the proposed rule would have a positive impact on US employees and college educated US citizens who take out loans for their education by making it harder for technology companies to discriminate against US citizens; US workers are being laid off in large numbers because corporations are outsourcing for profits; and the proposed rule is necessary because Indian corporations are acquiring US jobs, it said.

US to modify H-1B visa selection process, to give priority to wages, skill level

US still faces challenges in its battle against coronavirus. As per numbers on Friday, the country recorded more than 4000 deaths in a day on Thursday (January 7). Data from Johns Hopkins University showed that 4085 Americans lost life in a single day on Thursday.&nbsp;

On the same day, 275,000 new coronavirus cases have been detected in the US. More than 365,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 infection.&nbsp;

As per new data from US Centre for Disease Control, Florida and California have big chunk of cases of mutant strain of coronavirus.

Florida has 22 cases of new coronavirus that emerged in Britain. There are 26 cases in California. Colorado has two cases. New York and Georgia have one case each.

The United States remains the worst-affected country with 365,321 deaths from 21,581,749 cases. At least 6,298,082 people have been declared recovered

After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 200,498 deaths from 7,961,673 cases, India with 150,570 deaths from 10,413,417 cases, Mexico with 131,031 deaths from 1,493,569 cases, and the United Kingdom with 78,508 deaths from 2,889,419 cases.

(With agency inputs)

US still faces challenges in its battle against coronavirus. As per numbers on Friday, the country recorded more than 4000 deaths in a day on Thursday (January 7).

US still faces challenges in its battle against coronavirus. As per numbers on Friday, the country recorded more than 4000 deaths in a day on Thursday (January 7). Data from Johns Hopkins University showed that 4085 Americans lost life in a single day on Thursday. On the same day, 275,000 new coronavirus cases have been detected in the US. More than 365,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 infection. As per new data from US Centre for Disease Control, Florida and California have big chunk of cases of mutant strain of coronavirus. Florida has 22 cases of new coronavirus that emerged in Britain. There are 26 cases in California. Colorado has two cases. New York and Georgia have one case each. The United States remains the worst-affected country with 365,321 deaths from 21,581,749 cases. At least 6,298,082 people have been declared recovered After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 200,498 deaths from 7,961,673 cases, India with 150,570 deaths from 10,413,417 cases, Mexico with 131,031 deaths from 1,493,569 cases, and the United Kingdom with 78,508 deaths from 2,889,419 cases. (With agency inputs)

US crosses 4k daily COVID deaths for the first time

Pro-Trump protesters tried to interrupt the certification of Joe Biden's electoral college win. During the Capitol riots, a woman shot dead too.

Pro-Trump protesters halt Biden's electoral college certification, hold violent protests

Congress completed its Electoral College process shortly before 4 a.m. after debating and rejecting two objections to electoral votes from the states of Arizona and Pennsylvania.

US Presidential elections | Congress affirms Joe Biden's 306-electoral vote win | Donald Trump

Washington may sanction those involved in the arrest of over 50 people in Hong Kong and will send the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to visit Taiwan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, drawing anger and the threat of retaliation from Beijing.

US warns of restrictions against Hong Kong authorities

The SolarWinds supply chain attack took place after Russian hackers broke into SolarWinds' backend infrastructure and added malware (named Sunburst/Solorigate) to SolarWinds Orion update packages.

What led to the worst cyber attack in the U.S.

As a flood of government aid programs is offset at least temporarily amid the Coronavirus pandemic, US bankruptcy filings for 2020 have reached their lowest levels since 1986.

World Business Watch: Bankruptcy filings hit lowest level since 1986 in U.S.

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