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Visa Row
The "slight hassle" caused by a visa delay for the India tour is very much a thing of the past for 20-year-old England debutant Shoaib Bashir, who is chuffed about Rohit Sharma being his first Test wicket. Bashir, who is of Pakistan heritage, could not travel with the England squad to Hyderabad from Abu Dhabi for the series opener due to a visa delay. He joined the team in the middle of the Hyderabad Test before witnessing a special win. On Friday, the 6'4 tall off-spinner showed what he was capable of and why skipper Ben Stokes picked him in the squad after watching a video clip of his bowling on social media. Bashir, who played only six first class games before getting his big break, was England's best spinner on the opening day, returned figures of two for 100 in 28 overs. He also bowled the most number of overs on the day. "It's been a very special, special day. For all that I've been through in the last two to three years, it made it even more special. To get Rohit Sharma out
The US has announced a steep increase in fees for various categories of non-immigrant visas like the H-1B, L-1 and EB-5, the most popular among Indians. The fee hike, first after 2016, will come into force from April 1. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The EB-5 programme, launched by the US government in 1990, enables high-net-worth foreign investors to obtain a US visa for themselves and their families by investing a minimum of USD 5,00,000 in a US business that helps create 10 jobs for American workers. To come into force from April 1, the new H-1B application visa fee, which is form I-129, has been increased from USD 460 to USD 780. The H-1B registration will increase from USD 10 to USD 215, but from next year. The fee for L-1 vis
Captain Rohit Rajpal worked on Saketh Myneni's volleys while N Sriram Balaji was getting used to not hitting in the alleys as the Indian Davis Cup team continued its preparations for the upcoming tie against Pakistan here Friday. Coach Zeeshan Ali threw more balls on Myneni's body and Rajpal advised him to keep his head a bit down and still. "Do not go up on your toes, keep your feet grounded when you make contact," said Rajpal. Myneni applied and immediately felt the difference. This was because it is a bit difficult for taller players to move sideways, and rivals feed a lot of ball on the body. Myneni has been peppered with such balls on the Tour and Rajpal wanted his player to be ready for the challenge. Ramkumar Ramanathan's grunts echoed around Delhi Gymkhana. He first played sets with Balaji and then also practiced with Niki Poonacha, who is also being prepared for the singles matches. BALAJI TO PLAY SINGLES ================= Most likely it will be Balaji who will do the s
England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was on Wednesday granted visa to travel to India for the five-match Test series beginning from Thursday, announced the country's cricket board. Bashir will now travel to India from London this weekend to join his teammates and can be in contention for an England Test debut for the second match at Visakhapatnam. Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa, and is due to travel to join up with the team in India this weekend. We're glad the situation has now been resolved, said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in a statement. The delay in issuance of an Indian visa to rookie off-spinner Bashir had snowballed into a major controversy ahead of the first Test in Hyderabad. England skipper Ben Stokes called the turn of events "frustrating" while a British government spokesperson demanded "fair" treatment of the youngster. The 20-year-old Pakistan-origin cricketer, who plays for Somerset in the English county, had to head back home from the team's Ab
Poland's foreign minister accused Germany of trying to interfere in his country's internal affairs after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Warsaw needs to clarify allegations that Polish consulates in Africa and Asia sold temporary work visas to migrants for thousands of dollars each. Poland's right-wing ruling party, Law and Justice, is facing questions about the alleged scheme ahead of an October 15 national election in which it is seeking a third term in power. Scholz, whose government is under pressure to do more to limit migration to Germany, called on neighbouring Poland on Saturday to provide clarification of what was happening. I don't want people to just be waved through from Poland and only for us to have a discussion about asylum policy afterward, Scholz said in comments reported by the German news agency dpa. Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau retorted late Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, that Scholz's statement violates the principles of the sovereign equality of ...
There are growing fears here that the proposed India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), currently in its final stages of negotiation towards a Diwali deadline, is likely to be watered down amid controversial remarks by UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman on visas. The Indian-origin Cabinet minister seems to be poised for a direct clash with British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is keen to stick to the looming October 24 timeline for the FTA and is well aware that the ease of movement of students and professionals is crucial to India's objectives as part of a new trade deal. However, Braverman expressed reservations over what she feared would be an open borders migration policy with India under an FTA, casting doubt over the nature of the final agreement. It now appears likely that the prospective UK-India FTA under the Liz Truss government will not be as substantive nor as comprehensive as envisaged by the previous Boris Johnson government, as negotiations on key issues of ...