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Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Thailand vs Cambodia: As border fight escalates, one army resembles a toy against the other's war machine; Military mismatch explained
Synopsis Recent armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand, the worst in over a decade, have spotlighted their military disparity. Thailand, with a $5.73 billion defence budget and 360,000 personnel, dwarfs Cambodia's $1.3 billion budget and 124,300 troops. Thailand's air force boasts F-16 fighters, while Cambodia lacks fighter jets. Thailand vs Cambodia: One has fighter jets, the other doesn't, the military gap that could decide the clash Tensions that had been simmering for months between Cambodia and Thailand erupted into armed conflict on Thursday, the worst skirmish between the two Southeast Asian neighbours in over a decade. With even a Thai F-16 fighter jet reportedly deployed, the latest flare-up has reignited interest in how the two countries compare a breakdown of the military capabilities of Cambodia and Thailand, based on data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Cambodia maintains a defence budget of $1.3 billion and fields 124,300 active personnel. The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, formed in 1993 through a merger of former Communist and resistance groups, rely heavily on ground troops. The Cambodian army consists of around 75,000 soldiers, supported by 200+ battle tanks and 480 artillery contrast, Thailand boasts a significantly larger and better-funded force. With a 2024 defence budget of $5.73 billion and over 360,000 active personnel, Thailand's military dwarfs its neighbour's. The Thai army alone has 245,000 personnel, including 115,000 conscripts, and is equipped with 400 tanks, 1,200+ armoured personnel carriers, and 2,600 artillery air force is relatively modest, just 1,500 personnel, 10 transport planes, and 10 helicopters. It doesn't operate any fighter jets. The most notable aircraft in its fleet include 16 multi-role helicopters, with six Soviet-era Mi-17s and 10 Chinese Z-9s. On the other hand, Thailand's air force is among the best equipped in the region. With 46,000 personnel, it commands 112 combat-capable aircraft, including 28 F-16 Fighting Falcons and 11 Swedish Gripens. Its arsenal also includes surveillance drones and a fleet of transport and attack helicopters, including several U.S.-made Black navy is modest, with 2,800 personnel (including 1,500 naval infantry), 13 patrol/coastal vessels, and a single amphibious landing navy is a maritime heavyweight by comparison. With nearly 70,000 personnel, it includes naval aviation, coastal defence units, marines, and conscripts. Its fleet features: 1 aircraft carrier 7 frigates 68 patrol and coastal vessels Amphibious ships and landing craft capable of transporting hundreds of troops Its marine corps alone has 23,000 troops, supported by armoured vehicles and aviation assets such as helicopters and UAVs. While Cambodia has made steady investments in its armed forces, it remains significantly outmatched by Thailand in terms of manpower, equipment, and budget. Thailand's position as a major non-NATO ally of the United States ensures access to high-end military hardware and training. Inputs from Reuters
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
By God! The Modi-Mamata political battle in West Bengal is taking off
Jai Shri Ram didn't quite deliver for the BJP in West Bengal these last ten years. So, Narendra Modi has changed tactics. He is now roping in two very Bengali goddesses to help him with the Assembly elections in the state in 2026. Jai Ma Durga, Jai Ma Kali – that's what he chanted at a rally at Durgapur last week, invocations he has never used like this in West Bengal in the past. In 2024, he did use the Ma Durga name once after the Sandeshkhali scandal of sex abuse and land grab: he described the women of Sandeshkhali as Ma Durgas. But that didn't do the trick. He has now pulled out the double engine Bengali deities Durga and Kali in the hope of slaying his demon in West Bengal. Not one to let grass grow under her feet, Mamata Banerjee has cooked up a counter strategy. At a mega rally in Kolkata this Monday, she declared she has already secured Lord Jagannath's blessings by building a temple to him at Digha; she is now planning to bag Ma Durga's by building her a permanent home – Durgangan where Durga Puja will be on exhibition all year round. This, she possibly believes, will ensure the goddess would never leave her side for the BJP. She knows