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General U.S. News15m ago

Norway restricts AI use in schools, cites concerns over learning and cognitive skills

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Friday said Norway is imposing a near-ban on the use of generative AI in elementary classes and restrictive usage for students admitted to higher education institutions, saying the measures are aimed at strengthening foundational learning skills and reducing excessive dependence on AI tools , impacting the learning curve of the students, news agency Reuters reported. To reverse the effects of the implementation of tablets and iPads, the legislation plans to use the funds to buy more books for the classroom, the government said. The Norwegian government plans to ban the usage of social media by younger children in April, following the framework implemented by Australia and other nations. (The article is curated by Salonee Kulkarni, who is an intern with The Indian Express) The Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-driven coverage of key international developments shaping global politics, policy, and migration trends. The desk focuses on stories with direct relevance for Indian and global audiences, combining breaking news with in-depth explainers and analysis. A major focus area of the desk is US immigration and visa policy, including developments related to student visas, work permits, permanent residency pathways, executive actions, and court rulings. The Global Desk also closely tracks Canada’s immigration, visa, and study policies, covering changes to study permits, post-study work options, permanent residence programmes, and regulatory updates affecting migrants and international students. All reporting from the Global Desk adheres to The Indian Express’ editorial standards, relying on official data, government notifications, court documents, and on-record sources. Core Team The Express Global Desk is led by a team of experienced journalists and editors with deep expertise in international affairs and migration policy: Aniruddha Dhar – Senior Assistant Editor with extensive experience in global affairs, international politics, and editorial leadership. Nischai Vats – Deputy Copy Editor specialising in US politics, US visa and immigration policy, and policy-driven international coverage. Mashkoora Khan – Sub-editor focusing on global developments, with a strong emphasis on Canada visa, immigration, and study-related policy coverage. ...

General U.S. News

Broader U.S. political and administrative changes still matter because they shape the climate around immigration, visas, and public policy execution.

2026

National political shifts continue to influence immigration posture

Broader federal priorities and executive direction still drive how quickly immigration rules tighten or loosen in practice.

Operational news can become immigration-relevant quickly

Budget pressure, agency staffing, travel policy, and national security choices can all feed directly into visa and immigration outcomes.

2025 → 2026

General U.S. News33m ago

ED auctions 23 Heera Group properties for Rs 159 crore in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has auctioned 23 properties linked to the Heera Group and its founder, Nowhera Shaik, as part of its probe into a major money laundering case. The properties were sold for around Rs 159 crore. The development comes a month after Shaik was arrested in Gurugram for allegedly defrauding investors. The auction was carried out on June 19, following directions from the Supreme Court. The assets were attached by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as they were allegedly bought using proceeds of crime. According to the ED, the Heera Group allegedly collected over Rs 5,978 crore from investors across the country by promising returns exceeding 36% per annum. The agency alleged that investors were neither paid the promised returns nor refunded their principal investments. The ED said the amount generated from the auction would be used to repay the investors and victims under the Supreme Court's supervision. Nowhera Shaik was arrested by the ED on May 21. She was absconding after the Supreme Court cancelled her bail for evading investigators and obstructing the auctioning of her properties.

indiatoday.in Read ↗

General U.S. News36m ago

What the US-Iran peace deal means for the ‘Team Melli’ World Cup campaign

The Iranian football team began their World Cup campaign under the shadow of a war with the United States. They soon became collateral damage in the conflict with strict conditions on their visas to the US and other difficulties. Now, as a peace deal emerges between the US and Iran, experts have asked what this could mean for Team Melli – as the Iranian squad is known – in the tournament. Although World Cup hosts have been at war with other nations at the time of tournaments, and Argentina was also in the midst of the Dirty War during the 1978 tournament, there has not been a single case of an organiser being embroiled in a conflict with another participant, as is the case with the US and Iran. Iran’s football team has been held hostage to the US’s immigration whims right up till the start of the tournament. Whether the team would even be allowed into the country remained unknown as FIFA President Gianni Infantino appeared unable to secure any guarantees from Trump about the Iranian team’s visa situation. While neither side has released a physical copy of the memorandum of understanding, nor are World Cup-specific arrangements expected to be written in, experts hope that the agreement translates to more amicable treatment for the Iranian football team in the US. “With a peace deal, things can change,” Mortazavi said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “We can see President Trump’s rhetoric on Iran has dramatically changed over the past few days, and he’s suddenly talking about better relationships with Iran from a political and economic standpoint, and that can certainly extend to sports,” she continued. A slight thawing of relations ahead of the peace deal announcement came as the US on Tuesday quickly reissued a multiple-entry visa for Iran winger Mehdi Torabi after his visa expired following the game with New Zealand. However, political scholar Niki Akhavan cautioned that Trump might renege on the deal due to the immense pressure he faces from Republican anti-Iran hardliners, pro-Israel groups and Democrats for giving Iran “too much” in the peace deal. “But, in the best-case scenario, issuing a multiple-entry visa for Torabi may be a good indication of some kind of flexibility on the US’s part to actually adhere to its responsibilities as a host nation,” Akhavan told Al Jazeera. “The comments Trump has made today on Iran are friendly comments, we might see better treatment of the Iran team, which has been unfairly treated the most. It’s a sign of them softening their unreasonable stance towards Iran.” Akhavan’s caution stood true as tensions at the World Cup reignited after the solitary goodwill gesture of Torabi’s visa renewal.

