Name: Ukraine councillor throws grenades during meeting, 26 injured
Uploaded: 2023-12-15T22:06:51.000+05:30
Duration: T00M25S
Channel: Editorji News Desk
Description: 26 people were injured after a local councillor in Ukraine threw bombs during a meeting

Deadly fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has intensified along disputed border zones, killing 10 people and forcing more than 140,000 civilians to flee.

Cambodia-Thailand clashes spread on border as toll rises

Deadly fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has intensified along disputed border zones, killing 10 people and forcing more than 140,000 civilians to flee.

Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia spread Tuesday to new parts of their contested border as the toll rose to 10 killed and more than 140,000 civilians fled the violence.
The two countries have blamed each other for the renewed clashes over their century-old border dispute, which saw Thailand launch air strikes and use tanks against its neighbour on Monday.
Cambodia's influential former leader Hun Sen said his country had retaliated against Thailand, after Phnom Penh denied firing back for two days.
This week's clashes are the most deadly since the neighbouring nations engaged in five days of intense combat in July that killed dozens of people and displaced around 300,000 before a truce took effect.
Tens of thousands of people have evacuated from border regions since the fresh fighting began on Sunday, officials said.
Cambodian Poan Hay, 55, said she left her home in Oddar Meanchey province on Monday as soon as she heard gunfire -- the fourth time she evacuated this year due to on-and-off fighting on the frontier.
"I am so angry at the Thai army, but I ask them to stop firing at Cambodians," Poan Hay told AFP.
She is sheltering at a pagoda with relatives about 70 kilometres (43 miles) from the border in Siem Reap province's Srei Snam.
"For the last five months, I couldn't sleep a lot. I was worried about our safety," she said.
"Yesterday Thai jets flew along the border. I was so scared."
Phnom Penh accused Thai forces of shelling positions overnight, which killed two people travelling on a national road.
Seven Cambodian civilians have been killed in total and about 20 wounded this week, Cambodia's interior ministry said in a statement.
More than 21,000 people have been displaced from three border provinces, the ministry added.
The defence ministry said the Thai army had resumed attacks around 5:00 am Tuesday in border regions, including in the area of centuries-old temples, such as the UNESCO world heritage site, the Preah Vihear temple.
The Thai army said three soldiers have been killed since Monday.
One was killed Tuesday by indirect fire in Surin province while a grenade killed another soldier in the area of the Preah Vihear temple.
Nearly 500 temporary shelters have been established across several border provinces, housing more than 125,000 civilian evacuees, according to a government statement.
Thai navy spokesperson Parat Rattanachaiphan said in a press conference that Thai forces recently detected Cambodian troops, settlements and several weapon bases in a disputed coastal area of Trat province.
Parat accused Cambodia of escalating tensions by deploying unmanned drones to provoke Thai forces.
Early Tuesday, he said Thai forces "launched a military operation to drive them out".
 - Century-old dispute -
Cambodia's Senate president and former prime minister, Hun Sen, said Tuesday his country had retaliated after remaining "patient for more than 24 hours in order to respect the ceasefire and for time to evacuate people to safety".
"Now we fight in order to defend ourselves again," he said in a Facebook post.
The conflict centres on a century-old disagreement over borders mapped during France's colonial rule in the region, with both sides claiming a smattering of boundary temples.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters his country's military would remain resolute.
"Thailand must stand firmly behind those who protect our sovereignty. We cannot stop now," he said.
In Thailand's Surin province, Sutida Pusa, 30, who runs a small food shop, told AFP on Monday that her young and elderly relatives were moved to an evacuation centre the day before, while others stayed behind to guard their property.
She has travelled back and forth between the temporary shelter and her house -- located less than 20 kilometres from the border -- to care for family members in both places.
"I wanted to see the situation first, as the sounds of fighting aren't as loud as during the major clash on July 24," she said.
"We never trust the situation."
The Thai army said Tuesday that Cambodian shells had fallen on two civilian homes in Sa Kaeo province, with no casualties reported.
The United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, brokered the cessation of fighting in July.
In October, US President Donald Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration, touting new trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia after they agreed to prolong their ceasefire.
But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month, and the two sides then traded accusations of fresh clashes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the European Union and Malaysia's prime minister on Monday urged both parties to exercise restraint and halt hostilities.

A magnitude 7.5 quake off northern Japan injured at least 30 people, damaged roads, cut power to thousands, and triggered small tsunami waves before warnings were lifted.

Magnitude 7.5 quake hits northern Japan, injures 30 and damages roads

A magnitude 7.5 quake off northern Japan injured at least 30 people, damaged roads, cut power to thousands, and triggered small tsunami waves before warnings were lifted.