everyone knows she holds Kali Puja at her home every year and will think up some propitiatory ploy to woo her as well in the coming months. Perhaps this Diwali. This ungodly tug of war over gods and goddesses is something West Bengal is learning to get used to. In 34 years of Communist rule in the state, from 1977 to 2011, the deployment of deities in political battles or another now-common phenomenon, the deification of politicians, was unthinkable. But once Mamata Banerjee came to power, Bengal took to it like ducks to water. Testing the waters, in 2014, Mamata Banerjee set up a wax museum in Kolkata housing wax idols of Bengal's greatest sons and daughters and there, along with those of Netaji and Swami Vivekananda. Mamata Banerjee, too, was cast in wax, seated at her vast Chief Ministerial desk. The queues that waited to see her likeness are legendary. However, apparently because she did not think it was a very good likeness, her image was removed and never restored. But then came Modi in Delhi and with him the snowballing of the Lord Ram iconography in the political field. And the next thing we know in Bengal, in 2016, a 10-armed Mamata Banerjee idol was sharing a pandal with the clay image of the Goddess Durga during the Pujas. Truth be told, this kind of blatant deification never really took off but deification by other names became the norm. Mamata Banerjee painting the third eye of the Durga idol at Durga Puja inaugurations and fluently reciting holy mantras at the drop of a hat have now become a part of Kolkata's Durga Puja iconography. The results of the deification of politician in the political arena are there for all to see. The atheist Communists are out, so also the secular Congress. And the two main contenders for power in the state – Mamata Banerjee and Narendra Modi – are resorting to every trick in the book to forge ahead. Remember Amit Shah and Modi dashing from Delhi to Kolkata like daily passengers before the 2021 Assembly elections, to their numerous public rallies, with their favourite slogan, Jai Shri Ram, which Mamata Banerjee labelled a war cry? Her wheelchair-borne 'khelahobay' missile dashed Shah's dreams of 'do sau paar' or 200-plus seats. In 2024, the BJP's tally of MPs plummeted from 18 to 12. For 11 years since Modi became Prime Minister and set his sights on Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee's home state, the BJP has been hunting without luck for a formula for success. But the shift from Lord Ram to Ma Durga and Ma Kali this time could be a giant leap in the right direction. Rebranding Hindutva The new strategy was unveiled on July 5 when Shamik Bhattacharya, BJP Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal, was appointed the president of the state unit of the party. At his inauguration, Bhattacharya did something no one had ever before. On the backdrop on stage, beside images of Modi, Mookerjee and other regular BJP icons, an image of Goddess Kali took centrestage. Another first, chants of Jai Shri Ram were interspersed in equal measure and vigour with Jai Ma Kali. This goddess is worshipped with pomp every year in Bengal at the same time as Diwali. But she is also worshipped daily in most Bengali homes where a photo of the goddess is adorned with a fresh garland of the trademark red hibiscus every day. For the devout, the Kalighat temple, Dakshineswar and Tarapith are regular pilgrimage sites. In short, Goddess Kali is big for Bengalis. The BJP has latched on to that. This July, what has unfolded is the rebranding of BJP's north Indian Lord Ram dominated Hindutva for a Bengali audience with a distinctly different taste in deities. Also promoted, the fact that son of the soil Mookerjee is also the founding father of the BJP, so BJP's roots are deeply Bengali. The Trinamool has labelled all this a gimmick and may well be backing a subterranean campaign questioning how the BJP, whose supporters mock Bengalis for guzzling fish curry, egg roll and chicken biryani during the Durga Puja that coincides with the Navratra period, will deal with the fact that Ma Kali celebrations include the consumption of alcohol and meat. This was made unforgettable by the redoubtable TMC MP Mohua Moitra who went so far as to claim Ma Kali even enjoyed a good smoke. The 2026 Assembly polls could be do or die for the BJP. Mamata Banerjee is sure to ensure the BJP's Bengaliyana is put to tough tests during Durga Puja and Kali Puja this September-October. For Bengal's voters, the elections will be much more than about voting for the politician they prefer. Even the gods and goddesses will be watching.
