Free Republic

“Indians are just waking up after Trump nuked the H1B program. Want to keep them in India? Clog the flight reservation system!” “Operation Clog the toilet needs your help. 4chan hatched a diabolical plan to clog up flight schedules to keep the Poopjeets in India or pay a $100,000 fee to come back.” “Ben up all night participating in Operation Clog the Toilet. Preventing jeets from getting back in 24 hours so they are forced to pay $100k to renew H1B” These are some comments posted on 4chan — an anonymous imageboard known for controversial content because some boards lack...

The Trump administration has launched Project Firewall, a major initiative to curb H-1B visa misuse and prioritise American workers for high-paying, skilled jobs. This move signals a shift toward stricter enforcement and could reshape opportunities for both domestic and foreign professionals. The move comes amid rising concerns over the exploitation of the H-1B programme. According to a January 2025 report by fwd.us, the US hosts roughly 730,000 H-1B visa holders along with 550,000 dependents. Critics have long argued that some companies use the program to hire cheaper foreign talent, often at the expense of qualified American professionals. This initiative follows...

When Pratham Jain graduated in May with a Master’s in Business and Science from a reputable US university, job-hunting wasn’t the main hurdle.“In the beginning, my focus was on classes, internships and making the most of the campus life. But as graduation got closer,” he says, “the visa conversation started to overshadow everything.” -snip- “Every international student I know keeps one eye on their grades and the other on Washington, because even a small policy change can completely reshape your career path,” Jain says. “It’s almost like earning a second degree here, one in navigating immigration paperwork, deadlines, and constantly...

Companies could face probes into their compliance with the H-1B visa program as part of the Trump Administration’s effort to clamp down on the program and force companies to hire more Americans. The Department of Labor announced on Friday that it was launching Project Firewall, an “enforcement initiative” that will investigate employers for potential abuse of the H-1B visa process. The initiative may be the first time the federal government has sought to broadly enforce H-1B legal standards intended to protect both the H-1B employee and American workers, such as paying wages on par with other workers of similar qualifications...

Two of the US Senate’s most senior lawmakers are once again teaming up to overhaul America’s high-skilled H-1B and L-1 visa systems, saying companies have turned what was meant to be a tool for innovation into a loophole for outsourcing. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin reintroduced the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act. This latest push comes just weeks after US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping presidential proclamation on H-1B visa applications. Under the new order, companies are now required to pay a one-time fee of $100,000 (around Rs 88 lakh) on every...

American President Donald Trump's decision to finally impose a massive 100% tariff — import duty or tax — on movies made outside the US comes as another major blow to India, which has been facing his wrath, with blips of bonhomie, for the past three months and more. -snip- The Indian diaspora in the US spends around $100 million a year to watch Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Punjabi, Bengali and other Indian language movies released in the US country, according to the Producers Guild of India. Indians are about 1.6% of the total US population, with other South Asians also...

Ukrainian defense and national security officials are on their way to Washington to hammer out details of a proposed drone deal with the Trump administration, The Post has learned. Representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and its National Security and Defense Council will be working with their American counterparts Tuesday through Friday as Washington and Kyiv aim to solidify a defense agreement that would bind the countries closer together. “Following the results of the negotiations between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, a Ukraine delegation will arrive to Washington from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 for technical...

Vladimir Putin is set to make a "major speech" in what the Kremlin is promising to be an "interesting week". The announcement comes following remarks by the US Vice President J D Vance on Friday, in which he said Donald Trump was considering a request to supply Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dropped the cryptic message in an interview on Sunday with the Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin. "The President will deliver a fairly major speech next week," he said. "We will announce what it will be about, as well as exactly when and where. But the...

Washington authorizes specific instances where Ukraine can carry out long-range strikes within Russia, U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on Sept. 28 in an interview with Fox News. "The answer is yes, use the ability to hit deep, there are no such things as sanctuaries," Kellogg replied when asked if it is U.S. President Donald Trump's position that Ukraine can conduct long-range strikes. -snip- The final decision on whether Ukraine may conduct long-range strikes within Russia falls to Trump on a case-by-case basis, Kellogg noted. As Ukraine develops long-range missiles and drones of its own, Kyiv continues to...