A big quake off Japan injured at least 30 people, authorities said Tuesday, damaging roads and knocking out power for thousands in freezing temperatures.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the magnitude 7.5 quake at 11:15 pm on Monday (1415 GMT) -- downgraded from its first reading of 7.6 -- raised the chances of similar or larger tremors in the coming days.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said 30 people were injured in the quake off the coast of the northern Aomori region, which triggered tsunami waves up to 70 centimetres (28 inches).
Daiki Shimohata, 33, a civil servant in Hashikami on Honshu island, told AFP that he and his family rushed outside their home.
"The tremor was something that we've never experienced. It lasted maybe for about 20 seconds," Shimohata said by phone.
"We were holding our children -- a two-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy -- in our arms. The shaking reminded me of the disaster (in 2011)," he said.
One person was seriously hurt in the main northern island of Hokkaido, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Footage showed people in a supermarket clinging to a table with items having fallen off shelves, as well as crevasses in roads and at least one car in a hole.
Elsewhere broken glass from windows was scattered on roads and pavements.
Initially there were reports of several fires but government spokesman Minoru Kihara said Tuesday that was one confirmed blaze at a house.
On the main northern island of Hokkaido, an AFP reporter said the ground shook violently for around 30 seconds as smartphone alarms alerted residents.
In the city of Hachinohe the quake reached upper six on Japan's seven-level Shindo scale of shakiness, the point at which it's impossible to move without crawling.
With temperatures around freezing point, around 2,700 homes were without power but by Tuesday morning electricity had been restored to most areas, according to utility providers.
At first the JMA warned of tsunamis up to three metres (10 feet), which could have caused major damage.
Around 28,000 people were initially advised after the quake to evacuate, emergency services said, and media reports said some makeshift shelters were full.
In the end the biggest waves recorded measured up to 70 centimetres and after several hours the tsunami warnings were lifted.
Shinkansen bullet-train service was suspended in some areas while engineers checked for any damage to the tracks.
No abnormalities were detected at the Higashidori or Onagawa nuclear power plants, operator Tohoku Electric Power said.
The JMA warned people to be cautious of further quakes of a similar intensity for about a week.
"Additionally, there is a possibility of even stronger earthquakes occurring, so please stay alert," it said.
Geologists Kyle Bradley and Judith A. Hubbard said that there was no way to tell whether a strong earthquake will be followed by a similarly strong, or even stronger, one.
"Instead, we must rely on historical statistics, which tell us that very few large earthquakes are soon followed by even larger events," they said in their Earthquake Insights newsletter.
"It does happen, just not very often."
 - 'Megaquake' -
In 2011, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Japan sits on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is one of the world's most tectonically active countries.
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year.
The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and depth below the Earth's surface.
Quakes are extremely hard to predict, but in January a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82 percent.
The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a "megaquake" and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and damages of up to $2 trillion.

US President Donald Trump accused India of dumping rice into the American market, stressing that tariffs will resolve the issue swiftly, as farmers raise concerns over rising imports.

India should not be dumping rice into US market; will take care of it: President Trump

US President Donald Trump accused India of dumping rice into the American market, stressing that tariffs will resolve the issue swiftly, as farmers raise concerns over rising imports.

US President Donald Trump has said that India should not be "dumping" rice into the United States market and he will "take care" of it, while stressing that tariffs will solve the "problem" easily.
Trump held a roundtable in the White House on Monday with representatives of the farming and agriculture sector as well as key members of his cabinet, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
He announced USD 12 billion in federal aid for farmers.
Meryl Kennedy, who runs her family's agribusiness Kennedy Rice Mill in Louisiana, told Trump that rice producers in the southern part of the country are "really struggling' and that other nations are "dumping" rice into the US.
When asked by Trump which countries are dumping rice into America, Kennedy, sitting next to the President, replied, "India, and Thailand; even China into Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico used to be one of the largest markets for US rice. We haven't shipped rice into Puerto Rico in years."
Kennedy said that this has been happening for years and did not start during the Trump administration. "But unfortunately, we're seeing it in a much bigger way now," she said.
She said that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are working, &ldquo;but we need to double down&rdquo;, to which Trump said, "You want more, I understand".
Trump then turned to Bessent and said, &ldquo;India, tell me about India. Why is India allowed to do that? They have to pay tariffs. Do they have an exemption on rice?&rdquo;
"No sir, we're still working on their trade deal," Bessent replied.
Trump then said, "But they shouldn&rsquo;t be dumping. I mean, I heard that. I heard that from others. They can&rsquo;t do that."
Kennedy then told Trump there's a World Trade Organisation case against India.
Trump asked Kennedy to give him the names of the countries dumping rice into the US and instructed Bessent to note down the names. "India. Who else?" Trump said.
"India, Thailand, China into Puerto Rico, not into the continental US, but into Puerto Rico. Those are the main culprits," Kennedy said, adding that American farmers can feed the US as well as nations around the world, but "we need fair trade, not free trade".
Trump said this will be &ldquo;so easy to settle&rdquo;.
"It's solved so quickly with tariffs to these countries that are illegally shipping. It's solved. Your problem is solved in one day. That's why we have to win the Supreme Court case," he said, adding that this problem will be solved in &ldquo;one day&rdquo;.
Lower courts in the US have ruled that Trump's use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on nations around the world is illegal, and the case will now be decided by the Supreme Court.
"It's so unfair. They go out of business. They put everyone out of business," Trump said.
Trump said that America lost half of its car industry and chip industry because these products were being manufactured in other countries, and previous administrations did not impose tariffs on these imports into the US.
"It's the same thing with rice. It'll be good, will get it solved very quickly. We just need the countries. Just give us the names of the countries. Tariffs, again. It solves the problem in two minutes," the president said.
Kennedy then said that they have "bought" the largest brands at retail, too, so they have an incentive to subsidise their products. When Trump asked, "Who did that?" she said, "Indians".
"We'll take care of it. It&rsquo;s so easy," Trump said.
India is the largest producer of rice -- 150 million tonnes -- and has a 28 per cent share of the global market. It is also the top exporter, with a 30.3 per cent share of global exports in 2024&ndash;2025, Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) data shows.
According to information on the website of the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India exported about 2.34 lakh tonnes of rice to the US in the 2024 fiscal, less than 5 per cent of its total global basmati rice exports of 52.4 lakh tonnes.
West Asia remains the dominant destination for Indian rice, it said.
Among the rice varieties that India exports globally, 'Sona Masoori' is preferred in markets such as the US and Australia.
Trump has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India, the highest in the world, including 25 per cent for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil.
Indian Rice Exporters Federation National President Prem Garg had termed the 25 per cent reciprocal tariff as a temporary "hurdle" for rice shipments and had stated that India still retains a pricing advantage over competitors like Vietnam and Pakistan.
"This tariff is a temporary hurdle, not a long-term roadblock. With strategic planning, diversification, and flexibility, Indian rice exporters can protect and even expand their presence in the US market," Garg had said earlier this year.

