The UK and France have agreed to lead a new partnership designed to disrupt the supply of small boats as part of measures to tackle English Channel migrant crossings.
The Calais Group of northern European countries met in Brussels on Monday, where British Home Secretary James Cleverly invited them to join the initiative to prevent materials used in the vessels from being shipped to northern France, from where the boats are launched.
Mr Cleverly said after the meeting that the customs partnership “demonstrates our enduring commitment to smashing the business model of criminal gangs and stopping the boats”.
It comes as figures released on Tuesday revealed 401 migrants arrived in the UK on Monday on the busiest day of the year so far for Channel crossings, suggesting an average of 41 people per boat.
The latest crossings take the provisional total of UK arrivals so far this year to 2,983.
More than 40,000 migrants have arrived in the UK since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister in October 2022, with 72,000 recorded since the Rwanda deportation plan deal was signed six months earlier.
Mr Cleverly also called for tougher legislation in Europe to crack down on criminal activity, such as more severe punishments for organising illegal migration, according to the Home Office.
Under the new customs partnership, countries along the supply chain would share information to hamper the shipments of parts used to assemble dinghies, such as engines and inflatable materials.
Britain and France, which will launch the partnership immediately, have invited other Calais Group nations Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands to discuss it in detail next month in the hope they quickly sign up.
Ministers at the meeting also discussed their renewed commitment to working with social media companies to tackle online activity by people-smuggling networks.
Mr Cleverly also spoke about implementing the UK’s recent deal with the EU’s Frontex external border agency to exchange intelligence and collaborate on training, new technology and operations.
Afghan migrant documents dangerous journey across Channel – video
“Working closely with our European neighbours is fundamental to solving the illegal migration crisis,” he said.
“Global problems require global solutions, and the UK is leading the conversation around the changes needed to crack down on people smugglers and break their supply chains.
“The Calais Group is central to our mission, and we have already made significant progress by reducing small boat crossings by 36 per cent.
“Our new customs partnership demonstrates our enduring commitment to smashing the business model of criminal gangs and stopping the boats.”
The group last met in December 2022.
“For more than two years Labour has called on the Conservatives to work with France and other countries to smash the criminal smuggling gangs and to go after their supply chains in order to stop the boats reaching the French coast in the first place,” Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said.
“But this catch-up announcement from the Home Secretary still goes nowhere near far enough.
“It only includes France when the supply chains stretch through many different European countries.
“It still doesn’t include a proper data-sharing agreement on criminal information held by other European police forces, and there is no additional UK policing resources to work with Europol and others to crack down on the gangs in practice.
“Labour would use the money currently being wasted on the failing Rwanda plan to set up a new elite cross-border police unit, with officers posted directly to Europol to collaborate on joint investigations and to identify and seize boats upstream.”
Rwanda vote blow
The House of Lords inflicted the first defeats on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government on Monday as it tried to pass legislation to enable the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The government’s bill seeks to designate Rwanda a “safe” destination for deportees, despite a Supreme Court ruling last year that refugees risked being forcibly sent to their home countries where they could suffer harm.
On Monday, peers passed amendments in five separate votes removing Rwanda’s designation as already “safe”, stipulating that the government must maintain “full compliance with domestic and international law” and adding more safeguards for human rights.
The defeats are the first for the government on a crucial piece of legislation designed to introduce one of the Conservative government’s flagship policies – to “stop the boats” of migrants crossing to Britain in small vessels from France.
The bill passed unamended through the lower chamber, the House of Commons, in January. Mr Sunak at the time urged the Lords not to frustrate the “will of the people”.
The defeats in the largely appointed Lords, where the Conservatives do not have a majority, set the stage for a process known as “ping-pong” in which legislation passes between the Commons and the Lords until an agreement is reached.
While typically the upper chamber backs down, any procedural delays will be a concern for Mr Sunak, who has said he hopes to get a deportation flight to Rwanda off the ground by “Spring”.
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
New schools in Dubai
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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