Vice President JD Vance on Sunday attributed President Donald Trump’s recent change in attitude toward the Russian-Ukrainian war to the loss of human life and the impact to Russia’s economy. “The Russian economy is in shambles. The Russians are not gaining much on the battlefield. It’s clearly time for them to listen to his passionate plea for them to come to the table and actually talk seriously about peace,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that aired on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think what has changed is the reality on the ground, with the Russians killing...

The United States is considering Ukraine's request to obtain long-range Tomahawk missiles for its effort to push back against Russian invaders, Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked the United States to sell Tomahawks to European nations that would send them to Ukraine. Vance said on “Fox News Sunday” that U.S. President Donald Trump would make the "final determination" on whether to allow the deal. "We're certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans," Vance said. Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), and would be a powerful asset...

United States Vice President JD Vance called on Russia on Sunday to adhere to President Donald Trump's request and "sit at the negotiating table" on the conflict in Ukraine. Speaking to Fox News, Vance insisted that Russia is not making any gains on the battlefield and is only provoking losses in human lives.

Located between Ukraine and the EU member Romania, Moldova has received increased international media coverage since Russia's full-scale war invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. In addition to coverage of pro-EU and pro-Russia parties battling for parliamentary control, there has been increased international reporting on the internationally unrecognized Kremlin-aligned Republic of Transnistria in eastern Moldova. Meaning "land beyond the Dniester," the name Transnistria refers to the area along the eastern lower reaches of the Dniester River. At the end of the 18th century, the region it was annexed by the Russian Empire. During the Soviet era, Transnistria was initially...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When a vehicle is captured and then...

Actor Charlie Sheen has revealed he still questions the official narrative around the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The Two And A Half Men actor, 60, joined Tucker Carlson, 56, on his show on Friday to promote his new book, The Book of Sheen. While there, the Hollywood star revealed he didn't believe the official story of 9/11. 'There's something about that that's weird,' Sheen told Tucker. 'We're just going to focus on two things, just two things, and if you can explain those, I will submit to the official story.' Sheen takes issue with the stories...

A Moldovan oligarch and former senior politician has been extradited from Greece accused of involvement in the theft of $1bn (£748m). Vladimir Plahotniuc, 59, was flown from Athens to Chisinau on Thursday morning and then taken to a detention centre in Moldova's capital, local officials said. The tycoon, who faces several long-running criminal cases in Moldova, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to prove his innocence. His extradition comes days before Sunday's parliamentary elections, with President Maia Sandu warning that Moldova's independence and European future are in danger because of attempts by Russia to foment violence and spread...

More than 20 people have been rescued in Kenya from a suspected human trafficking ring that lured them with job offers in Russia but intended to send them to fight in Ukraine, police said. It follows an intelligence-led raid on a residential apartment on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi, where officers seized recruitment materials, travel documents, and job offer letters. One suspect, accused of coordinating the victims' travel to Russia in September and October, has been arrested. He was taken to court, which allowed him to be detained for 10 days while the police complete their investigations. There have...

Ukrainian drones on Saturday struck an oil pumping station in the Russian Volga riverside region of Chuvashia, causing the station to halt work, regional governor Oleg Nikolaev said in a statement posted on Telegram. Nikolaev said that the attack took place near the village of Konar, around 1200km (745 miles) from Ukrainian territory. He said there had been no casualties and only “minor damage” inflicted. Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks targeting refineries and export terminals to reduce Moscow’s export revenues, stir domestic discontent and push the Kremlin to peace talks. The attacks...

Russia has said it believes NATO is plotting a "landing" in Ukraine as part of a bid by the European Union to "occupy" Moldova. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed NATO military units were massing in Romania close to the Moldovan border and were also planning a "landing" in Ukraine's Odesa region, according to TASS, Moscow's state news agency. Why It Matters Moldova goes to the polls on Sunday in a critical parliamentary election. The vote is seen as a stark choice for the country between a path to EU membership or closer ties with Moscow. Following Russia’s invasion...

Poland has barred pro-Russian Moldovan politician Irina Vlah from entering the country for five years, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, accusing her of helping Moscow interfere in Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary elections. "Irina Vlah, a Moldovan politician who is assisting Russia in interfering with preparations for the parliamentary elections in Moldova, will be banned from entering Poland," the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement. Moldova is set to hold a high-stakes parliamentary vote on Sunday that could determine its European path. Officials in Chișinău and Western capitals have accused Moscow of trying to sway the outcome and undermine the...