More than 650 people crossed the English Channel in a flotilla of small boats on Friday, according to UK government figures.
Fifteen boats were intercepted, the British Ministry of Defence said, while 65 people were rescued by French authorities.
Asylum seekers crossing the Channel is a big political issue, as more try to make the trip, often in unseaworthy boats, across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, for the chance of refuge in the UK.
As the numbers rose from a few hundred to tens of thousands a year, the issue has led to controversy for a British Conservative government that wants to be strict on immigration.
It is the 12th time on record the daily figure has exceeded 600 and takes the yearly total to 32,321.
This week, the annual total hit more than 30,000.
Tents have been erected at Dover to accommodate migrants during processing — with new arrivals sometimes appearing to be overflowing from existing facilities.
On Friday, French authorities also launched a rescue operation after a boat got into difficulty off the coast of Gravelines in northern France.
A representative from the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said the maritime military rescued 65 people from the wreckage.
“The castaways were disembarked at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they were taken care of by the border police and the departmental fire and rescue service,” the agency said.
“This maritime sector is one of the busiest areas in the world, with more than 400 merchant ships passing through it each day, and the weather are often difficult.
“It is therefore a particularly dangerous sector, especially at a time when the water temperature will decrease.”
The Channel crossings were one of the reasons for a UK government plan to deport some migrants to Rwanda in Central Africa. The policy was meant to deter migrants and the trafficking gangs from attempting the crossing.
In the five months since the Rwanda policy was announced, 27,053 people have arrived in the UK by the Channel route.
In 2021, about 28,300 people crossed the Channel to the UK aboard small boats in 2021, more than triple the number recorded in the previous year.
That record number — an increase from 2020’s 8,466 — came despite millions of pounds promised to French authorities to tackle the issue.
In 2018, 299 people were detected making the journey, and in 2019, there were 1,843 crossings.
In 2018, there were fewer than 10 people in each boat, while in 2019 and 2020 the average rose to the high teens.
In 2021, the average occupancy increased further, reaching 30 by August.
The average number of people in each boat was 46 in August 2022.
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Winner Jap Al Afreet, Elione Chaves, Irfan Ellahi.
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Winner AF Kal Noor, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
5pm Sharjah Marathon (PA) Dh70,000 2,700m
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LAST 16
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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
