SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan legislative assembly should be dissolved simultaneously with the Johor assembly to pave the way for a fresh state election, says DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks with India ’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, before their talks in New Delhi, India , May 24, 2026.
-- Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/REUTERS NEW DELHI : India voiced concern on Sunday over a US visa crackdown, striking a rare critical note even as it expressed broad alignment with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on other fractious issues. Paying his first visit to India, Rubio said the two democracies were on the same page on all major issues, brushing aside recent unease in New Delhi over trade, China and the Iran war.
India's foreign minister, Jaishankar Subrahmanyam, agreed that the two countries had a"convergence of national interests in many areas" but publicly took Rubio to task over President Donald Trump's assault on visas. Jaishankar said he"apprised Secretary Rubio of challenges that legitimate travellers face in respect of visa issuance".
"While we cooperate to deal with illegal and irregular mobility, our expectation is that legal mobility should not be adversely impacted as a consequence," he said, noting that visas were key for US-India tech cooperation. Trump, who has made curbing non-Western immigration a key political priority, has ramped up restrictions and fees for H-1B visas used largely by Indian tech workers, sending applications tumbling.
The Trump administration followed up Friday by saying that applicants for permanent residency, even when in the United States legally, must leave for processing, likely splitting up many families for extended periods. Trump has been influenced by nativist critics who say Indian workers take away skilled jobs from Americans who would have earned more. Last month, Trump reposted a far-right commentator who described India as a"hellhole" and inaccurately alleged that Indian immigrants lack English proficiency.
Asked about racist remarks in the United States about Indians, Rubio said,"every country in the world has stupid people".
"Our nation has been enriched by people who come to our country," said Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants. Rubio, who is paying an unusually long four-day, four-city trip to India, called the country"one of our most important strategic partners in the world".
"Our nations are strategically aligned on all of the key issues that will define the new century -- all the great challenges that are before us now in the modern era," he said. Such grand statements of US-India partnership would have raised few eyebrows over the past two decades as Washington put a top priority on building ties with the billion-plus nation, seeing it as a natural counterweight to a rising China.
But Trump abruptly shook up core assumptions of US foreign policy. He temporarily imposed punishing tariffs on India, held a friendly visit last week to China and has hailed India's historic adversary Pakistan, which has positioned itself as the key mediator on the Iran war. Pakistan has also heaped praise on Trump over his diplomacy in a short war last year with India, which launched strikes after a massacre of mostly Hindu civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Asked if India objected to Pakistan's newfound role as a mediator, Jaishankar said it was for the United States to decide its partners, and acknowledged that differences will emerge between the two countries.
"The Trump administration has been very forthright in putting forward its foreign policy outlook as America First," Jaishankar said.53 vie for Unduk Ngadau Harvest Queen crown this yearTurkey orders police to evict ousted opposition leadership from headquarters
US Visa Crackdown Marco Rubio Jaishankar Subrahmanyam Trump Administration H-1B Visas Tech Cooperation Immigration Reforms Strategic Partners US-India Relationship
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Nancy calls for stricter action over Seremban teacher caseMANCHESTER, England May 22 (Reuters) - Pep Guardiola said he knew the end was near when he felt the energy that had driven him for a decade slipping away, as the Manchester City manager delivered an emotional explanation for his departure ahead of Sunday's Premier League finale.
Read more »
Four-year-old boy suspected of abuse by elderly caregiver in SerembanA four-year-old boy is suspected to have been abused by an elderly woman, who is also his caregiver, at a house in a residential area in Seremban. The incident was reported after a viral video showed a woman beating the boy at the rear of the house.
Read more »
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Visits India Amid Shifts in US Priorities and Ties with ChinaUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio has begun a 4-day, 4-city tour of India during which he will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss ways to strengthen ties between the two countries as China's growing influence becomes a major concern for Washington. Rubio's visit comes a week after the US previously warm summit with China and is part of efforts to foster closer collaboration with India, which is perceived as a key strategic partner in the Asia-Pacific region. The US-India relationship is considered strong on policy, but also on shared values with the addition of reflecting tributes on Mother Teresa and Rubio drawing an urge to aid the homeless, terminally ill and those afflicted with leprosy. Rubio prays over her tomb and than flies to New Delhi where he is scheduled to meet with Modi.
Read more »
Rubio invites India’s PM Modi to White House, says US ambassadorNEW DELHI, May 23 — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House in the “near future”, US ambassador to India Sergio...
Read more »