LONDON: Nearly 1,000 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats on Saturday, the UK government said Sunday, as growing numbers of arrivals have exacerbated tensions between Britain and France.
The defense ministry said 960 migrants were detected making the dangerous crossing in 20 boats.
This came after 1,295 migrants were spotted making the crossing on August 22, setting a new record for a single day.
The issue has caused a major political headache for the UK government, which promised tighter border controls after leaving the European Union.
Tensions have risen between London and Paris, with the UK government accusing France of not doing enough to stop the crossings.
So far this year there have been more than 26,000 crossings, while now is the peak time of year for those attempting to enter the UK this way.
Over the whole of 2021 just over 28,500 migrants were detected in around 1,000 boats.
The UK last month vowed to speed up removals of Albanians illegally entering the country as official statistics showed they were now the largest single group making small-boat crossings of the Channel.
In previous years, asylum seekers from war zones made up the vast bulk of small-boat arrivals.
Nearly 1,000 migrants cross Channel Saturday: UK govt
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Nearly 1,000 migrants cross Channel Saturday: UK govt
- Tensions have risen between London and Paris, with the UK government accusing France of not doing enough to stop the crossings
- The UK has vowed to speed up the removal of Albanians illegally entering the country as they are the largest single group making small-boat crossings
Ukraine, Russia exchange POWs for first time in months
- The two sides have in the past conducted several rounds of prisoner swaps
- “Today’s exchange came after a long pause, and it is critical that we were able to make it happen,” Zelensky said
KYIV: Ukraine and Russia have conducted their first prisoner exchange in months, each releasing at least 157 people, both countries said Thursday, amid US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the war.
The two sides have in the past conducted several rounds of prisoner swaps, one of the rare areas of direct cooperation between Ukraine and Russia amid the four-year war, but last month Kyiv accused Moscow of halting the exchanges.
On Thursday, amid three-way talks in Abu Dhabi, the countries swapped 157 captured soldiers and civilians each in an exchange mediated by Washington — the first since October.
“Today’s exchange came after a long pause, and it is critical that we were able to make it happen. I thank everyone who works to make these exchanges possible,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.
Images he posted showed the released prisoners, their heads freshly shaven, wrapped in Ukrainian flags and smiling amid falling snow.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said among the 157 Ukrainians released “are seven civilians and those whom the Russians unlawfully convicted.”
Zelensky’s aide Kyrylo Budanov said that in the group of the freed prisoners were 19 Ukrainians “who were illegally sentenced, 15 of them to life imprisonment.”
Russia, who said the United States and United Arab Emirates acted as mediators for the exchange, announced earlier it had handed over 157 Ukrainian soldiers and that 157 Russian servicemen were returned.
“In addition, three Russian citizens, residents of the Kursk region... will be returned home,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region in 2024.
