Foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes in Canada can now delay deportation proceedings under revised Immigration Tribunal guidelines that come into effect next month.The updated policy takes effect June 1 and broadens the criteria for postponing admissibility hearings. These hearings determine whether a foreign national can remain in Canada or whether he or she must be deported after a criminal conviction.Under the new guidance, tribunal members will be allowed to consider ongoing criminal appeals when deciding whether to delay proceedings. Previously, such requests were to be granted only in “exceptional circumstances”, and pending appeals were “not generally sufficient reason” to postpone hearings.The revised rules direct decision makers to assess a number of factors before granting a delay, including “whether the appeal has been filed and the likelihood that it will be completed in a timely manner.”Members are also expected to consider whether “the outcome of the appeal may render the case.” [Immigration Division] leading to unnecessary proceedings”, as well as “prejudice to the parties” and whether adjourning the hearing would “unreasonably delay the proceedings”.There has been political backlash over these changes, with the Conservatives warning that they could make it easier for convicted foreign nationals to remain in Canada long-term.Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner criticized the policy, saying it risks creating weaker outcomes for serious criminal offenders.“Instead of changing IRB guidance that could open the door to more delays that would allow non-citizens convicted of serious crimes to stay here in Canada, the Liberals should support one law for all and deport when the law requires them to do so,” he wrote in an email.He also urged Immigration Minister Lina Metlez Diab to intervene, saying that the minister should “clearly direct the IRB to enforce the consequences already set out in law for deporting non-citizens convicted of serious crimes in Canada.”Under Canadian law, foreign nationals convicted of serious criminal offences, including organized crime activity or crimes punishable by at least 10 years in prison, may be declared inadmissible and deported.According to Canada Border Services Agency data, 934 foreign nationals were deported in 2025 after being deemed inadmissible due to criminality. Another 260 were laid off in the first quarter of this year. Authorities deported 132 people last year for cross-border criminality and 98 for organized crime ties.Before deportation can occur, the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board must first hold a formal admissibility hearing.James Joseph, a former IRB adjudicator and former director of policy at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, warned that the revised guidance could encourage offenders to appeal against convictions merely to delay removal proceedings.He said, “Canadian law states that if a foreign national or permanent resident is convicted of a sufficiently serious crime, they must leave Canada. That is the will of Parliament, as expressed in the laws of Canada.”He added: “Who does the IRB think is going to undermine Canadian law by imposing a policy that would suspend inadmissibility hearings which are a necessary step in the deportation of serious criminals from Canada?”The IRB defended the policy, saying the updated guidelines were intended to improve consistency, fairness, and transparency in the way requests for deferrals are handled. The board also noted that if officers believe a person is a danger to the public, the Canada Border Services Agency has the power to arrest and detain them while proceedings continue.

Iranian-born founder Kiana Ehsani reacts to the new green card rule.

Iranian-American founder Kiana Ehsani reacted to the new green card rules and shared a heartbreaking update on her life. Although she is not a green card applicant, and is already a green card holder, Ehsani said the situation is no better for her. Ehsani said, “Today I had to go to Turkey for my wedding.” He said that his wedding had to be canceled because all flights to and from Iran have been canceled and his family cannot leave Iran.Ehsani said they chose Turkiye for the wedding because it is close to Iran. She was to get married on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea at sunset, accompanied by close family members from both sides.Instead of going to Turkey, he said, he learned of new green card rules that require applicants to return to their home countries to apply. He wrote, “This means that every Iranian friend of mine who is here on a visa will have to go back home (on what flight?) to get a green card??? As if it’s that simple? We all know it is a huge challenge for Iranians to go back to the US (waiting months and months for a visa, with the possibility of never coming back).”Ehsani said he has been in the United States for 11 years and has been a green card holder for five years, which makes him eligible to apply for citizenship. But it doesn’t matter because Iranians are no longer allowed any kind of immigration due to the US-Iran war.“And it’s a typical Friday for an Iranian. These days, when people ask how I’m doing and handling everything, I just say: It’s fine, it’s fine. Someday it’ll be fine. But the reality is: Nothing is fine. I’m in constant pain. I haven’t seen my family and loved ones for years, I barely hear about their well-being, and I’m constantly worried about them. I just lose myself in work. Because it’s the only distraction that bothers me.” Can keep me from losing my mind. I am not well. None of us are okay. We’re barely keeping it together…” she wrote.Ehsani, a PhD in computer science from the University of Washington, was a co-founder of Vercept, which has now been acquired by Anthropic.