Toronto Sun
7 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
He fled Cuba's regime and married a Quebecer. Then ICE took him
Former judge Yosniel Alginis Villalon Lopez was ready to begin a new life in Canada. Published Jul 25, 2025 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 9 minute read Yosniel Alginis Villalon Lopez with his wife Stéphanie Penta and her two children. Villalon Lopez was detained by ICE at the Canada-U.S. border while attempting to join Penta in Quebec. Handout picture It was supposed to be the start of a new life. Instead, Yosniel Alginis Villalon Lopez was put into the back of a van and taken to an ICE detention facility. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The 34-year-old Cuban ex-judge who refused to bow to the Communist regime had just pulled up to Quebec's Lacolle border crossing. His wife, Stéphanie Penta, a Quebecer, was waiting on the other side. The newly wedded couple brought what they thought would be enough: a marriage certificate, criminal record checks, family photographs, and even joint bank statements. But Yosniel was denied entry. He is now being held at the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention centre in Buffalo, New York. Not only has his future in Canada been jeopardized, he also faces deportation to Cuba. If returned, he said he risks prosecution for treason. His case, immigration experts say, is part of a growing wave of failed crossings at the Canada–U.S. land border. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Asylum seekers who arrive in the U.S. before reaching Canada are usually turned back. That's because the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) requires they seek asylum in the first safe country they arrive in – in this case, the U.S. Exceptions exist, such as being married to a Canadian. But lawyers say even those pathways have become harder to use. For this story, The Gazette reviewed legal documents and interviewed Yosniel's wife, his lawyer, immigration experts, and Yosniel himself, who spoke from inside ICE detention via a monitored phone call. Defied Cuba's Communist Party It begins in Havana, Cuba. Before he was an immigration detainee, Yosniel was a judge at Havana's People's Provincial Court. He said he had originally wanted to be a lawyer but was encouraged to become a judge because, as a young person, he could better understand and represent the interests of youth in court. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Not long after his appointment, he said Communist Party of Cuba officials came calling, asking him to join. He refused. Then, in July 2021, protests erupted across Cuba. Thousands took to the streets against the regime as anger over food shortages and the response to COVID-19 spilled over. When the accused were brought before him, Yosniel said he refused to convict them. The charges didn't reflect the crimes. That didn't go unnoticed. He was accused of treason and threatened with criminal prosecution. State agents also began intimidating him, he said. He went into hiding before fleeing the country in early 2022 through South and Central America. Once at the U.S. border, he filed an asylum claim and settled in Miami, Florida. He lived there while waiting for a decision. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He also received a work permit. By day, he said he worked multiple jobs, the latest managing beer inventory. At night, he cleaned a courthouse. A romance sparked on Instagram Back in Quebec, Stéphanie, 36, was raising two daughters in Otterburn Park, aged eight and 11, from a previous decade-long marriage. In October 2024, she had just started running her own massage practice when Yosniel liked a few of her photos on Instagram. She had come up as a suggested follower as the pair shared mutual friends from Cuba. Stéphanie thought they may have known each other but couldn't remember. 'I was curious. Why was he liking my pictures?' They began chatting. Within days, they were spending hours every day messaging and video-calling. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I'd never connected like that before. It was easy,' Stéphanie said. In December, Stéphanie flew to Miami to meet Yosniel for the first time in-person. She had planned to stay with mutual friends and meet up with him. In the end, they spent every day together. She returned to Miami in January. And February. And every month after. The couple decided to have an impromptu courthouse marriage in May 2025 in Miami. 'It was a beautiful, spontaneous decision,' Stéphanie later wrote in her affidavit. 'I am not a big wedding person and neither is he, but it felt right for us to take this step to announce that this relationship is forever.' At the end of June, Stéphanie took her daughters to New York so they could meet Yosniel for the first time and spend time together as a family. Previously, the children had spoken to Yosniel on the phone. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Yosniel had spoken about the needs of my children from the start,' Stéphanie said. 'We wanted to build a future together, but I said it was important that he meet my daughters first before we start living under one roof.' The trip, she said, was 'wonderful,' and her kids loved Yosniel. After consulting a Montreal immigration lawyer, they were told Yosniel could come to Canada, as he qualified under the family exception to the STCA. Delays, confusion, and doubt at border On July 2, the couple headed to the crossing in Lacolle, Quebec, one of Canada's busiest land borders. Stéphanie approached from the Canadian side, having left her daughters with their father, while Yosniel arrived from the U.S., carrying his crucial documents, including a marriage certificate, criminal background checks, and joint bank statements, among other papers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stéphanie said she approached the agents after arriving and tried to explain that her husband coming from the U.S. 'One of them told me, 'There's no point being here, wait in your car,'' she recalled. When she got to her car, her phone rang. It was Yosniel. 'They're moving me,' he said. 'I don't know what's happening.' Yosniel told her they had transferred him to a different, busier building and suggested she go home as it might take a long time. 'S eeking responses to justify his initial perception' The next day, on July 3, Yosniel was called in for his CBSA interview. He asked to speak in Spanish, his first language. A phone interpreter was provided, but he said the translation was poor and had to correct it several times. He was worried the officer wasn't fully understanding him. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He said the interview focused on three things: his relationship with Stéphanie, his personal history and U.S. asylum claim, and whether their marriage was genuine. He showed the officer a photo of himself with Stéphanie and her daughters in New York. 'He didn't even look,' Yosniel said. 'The officer said that Stéphanie and I got married so I could immigrate to Canada,' he said. 'I tried to explain that we got married because we were in love.' They had considered having Stéphanie move to the U.S., he said, but it would have disrupted her daughters' lives and her business. When asked about their immigration legal consultation, Yosniel said it took place on June 3 — after the wedding — and showed a video call log on his phone. The officer didn't look at it, he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That same day, CBSA officers called Stéphanie, who was back at her home, for a phone interview. It last five minutes twenty seconds. Among other questions, she was asked about the consultation with their immigration lawyer. She said it had taken place in 'the last week of May or the first week of June.' Later, Yosniel said a supervising officer delivered the decision. She reviewed the interview notes and signed off on the conclusions. According to Yosniel, when she said the consultation with the immigration lawyer took place in May, Yosniel corrected her — it was June 3, he said. But the officer pushed back, replying that Stéphanie had said May. He tried to show the proof on his phone. The officer, he said, told him it didn't matter. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The officer told him he couldn't enter Canada for a year without a visa or special permit. He had 15 days to appeal, but the officer, Yosniel said, advised not to as it would be expensive. Then he was put in a van and handed over to U.S. authorities. Yosniel said that no officer at CBSA doubted the authenticity of his marriage certificate or any of the other documents he presented at the border. 'The officer who interviewed me was just seeking responses to justify his initial perception of me,' Yosniel later wrote in his affidavit. 'When I tried to show evidence that would address his concerns, he paid no attention to it because they were not useful for his conclusions.' 'It's not paradise here.' On the other side, Stéphanie still didn't know what had happened. But a mutual friend with Yosniel's GPS location noticed his position had changed. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I don't want to alarm you,' the friend told her, 'but he's in the U.S.' Yosniel was eventually allowed a brief call late at night. He used it to tell Stéphanie what had happened. It was 'completely devastating.' Thankfully, she said, her daughters were with their father and didn't see her break down. Yosniel was taken to the Batavia ICE detention centre near Buffalo, a facility that has been reported on for overcrowding. He said he sleeps in a dormitory-style room with roughly 100 others. Meals are served three times a day. The air conditioning works. 'Some cry every night. Some don't speak,' he said. 