Friday, August 14
The US Department of Homeland Security has announced a rule change to reduce visa-related disruptions faced by foreign religious workers serving congregations across the United States. The move aims to shorten wait times abroad and allow churches, temples and mosques to retain pastors, priests, nuns, imams and rabbis who are already working in the country on temporary visas. DHS said the change will ease pressure on religious communities that depend on foreign-born clergy but face long delays in the green card process. Many such workers enter the US on R-1 visas, which allow them to serve temporarily while their applications for permanent residency remain pending. Key change to R-1 visa rule Under the new rule, DHS has removed the requirement that R-1 visa holders must remain outside the U
Silver prices traded above $91 per ounce today on COMEX, intensifying speculation over whether the white metal could breach the psychological $100 per ounce mark before January ends.The rally, which has gained steam in recent sessions, is being closely monitored by market participants as a mix of macroeconomic, geopolitical, and structural factors converge to fuel bullish sentiment.Driving this surge is a fundamental imbalance between supply and demand.Jigar Trivedi of Reliance Securities attributes the price momentum to tightening physical markets, where mine output has struggled to keep up with rising industrial consumption.The increased use of silver in energy transition technologies, electronics, and electrification, areas where viable substitutes remain limited, is reinforcing the met
Oil prices slid more than 2% in early Asian trade on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said killings in Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests were stopping, tempering concern over military action against Iran and supply disruption. Brent futures were down $1.67, or 2.5%, at $64.85 a barrel at 0109 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped $1.54, or 2.5%, to $60.48 a barrel. Both benchmarks settled more than 1% higher on Wednesday but gave back most gains after Trump's remarks reduced fear of a potential U.S. attack on Iran. Trump on Wednesday afternoon said he had been told that killings of anti-government protesters in Iran were subsiding and he believed there was no plan for large-scale executions. "Selling pressure prevailed on expectations that the U.S.
Bangkok: A crane at a highway construction site in the Bangkok suburbs collapsed on Thursday, killing two people, a local police chief told AFP, one day after a crane fell on a train in Thailand, killing 32.The crane fell Thursday morning at the under-construction Rama II Expressway in Samut Sakhon province, outside Bangkok, with "two dead and no injuries", Sitthiporn Kasi told AFP from the scene.Local media reported that the incident occurred in front of the Paris Inn Garden Hotel, with footage showing clouds of dust and rubble scattered across the site after a massive crane collapsed onto an elevated concrete structure.The Rama II Expressway hosts several major infrastructure projects, including tollway construction, which has seen several deadly accidents in recent years, earning it the
The Trump administration on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions that target what appeared to be shipping, trading and energy companies, according to a post on the U.S. Treasury Department website on Thursday.The new sanctions come amid Iran's crackdown on protests in Iran, where the clerical establishment has cracked down hard on nationwide unrest since December 28.The sanctions also target 11 individuals and Fardis Prison, according to the website.
