28 h. ago The death of my friend inspired me to follow my standup dreams

For one writer, tragedy led to comedy, the sudden loss of a colleague giving her the nudge she neededThere’s nothing funny about your co-worker being assassinated. But it was the death of my beloved colleague and friend Hisham al-Hashimi that led me into the world of standup comedy. I knew it would trash my hard-won career in international security, but I didn’t care any more.Hisham had run a workshop with me in Iraq six months prior to his death, and I’d taken everything so seriously, marching around the hotel yelling about how everything was going wrong. But Hisham always had a lightness in his step, a smile on his face. Every evening, he’d take me to a café, order me my favourite shisha and proceed to tell the most disgusting jokes. Continue reading...

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3 d. ago ‘Foreigner’ stereotyping led to loss of life in deadliest Channel crossing, inquiry told

Migrant dinghy was confused with another boat from which 35 people were rescued, so incident was marked ‘resolved’Survivors and bereaved relatives have told an inquiry into the biggest ever loss of life in a migrant dinghy in the Channel that they believe stereotyping them as “foreigners” contributed to the failure to rescue them before the majority died.The Cranston inquiry into how at least 27 people drowned on 24 November 2021 heard that survivors believed many on board could have been saved if rescue had been sent more quickly. Continue reading...

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3 d. ago Stereotyping a factor in loss of life in deadliest Channel crossing, inquiry told

Migrant dinghy was also confused with vessel from which 35 people were rescued, so incident was marked ‘resolved’Survivors and bereaved relatives have told an inquiry into the biggest ever loss of life in a migrant dinghy in the Channel that they believe stereotyping them as “foreigners” contributed to the failure to rescue them before the majority died.The Cranston inquiry into how at least 27 people drowned on 24 November 2021 heard that survivors believed many on board could have been saved if rescue had been sent more quickly. Continue reading...

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4 d. ago Families call for help to find loved ones after deadly 2021 Channel crossing

Zana Mamand Mohammed hopes the Cranston Inquiry will provide more information over his brother and others missing from the incident.

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6 d. ago Home Office ends asylum hotel contract over performance concerns as Channel migrant crossings hit record highs

Between January 1 and March 23, some 5,847 people have arrived in the UK from France - up 36 per cent on last year

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7 d. ago Channel migrant arrivals hits another record: 5,847 asylum seekers landed in UK in first three months of 2025

A total of 5,847 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far in 2025, including 335 yesterday, according to provisional Home Office figures.

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7 d. ago Record number of migrants cross English Channel in first three months of year

Some 5,847 arrivals had been recorded as of March 23, compared with 5,435 arrivals across January, February and March in 2024.

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7 d. ago Nearly 70 migrants are crossing Channel in small boats to reach UK every day on average as numbers rise

Latest figures show 5,512 have made the crossing up to Saturday, March 22

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8 d. ago Four small boats holding 241 migrants have been rescued after crossing the Channel yesterday

More migrants have been brought ashore at Dover after crossing the English Channel in small boats.

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9 d. ago Lucy Letby victims' horror as hospital kept them in dark over babies' murders

A lawyer who represents a number of Lucy Letby's bereaved victims has shared his clients' agonising ordeal as the Thirwall Inquiry concludes, asserting that they should have been told their babies had been murdered 'much sooner'

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9 d. ago Labour considers plans to deport failed asylum seekers to the BALKANS and lock them in 'detention centres'

The asylum seekers could be sent to 'return hubs' in the western Balkans - in countries including Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia, after their applications for asylum are rejected.

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1 week ago Over 5,000 migrants cross Channel with milestone reached at earliest point in year since records began

This is the earliest point in the year that crossings have reached the 5,000 mark since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018

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1 week ago Number of migrants arriving in UK this year after crossing Channel passes 5,000

This is the earliest point in the year that crossings have reached the 5,000 mark since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018.

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1 week ago Sarah, Duchess of York offered to help secure PPE in pandemic, inquiry told

The inquiry was shown an email dated April 2020 as it heard evidence from Dawn Matthias, who was seconded into the team aiming to secure PPE.

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1 week ago 2 migrants have died in as many days in attempted sea crossings from France to the UK

French maritime authorities say they’ve recovered the bodies of two migrants who died over the past two days in attempts to cross the waters of the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom

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1 week ago One person dead and 15 rescued crossing Channel in overloaded boat carrying close to 100 people

French authorities rescue people from the water after small boat overloaded with close to 100 migrants

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1 week ago Second person in two days dies trying to cross Channel in small boat

Deaths occur after eight-day gap in crossings between, bringing death toll this year to at least 10One person has died trying to cross the Channel in an overloaded boat, after another person died earlier attempting the same journey, according to the French authorities.In the latest incident, 15 people were rescued after a boat containing 40 people picked up more migrants on the coast of Gravelines, in northern France, at around 3am on Thursday. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Second migrant in two days dies trying to cross English Channel

A total of four deaths have been recorded by the French coastguard in its rescue operations in the Channel this year.

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1 week ago One person dead and 15 rescued crossing Channel in overloaded boat

One person has died and 15 people have been rescued while trying to cross the English Channel overnight in an overloaded small boat.

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1 week ago Migrant dies in the English Channel in first attempted crossing in over a week

The tragedy marks the first recorded migrant crossing attempt in over a week

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