It follows a young Syrian boy, Ahmet, who arrives in the UK without his parents. He joins a school and befriends a group of kids who hear that the government is going to close the gates. They don't fully understand what it means other than that Ahmet's parents, who must be looking for him, won't be able to get into the country. So they decide, in a beautifully innocent way, to go to the most powerful person they can think of—the queen!—and ask for help to find Ahmet's parents and keep the gates open.
Campaigners have urged airlines deporting asylum seekers to France as part of the UK's controversial one in, one out scheme to stop facilitating the cruel and forced deportations. Letters have been sent by 28 refugee and human rights NGOs on both sides of the Channel to four airlines believed to be involved with deportation flights Air France, Titan airways, AlbaStar airlines and Corendon airlines urging them to halt what signatories call shameful involvement with the flights.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants to spend another $1.2 billion in this year's budget proposal on migrants arriving in the Big Apple. Mamdani's budget plan notes that the number of asylum seekers under the city's care has nearly halved from 68,660 at its peak in January 2024 to 30,813 last month. Follow live updates on Mayor Zohran Mamdani's socialist agenda and the latest in NYC politics
Under the new rules, EU states will be able to send asylum seekers to third countries they merely transited through, provided those countries are deemed to respect international standards for migrant treatment. They could also deport asylum seekers to safe third countries with which they have no prior ties, if an agreement is reached with the host state, the UK's Guardian newspaper reported.
Afghan national Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, whose victim said he laughed while attacking her last summer, was found guilty of rape and two counts of sexual assault. He admitted a further rape charge before his trial. Jurors at Warwick Crown Court also convicted him of child abduction and taking an indecent video of the girl during her ordeal near a residential cul-de-sac.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.
Crowborough training camp received 27 men in the early hours of Thursday morning, a statement said, which will be scaled up to 500 over several months. It is one of two military camps identified by ministers to house 900 people the other being in Inverness. Using language that reflects the home secretary's hardline stance on housing asylum seekers, Shabana Mahmood said the move was part of a plan to move claimants out of hotels and into large scale accommodation.
The mental health needs of asylum-seekers and people awaiting deportation are not being adequately met, with services "scraping the tip of the iceberg" of what is needed, according to a leading charity.
This is a film made with the best of intentions and it has some good insights into the loneliness and isolation of seeking asylum in the UK. But there are a few too many sentimental moments to properly work as social-realism, or anything close to convincing drama, which is disappointing given its creator, Don Ng, is a journalist-turned-director making his feature debut.
A coastguard spokesperson told the AFP news agency that the rescued asylum seekers were from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and the occupied Palestinian territory. They were taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno, the spokesperson said, and after undergoing health checks, their asylum claims will be processed. In a separate incident on Thursday, the European Union's border agency Frontex rescued 65 men and five women seeking refuge from two boats in distress off Gavdos, the Greek coastguard added.
A group of councillors were violently intimidated and pelted with eggs at a meeting by people wearing balaclavas in the public gallery, MPs have been told. Swale Borough Council in Kent were debating making their area a District of Sanctuary for asylum seekers in the meeting on Wednesday evening. The council also confirmed that their office was also damaged, with toilets and lifts vandalised and deliberate flooding caused water to pour through the ceiling in several areas.
No child should have to suffer the ordeal that she suffered. It's clear from the footage we have seen that no one can seriously entertain the thought that you believed she was consenting. This is a case where it was absolutely clear to both of you that you were taking a child away from her friends in the face of her vigorous protests to somewhere that could not be observed in order to commit this offence.
"Food, friendship, music and song are reminders of what Irish people are," she said, adding "that identity is much stronger" when friendship is extended to all newcomers. Mercedes Verona Pereira, from Cuba - one of the event organisers - told the gathering: "You don't need to fear anything, as our mutual responsibility as a community is to take care of you."
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.
I am exhausted by this situation and find it deeply unfair and unjust. I arrived on a boat with 83 other people, and only 12 of us were moved to a detention centre. The rest are being processed through the asylum system normally and are now in hotels. Meanwhile, we are being held here alongside people who may have criminal convictions.
France, UK, France, UK, France it's not my choice, he says. I went to UK twice because I felt I had no other option. The smugglers in northern France attacked me and threatened my life before I crossed to the UK for the first time on August 6. When the Home Office returned me here the first time I believed the smugglers were still searching for me. I continue to believe that. I am frightened every time I go outside the shelter.