'It's not paradise here.' But he added that officers have treated him decently so far. Yosniel also has time each day to make phone calls. Every call, including to Stéphanie and The Gazette, is monitored by agents. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stéphanie started calling lawyers to begin appealing the decision. 'I contacted 70 lawyers,' she said, but only a handful responded. To file an appeal, Stéphanie needed the documents the CBSA gave Yosniel. But she said the agency wasn't responding, despite multiple attempts. So she tried something else. While on the phone with her husband, she asked if an ICE officer was nearby and whether he might scan the documents. To her surprise, the officer agreed. He sent scanned Yosniel's documents and sent them from his own email account. 'He told me not to reply,' Stéphanie said. The next day, the officer followed up with Yosniel to make sure she had received them. Appealed but deportation looms At the Canada border, Yosniel was denied entry under subsection 41 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a clause used when someone lacks the proper visa. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In a statement to The Gazette, the CBSA did not comment on Yosniel's specific case due to privacy reasons. They said, however, that Cuban nationals must have a visa to enter Canada, even by land, and arriving without one can trigger refusal. Yosniel was not deemed ineligible under subsection 101(1)(e), which is the clause that bars claims under the STCA. Heather Neufeld, an immigration lawyer in Ottawa, who has been represented a number of similar cases, said that it's normal for border officials to say an individual doesn't have the correct visa when they don't believe the marriage is real. 'It's just standard language,' she said. 'I've never seen them make a misrepresentation finding at the border when they deny someone's family exception.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In its statement, the CBSA said: 'Being married to a Canadian citizen does not in itself give foreign nationals the right to enter Canada.' The agency said officers must be convinced the relationship is genuine and that the person meets entry requirements. They are also expected to act 'in a procedurally fair manner,' including reviewing documents and using 'accredited' interpreters when needed. In a separate statement, the office of Lena Diab, Canada's Immigration Minister, also declined to comment on Yosniel's case over privacy. It defended the STCA as 'an important tool' in managing asylum claims. While the agreement allows for family-based exceptions, the burden of proof 'rests on the asylum seeker.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Yosniel's Canadian lawyer, Hana Marku, who's leading his appeal, estimates it may take more than a year. Meanwhile, his U.S. deportation hearing is set for the end of August. If returned to Cuba, he said he faces treason charges. Due to the time pressure, Marku is attempting to settle with the Canadian authorities, seeking a path for him to re-enter Canada and make his case again. However, if Canada agrees, U.S. immigration must first release him. He would need to post bond, a payment allowing detainees to wait for hearings outside custody. But even posting bond is getting harder. A new directive issued by the Trump administration in July has tightened release rules. Immigrants should be released on bond before their hearings only under 'rare' circumstances, the memo says. Stéphanie, meanwhile, is running her massage therapy business, caring for her daughters, and scraping together funds for legal fees. She was also in the middle of moving apartments. Her husband was supposed to help. She said her youngest daughter keeps asking: 'When is he coming?' Stéphanie doesn't have the answer. 'It doesn't make sense,' she said. 'He didn't do anything wrong.' Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA World Sunshine Girls
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Montreal Gazette
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
He fled Cuba's regime and married a Quebecer. Then ICE took him
It was supposed to be the start of a new life. Instead, Yosniel Alginis Villalon Lopez was put into the back of a van and taken to an ICE detention facility. The 34-year-old Cuban ex-judge who refused to bow to the Communist regime had just pulled up to Quebec's Lacolle border crossing. His wife, Stéphanie Penta, a Quebecer, was waiting on the other side. The newly wedded couple brought what they thought would be enough: a marriage certificate, criminal record checks, family photographs, and even joint bank statements. But Yosniel was denied entry. He is now being held at the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention centre in Buffalo, New York. Not only has his future in Canada been jeopardized, he also faces deportation to Cuba. If returned, he said he risks prosecution for treason. His