Category: EU News

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Zelensky urges US to speed up weapons deliveries

Japanese student dresses like Zelensky for graduation ceremony.(photo:Instagram)

During a joint news conference in Kyiv with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Zelensky emphasized that the pace of ammunition delivery to Ukraine directly impacts the battlefield situation…reports Asian Lite News

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that vital US weapons were starting to arrive in Ukraine in small amounts and that the process needed to move faster as advancing Russian forces were trying to take advantage.

Zelensky told a joint news conference in Kyiv alongside visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg that the situation on the battlefield directly depended on the speed of ammunition supplies to Ukraine.

“Timely support for our army. Today I don’t see anything positive on this point yet. There are supplies, they have slightly begun, this process needs to be sped up,” he said.

Earlier, Zelensky has decried Russian attacks on the country’s gas transit system.

Zelensky said in his evening video message broadcast in Kyiv that the infrastructure through which gas is channelled through Ukraine to the European Union has been attacked.

Despite the Russian invasion, which has been going on for more than two years, Russian gas continues to flow through the country – albeit in much smaller quantities.

The state-owned gas company Naftogaz had also previously complained of Russian attacks on the pipeline network, without giving details. The company recently announced that it would no longer be transporting Russian gas to the West from 2025 onwards – the current contracts with the Russian state-owned company Gazprom expire at the end of the year.

The main recipients are countries without access to the sea that are unable to switch to liquefied natural gas (LNG). Russia once again hit Ukraine with missile attacks in the early hours of Saturday, targeting energy facilities in particular. Four thermal power plants were damaged, according to the energy company DTEK.

Following the air strikes, Zelensky once again called on the West to provide more air defence support. In his video address, he explained that Russia had expanded the radius with its massive attacks, which was now making the work of Ukrainian air defence even more difficult. Ukraine needs more US Patriot air defence systems.

Workers in Ukraine are in the process of repairing the damage caused by the new Russian attacks, said Zelensky. Moscow had previously excused the massive new shelling of energy facilities in Ukraine by saying that Kyiv was also attacking Russian infrastructure with drones.

During one such attack, a fire broke out at an oil processing plant in the Krasnodar region on Saturday. However, the damage caused by Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory is minuscule compared to the massive destruction caused by Moscow’s missile strikes against Ukrainian facilities.

ALSO READ: Zelensky calls for more air defence support

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Kiev evacuates two hospitals amid fears of possible Russian attack

2 killed as Russian shelling hits Kiev apartment building.(photo:SES Ukraine)

The patients are being transferred to other medical facilities. …reports Asian Lite News

The city authorities in Kiev has ordered the urgent evacuation of two hospitals in the Ukrainian capital amid fears of a possible Russian missile attack sparked by an internet video.

“This is linked to a video that is being widely circulated by online media, in which a hostile attack on these medical facilities is predicted,” the authorities said on Friday.

The video suggests that military personnel are present in the hospitals, a claim Kiev authorities labelled “a total lie and provocation on the part of the enemy,” accusing of Russia of spreading a false pretext to justify a potential attack on the health facilities.

The patients are being transferred to other medical facilities. According to the statement, one of the affected hospitals is a children’s hospital in Obolon in northern Kiev.

More than two years after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly shelled civilian infrastructure, most notably the country’s energy supply, but hospitals have also been hit.

In other war-related news, Ukraine has received the bodies of 140 soldiers killed while trying to defend the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson from Russian attacks, the authority responsible for prisoner of war matters said on Telegram on Friday.

Five bodies were from the Sumy section in northern Ukraine. Russia has no Ukrainian territories under its control in this area, however at the beginning of March, units of allegedly Russian volunteers fighting on the side of Ukraine made advances from the Sumy region into Russian territory.

Once the identities of the dead have been established, they will be handed over to their relatives, the authority said. The authority, known as the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for arranging the return.

Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for over two years. Despite the ongoing fighting, both sides regularly exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers and prisoners of war. It is not yet known whether and how many dead soldiers Russia has received in return.

On the ground, Russian troops are advancing faster in the area following the capture of the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Friday in its daily intelligence update.

“Russian ground forces … have created a narrow salient further into Ukrainian territory to enter the town of Ocheretyne, located approximately 15km north of central Avdiivka,” the MoD wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Ocheretyne in the Donetsk region had a population of around 3,500 before the war began. Even after the capture of Avdiivka in mid-February, the area remains one of the most important for Russian operations, the MoD added.

“Despite sustaining continued high losses, it is highly likely that [Russian ground forces] are able to continuously target Ukrainian positions in the area and have taken control of several small settlements.” The British MoD regularly publishes information on the course of the war. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.

