The number of asylum applicants to the UK from Afghanistan has tripled since the Taliban takeover.
It rose from 435 between April and June, to 1,093 between July and September, when Kabul fell.
The failure of the UK government to set up the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or to provide other safe avenues for relocation is forcing vulnerable Afghans to make the “heartbreaking choice” to live in fear in their country or take the “gut-wrenching decision” to leave via dangerous routes, the Refugee Council has warned.
After Taliban forces took control of Kabul during a military offensive in August, British forces flew out 12,000 Afghans who had worked with the UK government under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.
Once the relocations under Operation Pitting ended, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel pledged to take in 20,000 Afghans as part of a new resettlement scheme and committed to bringing 5,000 people within the first year.
However, four months after that announcement, campaigners say it is surprising that the scheme has yet to open and are calling on the government to urgently expand support.
“It is critical the government brings forward the scheme they promised and help provide the safe routes and support these people both desperately need and deserve,” said Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council.
A lack of options and calmer conditions at sea may explain the surge in migrants crossing the Channel recently. About 1,200 people were smuggled to the UK from France in the past four days, information provided by the Home Office shows. The latest figures bring the tally of crossings this year to 27,806 – more than triple the number recorded last year.
The UK’s new Nationality and Borders Bill, if passed by the House of Lords, would criminalise migrants who make their way into the country “illegally” and the Refugee Council has urged the government to “rethink” the disputed legislation.
“Given the very limited options for people fleeing persecution and violence to reach the UK safely, they too often have no choice but to embark on perilous, life threatening journeys to reach the UK. This often sees them making terrifying journeys across other countries and for some it ends with them having to cross the Channel,” said Ms Solomon.
Last month, 27 people, including those fleeing Afghanistan, drowned in the worst loss of life incident in recent migrant crossings when their boat capsized in the Channel.
The charity also called on family reunion rules to be expanded so relatives “are not torn apart” by the Afghan crisis. Authorities were also urged to process asylum cases from Afghanistan quickly. Figures from the Home Office revealed that there are more than 4,000 Afghans awaiting a decision on their asylum claims, with nearly 2,500 waiting for more than six months.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
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Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
The years Ramadan fell in May
CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES
Mar 10: Norwich(A)
Mar 13: Newcastle(H)
Mar 16: Lille(A)
Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)
Apr 2: Brentford(H)
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
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