Thailand and Cambodia clashed on the disputed border, with air strikes, civilian displacement, and renewed hostilities after a truce. Thousands fled as both sides blamed each other amid a century-old territorial dispute.

Thailand launches air strikes against Cambodia in border clash

Thailand and Cambodia clashed on the disputed border, with air strikes, civilian displacement, and renewed hostilities after a truce. Thousands fled as both sides blamed each other amid a century-old territorial dispute.

Thailand launched air strikes on its neighbour Cambodia on Monday, the Thai army said, with both sides trading blame for the latest eruption of fighting on their disputed border, which has killed a Thai soldier.
Five days of combat between Thailand and Cambodia this summer killed 43 people and displaced around 300,000 on both sides of the border before a truce took effect.
But last month Thailand paused a follow-on deal backed by US President Donald Trump to wind down hostilities, saying a landmine blast at the border had wounded several soldiers.
Since then, Cambodian and Thai officials have reported sporadic skirmishes along their frontier, which reignited Sunday and Monday, sending thousands of civilians on both sides fleeing their homes.
"The village head told us to evacuate, and given what happened in July, I complied immediately," said farmer Pannarat Woratham who lives just a few kilometres from the border in Thailand's Surin province and evacuated Sunday afternoon to a temple sheltering the displaced.
It was the second time the 59-year-old had fled since late July when open combat was waged with fighter jets, missile strikes and ground troops, killing both civilians and soldiers.
"Of course many of us thought the conflict was finally over. It shouldn't have happened again like this," Pannarat told AFP.
Around 35,000 people in Thailand have been evacuated from areas along the border since the renewed fighting, Thailand's Second Army Region said in a statement.
Cambodia's information minister Neth Pheaktra told reporters at least 1,157 families had evacuated to safety in the border province of Oddar Meanchey.
 - 'Military objectives' -
Both sides reported a brief skirmish on Sunday, which Thailand's military had said left two soldiers wounded.
But the fighting escalated early Monday morning.
Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told reporters on Monday that one soldier was killed and eight were wounded in attacks by Cambodian troops near the border.
Thailand had launched air strikes against its neighbour in an act of self-defence, he said.
"The Thai air power is being used only against Cambodian military targets, which allows damage to be contained and halts Cambodia's supporting fire that caused Thai casualties," Winthai said at a press conference.
"The air strikes are highly precise and aimed solely at military objectives along the clash line, with no impact on civilians."
Cambodia's defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata, however, said Thai forces had attacked Cambodian troops in Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces early Monday, accusing Thailand of "firing multiple shots with tanks at Tamone Thom temple" and other areas near Preah Vihear temple.
She said Cambodia did not retaliate.
Maly Socheata later told reporters that the Thai military attacked Cambodian forces in Preah Vihear with an F-16 jet at around 9:00 am.
She added that Thai military fire in the two provinces had wounded some civilians and burned their homes, while forcing others to flee.
A Cambodian journalist was wounded by shrapnel from a Thai rocket in Oddar Meanchey, Neth Pheaktra, the minister, told AFP.
A soldier in Preah Vihear said Monday morning that Thai forces were firing shells across the border into Cambodia. He declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Met Measpheakdey, a spokesman for the Oddar Meanchey provincial administration, said gunfire was reported in the areas of the centuries-old Tamone Thom and Ta Krabei temples.
The Thai army also accused Cambodian forces of firing BM-21 rockets towards civilian areas in Buri Ram province, with no casualties reported.
 - 'Cycles of confrontation' -
The United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, brokered the cessation of fighting in July.
In October, Trump co-signed a follow-on joint declaration, touting new trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia after they agreed to prolong their ceasefire.
But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month, and the two sides then traded accusations of renewed clashes in which Cambodia said a civilian was killed.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged both sides on Monday to halt the fighting and utilise diplomacy.
"Our region cannot afford to see long-standing disputes slip into cycles of confrontation," Anwar said in a statement.
The conflict centres on a century-old disagreement over borders mapped during France's colonial rule in the region, with both sides claiming a smattering of boundary temples.

President Asif Ali Zardari approved Field Marshal Asim Munir as Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces for five years, following the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

Pakistan formally appoints Asim Munir as first CDF

President Asif Ali Zardari approved Field Marshal Asim Munir as Pakistan&rsquo;s first Chief of Defence Forces for five years, following the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday approved the appointment of the army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, as Pakistan's first Chief of Defence Forces for a period of five years.&nbsp;
President Zardari approved the summary submitted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally asking him to appoint Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Munir as the first CDF of Pakistan.&nbsp;
Last month, the parliament passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment providing to create the post of CDF with the objective to create unity of command and expedite the decision making in any critical situation.&nbsp;
The CDF replaced the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), the post for which was abolished.&nbsp;
The President extended his best wishes to Munir, a release from President&rsquo;s office said in Islamabad.&nbsp;
Zardari also approved a two-year extension in the service of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, Chief of Air Staff, to take effect from the completion of his present tenure on March 19, 2026.&nbsp;
According to a statement by the PM Office, the prime minister had earlier approved the summary for the appointment of Field Marshal Munir as the army chief and the CDF, and then referred it to the President House.&nbsp;
Field Marshal Munir was appointed as COAS in November 2022 initially for three years but his tenure was extended for five years in 2024.
The decision to issue a formal notification has put to rest rumours regarding delay in the appointment of the CDF, which was due since November 27, when the last CJCSC General Sahir Shamshad Mirza retired.&nbsp;
Earlier, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, addressing a press conference, had said that there was no legal or political obstacle regarding the notification of the appointment of the Chief of Defence Forces and this notification would be issued soon.&nbsp;

India abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional return of Ukrainian children allegedly deported by Russia. The resolution was adopted with 91 votes in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions.

