Taiwan accuses Kenya of deporting conference delegates on China’s behalf
The first African nation to host the global oceans conference defends the deportations, saying it ‘recognises only one China’. Published On 17 Jun 202617 Jun 2026 Taiwan has accused Kenya of deporting people from the island who planned to attend a global oceans conference in Mombasa and blamed Beijing for exerting pressure on the East African country. Focus Taiwan, the English-language website of Taiwan’s Central News Agency, reported that two delegation members headed to the Our Ocean Conference were denied entry and detained by Kenyan immigration authorities. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that the scholars’ passports and mobile phones were confiscated as they were detained for more than 20 hours before being deported. In a statement, the ministry condemned “the barbaric acts of confiscating passports, mobile phones, and restricting personal and communication freedoms – actions that violate human rights and international norms”. Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), its government body in charge of marine-related policies, said the visas were revoked at the last minute and described the incident as “barbaric obstruction”. OAC Minister Kuan Bi-ling said “political interference yields no benefit for ocean governance” at a time when “the world’s ocean needs deeper and wider cooperation”. Kenya defended its decision to deport the Taiwan representatives. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said his country’s foreign policy “recognises only one China”. “Any person purporting to hold a Taiwanese passport would ordinarily not be allowed through our borders for lacking proper documentation and would not in any event be part of a formal state meeting convened by Kenya government,” Sing’oei said. Advertisement China and Taiwan split in 1949 as a result of a civil war. For decades, China has seen Taiwan as its own territory and said the island must come under its control, even through the use of force if necessary. Kenya is hosting the annual oceans conference, which focuses on addressing critical ocean issues, including climate change, biodiversity and pollution. Organisers have sought to position Africa, which is hosting the event for the first time, as a driving force in global ocean governance. The challenge for African and Commonwealth nations attending the conference is to push forward the implementation of a landmark treaty adopted in June 2023 to protect the high seas. Despite record commitments to marine conservation, much of the world’s ocean protections still exist only on paper. Delegates said the coming months will be critical in determining whether the treaty, the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, becomes a transformative tool for ocean conservation or another set of international promises that fail to materialise. Adblock test (Why?)
Pro-Palestine solidarity on display at the 2026 World Cup
NewsFeed Fans from Algeria to Bosnia are making sure the Palestinian cause gets attention during the World Cup. Flags and chants honouring Palestinians in Gaza rung out in Kansas City as Algeria faced Argentina. Published On 17 Jun 202617 Jun 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Inside Canada’s ‘troubling’ shift on migrant, refugee rights
Toronto, Canada – When Diana Gallego listened to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s widely touted speech at the World Economic Forum at the start of this year, she couldn’t help but feel a disconnect. Carney had made an impassioned plea to the world’s “middle powers” to break with a United States-led international order that he said was no longer working, and his words found receptive audiences around the world. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list But for Gallego, co-executive director of FCJ Refugee Centre, an organisation that supports refugees and asylum seekers in Canada’s largest city, the prime minister’s statements rang hollow amid his government’s hardening approach to immigration. “We saw the [prime] minister going to Davos [with] this beautiful discourse, saying we should not copy our neighbours … But internally, the policies are telling us another story,” Gallego told Al Jazeera. “Canada is closing the doors now.” Gallego is among more than a dozen experts – from lawyers to professors, rights advocates and former government officials – who told Al Jazeera that Canada is at a “troubling” crossroads in its policies towards migrants and refugees. As Canadians have grappled with rising economic and social pressures in recent years, a decades-old consensus on the benefits of immigration has frayed. Hostile rhetoric blaming newcomers for Canada’s ills has intensified, and Carney’s government has slashed temporary visas and restricted access to asylum. Experts say a “generational shift” is under way. “The general rhetoric is, ‘We don’t want you here’,” said Gallego. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won the 2025 elections [File: Christoffer Andersen/EPA] Influx in temporary migration A settler-colonial state, Canada has encouraged successive waves of immigration throughout its history, from largely European settlement in the early to mid-1900s to specialised programmes that brought refugees and high- and low-skilled workers to Canadian shores. Advertisement For decades, that influx of newcomers was widely viewed as a positive thing: immigration was fuelling the country’s economy, staffing key job sectors and counteracting a rapidly ageing population. But over the past few years, Canada has seen one of the most dramatic shifts in how the public views immigration – and the government has tapped into increasingly negative sentiment to cut programmes and pass new, restrictive laws. The policy changes began under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose Liberal Party government had