US President Donald Trump on Friday shrugged off criticism from his opponents as he boasted about his cognitive abilities and intelligence during a rally in New York, saying he doesn’t mind being called a “tyrant” or a “dictator”, but he strongly objects to being called “dumb”. “I don’t mind being called a brilliant absolute dictator,” Trump told supporters, “but I don’t want to be called an idiot.” The comments came during a campaign-style appearance in New York’s Hudson Valley with Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, where Trump repeatedly strayed from the economic message and launched into a lengthy defense of his intelligence and mental intensity. At one point, Trump said that criticism surrounding his cognitive fitness prompted him to take a cognitive assessment, which he claimed to have successfully passed. He later told the audience, “I’m the smartest person you’ve ever met.” The nearly 90-minute speech switched rapidly between topics including inflation, crime, immigration, voter ID laws, transgender athletes and a dig at his predecessor Joe Biden. Trump repeatedly mocked Democrats during the event, referring to them as “Democrats”, a term he has used frequently in recent days, while urging supporters to stay politically engaged ahead of the congressional elections. “You have to go vote,” he said, “otherwise this is a rigged election.” The rally was held in support of Lawler, one of the few House Republicans representing a district won by Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. New York’s 17th Congressional District is expected to be one of the most competitive House races in the country and could play a key role in deciding control of Congress. The event also focused on last year’s expansion of the federal deduction for state and local taxes, commonly known as SALT, an issue of major importance in high-tax states like New York. Trump praised Lawler for aggressively pushing the measure through Congress and joked, “I call him Mr. Salt.” Lawler later thanked Trump for supporting the expansion and said the measure provided significant tax relief to residents of his district. Wearing a red “Mr. Salt” hat, the congressman said that more than 90 percent of families in the district are now able to completely deduct their state and local taxes. During the speech, Trump also defended his macroeconomic agenda. “I’ve cut your taxes, cut taxes on workers, families, small businesses, who are the soul of this state,” he said. “These are all Republican tax cuts. The Democrats voted against every single one of these tax cuts.” The appearance comes as the White House seeks to refocus Trump’s economic record amid declining approval ratings linked to inflation concerns and rising fuel prices following the Iran conflict.

Shamir Chandran was accused of coercive behavior and was wanted by the police

An Indian-origin cancer specialist has been struck off the UK medical register after a tribunal ruled his criminal conviction made him a risk to the public, meaning he can no longer practice medicine in the UK, a more serious sanction than being fired from his job.Shameer Chandran, an oncologist who previously worked at Newcastle Hospital, was sentenced to four years in prison in November after pleading guilty to two counts of controlling and coercive behavior and one count of cruelty to a person under 16.According to the BBC, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) has now ordered that his name be struck from the medical register.According to the BBC, Chandran did not attend his criminal trial or disciplinary proceedings at Carlisle Crown Court. Reports say he has fled the UK and there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Cumbria Police confirmed he was wanted.The tribunal described the crimes as serious and said the behavior involved repeated actions against vulnerable individuals.“It was directed at people who were vulnerable and contained elements of premeditation – seeking to obtain financial benefit from [his victim] Through intimidation,” the report said.The MPTS also found that Chandran had shown no understanding of the seriousness of his actions or their impact: “The tribunal considered that there was a real risk of him causing harm to someone in the future.”The tribunal said that allowing him to continue practicing medicine would seriously damage public confidence in the profession.Emails included in tribunal documents show Chandran criticized his treatment in Britain and said his medical career had been ruined.“I no longer care about the proceedings, as my career has already been destroyed,” he wrote to the General Medical Council (GMC).“I am completely disappointed with the way I was treated in the UK and I will never work in that country again. They treated me like a common criminal without caring about what I had to say and the impact of what they were doing.”Tribunal documents also revealed that Chandran had resigned from his NHS role and left the UK following the GMC’s action against him.“Due to the GMC’s action, I have had to resign from my job and leave the UK. I don’t know how I can help with these proceedings now, as I am not currently working,” he said in another email.Chandran received his MBBS degree from the University of Calicut Academy of Medical Sciences in Pariyaram, Kerala. He later told GMC that he no longer wanted to continue practicing oncology and began working with a friend in a private business while rebuilding his life.However, the tribunal said there was no evidence that he had accepted responsibility or taken steps to remedy his conduct.

Paradeep Singh’s wife Kamal had reached New Zealand from India six months ago to start a new life with him.