ALSO READ: GAZA CRISIS: Riyadh to Host Top Diplomats From Arab, Western Countries

Categories
-Top News EU News UK News

Kremlin says no conditions exist for talks between Russia, Ukraine

Lukashenko stated that the Istanbul agreements, produced in 2022, may serve as a starting point for negotiations on resolving the conflict in Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that no conditions exist for talks between Russia and Ukraine at this time, and Moscow’s military action continues in Kyiv, Russia-based TASS reported.

Speaking to reporters, Peskov said, “So far, at this moment, there are no premises for talks because everybody knows full well Ukraine’s stance on rejecting any kind of negotiations. So the special military operation continues.”

He stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stance is “well known.” Peskov further said, “The last time he mentioned it during a conversation with [Belarusian] President [Alexander] Lukashenko.”

Asked whether the draft of the Istanbul agreement may serve as the foundation for talks with Kyiv, Dmitry Peskov said that the “Russian stance is consistent,” according to TASS report.

On April 11, Putin and Lukashenko held talks in the Kremlin, where the former stated that Russia had never rejected a peaceful resolution of arguments and has always called for resolving the conflict this way, as per the TASS report. Lukashenko stated that the Istanbul agreements, produced in 2022, may serve as a starting point for negotiations on resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, a spokesman for the pro-Russian underground resistance said that the Burshtyn thermal power plant in the Ivano-Frankovsk Region in western Ukraine, was hit in Russia’s overnight strike, TASS reported.

The spokesperson said, “Explosions in the Ivano-Frankovsk Region were registered in the town of Burshtyn. The town accommodates the Burshtyn thermal power plant. According to preliminary information, precisely the power plant was hit.”

He said that five missiles struck Dnepropetrovsk, and strong blow with the subsequent detonation was reported in Krivoi Rog. Most of the missiles struck Stryi town in Lvov region, TASS reported.

As per the news report, Tripolskaya thermal power plant was destroyed in the strike conducted by Russia on April 11. On April 11, Russian Defence Minister said that Russian troops had carried out a strike on Ukrainian fuel and energy facilities in retaliation to Ukraine’s attempts to damage Russia’s oil and gas industry sites.

Earlier, Russia said that it will take necessary measures to ensure its security if Poland deploys nuclear weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said earlier on Monday that Poland is ready to host US nuclear weapons in the country, according to media reports. Peskov added the Russian military would analyse the situation if such an action were implemented.

“I think, in any case, they will take all the necessary response steps to guarantee our security.” Under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) nuclear sharing scheme, the US is authorised to station its nuclear armaments within the territories of member states that do not possess them.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in October 2023 that Russia would be forced to resort to “compensatory measures” in response to the US deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe.

ALSO READ: British troops may deliver Gaza aid

Categories
-Top News EU News

EU raids offices of Chinese security equipment maker

Nuctech told CNN that its offices in Poland and the Netherlands were being inspected. The company makes baggage security scanners for airports and other equipment…reports Asian Lite News

European Union officials have raided the offices of Chinese security equipment maker Nuctech as part of an investigation into subsidies, demonstrating growing tensions between the bloc and China.

The European Commission said it conducted “unannounced inspections” at the premises of security equipment maker in Europe which it suspects might have benefited unduly from state subsidies. However, it did not mention the name of the firm.

In a statement released on its website, the EU’s executive body said, “The commission has indications that the inspected company may have received foreign subsidies that could distort the (EU’s) internal market.”

On Wednesday, Nuctech told CNN that its offices in Poland and the Netherlands were being inspected. The company makes baggage security scanners for airports and other equipment.

Earlier in 2020, the US included Nuctech in the list of entities subject to stricter license requirements “for its involvement in activities that are contrary to the national security interests of the United States.”

In a statement, Nuctech said, “Nuctech is cooperating with the European Commission and is committed to defending its reputation of a fully independent and self-supporting economic operator.”

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU, whose members include Chinese state-owned and private firms, expressed its “strong dissatisfaction” about the raids. It further said that raids had been conducted “without prior notice and without solid evidence.”

China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said, “The European side manifested its intention to weaponize the Foreign Subsidies Regulation as a tool to suppress lawfully operating Chinese companies in Europe.”

Speaking to CNN, a European Commission spokesperson said that officials conduct unannounced inspections based on “substantiated indications” that the company in question might have received “distortive foreign subsidies benefitting its activities in the EU.”

The spokesperson further said, “An inspection is an investigative step which never pre-judges the outcome of the commission’s investigation.”