aljazeera.com Read ↗

General U.S. News1h ago

Replika founder predicts 'crazy protests' over AI: 'People are really struggling to find jobs'

Eugenia Kuyda founded Replika and Wabi. Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images Fears around AI job loss are justified, said Replika founder Eugenia Kuyda. Kuyda said she believes "crazy protests around jobs and AI are going to start happening." Despite concerns, the Wabi CEO said she sees AI's potential to enable more people to create. The founder of the AI chatbot startup Replika says fears about AI eliminating jobs are "justified" — and could eventually trigger widespread backlash and protests. Eugenia Kuyda, who is also the CEO and founder of AI-powered mini-app platform Wabi, said during a recent live episode of the Platformer podcast that she believes "crazy protests around jobs and AI are going to start happening." "We'll live in this very optimistic city where it's all about like future, future, future, but as soon as you get out of here, like it's pretty scary," Kuyda told Platformer founder Casey Newton. "People are really struggling to find jobs, and I think this can only get worse." Kuyda pushed back on the argument that AI will create new jobs the way previous technological revolutions did, saying that companies, including her own, are already scaling back on hiring for entry-level roles . "Probably tech needs to create a better narrative of how this is going to be, but I don't believe in, 'oh, it's just another technology, and we'll have even more — like radiologists still exist,'" Kuyda said. "But I'm not hiring people anymore for these junior jobs, and I don't know who is," the AI entrepreneur added. Hiring a more inexperienced person, she said, "becomes extremely expensive and completely not sustainable for a startup." "That's like really bad news, frankly," said Kuyda. Kuyda declined to comment further when contacted by Business Insider.

businessinsider.com Read ↗

General U.S. News1h ago

What Democrats want: New York congressional race showcases fight over party’s future

In NY-12, four Democrats, including one Kennedy, are vying to replace Jerry Nadler – and potentially shake things up When news broke that a safely Democratic seat in New York’s wealthiest congressional district was becoming vacant, it was inevitable that there would be a crowded field of candidates. What people might not have expected is that the subsequent Democratic primary, would become one of the country’s most closely watched and action-packed, the race coming to reflect a range of Democrats’ national political priorities: who is the strongest against Trump; who is the most critical of artificial intelligence companies; and who is, basically, the coolest. Withdays left before the primary closes – early voting began on 13 June – the contest has narrowed to four white men, but it remains unclear which of them is ticking the most boxes. Voters in Manhattan’s 12th districthave been inundated with loud promises to imprison Donald Trump and to rein in AI companies, and bombarded by one candidate’s attempt to portray himself as a sort of early 80s-era tough guy, and another’s thirst-trap Instagram presence. Polling in the district, a sprawling area of Manhattan which encompasses the Seinfeld territory of the Upper West Side, the old-money grandeur of the Upper East Side, and the uber-expensive apartments south of Central Park which make up Billionaires’ Row, has been volatile. Micah Lasher, a New York state representative who, correctly, describes himself as a “nerd”, led the race in a mid-May poll; a couple of days earlier Alex Bores – another state representative whose campaign has become a proxy war between rival AI companies – was in the lead. Adding a sense of glamor and national intrigue is Jack Schlossberg, the cute yet callow grandson of John F Kennedy, and George Conway, the Republican turned vocal Trump critic who has been seeking, quixotically, to cultivate a hard-man persona. He worked on his first political campaign aged 16, helping to elect Eric Schneiderman to New York state senate; by 19 he was managing another Democrat’s campaign for New York City council. He has served in a slew of important, if unsexy, behind the scenes roles: chief of staff to the New York attorney general, director of policy to the New York governor, director of state legislative affairs to then New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. The recommendation came after Nadler, 79, announced he was retiring from Congress after 33 years, saying it was the “right time to pass the torch to a new generation” amid a party-wide reckoning over the Democrats’ leadership class that erupted after questions about Biden’s age and acuity derailed his re-election bid. “Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler told the New York Times .