What started as yard work for an Indian-origin couple in New Zealand ended in tragedy when a falling tree branch killed Paradeep Singh, leaving his newly arrived wife with no family, income or support system in the country.Singh was known as Deep to his friends and family. He died this week while carrying out maintenance work on his home in Cambridge, Waikato. He was working outside with others on a holiday when the fatal accident occurred.According to eyewitnesses, Singh was helping in cutting tree branches when he suffered serious head injuries. Friends believe that he may have been injured by a bouncing branch or by equipment being used during work.A spokesperson for the couple’s friends and family told 1News, “A branch hit him on the left side of his head, and may have caused some internal damage.”Hearing his scream, people nearby ran for help.“Paradeep screamed and everyone immediately ran towards him and called the emergency services,” the spokesperson said.Police said officers were called to the property at around 3.15pm to assist ambulance crews. St. John’s later confirmed that it had dispatched a rapid response unit and an operations manager to the scene, but Singh was pronounced dead there. The case has now been referred to the coroner.Singh moved to New Zealand in 2023 and worked as operations manager for a horticulture business. Friends said he was the sole earning member of the family and used to financially support his elderly parents in India, including his paralyzed mother.His wife Kamal recently joined him in New Zealand after they got married about six months ago. Relatives say he has no immediate family in the country and has not yet settled down to a life there.A family spokesperson said, “She came here for him.”He added: “He has no source of income, no money, from my understanding he hasn’t even opened a bank account yet.”Another friend said: “She has no money, no support system, and she’s completely alone at the moment.”The couple had planned to apply for residency in New Zealand and later come back to India for the wedding ceremony with relatives and friends.Friends and local community members have now launched a campaign to bring Singh’s body back to India for cremation and raise funds to support Kamal after the tragedy.Organizers said, “His family is facing unimaginable grief and is in need of immediate assistance.”

Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the current outbreak in the country to five, as authorities stepped up contact tracing efforts to stop the spread of the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus.According to Uganda’s health ministry, the new cases include a driver who transported the country’s first confirmed Ebola patient and a health worker who contracted it while caring for that patient. Reuters reported that both were identified as known contacts and are currently undergoing treatment.The third confirmed case is a woman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who entered Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms. Authorities said he traveled from Arua near the border to Entebbe before seeking treatment at a private hospital in Kampala.The ministry said the woman initially showed signs of recovery and returned to Congo, but later tested positive for Ebola after follow-up testing based on information from a pilot involved in transporting her.“All identified contacts linked to the confirmed cases are being closely monitored,” the ministry said, urging the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious symptoms.The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and warned that the risk of a national epidemic in Congo remains “very high”.About 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths have been reported in Uganda’s neighbor Congo, which remains the epicenter of the outbreak.WHO has said that delayed detection, the absence of a vaccine or virus-specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, widespread armed violence and high mobility among the population have made Congo particularly vulnerable.It comes after WHO Africa Director Mohamed Yacoub Janabi warned on Friday against underestimating the outbreak, saying doing so would be a big mistake. “It would be a big mistake to underestimate this, especially with this strain of Bundibugyo virus, for which we do not have a vaccine,” he said.“So I would really encourage everyone, let’s help each other, we can get this thing under control,” he said.Janabi also said the Ebola outbreak in Congo has received relatively limited international attention compared to this month’s hantavirus outbreak involving cruise ship passengers from 23 countries.He further warned that a single Ebola contact case could trigger widespread transmission beyond Congo and Uganda, saying, “You just need one contact case to put us all at risk.”

One person has died and at least 36 others, including firefighters and first responders, have been injured in a fire that followed two explosions at a New York City shipyard on Friday, officials said. Officials described the incident as a “complex, rapidly evolving emergency” as crews battled the flames late into the night.The fire broke out around 3.30 pm (local time) in the 150-foot by 150-foot metal structure located at the rear of the shipyard. Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said emergency services arrived at the scene within six minutes after multiple callers reported smoke and two workers trapped in the basement.Shortly after firefighters arrived, the first explosion tore through the structure, injuring several fire department personnel and civilians. A civilian was declared dead at the scene.According to department chief John Esposito, the second explosion occurred as five firefighters and rescue paramedics were searching for trapped workers in and around the structure. The explosion caused further injuries, most seriously to a firefighter and a fire marshal who were inside the building at the time of the shock wave.Dr. David Prezant, the fire department’s chief medical officer, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the fire marshal was in serious but stable condition with a fractured skull and minor bleeding on the brain. He said doctors are monitoring him closely for possible swelling in the brain over the next 24 hours.Prezent said the injured firefighter was initially listed in critical condition, but as of Friday evening he was “doing very well” and was under observation for possible muscle injuries. “This was a complex, rapidly evolving emergency,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters during an evening briefing.More than 200 firefighters continued to work at the scene Friday night as the fire was under control but not completely extinguished. Officials said a detailed investigation into the cause of the fire and explosion would begin once the area was secured.Eyewitness Richard Oviogor told local broadcaster WABC-TV that he heard two explosions, followed by what felt like a “huge shock wave”.There are several commercial businesses in the shipyard area, including a coffee roasting facility and a self-storage company. The site was previously owned by Bethlehem Steel, which built ships for the US Navy during World War II.