The raids carried out by the EU under its new powers against excessive foreign subsidies follow a probe launched by the bloc into China’s state support for its wind turbine firms and Chinese companies bidding for a solar farm contract in Romania.

The Foreign Subsidies Regulation came into effect in July 2023. The regulation is aimed to address market distortions caused by subsidies from foreign governments and ensuring that EU companies are competing on a level playing field.

The raids were conducted on the same day when the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that G7 developed economies was starting work to tackle imports that have been caused by “structural overproduction” elsewhere, “an overproduction that is achieved to a large extent by subsidies, massive subsidies,” CNN reported.

In a speech, Leyen said, “We have to be very vigilant that our producers are not at risk to be forced out of the market.” Although she did not mention China, however, there is growing evidence of tensions between China and its major trading partners, including the EU and the United States, relating to an oversupply of cheap Chinese goods in foreign markets.

In recent years, China’s global trade surplus in goods has increased and is now approaching USD 1 trillion, CNN reported. During her visit to China in March, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned of the risk to jobs and businesses in the US and elsewhere posed by overproduction of certain goods in China.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently on a visit to China, voiced concerns on Thursday about China’s trade policies and “non-market economic practices.” He expressed concerns about China’s trade policies during his meeting with Shanghai’s Party Secretary Chen Jining, according to a US government spokesperson. (ANI)

ALSO READ-EU Parliament set to vote on stricter limits for air pollutants

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Kazan BRICS summit will mark achievement of new heights, says Lavrov

Screengrab of official footage shows that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during an online press conference on June 6, 2022.(Xinhua/IANS)

On January 1, 2024, Russia took over the chairmanship of BRICS, an intergovernmental organization that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, plus four new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates…reports Asian Lite News

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday emphasised that the 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, will mark the achievement of new heights in the interaction between the BRICS countries.

“I think that the summit in Kazan this October will mark the achievement of new heights in the interaction between the BRICS countries,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.

He further spoke about what to expect from Russia’s chairmanship of the group.

Responding to how the enlargement of the association affected the concept of the Russian chairmanship this year, he said, “We entered 2024 with no historical experience of expanding unification. It wasn’t clear how the lapping process would go or what would come of it. But today, with a third of the chairmanship behind us, the engagement has gained full momentum and we are moving at an increasing pace towards success.”

On January 1, 2024, Russia took over the chairmanship of BRICS, an intergovernmental organization that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, plus four new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS as new full members, which is a strong indication of the growing authority of the association and its role in international affairs.

During the BRICS Chairmanship, the Russian side will continue its work in all three key areas, including, politics and security, economy and finance, and humanitarian cooperation.

“It is worth considering that there has been no example of an entity doubling its membership so far,” Lavrov added.

He further underscored that all the newcomers are showing great enthusiasm and are ready to work substantively and professionally on the agenda that the Russian Chairmanship has developed in consultation with all participants.

“The second thing, of course, for some of the recruits, was the volume and scope of the work that we are doing in BRICS, which was a bit of a surprise. It is not even so much the number of events, but rather the multi-level mechanism of interaction, formats in which new ideas and certain traditions are worked out, initiatives are introduced into the fabric of BRICS work, and they are implemented,” he added. (ANI)

ALSO READ-BRICS Surpassing G7 in GDP: Putin

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Russia vetoes UN resolution against arms race in space

The draft resolution received 13 out of 15 votes in the Security Council, the most powerful UN body in New York on Wednesday. China abstained….reports Asian Lite News

A UN resolution tabled by the US and Japan against an arms race in space has failed in the UN Security Council due to a veto by Russia.

The draft resolution received 13 out of 15 votes in the Security Council, the most powerful UN body in New York on Wednesday. China abstained.

The draft resolution called on all states, in particular those with major space capabilities, “to contribute actively to the objective of the peaceful use of outer space and of the prevention of an arms race in outer space and to refrain from actions contrary to that objective and to the relevant existing treaties in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international cooperation”.

In February, several major US media outlets had reported findings about Russia attempting to develop an anti-satellite nuclear weapon based in space which could pose a threat to national and international security.

The resolution also affirmed the obligation of all states that are party to it to fully comply with the Outer Space Treaty, “including not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner”.

It emphasized the grave consequences which could result from the detonation of a nuclear weapon or the use of any other kind of weapon of mass destruction in outer space.

Washington’s ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said such a detonation could destroy thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world “and wipe out the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial and national security services we all depend on”.