India abstains from UNGA resolution demanding return of Ukrainian children from Russia

India abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional return of Ukrainian children allegedly deported by Russia. The resolution was adopted with 91 votes in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions.

India abstained in the UN General Assembly from a draft resolution that demanded that Russia ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported since the start of the war.
The 193-member General Assembly adopted the draft resolution &lsquo;Return of Ukrainian children&rsquo; Wednesday, with 91 votes in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions. India was among the nations that abstained in the UNGA on the resolution, along with Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The resolution expressed deep concern about the impact of the war on children, in particular the fate of all Ukrainian children who have been separated from their families since 2014, including those forcibly transferred within the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine by Russia and those deported to Russia.
The resolution demanded that Russia &ldquo;ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported&rdquo; and urged Moscow to cease, without delay, any further practice of forcible transfer, deportation, separation from families and legal guardians, change of personal status, including through citizenship, adoption or placement in foster families, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
It stressed the need to investigate and ensure accountability for those responsible for forcible transfers and deportations of children, in accordance with international law.
The resolution deplored the legislative and administrative measures taken by Russia since 2022 that &ldquo;simplify&rdquo; the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children, particularly orphans, children deprived of parental care and unaccompanied children.
Ukraine&rsquo;s Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa, presenting the draft resolution at the 11th emergency special session of the UNGA, said that as of October 2025, there are 6,395 deported and forcibly transferred children. In total, over 20,000 cases of deportation and forcible transfer are being investigated.
Russia&rsquo;s Deputy Permanent Representative Maria Zabolotskaya, in her remarks in the UNGA, said that the draft resolution is stuffed with &ldquo;mendacious accusations&rdquo;, adding that it contains baseless allegations of Russia's violations of international humanitarian law and does not mention that there may be children evacuated from the combat zone or children who lost ties with their relatives, which in no way can be regarded as violations.
&ldquo;The resolution expresses concern regarding a simplified procedure for Ukrainian refugees to acquire Russian citizenship. Such a procedure is something that refugees around the world would dream about, especially if, as is the case under the Russian legislation, they are not even obliged to renounce their Ukrainian citizenship, not to mention the fact that the procedure is purely voluntary,&rdquo; Zabolotskaya said.
She said that each vote in favor of the resolution is a &ldquo;vote in support of lies, war, and confrontation, while each vote against is a vote for peace.&rdquo;
President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock said that since February 2022, when Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly has reiterated its calls, across eight resolutions adopted during its Eleventh Emergency Special Session, for the immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine&rsquo;s internationally recognised territory.
&ldquo;That is why the question of returning Ukrainian children cannot be viewed in a vacuum, for this issue would neither have arisen nor persisted without the Russian Federation&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine,&rdquo; she said.
Earlier this year, a resolution adopted by the General Assembly highlighted its concern that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has persisted for three years, and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability, Baerbock added.

India dispatches a Bailey bridge and 500 water purification units to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, aiding disaster-hit regions after Cyclone Ditwah caused floods, landslides, and major infrastructure damage.

India Provides Aid to Cyclone-Hit Sri Lanka with Bridges and Water Units

India dispatches a Bailey bridge and 500 water purification units to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, aiding disaster-hit regions after Cyclone Ditwah caused floods, landslides, and major infrastructure damage.

India has sent a Bailey bridge and hundreds of water-purification units to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka as part of its ongoing humanitarian support to reconnect isolated communities and restore essential services in the island nation.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.&nbsp;
At least 479 people have been killed and 350 are missing as of Wednesday evening due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
An IAF aircraft on Wednesday transported the prefabricated Bailey bridge and 500 water purification units to help ensure access to safe drinking water in cyclone-affected regions.
"Bridging gaps and restoring hope under Operation Sagar Bandhu. A C-17 has flown in a Bailey Bridge along with 500 water purification units, paving the way for reconnecting isolated communities and ensuring access to safe drinking water,&rdquo; the Indian High Commission in Colombo posted on social media on Thursday.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Bridging gaps and restoring hope under <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OperationSagarBandhu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OperationSagarBandhu</a>! A <a href="https://twitter.com/IAF_MCC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAF_MCC</a> C-17 has flown in a Bailey Bridge along with 500 water purification units, paving the way for reconnecting isolated communities and ensuring access to safe drinking water in areas impacted by&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/flTHpqtIR4">pic.twitter.com/flTHpqtIR4</a>
&mdash; India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiainSL/status/1996438122822070484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
In another post, the mission said disaster-management cooperation between the two neighbours also continued in the digital sphere. In a virtual meeting held on Wednesday, Bhaskar Katamneni, Secretary of Real Time Governance, Andhra Pradesh, shared a "digital toolkit" showcasing the state government's best practices in disaster preparedness and response with Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the Sri Lankan President on Digital Economy, and the GovTech team.
India has been extending humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, with extensive air, sea and ground operations delivering urgent relief to those affected.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a social media post on Wednesday expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India&rsquo;s steadfast support to Sri Lanka. &ldquo;India&rsquo;s prompt assistance under the SAGAR-BANDHU initiative underscores the depth of our partnership and the enduring goodwill between our nations,&rdquo; he said.
Officials estimate a total economic loss of between USD 6 billion and 7 billion, which is roughly 3-5 per cent of the island nation's GDP, due to the cyclone.

The US State Department mandates all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants to make social media profiles public starting December 15, expanding security screening amid stricter immigration policies targeting foreign workers.

US Expands Social Media Vetting for H-1B, H-4 Visa Applicants

The US State Department mandates all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants to make social media profiles public starting December 15, expanding security screening amid stricter immigration policies targeting foreign workers.

