Dozens of people are watched by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution as they make their way up the beach in Dungeness, Kent. AP
Dozens of people are watched by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution as they make their way up the beach in Dungeness, Kent. AP
Dozens of people are watched by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution as they make their way up the beach in Dungeness, Kent. AP
Dozens of people are watched by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution as they make their way up the beach in Dungeness, Kent. AP

Migrants rejoice after crossing English Channel in dinghy on record day


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

A group of people have been pictured celebrating after crossing the English Channel in a single dinghy and landing on a beach on Britain's south coast on a record day of arrivals.

Dozens climbed off the boat in warm coastal weather, watched by UK border police and lifeboat operators who had tracked the dinghy as it approached land.

Some migrants raised their hands in celebration while others carried children on to the beach at Dungeness before the arrivals were escorted away by Border Force staff.

Believed to have set off from France or Belgium, they were among at least 430 people who crossed the Channel on Monday, a new record for a single day.

They are the latest among thousands of people who have crossed the seaway to Britain in the first seven months of 2021.

Migrants have long used northern France as a launching point to reach Britain, travelling either on boats, or in lorries through the Channel Tunnel, or on ferries.

Authorities in Kent, the county at England's south-eastern tip, announced last month that they could not take in any more unaccompanied child migrants.

Migrants make their way up the beach after arriving on a small inflatable boat in Kent, England. AP
Migrants make their way up the beach after arriving on a small inflatable boat in Kent, England. AP

The latest arrivals came as the UK's House of Commons debated a controversial bill awarding the government new powers to push migrants back to countries such as France.

The bill would pave the way for illegal migrants to be imprisoned for up to four years or held outside the UK in what the government says would be a “safe third country” while their claims are considered.

The UN's refugee agency said the bill would create a discriminatory system, punishing people who arrive spontaneously in Britain.

“Addressing people-smuggling is crucial, but these proposals would damage lives, be hard to implement and undermine international co-operation on refugee issues,” it said on Monday.

Britain's ruling Conservatives said the bill would “break the business model of vile criminal gangs” who engage in people smuggling across the Channel.

A man gestures as migrants arrived on the beach before later being taken away by Border Force staff. AP
A man gestures as migrants arrived on the beach before later being taken away by Border Force staff. AP
Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

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Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5

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NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m

ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m

RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m

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THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

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RESULT

Valencia 3

Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'

Ferran Torres 67'

Atlanta 4

Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'

Updated: July 20, 2021, 7:01 AM`