ALSO READ: Blinken calls for US, China to manage differences

Categories
-Top News EU News UK News

EU Parliament set to vote on stricter limits for air pollutants

Lawmakers backed the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD), proposed in 2022 by the European Commission, with 381 votes in favour and 225 against, during the last plenary session of this EU mandate…reports Asian Lite News

Law under negotiation between the co-legislators since 2022 hopes to deliver cleaner air across EU cities but still needs to be approved by the EU Council.

EU residents are set to benefit from cleaner air in the years to come after lawmakers in the European Parliament voted today (April 24) to introduce stricter standards to measure air pollutants and improved monitoring, revising the bloc’s clean air standards of 2008.

Lawmakers backed the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD), proposed in 2022 by the European Commission, with 381 votes in favour and 225 against, during the last plenary session of this EU mandate.

The new rules introduce a zero-pollution goal for 2050 and air quality standards for 2030 that are closer – but not in line with – World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. With the new law, the EU executive will be tasked to conduct a review every five years in order to fully align it with WHO standards.

Once adopted by the EU Council, the rules will set stricter 2030 limits and target values for pollutants with a severe impact on human health, including particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. EU countries can request a postponement to the 2030 deadline by up to ten years, if specific conditions are met — a condition introduced by the EU Council during the inter-institutional negotiations.

“These flexibilities can only be used with safeguards together with local authorities,” lawmaker Javi López (Spain/S&D), leading the file in Parliament, told reporters.

In case of non-compliance by EU countries, those affected by air pollution will be able to take legal action, and citizens may receive compensation if their health has been damaged, according to the law, which acknowledges air pollution currently impacts 300,000 premature deaths in Europe.

“We introduced standards and improved monitoring. We have a law about the enforcement but every member state and local or regional authority can decide the kind of policy mix they do to move on this direction,” said López.

López explained the law introduces a list of policies aligned with the goals of achieving cleaner air, including the electrification of vehicles, the expansion of bike lanes and low emission zones.

Anne Stauffer, deputy director at the NGO Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) welcomed MEPs’ commitment to cleaning up air for hundreds of millions of people across the EU.

“Now the confirmation of the AAQD package by member states should follow swiftly, so that we can all start profiting from the numerous health benefits the new law will bring, and to prevent further harm to health,” Stauffer said.

Xavier Brenez, CEO of the Belgian Independent Health Insurance Funds said reaching the WHO standards for particle pollution would save €43m in healthcare costs annually from saved general practitioners visits alone.

The law backed in the Parliament today still needs to be formally adopted by the EU Council before entering into force.

ALSO READ-Council of Europe slams UK asylum pact with Rwanda

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Iran Denounces ‘Planned’ EU Sanctions as ‘Unlawful

Foreign Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.(photo:Twitter)

The foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states instructed EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell to submit concrete proposals for sanctions…reports Asian Lite News

Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian has condemned “planned” sanctions against his country over the major drone and missile attack on Israel earlier this month as “unlawful” and “regrettable.”

Iran had exercised its right to self-defence with the attack, Amirabdollahian wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. He called for sanctions to be imposed against Israel.

At a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, the foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states instructed EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell to submit concrete proposals for sanctions.

These should make it possible to impose further trade restrictions on Iran in order to make it more difficult for the country to build and develop drones and missiles.

There are also plans to impose sanctions on individuals, organisations and companies involved in the production of drones and missiles and their delivery to Iran’s allies in the Middle East.

The moves are in response to Iran’s unprecedented direct missile attack on Israel 10 days ago. It followed a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus at the beginning of the month.

In the latter incident, two generals and five other members of the powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were among those killed.

Israel carried out a retaliatory strike in the province of Isfahan on Friday, reportedly hitting an air base.

ALSO READ: EU ministers discuss Ukraine support and Iran sanctions

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

EU ministers discuss Ukraine support and Iran sanctions

A new package of sanctions on Russia for attacking Ukraine are also to be discussed…reports Asian Lite News

EU foreign and defence ministers are in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss support for Ukraine – following US lawmakers’ approval of a nearly $61 billion aid package – as well as sanctions against Iran for its attack on Israel and its arming of Russia.

Latvia’s new foreign minister, Baiba Braze, said it was important that EU countries don’t become complacent now that the US has passed its long-delayed aid package.

“We have to step up. It’s a crucial time,” she said. “If Europe has the ambition to manage conflict on its continent, this is the time to show them.”

Ukraine has been pleading with allies to send more ammunition and weaponry, especially air defence systems, with the front-line under heavy Russian military pressure.

“We dodged a historic bullet,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, referring to the US aid package. “But unfortunately, many more bullets are on the way,” he said. “There can be no calming down, no stopping of assistance, and we have to continue to speak how we’re going to assist Ukraine further still.”