Economic rankings rarely remain stable for long. A country may spend decades advancing rapidly through manufacturing, technology, and trade, only to slow down as population growth weakens or industries relocate elsewhere. By the end of this decade, the global balance is expected to look quite different from what it was in the early 2000s.According to a report discussed by World Economic ForumMany emerging economies are projected to move up the global GDP rankings by 2030, while some long-established industrial powers may slip a few places despite remaining economically influential. Much of that change is related to population size, urban expansion, productivity growth, and rising household consumption. Asia continues to dominate the conversation, although North America and parts of Europe are still expected to retain heavy financial and political weight.

Projected ranking of the world’s most powerful economies by 2030

World’s most powerful economies as per 2030 projections

1. ChinaChina is projected to remain the world’s largest economy by purchasing power parity measures by 2030, continuing a trend that has accelerated over the past decade. Manufacturing scale still plays a large role, although the country’s economy is increasingly tied to technology, infrastructure investment and consumer spending.According to the World Economic Forum report, China’s economic size is expected to remain ahead of most competitors, even though growth rates are gradually slowing compared to earlier periods of rapid expansion. Concerns remain about debt, rising demographics and trade tensions, but the country’s industrial reach remains difficult to match.2. United States of AmericaThe United States is expected to remain among the world’s leading economic powers by 2030, despite stiff competition from Asia. Financial markets, research institutions, multinational companies, and the continued influence of the US dollar all help maintain that status quo.According to the World Economic Forum’s projections coverage, the United States is expected to remain at the top level globally, even if its relative edge diminishes. The country continues to attract investments in artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, defense technology and advanced computing, sectors that often shape broader economic impact beyond GDP rankings alone.3. IndiaIt is estimated that India will be among the top three economies globally by 2030. This change represents more than simple population growth. Expanding digital infrastructure, rising urban demand and growing middle-income population are all contributing factors behind this projection.The World Economic Forum report suggests that India could overtake many advanced economies in the coming years as consumption grows internally rather than relying solely on exports. Services, telecommunications, finance, and manufacturing have all expanded unevenly but consistently enough to reshape long-term expectations about the country’s position in the global economy.4. JapanJapan is also projected to remain among the leading global economies despite ongoing demographic pressure and slow population growth.The country still maintains a strong position in robotics, automotive production, electronics and advanced manufacturing. Although its economy may not expand as rapidly as younger emerging markets, Japan’s industrial base remains highly influential internationally.5. GermanyGermany is expected to remain one of the world’s largest economies until 2030, although growth may continue at a slower pace than faster-growing Asian markets.Growing demographics and industrial change remain long-term concerns. Nevertheless, Germany has considerable strengths in manufacturing, engineering, exports, and industrial technology, placing it at the center of Europe’s economic structure.6. RussiaRussia is projected to remain among the world’s leading economies by 2030 in the rankings referenced by the World Economic Forum.Energy exports continue to shape Russia’s international economic position. At the same time, sanctions, geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity markets have increased uncertainty over future growth.7. IndonesiaIndonesia is one of the countries that is expected to grow rapidly by 2030. Large population size, growing cities and strong domestic demand have put the country alongside large emerging markets in long-term forecasts.Its economy has historically been heavily dependent on commodities and exports, although in recent years there has been a greater focus on manufacturing and infrastructure. The report places Indonesia among the economies expected to become more important globally by the end of the decade.8. BrazilAccording to projections highlighted in the report, Brazil remains one of the largest economies in Latin America and is expected to be in the global top 10 by 2030.Its agricultural exports, energy resources and large consumer market continue to support its long-term economic importance despite political and financial instability.9. United KingdomThe United Kingdom is expected to maintain its position among the world’s leading economies by 2030, largely supported by financial services, technology, pharmaceuticals and international investment links.London’s continued role as a financial center remains important to the country’s global economic influence, even though growth rates remain relatively moderate compared to some emerging economies.10. FranceFrance is also projected to remain among the top 10 economies globally by 2030.Industries such as aerospace, luxury goods, tourism, agriculture and energy continue to support the French economy. Although growth is expected to remain stable rather than rapid, France still wields significant economic influence throughout Europe and internationally.