dramatically increased temporary immigration during the COVID-19 pandemic to fill labour market gaps. The figures shot up rapidly and, by October 2024, there were nearly 3.15 million non-permanent residents in Canada, accounting for roughly 8 percent of the population, according to official figures. At the same time, systemic issues – from a shortage of affordable housing to high grocery costs and long hospital wait times – were putting the squeeze on many Canadian households. Public attitudes quickly hardened, and a 2024 poll (PDF) found a majority of Canadians saying for the first time in decades that there was “too much immigration”. Since then, several incidents of xenophobic violence have been reported, including in some of Canada’s largest cities, where the influx of migrants has been among the most visible. Under pressure as angry discourse soared, the Trudeau government promised in 2024 to get immigration back to “sustainable” levels, and the cuts began, including most notably to international student visas. “The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to – just like not everyone who wants to stay in Canada will be able to,” Marc Miller, Canada’s former immigration minister, said in September that year. A major intersection in Toronto, Canada’s largest city [Jillian Kestler-D’Amours/Al Jazeera] ‘Erroneous beliefs’ The numbers of arrivals dropped quickly as student and work visas were cancelled, forcing thousands of people to leave Canada or remain without legal status. By the start of this year, non-permanent residents totalled about 2.67 million, according to government figures, a 15 percent drop from the peak in October 2024. “I don’t think you can blame the housing crisis in Canada on immigration, but there’s no doubt that the radically increased numbers under Justin Trudeau’s regime had a political effect,” Allan Rock, a former Canadian justice minister and Liberal lawmaker, told Al Jazeera. The government, Rock explained, has been “reading the room and sensing that Canadians were connecting local economic and financial difficulties with migration”. Advertisement At the same time, right-wing politicians have seized on those public attitudes, with the opposition Conservative Party earlier this year pushing the governing Liberals to cut healthcare for people it described as “fake refugees”. The Conservatives, also, have echoed US President Donald Trump in advocating for changes to “birthright citizenship”, claiming that the “outdated rule” that grants citizenship to anyone born in Canada “presents yet another strain on our immigration system that Canada can’t handle”. “With over 7 per cent of Canada’s population here on temporary status – and arrivals massively outpacing the capacity of our housing, healthcare and jobs markets – something needs to change,” the party said. Rights advocates have denounced that rhetoric while accusing policymakers of falsely linking migrants and refugees to social problems to absolve themselves of responsibility for a years-long failure to properly fund healthcare, education and other services. On the housing issue, for instance, experts have found (PDF) that, while immigration increases demand for housing stock, its effect on prices is far less important than public discourse would have people believe. “Leadership means not simply caving into public opinion when it’s based on erroneous beliefs,” Rock told Al Jazeera. “We’re buying into, and we’re supporting, a growing international trend to tighten borders and build walls and validate erroneous beliefs about refugees and migrants.” “It’s a betrayal of values that this country has always stood for, and I find it troubling.” Carney doubles down Yet, since taking office in April 2025, Carney – the prime minister – has continued where his predecessor Trudeau left off on immigration. In late March, Carney’s Liberal government passed a sweeping new law that grants Ottawa the power to
US shows PoK in Pakistan on its official map, Pentagon drops ‘Indo’ from Pacific Command, what does this mean?
The US said then that the change reflected the Indian Ocean region’s growing strategic importance and its increasing integration with Pacific security.
WION Health Pulse: Expert praises India for healthcare innovation and medical capacities
At the WION Health Summit in New Delhi, healthcare experts highlighted India’s growing role as a global healthcare and pharmaceutical leader.
WION Health Pulse: India excels in reverse engineering, says Dr Shubnum Singh, praise for its volume and price advantage
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NEET Aspirant Death: 17-year-old student dies by suicide in Delhi’s Palam Colony ahead of retest
Police said that during inquest proceedings under Section 194 BNSS, it was revealed that the deceased had allegedly died by hanging at her residence.
NEET Aspirant Death: 23-year-old student dies by suicide in Dehradun days before NEET-UG 2026 re-exam, probe underway
A 23-year-old NEET aspirant from Dehradun was found dead at her home, leaving a note expressing love for her parents and stating that no one was responsible.
Opposition in crisis: After TMC, Shiv Sena (UBT), Samajwadi Party to split? OP Rajbhar’s remarks spark row
Speculations about a possible rift in Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party are rife after OP Rajbhar, state minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief, claimed that the party could witness a mass exodus. Rajbhar claimed that senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav had contacted Centre.
Karnataka man mixes rat poison, powdered bangle pieces in soft drink to kill wife
According to preliminary police probe, Santosh took his wife to the Chamundeshwari Temple in Marakumbi village. While returning from the temple, Santosh allegedly mixed rat poison and powdered bangle pieces into a soft drink and gave it to his wife, claiming that it was temple prasad.