The US government has expanded screening and vetting measures for H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents, directing them to keep the privacy settings on all their social media profiles set to "public".
In a new order issued Wednesday, the State Department said beginning December 15, a review of the online presence for all H-1B applicants and their dependents will be conducted. Students and exchange visitors were already subject to such scrutiny, which has now been extended to include those applying for H-1B and H-4 visas.
&ldquo;To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to 'public',&rdquo; the State Department said.
Underscoring that a US visa is a privilege and not a right, the department said it uses all available information in screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible or pose a threat to America's national security or public safety. "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision," it said.
The department said the US &ldquo;must be vigilant&rdquo; to ensure applicants do not intend to harm Americans and that all visa applicants credibly establish eligibility and intent to comply with the terms of their admission.
The directive is the latest in a series of steps by the Trump administration to tighten immigration rules. The administration has launched a massive crackdown to check abuse of the H-1B visa programme, used largely by US technology companies to hire foreign workers. Indian professionals, including tech workers and physicians, form one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders.
In September, US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation, titled &lsquo;Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers&rsquo;, imposing a one-time USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B work visas, an order that could significantly impact Indian workers seeking temporary employment in the US.
Separately, Washington has also paused with immediate effect Green Card, US citizenship and other immigration applications for people hailing from 19 &ldquo;countries of concern&rdquo;, following the shooting of National Guard soldiers by an Afghan national.
A policy memorandum issued Tuesday directs the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to &ldquo;place on hold&rdquo;, effective immediately, all asylum applications, regardless of the immigrant&rsquo;s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review. The pause also applies to all immigration applications from nationals of 19 countries previously covered by the administration's travel ban. These countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen. The applications will be on hold &ldquo;pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date&rdquo;, the directive said.
The new guidance follows the shooting of US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and US Air Force Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries, Trump said Thursday during a Thanksgiving call with service members, while Wolfe remains in critical condition.
The accused, Lakanwal, 29, had entered the US through &lsquo;Operation Allies Welcome&rsquo;, a Biden-era programme for Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021.

Former US President Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war after inconclusive Moscow talks, while US envoys plan follow-up meetings with Kyiv.

Trump says Putin wants to end war, US to hold new talks with Ukraine

Former US President Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war after inconclusive Moscow talks, while US envoys plan follow-up meetings with Kyiv.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes Russia's Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war despite inconclusive talks in Moscow, as US officials prepared for a follow-up meeting with Kyiv's top negotiator.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached no breakthrough on halting Europe's worst conflict since World War II.
The Kremlin said afterward it found parts of the US plan to end the war unacceptable, even though the proposal includes Ukraine ceding parts of the eastern Donbas region it still holds nearly four years after Russia's invasion.
"I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin," Trump said when an AFP reporter asked him about the talks, adding afterwards that the talks were "very good."
Trump said it was too soon to tell what would happen "because it does take two to tango."
Pressed on whether Witkoff and Kushner got any sense that Putin genuinely wanted to halt Russia's nearly four-year-old invasion, Trump replied: "He would like to end the war. That was their impression."
Trump added that Ukraine "pretty well" backed the US proposal, although he added that Kyiv should have done so earlier when he had a notoriously heated meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval office in February.
Witkoff and Kushner were now due to meet top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on Thursday, two US officials told AFP, to follow up on the Kremlin talks.
 - 'Successes of the Russian army' -
But while the White House had voiced optimism ahead of the Kremlin talks, Moscow said that the two sides had failed to reach a compromise and that more work was needed.
The Kremlin added Wednesday that its army's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine had bolstered its position and that Kyiv's ties to NATO remained a key question.
Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine gathered pace last month and Putin has said in recent days that Moscow is ready to fight on to seize the rest of the land it claims if Kyiv does not surrender it.
"The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who took part in the US-Russia talks, told reporters, including AFP.
Moscow insisted it was incorrect to say Putin rejected the plan in its entirety.
It also said Russia was still committed to diplomacy, despite Putin's stark warning earlier this week that Moscow was prepared to fight Europe if it wanted war.
"We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
 - 'Opportunity to end the war' -
In Kyiv, Zelensky said that though a window of opportunity for peace has opened, it must be accompanied by pressure on Moscow.
"The world now clearly feels that there is an opportunity to end the war, and the current activity in negotiations must be supported by pressure on Russia," he said in a regular evening address.
The fresh talks come as NATO pledges to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US arms for Kyiv.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said it was positive that peace talks were ongoing, but that the alliance should make sure that "Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going".
Russian troops have been grinding forward across the front line against outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces.
Earlier this week, Moscow claimed to have captured the important stronghold of Pokrovsk, but a Ukrainian army unit fighting in the city said urban combat was still ongoing.
European countries have expressed fears Washington and Moscow will reach agreements without them and have spent the last weeks trying to amend the US plan so that it does not force Kyiv to capitulate.

Salvador Plasencia, the doctor who supplied ketamine to “Friends” star Matthew Perry before his fatal overdose in 2023, was sentenced to 30 months in California.

Doctor who sold ketamine to 'Friends' star Matthew Perry gets 2.5 years in prison

Salvador Plasencia, the doctor who supplied ketamine to &ldquo;Friends&rdquo; star Matthew Perry before his fatal overdose in 2023, was sentenced to 30 months in California.