theguardian.com Read ↗

General U.S. News2h ago

BJP claims Rahul Gandhi losing support within Congress, cites Tharoor’s remarks on PM Modi

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription Published - June 20, 2026 03:06 pm IST - New Delhi BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also alleged that some allies of the Congress are unwilling to accept Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. File. | Photo Credit: The Hindu The BJP on Saturday (June 20, 2026) claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is losing support within his own party and cited Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s purported remarks praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attack the Opposition leader. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that Mr. Shashi Tharoor contradicted Rahul Gandhi’s stand on the same issue, saying Prime Minister Modi articulated India’s position on the sailors’ issue very forcefully before President Trump and conveyed the country’s stance effectively,” Mr. Poonawalla also targeted the Congress over its projection of Rahul Gandhi as a future prime ministerial candidate and claimed that some leaders within the party do not share that view. “On one hand, the Congress says ‘Cool PM Rahul’ and claims that Rahul Gandhi will become the country’s prime minister. He has lost the support of people who were once close to him, whether it is Ramachandra Guha or Shashi Tharoor.” The BJP spokesperson also alleged that some allies of the Congress are unwilling to accept Mr. Bharatiya Janata Party / Indian National Congress / India / politics / Rahul Gandhi / Narendra Modi Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences.

thehindu.com Read ↗

General U.S. News2h ago

Canada tightens citizenship-by-descent rules. Here’s who could be affected

Canada has tightened its citizenship-by-descent application standards under Bill C-3 (the “Lost Canadians” law), introducing new language in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Document Checklist (Form CIT 0014) on June 17, 2026 that bars applicants from relying solely on third-party genealogy records such as Ancestry.ca or FamilySearch printouts — a change that could affect tens of thousands of the 82,000 people currently in the processing queue. The Bill C-3 law, which received Royal Assent on November 20, 2025, and came into force on December 15, 2025, removed Canada’s first-generation limit on citizenship by descent, allowing Canadian citizens born abroad to pass citizenship to their children even when those children are also born abroad. The CIT 0014 update follows IRCC’s controversial issuance of surrender letters over the weekend of June 13-14, 2026, to “a few dozen” applicants who had already received Canadian citizenship certificates, a step that Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab has defended as necessary for documentary integrity, but which immigration lawyers have publicly contested, citing IRCC’s own checklist that explicitly permits “any other evidence” of citizenship and Federal Court precedents including Thompson v. The update formalises a standard IRCC had already been applying informally since at least mid-June, when the department ordered a number of recently approved citizenship certificates to be returned for review. The pause follows surrender letters sent to what IRCC described as “a few dozen” people who had already received citizenship certificates. As of June 10, 2026, approximately 82,000 people are waiting for citizenship certificate applications to be processed, up from 70,400 in May and 56,000 in April. How IRCC balances its tightened standards against its obligations to applicants who filed under the earlier rules is likely to shape the trajectory of the citizenship-by-descent programme going forward. Canada’s citizenship-by-descent route is closely watched by the large Indian-Canadian diaspora, many of whom have family members pursuing citizenship claims through Canadian-born or naturalised ancestors. Stricter documentary standards could particularly affect applicants relying on Indian civil registry records, which are not always centrally digitised, making certified original documents harder to source quickly. With inputs from Immigration News Canada, IRCC

indianexpress.com Read ↗

General U.S. News2h ago

Trump’s DC makeover frenzy bewilders locals and visitors: ‘It’s like we’re under occupation’

