India has pushed back against US Vice President JD Vance’s “indentured servants” remark about foreign workers, calling his comments unwarranted and defending the contribution of Indian professionals to the American economy. The controversy follows a US suspension of eight companies from the PERM employment-based green card process. The affected firms include TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Cognizant, Microsoft, Adobe and Capgemini. Vance accused Microsoft of replacing American workers with foreign employees. The US administration says the action is intended to protect American jobs, while India argues that skilled talent mobility benefits both countries through innovation, research, productivity and job creation.

Yemen’s conflict is entering another intense phase as Yemeni government forces claim a major counteroffensive against Houthi positions across several strategic fronts. The reported operation, described as the ‘Dawn of Yemen’ offensive, is aimed at pushing back Houthi forces and reclaiming territory under their control, with the wider objective of restoring control over key areas including Sana’a. Yemeni forces claim that 1,860 Houthis were neutralized during the large-scale push, while more than 2,100 precision operations were reportedly carried out against Houthi military positions. The campaign has reportedly focused on critical areas around Mocha, Bab al-Mandeb and other strategic Yemeni fronts, placing renewed attention on one of the world’s most important maritime corridors. WATCH