More than 10,000 People Reach UK on Small Boats since January

FILE PHOTO: Two inflatable dinghies carrying migrants make their way towards England in the English Channel, Britain, May 4, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Two inflatable dinghies carrying migrants make their way towards England in the English Channel, Britain, May 4, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
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More than 10,000 People Reach UK on Small Boats since January

FILE PHOTO: Two inflatable dinghies carrying migrants make their way towards England in the English Channel, Britain, May 4, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Two inflatable dinghies carrying migrants make their way towards England in the English Channel, Britain, May 4, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo

More than 10,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain in small boats so far this year, updated government data showed on Saturday, underlining a key challenge facing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a July 4 national election.

The number of people landing on England's southern beaches after making the dangerous Channel crossing fell by a third in 2023, but the latest numbers on a government website showed 10,170 arrived between January and May 25, up from 7,395 over the same period last year.

Sunak, who announced the election date on Wednesday, said later this week that asylum seekers who come to Britain illegally would not be deported to Rwanda before the vote - casting doubt on one of his Conservative Party's flagship policies, Reuters reported.

The plan has been bogged down by legal obstacles for more than two years, and the opposition Labor Party, which is about 20 points ahead in opinion polls and seen on track to end 14 years of Conservative rule, has promised to scrap the policy if it wins the election.

Labor's shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said Sunak's government had not done enough to tackle the issue.

"Because all the government's efforts are now focused on getting a few hundred people flown to Rwanda, they have lost sight of the thousands more who are crossing the Channel every month," Kinnock said in a statement.

Labor has said if elected it would create a Border Security Command that would bring together staff from the police, the domestic intelligence agency and prosecutors to work with international agencies to stop people smuggling.

 

 

 

 

 



Flooding Hits China’s South, Temperatures Sizzle Elsewhere

 Visitors to a mall cool off near a mist machine during the summer heat in Beijing, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP)
Visitors to a mall cool off near a mist machine during the summer heat in Beijing, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP)
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Flooding Hits China’s South, Temperatures Sizzle Elsewhere

 Visitors to a mall cool off near a mist machine during the summer heat in Beijing, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP)
Visitors to a mall cool off near a mist machine during the summer heat in Beijing, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP)

China's National Meteorological Center on Sunday issued an alert for high temperatures as multiple regions across the country experience sweltering heat, while many southern provinces issued severe flood warnings due to heavy rains.

The intensity of high temperatures is expected to decrease in north China and regions between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, the center said.

The center forecast maximum temperatures of 37-39 degrees Celsius (99-102 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Henan on Sunday.

Heavy rains have lashed southeastern Fujian province for seven days and are expected to continue, with water levels in some rivers exceeding warning levels.

Authorities have released water from several reservoirs, China's state television CCTV reported.

Authorities in Guangxi region said water levels of some local rivers had "skyrocketed" and that a student was killed in the floods in the southern city of Guilin, CCTV reported.