case, immigration experts say, is part of a growing wave of failed crossings at the Canada–U.S. land border. Asylum seekers who arrive in the U.S. before reaching Canada are usually turned back. That's because the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) requires they seek asylum in the first safe country they arrive in – in this case, the U.S. Exceptions exist, such as being married to a Canadian. But lawyers say even those pathways have become harder to use. For this story, The Gazette reviewed legal documents and interviewed Yosniel's wife, his lawyer, immigration experts, and Yosniel himself, who spoke from inside ICE detention via a monitored phone call. Defied Cuba's Communist Party It begins in Havana, Cuba. Before he was an immigration detainee, Yosniel was a judge at Havana's People's Provincial Court. He said he had originally wanted to be a lawyer but was encouraged to become a judge because, as a young person, he could better understand and represent the interests of youth in court. Not long after his appointment, he said Communist Party of Cuba officials came calling, asking him to join. He refused. Then, in July 2021, protests erupted across Cuba. Thousands took to the streets against the regime as anger over food shortages and the response to COVID-19 spilled over. When the accused were brought before him, Yosniel said he refused to convict them. The charges didn't reflect the crimes. That didn't go unnoticed. He was accused of treason and threatened with criminal prosecution. State agents also began intimidating him, he said. He went into hiding before fleeing the country in early 2022 through South and Central America. Once at the U.S. border, he filed an asylum claim and settled in Miami, Florida. He lived there while waiting for a decision. He also received a work permit. By day, he said he worked multiple jobs, the latest managing beer inventory. At night, he cleaned a courthouse. A romance sparked on Instagram Back in Quebec, Stéphanie, 36, was raising two daughters in Otterburn Park, aged eight and 11, from a previous decade-long marriage. In October 2024, she had just started running her own massage practice when Yosniel liked a few of her photos on Instagram. She had come up as a suggested follower as the pair shared mutual friends from Cuba. Stéphanie thought they may have known each other but couldn't remember. 'I was curious. Why was he liking my pictures?' They began chatting. Within days, they were spending hours every day messaging and video-calling. 'I'd never connected like that before. It was easy,' Stéphanie said. In December, Stéphanie flew to Miami to meet Yosniel for the first time in-person. She had planned to stay with mutual friends and meet up with him. In the end, they spent every day together. She returned to Miami in January. And February. And every month after. The couple decided to have an impromptu courthouse marriage in May 2025 in Miami. 'It was a beautiful, spontaneous decision,' Stéphanie later wrote in her affidavit. 'I am not a big wedding person and neither is he, but it felt right for us to take this step to announce that this relationship is forever.' At the end of June, Stéphanie took her daughters to New York so they could meet Yosniel for the first time and spend time together as a family. Previously, the children had spoken to Yosniel on the phone. 'Yosniel had spoken about the needs of my children from the start,' Stéphanie said. 'We wanted to build a future together, but I said it was important that he meet my daughters first before we start living under one roof.' The trip, she said, was 'wonderful,' and her kids loved Yosniel. After consulting a Montreal immigration lawyer, they were told Yosniel could come to Canada, as he qualified under the family exception to the STCA. Delays, confusion, and doubt at border On July 2, the couple headed to the crossing in Lacolle, Quebec, one of Canada's busiest land borders. Stéphanie approached from the Canadian side, having left her daughters with their father, while Yosniel arrived from the U.S., carrying his crucial documents, including a marriage certificate, criminal background checks, and joint bank statements, among other papers. Stéphanie said she approached the agents after arriving and tried to explain that her husband coming from the U.S. 'One of them told me, 'There's no point being here, wait in your car,'' she recalled. When she got to her car, her phone rang. It was Yosniel. 'They're moving me,' he said. 'I don't know what's happening.' Yosniel told her they had transferred him to a different, busier building and suggested she go home as it might take a long time. 