A doctor who supplied "Friends" star Matthew Perry with ketamine in the months before he fatally overdosed, musing to a fellow physician over "how much this moron will pay" for the drug, was jailed in California on Wednesday.
Salvador Plasencia, 44, is the first of five people to face justice over Perry's 2023 death in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home.
Plasencia was ordered to serve 30 months in prison for supplying the drug to the actor -- who had well documented struggles with addiction -- at grossly inflated prices.
In a victim impact statement filed with the court, Perry's mother Suzanne Perry and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, said Plasencia -- who did not supply the fatal dose of the drug -- had neglected his duty as a doctor.
"Matthew's recovery counted on you saying NO," they wrote.
"Your motives? I can't imagine. A doctor whose life is devoted to helping people?"
Plasencia's attorneys, Karen Goldstein and Debra White, who had argued for a probationary sentence, said their client, who has surrendered his medical license, was filled with regret.
"He is not a villain. He is someone who made serious mistakes in his treatment decisions involving the off-label use of ketamine -- a drug commonly used for depression that does not have uniform standards," they said after the sentencing.
"The mistakes he made over the 13 days during which he treated Mr. Perry will stay with him forever."
Another doctor, Mark Chavez, pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.
Plasencia allegedly bought ketamine off Chavez and sold it to the American-Canadian actor at hugely inflated prices.
"I wonder how much this moron will pay," Plasencia wrote in one text message presented by prosecutors.
The four other people who have also admitted their part in supplying drugs to the actor will be sentenced over the coming months.
They include Jasveen Sangha, the alleged "Ketamine Queen" who supplied drugs to high-end clients and celebrities, who could be jailed for up to 65 years.
Perry's live-in personal assistant and another man pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
 - Addiction struggles -
The actor's lengthy struggles with substance addiction were well-documented, but his death at age 54 sent shockwaves through the global legions of "Friends" fans.
A criminal investigation was launched soon after an autopsy discovered he had high levels of ketamine -- an anesthetic -- in his system.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, Plasencia said he went to Perry's home to administer ketamine by injection and distributed 20 vials of the drug over a roughly two-week period in autumn 2023.
Perry had been taking ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression.
But prosecutors say that before his death he became addicted to the substance, which also has psychedelic properties and is a popular party drug.
First airing between 1994 and 2004, the televised comedy "Friends" followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adulthood, dating and careers, drew a massive following and made megastars of previously unknown actors.
Perry's role as the sarcastic man-child Chandler brought him fabulous wealth, but hid a dark struggle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.
In 2018, he suffered a drug-related burst colon and underwent multiple surgeries.
In his 2022 memoir "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," Perry described going through detox dozens of times.
"I have mostly been sober since 2001," he wrote, "save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps."

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26 people were injured after a local councillor in Ukraine threw bombs during a meeting

Caught on cam: Ukraine councillor throws grenades during meeting

26 people were injured after a local councillor in Ukraine threw bombs during a meeting

A local councillor in Western Ukraine threw grenades during a council meeting on Friday. 26 people were injured in the explosion. The meeting was being livestreamed on Facebook. The footage show the man entering the room and standing next to the door before throwing the grenades on the floor. The motive behind the attack is not known so far.&nbsp;

A Beechcraft 55 aircraft made an emergency landing on I-95 near Orlando, Florida, colliding with a car. One person was injured, while the pilot and passenger remained unharmed. NTSB investigates.

Narrow escape: Plane crashes into car during emergency landing on Florida highway | Watch

A Beechcraft 55 aircraft made an emergency landing on I-95 near Orlando, Florida, colliding with a car. One person was injured, while the pilot and passenger remained unharmed. NTSB investigates.

A small aircraft made an emergency landing on Interstate-95 (I-95) near Orlando, Florida, on Monday evening, colliding with a car during the landing and injuring one person.
The plane attempted to land on the southbound side of I-95 near mile marker 201 in Cocoa when it struck a vehicle, according to Brevard County Fire Rescue.&nbsp;
A dashcam video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows the aircraft descending onto the freeway and colliding with the Camry. The footage captures the plane landing on top of the vehicle, skidding along the roadway, and eventually coming to a stop.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
INSANE footage: plane lands RIGHT on a car in Brevard County, Florida <a href="https://t.co/u8Va7MENN3">https://t.co/u8Va7MENN3</a> <a href="https://t.co/TXM1NI41vY">pic.twitter.com/TXM1NI41vY</a>
&mdash; RT (@RT_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1998503602256843219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The aircraft, a fixed-wing, multi-engine Beechcraft 55, had two people on board: a 27-year-old pilot and a 27-year-old passenger. Both remained unharmed, Florida Highway Patrol confirmed.
The car involved was a Toyota Camry driven by a 57-year-old woman, who sustained minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital, Fox 13 News reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the pilot had reported engine issues before attempting the emergency landing. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has opened an investigation into the incident.
According to the NTSB, the aircraft had departed from Merritt Island on an instructional flight. Shortly after takeoff, the plane lost power in both engines, forcing the pilot to land on the nearest highway.

Australia has become the first country to ban under-16s from major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Here's how the new rules will work, who’s affected, and potential penalties for non-compliance.

How Australia is banning under-16s from social media

Australia has become the first country to ban under-16s from major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Here's how the new rules will work, who&rsquo;s affected, and potential penalties for non-compliance.

Australia banned under-16s from the likes of Facebook and TikTok on Wednesday, a world-first move of huge interest to all those worried about the harms of social media.
Internet regulators the world over are watching to see if Australia can rein in the tech giants -- but questions remain about how it will work.
Here's what we know about how Australia will enforce the new restrictions.
 - Prove age -
Some of the world's largest social media platforms must remove all users under the age of 16 in Australia.
Hundreds of thousands of adolescents are impacted, with Instagram alone reporting about 350,000 Australian users aged 13 to 15.
Not every Australian has to prove their age, only those suspected of falling foul of the ban.
And young users are still able to access some social media without logging in -- they just cannot register for their own accounts.
 - Verification -
Social media platforms are responsible for weeding out underage accounts.
A number of trials have looked at different ways to do so, but the Australian government has so far refused to settle on a universally agreed method.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has started deactivating accounts based on information such as the age given when they were created.
Account holders flagged by mistake could verify their age using a "video selfie" or by providing government-issued ID, Meta said.
 - Who's in and out -
Which platforms fall under the ban continues to be debated.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are covered, as are streaming platforms including Kick and Twitch.
YouTube was added, despite the government's suggestion that it would be exempt so that children could watch lessons online.
Other popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp are currently exempt -- but the list remains under review.
 - Just browsing -
Australia expects rebellious teens will do their best to skirt the laws.
Guidelines warn they might try to upload fake IDs or use AI to make their photos appear older.
Platforms are expected to devise their own means to stop this happening.
"Of course, no solution is likely to be 100 percent effective all of the time," the internet safety watchdog has said.
 - Harsh penalties -
Platforms face the threat of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$33 million) in fines if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to comply.
It remains unclear how Australia's internet safety regulator would interpret or enforce what counts as reasonable.
"'Reasonable steps' means platforms have to act to enforce the restrictions in a way that is just and appropriate in the circumstances," the regulator's guidelines say.