A new package of sanctions on Russia for attacking Ukraine are also to be discussed.

The other main item on the agenda is new punitive measures on Iran for attacking Israel. Iran has helped to arm Russia’s war, Landsbergis noted.

The sanctions are linked to a regime set up for targeting supporters of the Russian invasion. Iran has supplied Russia with drones. Monday’s sanctions discussion is “mostly about spare parts for drones that are still not under sanction, and ballistic missiles,” Landsbergis said.

EU ministers will also discuss listing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group. Designating the branch of the Iranian armed forces as a terrorist organization is challenging.

The IRGC would first have to be prosecuted by a national authority for terrorist activities under EU law to prompt this sanction.

A recent court ruling in Dusseldorf, Germany, concerning the activities of the IRGC, is being examined by EU officials. This could open the way to a terrorist designation for the IRGC.

“How many fronts does Iran need to open for us to get serious about sanctioning them?” Landsbergis asked, noting the Islamist regime’s involvement in Ukraine and its attack on Israel.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he has discussed the allocation of a new aid package for Ukraine in a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden.

Zelensky added on Monday on Telegram that Biden assured him that he would sign the bill envisaging allocating military aid to Ukraine as soon as it is approved by the US Senate.

The defence package is expected to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence as well as long-range and artillery capabilities, the Ukrainian President said.

Zelensky added that he also discussed with Biden the work on a bilateral security agreement and the preparations for the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland slated for mid-June.

On Saturday, the US House of Representatives approved the new aid package for Kiev worth about $61 billion.

According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the package includes $49.9 billion for military assistance. To come into force, the bill on embarking the aid for Ukraine has to be approved by the US Senate and signed by Biden.

ALSO READ-Ministers urge EU to ‘deepen’ ties to tackle migration roots

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Ministers urge EU to ‘deepen’ ties to tackle migration roots

Ministers of interior and migration from the MED5 nations — Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, and Spain — discussed the new migration and asylum pact adopted by the EU Parliament on April 11.

Ministers from five Mediterranean nations have urged the EU to “deepen” bilateral agreements with migrant countries of origin and increase funding to tackle the root causes of migration.

During the Gran Canaria Island meeting, ministers of interior and migration from the MED5 nations — Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, and Spain — discussed the new migration and asylum pact adopted by the EU Parliament on April 11.

Years in the making, the deal involves a sweeping reform of the bloc’s asylum policies that will harden border procedures while forcing all 27 nations to share responsibility for migrant arrivals.

The reform was spurred by the massive influx of migrants in 2015, with its provisions taking effect in 2026. Hailing the pact as “historic,” Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said there was “still a long way to go” and that the solution lay in “prevention” and addressing the root causes of migration “at its source.”

“The key to migration management lies in bilateral cooperation,” he told a news conference, urging the European Commission “to deepen and broaden partnerships and agreements with third countries” to stem flows of irregular migrants.

“But we believe there is room for improvement, and the commitment should also focus on increasing European funds and flexible financing tools destined for such cooperation,” he said.

Under current EU rules, the arrival country bears responsibility for hosting and vetting asylum-seekers and returning those deemed inadmissible, which has put southern frontline states under huge pressure, fueling far-right opposition.

The new EU pact, which includes building border centers to hold asylum-seekers and sending some to outside “safe” countries, has been denounced by migrant charities and NGOs, with Amnesty International warning it would “lead to greater human suffering.”

In February, the UK Home Office has said that a record 290 people arrived in small boats in a single day, thus taking the migrant Channel crossings in the country to more than 2000 so far this year.

This is the highest single-day number recorded on February 25 after 358 people were recorded on January 17, The Evening Standard reported on Tuesday.

According to the figures published Monday, the migrants crossed in five boats with an estimated 58 people per boat.

Beginning this year, a union of Border Force officials in the UK warned that the number of people arriving in small boats is expected to rise again this year.

Last year, 29,437 migrants made the crossing, compared to 45,774 in 2022, according to figures from the UK Home Office, but the number was the second-highest since 2018 — about 1,000 above the total in 2021.

Migrants coming in small boats has been a major political issue in the UK with more than 45,000 migrants crossing the English Channel in that manner to reach the UK in 2022.

Ever since then, “stopping the boats” has been one of the top priorities of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government with the leader admitting that it is “not easy” to fix the problem overnight.

The government has also tried to send migrants to Rwanda following an agreement with the African country.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said last week that the country’s moves to facilitate the removal of asylum-seekers to Rwanda run contrary to the basic principles of the rule of law and risk delivering a serious blow to human rights.