This Week in Explainers: Was Trump a victim of triple sabotage at UNGA?

How would you describe the week gone by? Hectic, is one way as Trump unleashed visa drama by announcing a hike for the H-1B visas. There’s also been drama as the US president suggested that the mishaps he encountered before he delivered his blistering speech at the United Nations General Assembly — his teleprompter malfunctioned and he was left standing on a frozen escalator — were sabotage.

This week also saw Trump bidding adieu to his friend, the conservative activist, Charlie Kirk. The 31-year-old, who was shot dead on September 10, was given a special send-off during which the US president eulogised the activist as a ‘martyr’. It was also here that Trump declared that he hated his opponents.

And away from Trump, we saw Pakistan ‘bombing’ its own restive area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing 30 people, including women and children.

We talk about all this and more in our weekly roundup.

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1) Donald Trump unleashed complete panic and chaos late last week when he announced changes to the fees for the H-1B visa, stating that new applicants would have to shell out $100,000 for it. (If you are confused about the different visas that America provides, here’s our guide for that). The news spread panic with many Indians, who work in the US on these visas, cancelling their Diwali visits back home and calling off weddings.

But in the ensuing panic, other countries are seeing an opportunity. Many countries such as China, the United Kingdom, Canada and South Korea are devising of ways they could poach waiting to overseas specialists who can no longer take up jobs in the US because of the rise in cost of the H1-B visa.

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Here’s our full report on how the US’ loss — though Trump doesn’t see it that way — might be a gain for other countries.

2) As Trump made an announcement hiking the fee of the H-1B visa, many tech companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Meta were left to scramble. Amid this chaos, the interest in America’s L-1 visa and the O-1 visa suddenly saw a boost. Questions have popped up everywhere if these visas could help in the current scenario.

But what do we know of the L-1 visa and the O-1 visa? Read on to find out.

3) And Trump’s visa overhaul didn’t just stop at the new fees. The administration has proposed overhauling the H-1B visa’s lottery selection process to prioritise higher-paid and higher-skilled foreign employees.

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed to scrap the existing lottery system and suggested a four-level wage-based selection process. The news comes as a double whammy for Indians.

We explain why.

4) Away from the visa news, Trump also made big headlines as he claimed he was the victim of “three sinister events” at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Tuesday, the US president made his way to the UN headquarters where he delivered quite a blistering yet factually incorrect speech. But more than his address it was the events surrounding it that garnered eyeballs. First, the escalator came to a “screeching halt” with Trump and his entourage on it, an event that Trump has since called “absolutely sabotage.”

Second, Trump said his teleprompter went “stone cold dark” during his address to the UN. And thirdly, Trump said that the sound was off at the UN as he spoke and that people could only hear his remarks if they had interpreters speaking into earpieces.

Since the events, Trump and his supporters have floated many conspiracies on the ‘mishaps’ with the Secret Service now been called in to investigate the situation.

5) Almost a fortnight after activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a speaking event in Utah, a memorial was held in his honour at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It was attended by many known faces of the right-wing movement, including US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

The event had many notable moments, including Kirk’s widow, Erika, announcing that she forgave her husband’s killer. Here are the big highlights of the event.

6) This week also saw the evolution of Trump’s South Asia play. The US president hosted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House. The meeting continues strengthened US-Pakistan relations that included Trump hosting Pakistan’s army chief separately earlier this year.

It also marks a significant recalibration of US strategy, signalling a deliberate warming of relations with Pakistan after years of prioritising ties with India.

While it was a closed-door meeting, there is speculation on what unfolded between the three. Are you interested in what went down? Our report has the answer.

7) It’s been a big week for Pakistan. India’s neighbouring country has been making headlines for mostly for all the wrong reasons. Even as their cricketers earned brickbats for their shenanigans on the field during the ongoing Asia Cup cricket tournament, the country also witnessed mass violence back home on Monday (September 22).

Thirty people, including women and children, died as Pakistan’s own air force dropped eight LS-6 bombs on villages in the Tirah Valley situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This marks the latest incidence of violence in Pakistan’s northwestern mountainous.

But what makes this region so restive and dangerous?

8) America is known as the land of the free. However, that tag may be contentious right now. A Republican leader from Texas made disparaging remarks about the 90-foot-tall Hanuman statue in the American state. Here’s what happened.

That’s all from us this week. If you are looking for more such stories, bookmark this page.

PS: Did you read about the Afghan boy who survived a journey hiding in the wheel well of an airplane. Read more on his survival.