Australia has banned users under 16 from major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and TikTok, to protect children from harmful content, with fines of US$33 million for non-compliance.

Australia bans under-16s from social media in world-first crackdown

Australia has banned users under 16 from major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and TikTok, to protect children from harmful content, with fines of US$33 million for non-compliance.

Australia banned under-16s from social media in a world-first crackdown on Wednesday, declaring it was time to "take back control" from formidable tech giants.
A raft of popular apps and websites -- Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X among them -- face US$33 million fines if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16.
Australia becomes one of the first nations to push back so forcefully against tech companies with immense political power, in a move other countries are looking at closely.
"Enough is enough," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"It is one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced.
"We will take back control."
The government says unprecedented measures are needed to protect children from "predatory algorithms" filling phone screens with bullying, sex and violence.
The laws came into effect after midnight local time across Australia.
Hundreds of thousands of adolescents woke up to find themselves locked out of apps they once scrolled through for hours each day.
Bianca Navarro, 10, was already counting the years until she could log in again to YouTube.
"It will be pretty sad because I have six years until I can watch it," she told AFP.
 - Blacklisted -
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit are forbidden from creating or keeping accounts belonging to users in Australia under 16.
Streaming platforms Kick and Twitch are also on the government's blacklist, as are Threads and X.
The ban has been hailed as a godsend for parents sick of seeing children stuck to their phones.
Mia Bannister blamed social media for the suicide of her teenage son Ollie, who killed himself last year after he was bullied online.
He was also being served endless dieting videos that fuelled an eating disorder, she said.
"I'm sick of the social media giants shirking responsibility," she told AFP in the lead-up to the ban.
"The problem is we hand them a phone and we hand them the greatest weapon we could hand them."
A growing body of research suggests too much time online is taking a toll on teen wellbeing.
But it is hard to draw firm conclusions that separate phone use from other lifestyle factors, experts say.
Father-of-five Dany Elachi said the restrictions were a long-overdue "line in the sand".
"We need to err on the side of caution before putting anything addictive in the hands of children," he told AFP.
 - 'Really distracted' -
Tech-savvy teenagers the world over have taken an interest in Australia's measures.
"Students nowadays, they are really distracted," said Nigerian high-schooler Mitchelle Okinedo, 15.
"Social media today is very important for expressing yourself, no matter how old you are," said Santiago Ramirez Rojas, 16, from Mexico City.
YouTube, Meta and other social media giants have lined up to condemn the ban.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said children were already flocking to darker online spaces.
"We've consistently raised concerns that this poorly developed law could push teens to less regulated platforms or apps," the US-based firm told AFP in a statement.
"We're now seeing those concerns become reality."
Elon Musk's X told young users the ban was "not our choice".
"It's what the Australian law requires."
Lesser-known chat and image-sharing apps Lemon8 and yope, which are not currently listed in the social media ban, have shot up the download charts in Australia.
While most platforms have begrudgingly agreed to comply, for now, legal challenges are in the wind.
Online discussion site Reddit said Tuesday it could not confirm local media reports that said it would seek to overturn the ban in Australia's High Court.
An Australian internet rights group has launched its own bid to have teenagers re-instated to social media.
 - Rushed or reasonable? -
Australia's efforts will be closely watched by all those worried about the dangers of social media.
New Zealand and Malaysia are mulling similar restrictions.
The Australian government concedes the ban will be far from perfect at the outset and canny teenagers will find ways to slip through the cracks.
But platforms face the threat of Aus$49.5 million (US$33 million) fines if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to stop this happening.
It remains to be seen how Australia's internet safety regulator will interpret what counts as reasonable.
Social media companies bear the sole responsibility for checking users are 16 or older.
Some platforms say they will use AI tools to estimate ages based on photos, while young users may also choose to prove their age by uploading government ID.
Which platforms fall under the ban continues to be debated.
Popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp are currently exempt -- but the government has stressed that the list remains under review.
Most social media platforms already require users be at least 13, a legacy of US laws setting the minimum age for data collection without parental consent.

US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that he stopped the May conflict between India and Pakistan, even as India maintains no third-party intervention took place. Trump also made strong remarks on immigration and ongoing global tensions.

Trump Claims Role in India-Pakistan Conflict Resolution

US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that he stopped the May conflict between India and Pakistan, even as India maintains no third-party intervention took place. Trump also made strong remarks on immigration and ongoing global tensions.