'Seeking responses to justify his initial perception' The next day, on July 3, Yosniel was called in for his CBSA interview. He asked to speak in Spanish, his first language. A phone interpreter was provided, but he said the translation was poor and had to correct it several times. He was worried the officer wasn't fully understanding him. He said the interview focused on three things: his relationship with Stéphanie, his personal history and U.S. asylum claim, and whether their marriage was genuine. He showed the officer a photo of himself with Stéphanie and her daughters in New York. 'He didn't even look,' Yosniel said. 'The officer said that Stéphanie and I got married so I could immigrate to Canada,' he said. 'I tried to explain that we got married because we were in love.' They had considered having Stéphanie move to the U.S., he said, but it would have disrupted her daughters' lives and her business. When asked about their immigration legal consultation, Yosniel said it took place on June 3 — after the wedding — and showed a video call log on his phone. The officer didn't look at it, he said. That same day, CBSA officers called Stéphanie, who was back at her home, for a phone interview. It last five minutes twenty seconds. Among other questions, she was asked about the consultation with their immigration lawyer. She said it had taken place in 'the last week of May or the first week of June.' Later, Yosniel said a supervising officer delivered the decision. She reviewed the interview notes and signed off on the conclusions. According to Yosniel, when she said the consultation with the immigration lawyer took place in May, Yosniel corrected her — it was June 3, he said. But the officer pushed back, replying that Stéphanie had said May. He tried to show the proof on his phone. The officer, he said, told him it didn't matter. The officer told him he couldn't enter Canada for a year without a visa or special permit. He had 15 days to appeal, but the officer, Yosniel said, advised not to as it would be expensive. Then he was put in a van and handed over to U.S. authorities. Yosniel said that no officer at CBSA doubted the authenticity of his marriage certificate or any of the other documents he presented at the border. 'The officer who interviewed me was just seeking responses to justify his initial perception of me,' Yosniel later wrote in his affidavit. 'When I tried to show evidence that would address his concerns, he paid no attention to it because they were not useful for his conclusions.' 'It's not paradise here.' On the other side, Stéphanie still didn't know what had happened. But a mutual friend with Yosniel's GPS location noticed his position had changed. 'I don't want to alarm you,' the friend told her, 'but he's in the U.S.' Yosniel was eventually allowed a brief call late at night. He used it to tell Stéphanie what had happened. It was 'completely devastating.' Thankfully, she said, her daughters were with their father and didn't see her break down. Yosniel was taken to the Batavia ICE detention centre near Buffalo, a facility that has been reported on for overcrowding. He said he sleeps in a dormitory-style room with roughly 100 others. Meals are served three times a day. The air conditioning works. 'Some cry every night. Some don't speak,' he said. 'It's not paradise here.' But he added that officers have treated him decently so far. Yosniel also has time each day to make phone calls. Every call, including to Stéphanie and The Gazette, is monitored by agents. Unexpected help from ICE Stéphanie started calling lawyers to begin appealing the decision. 'I contacted 70 lawyers,' she said, but only a handful responded. To file an appeal, Stéphanie needed the documents the CBSA gave Yosniel. But she said the agency wasn't responding, despite multiple attempts. So she tried something else. While on the phone with her husband, she asked if an ICE officer was nearby and whether he might scan the documents. To her surprise, the officer agreed. He sent scanned Yosniel's documents and sent them from his own email account. 'He told me not to reply,' Stéphanie said. The next day, the officer followed up with Yosniel to make sure she had received them. Appealed but deportation looms At the Canada border, Yosniel was denied entry under subsection 41 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a clause used when someone lacks the proper visa. In a statement to The Gazette, the CBSA did not comment on Yosniel's specific case due to privacy reasons. They said, however, that Cuban nationals must have a visa to enter Canada, even by land, and arriving without one can trigger refusal. Yosniel was not deemed ineligible under subsection 101(1)(e), which is the clause that bars claims under the STCA. Heather Neufeld, an immigration lawyer in Ottawa, who has been represented a number of similar cases, said that it's normal for border officials to say an individual doesn't have the correct visa when they don't believe the marriage is real. 'It's just standard language,' she said. 