The global village that is not Protectionism has grown leading to bitter rows over trade, environment and

d immigration: think of the Doha round of talks and the first word that comes to mind is stalled. Likewise, the world climate change negotiations are perpetually deadlocked. And increasingly stringent immigration controls mean that for ordinary people who are not blessed with deep pockets to buy fast-track visas, it is becoming harder to travel beyond their own national borders. The ugly foreigner has become uglier with drawbridges going up everywhere to keep him out. Gaining control over our borders is the new mantra in western capitals. In Greece, foreigners have been attacked by thugs of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party allegedly with the covert support of security forces. In the parliamentary elections last June, the party came from nowhere to grab some seven per cent of the votes on an anti-immigrant agenda; and the support for it is reported to be growing. Almost every European country Italy, France, Spain, Austria, Denmark has its own domestic equivalent of Golden Dawn terrorising immigrants and especially targeting Muslims. Meanwhile, Britain is embroiled in a diplomatic row with Romania and Bulgaria over its plans to extend restrictions on their citizens working in Britain. Currently, only highly-skilled Romanians and Bulgarians can work in the U.K., but from next January they will have an automatic right to come and settle there as their countries become full members of the European Union. However, the British government sees it as a bad idea to allow a new wave of immigrants to come in at a time when it is desperately trying to reduce immigration. These rights come from European citizenship status. Once you are in a space, you cannot have limited rights. If you start limiting health, why not limit other public services? That will affect the freedom of movement of people in the EU space, said Cristian David, the Minister for Romanians Abroad.

Obama plans residency route for illegal immigrants The White House is drafting an immigration plan that would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent U.S. residents within eight years, USA Today reported on Saturday. According to the draft, which USA Today said was being circulated among various government agencies, visa applicants would need to pass a criminal background check, file biometric information and pay fees. Once approved, they would be allowed to reside in the United States legally, work, and leave the country for short visits without losing their status. A new identification card would prove their legal residence in the country. And, within eight years, the immigrants could apply for a green card to obtain legal permanent residence if they learn English and the history and government of the United States. They would also have to pay back taxes. With green card in hand, the immigrants would then be on a path to apply for U.S. citizenship.

Silicon Valley talent hunt tied to reforms Silicon Valleys long crusade to break open doors to America for foreigners with key technology skills hinges on a political battle in Washington over broader immigration reform. The new political landscape hobbled efforts to push through stand-alone legislation focused just on high-skilled workers. Reforming the immigration process for the tech industries would mean ramping up the number of H-1B visas, for immigrants with special skills. Mr. Wadhwa said the reform should also change the system which ties those with H-1B visas to specific companies, to allow them to seek better compensation or new jobs, or start their own firms.

Microsoft has cited a lack of visas for engineers as the reason it opened a development studio in the Canadian city of Vancouver. A stand-alone reform bill by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch would raise the annual cap on H-1B visas to 115,000 from 65,000 and pump the money into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education in the United States.