US President Donald Trump said India and Pakistan &ldquo;were going at it&rdquo; and he ended the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, repeating the claim once again.
Trump has so far repeated the claim nearly 70 times that he stopped the conflict in May between India and Pakistan.
&ldquo;In 10 months, I ended eight wars, including Kosovo (and) Serbia, Pakistan and India, they were going at it. Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia.&hellip; Armenia and Azerbaijan,&rdquo; Trump said on Tuesday in remarks to his supporters at a rally on the economy in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
India has consistently denied any third-party intervention in resolving the conflict.
Meanwhile, Trump said Cambodia and Thailand have started fighting again and &ldquo;tomorrow&rdquo;, he will make a phone call to those countries.
&ldquo;Who else could say I'm going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia. They are going at it. But I&rsquo;ll do it. So we're making peace through strength. That's what we're doing,&rdquo; Trump said.
On immigration, Trump said that for the first time in 50 years, &ldquo;we now have reverse migration, which means more jobs, better wages and higher income for American citizens, not for illegal aliens.&rdquo;
He said that he has announced a permanent pause on &ldquo;Third World migration&rdquo;, including from &ldquo;hellholes" like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.
&ldquo;&hellip;Why can't we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few. Let's have a few from Denmark. Do you mind sending us a few people? Send us some nice people. Do you mind? But we always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime. The only thing they're good at is going after ships.&rdquo;
Last month, Trump had said he would &ldquo;permanently pause" migration from &ldquo;all Third World Countries&rdquo; and deport foreign nationals who are a &ldquo;security risk&rdquo; as his administration intensified its crackdown on immigration in the wake of the killing of a National Guard member by Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new guidance allowing for &ldquo;negative, country-specific factors&rdquo; to be considered when vetting aliens from 19 high-risk countries.
These countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.
These are the same countries that were subject to a travel ban announced by Trump in a proclamation issued in June this year.
The proclamation &lsquo;Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats' restricted and limited the entry of nationals of these countries into the US and applied to both immigrants and nonimmigrants.

The US State Department’s expanded social media checks have forced widespread H-1B visa appointment rescheduling in India, prompting an advisory from the US Embassy as applicants face delays and stricter scrutiny.

US social media vetting triggers major disruptions for H-1B visa applicants in India

The US State Department&rsquo;s expanded social media checks have forced widespread H-1B visa appointment rescheduling in India, prompting an advisory from the US Embassy as applicants face delays and stricter scrutiny.

The US State Department&rsquo;s expanded social media vetting policy has led to widespread disruptions for H-1B visa applicants in India, prompting the US Embassy to issue a formal advisory after a wave of rescheduled and postponed appointments.
The Embassy warned applicants not to appear on their earlier interview dates, saying doing so would lead to denial of entry.
In an advisory posted on X, it stated: &ldquo;Attention visa applicants &ndash; If you have received an email advising that your visa appointment has been rescheduled, Mission India looks forward to assisting you on your new appointment date. Arriving on your previously scheduled appointment date will result in your being denied admittance to the Embassy or Consulate.&rdquo;
&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;ATTENTION VISA APPLICANTS - If you have received an email advising that your visa appointment has been rescheduled, Mission India looks forward to assisting you on your new appointment date. Arriving on your previously scheduled appointment date will result in your being denied&hellip;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/USAndIndia/status/1998399737075032568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 9, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
The disruptions follow the US State Department&rsquo;s new policy requiring enhanced scrutiny of online activity. According to Bloomberg, several interviews set for mid to late December have been moved to March next year, although the total number of rescheduled appointments remains unclear.
The intensified screening aligns with the Donald Trump administration&rsquo;s broader push on immigration enforcement, national security, and free-speech&ndash;related vetting.
In a separate post, the State Department said: &ldquo;85,000 visa revocations since January. President Trump and Secretary Rubio adhere to one simple mandate, and they won&rsquo;t stop anytime soon.&rdquo;
&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;85,000 visa revocations since January.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;President Trump and Secretary Rubio adhere to one simple mandate, and they won&amp;#39;t stop anytime soon⤵️ &lt;a href="https://t.co/fbNYw9wj71"&gt;pic.twitter.com/fbNYw9wj71&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Department of State (@StateDept) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1998487390072000815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 9, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
A senior department official said more than 8,000 of these cancellations involved students. Offences including driving under the influence, theft and assault accounted for nearly half the visa revocations in 2025.
Other cancellations have been linked to support for terrorism, visa expirations, and politically sensitive activities. Earlier this year, visas were revoked for individuals accused of &ldquo;celebrating&rdquo; the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and international students involved in Gaza-related protests have faced tightening scrutiny.
Expanded Social Media Checks for H-1B Applicants
The latest directive orders H-1B applicants &mdash; and their H-4 dependents &mdash; to maintain public social media profiles, which US officials will review starting December 15. The State Department said: &ldquo;Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.&rdquo;
An internal memo dated December 2 directs consular officers to review resumes or LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants and accompanying family members to assess whether they have worked in sectors associated with &ldquo;misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety,&rdquo; among others.
The cable says such checks apply to all visa categories but calls for heightened scrutiny for H-1B holders because of their concentration in technology, social media and financial services &mdash; industries the administration links to &ldquo;suppression of protected expression.&rdquo;
The new requirements apply to both first-time and repeat applicants.
The Trump administration has made online free speech a central plank of its foreign policy agenda, publicly criticising European authorities for what it calls censorship of right-wing political figures in countries including Romania, Germany and France.
In May, Senator Marco Rubio threatened visa bans for individuals who censor speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested foreign officials regulating US tech firms could face consequences.
The administration has already increased scrutiny of student visa applicants, directing officers to examine social media posts deemed hostile toward the United States. As part of a broader immigration crackdown, President Trump also imposed a one-time $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas in September.
Impact on Indian Workers and Ongoing Policy Actions
H-1B visas &mdash; heavily used by US technology companies that recruit from India and China &mdash; remain the primary route for skilled foreign professionals entering the United States. Many leaders from these industries backed Trump in the previous presidential election.
The State Department&rsquo;s announcement further adds to existing restrictions. After an Afghan national shot National Guard soldiers, the US also paused Green Card, citizenship and other immigration applications for individuals from 19 &ldquo;countries of concern.&rdquo;
The Embassy&rsquo;s advisory in India underscores the immediate consequences of these tightening rules, as rescheduled interviews and appointment delays continue to affect thousands of visa seekers.

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