From East Wing demolition and ‘restoration’ of reflecting pool to bridge and fountain renovations, US capital is ‘a different city right now’ On the edge of Lafayette Square, a landmark park near the White House, a scuffed sign proclaimed: “We are making DC safe and beautiful.” Julie, visiting Washington DC with her husband, Robert, to celebrate their recent marriage, was unconvinced. “The irony,” she said. “It’s neither safe, nor beautiful.” A chain-link fence surrounded the square, closing the site off from the public as it underwent refurbishment on the orders of Donald Trump . It is one of many locations across the city currently under renovation, or construction, as Trump tries to put his stamp on the capital in time for the US’s forthcoming 250th anniversary celebrations. Local preservationists say Julie’s withering verdict is widely shared. “It is a different city right now,” said Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League , a city heritage group. “There are visitors from out of town who are disappointed that they’re only here for a few days, and there’s so much construction going on at the moment. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for some people, and to have it marred down with not being able to access certain sites can be really disappointing.” Among a flurry of expensive projects, the US president has ordered the East Wing of the White House demolished to make way for a massive ballroom. Recently disclosed figures reveal the work is projected to cost $600m, with half the bill footed by taxpayers, contradicting Trump’s claim that the price tag would be $400m and met by private donors. The National Park Service has been restoring fountains across the city, too, making them flow once again in time for the country’s birthday. The administration also commissioned a restoration of the reflecting pool on the National Mall, which links the Lincoln Memorial with the George Washington monument, to repair the effects of discoloring algae. And plans have been unveiled for a 250ft triumphal arch south of the Potomac River, near Arlington national cemetery, which critics say would transform Washington’s low-rise skyline for the worse. Wearing an “Elections Matter” T-shirt from a recent Bruce Springsteen concert, Roth called the exclusion area around the White House a denial of the free-speech values she taught her three children. “They didn’t like George W Bush, but my husband and I explained to them what was meant by freedom: that you are allowed to protest and speak your mind,” she said. “So they stood in front of the White House and gave the thumbs down. About 600 letters of objection have been sent to the US Commission of Fine Arts, while congressional Democrats have introduced legislation to defund the project on the ground that it does not seek approval of Congress. The White House argues that such approval is already granted under a 1925 report allowing for two 166-columns connected to the Arlington Memorial Bridge.

theguardian.com Read ↗

General U.S. News2h ago

Two roadside bombs kill at least seven in northwestern Pakistan

Two roadside bomb blasts in northwestern Pakistan have killed at least seven people. The first explosion on Saturday hit a vehicle, and the second was detonated as rescuers responded, police said. “A private pick-up truck carrying passengers was targeted with a remote-controlled IED,” said Yasir Afridi, a police officer in Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, using a common acronym for a homemade bomb. “The injured were being transported to hospital in a car for emergency treatment when a second IED exploded,” he said, adding that three people were wounded. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and said the government would bring those responsible to justice. There has been no claim of responsibility for the blast, but the Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, and other armed groups operate in the area. Pakistan has blamed Afghanistan for a surge in attacks near the border, although the Taliban government in Kabul has repeatedly denied Pakistani accusations that Afghan territory is used as a sanctuary for armed groups. Frosty relations have escalated into clashes in recent months, including Pakistani air strikes on Afghan cities. Pakistani air strikes near the border this month killed at least 26 Taliban fighters, the Pakistani government said, while the Afghan government said 12 civilians were killed. The border has remained largely closed since violence escalated in October, freezing bilateral trade and disrupting the movement of people and goods.

aljazeera.com Read ↗

General U.S. News

Articles

Norway restricts AI use in schools, cites concerns over learning and cognitive skills

Visa rules and policy shifts that matter

General U.S. News

National political shifts continue to influence immigration posture

Operational news can become immigration-relevant quickly

ED auctions 23 Heera Group properties for Rs 159 crore in money laundering case

What the US-Iran peace deal means for the ‘Team Melli’ World Cup campaign

Replika founder predicts 'crazy protests' over AI: 'People are really struggling to find jobs'

What Democrats want: New York congressional race showcases fight over party’s future

BJP claims Rahul Gandhi losing support within Congress, cites Tharoor’s remarks on PM Modi

Canada tightens citizenship-by-descent rules. Here’s who could be affected

Trump’s DC makeover frenzy bewilders locals and visitors: ‘It’s like we’re under occupation’

Two roadside bombs kill at least seven in northwestern Pakistan

Administrative capacity remains a real issue

Context matters, not just category-specific rules

General U.S. News year-wise archive

Norway restricts AI use in schools, cites concerns over learning and cognitive skills

What the US-Iran peace deal means for the ‘Team Melli’ World Cup campaign

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