'I've never seen them make a misrepresentation finding at the border when they deny someone's family exception.' In its statement, the CBSA said: 'Being married to a Canadian citizen does not in itself give foreign nationals the right to enter Canada.' The agency said officers must be convinced the relationship is genuine and that the person meets entry requirements. They are also expected to act 'in a procedurally fair manner,' including reviewing documents and using 'accredited' interpreters when needed. In a separate statement, the office of Lena Diab, Canada's Immigration Minister, also declined to comment on Yosniel's case over privacy. It defended the STCA as 'an important tool' in managing asylum claims. While the agreement allows for family-based exceptions, the burden of proof 'rests on the asylum seeker.' 'When is he coming?' Yosniel's Canadian lawyer, Hana Marku, who's leading his appeal, estimates it may take more than a year. Meanwhile, his U.S. deportation hearing is set for the end of August. If returned to Cuba, he said he faces treason charges. Due to the time pressure, Marku is attempting to settle with the Canadian authorities, seeking a path for him to re-enter Canada and make his case again. However, if Canada agrees, U.S. immigration must first release him. He would need to post bond, a payment allowing detainees to wait for hearings outside custody. But even posting bond is getting harder. A new directive issued by the Trump administration in July has tightened release rules. Immigrants should be released on bond before their hearings only under 'rare' circumstances, the memo says. Stéphanie, meanwhile, is running her massage therapy business, caring for her daughters, and scraping together funds for legal fees. She was also in the middle of moving apartments. Her husband was supposed to help. She said her youngest daughter keeps asking: 'When is he coming?' Stéphanie doesn't have the answer. 'It doesn't make sense,' she said. 'He didn't do anything wrong.'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
How do Cambodia and Thailand's military capabilities compare?
Months of simmering tensions between Cambodia and Thailand have exploded into armed conflict, in the heaviest fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in over a decade. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, the current chair of Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, in which Thailand and Cambodia are also members, urged calm and said he would speak to leaders of both countries to peacefully resolve their dispute. China also expressed concern at the fighting and said it was willing to play a role in promoting de-escalation. For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011. Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes. Here is a look at the defence forces and arsenals of two countries, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies: Budgets and ground personnel Cambodia had a defence budget of U$1.3 billion in 2024 and 124,300 active military personnel. The armed forces were established in 1993 from the merger of the country's former Communist military and two other resistance armies. Of this, the Cambodian army is the largest force, with some 75,000 soldiers, backed by more than 200 battle tanks and around 480 pieces of artillery. Thailand, which the U.S. classifies as a major non-NATO ally, has a large, well-funded military, with a defence budget of U$5.73 billion in 2024 and 360,000 active armed forces personnel. The Thai army has a total of 245,000 personnel, including an estimated 115,000 conscripts, around 400 battle tanks, over 1,200 armoured personnel carriers and some 2,600 artillery weapons. The army has its own fleet of aircraft, comprising passenger planes, helicopters such as dozens of U.S.-made Black Hawks, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Air Forces Cambodia's air force has 1,500 personnel, with a relatively small fleet of aircraft, including 10 transport planes and 10 transport helicopters. It doesn't possess any fighter aircraft but has 16 multi-role helicopters, including six Soviet-era Mi-17s and 10 Chinese Z-9s. Thailand has one of the best-equipped and trained air forces in Southeast Asia, with an estimated 46,000 personnel, 112 combat-capable aircraft, including 28 F-16s and 11 Swedish Gripen fighter jets, and dozens of helicopters. Navies The Cambodian navy has an estimated 2,800 personnel, including 1,500 naval infantry, with 13 patrol and coastal combat vessels and one amphibious landing craft. Thailand's navy is much larger, with nearly 70,000 personnel, comprising naval aviation, marines, coastal defence and conscripts. It has one aircraft carrier, seven frigates, and 68 patrol and coastal combat vessels. The Thai fleet also contains a handful of amphibious and landing ships capable of holding hundreds of troops each and 14 smaller landing craft. Thailand's naval aviation division has its own fleet of aircraft, including helicopters and UAVs, besides a marine corps that has 23,000 personnel, backed by dozens of armed fighting vehicles.
