Ƶ

UK leader Starmer tells Interpol he will treat people-smuggling gangs like terrorists

UK leader Starmer tells Interpol he will treat people-smuggling gangs like terrorists
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during an interview outside 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 15, 2024. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 04 November 2024

UK leader Starmer tells Interpol he will treat people-smuggling gangs like terrorists

UK leader Starmer tells Interpol he will treat people-smuggling gangs like terrorists
  • Starmer plans to increase the UK Border Security Command’s two-year budget from 75 million pounds ($97 million) to 150 million pounds ($194 million)

LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he will double funding for Britain’s border security agency and treat people-smuggling gangs like terror networks in an attempt to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
In a speech Monday to a meeting of the international police organization Interpol, Starmer will say the gangs behind irregular migration are a serious threat to global security.
Arguing that “the world needs to wake up to the severity of this challenge,” Starmer will say that “we’re taking our approach to counterterrorism, which we know works, and applying it to the gangs,” according to extracts released by his office.
He’ll call for more cooperation between law-enforcement agencies, closer coordination with other countries and unspecified “enhanced” powers for law-enforcement.
Starmer plans to increase the UK Border Security Command’s two-year budget from 75 million pounds ($97 million) to 150 million pounds ($194 million). The money will be used to fund high-tech surveillance equipment and 100 specialist investigators.
Like previous Conservative British governments, Starmer’s Labour Party administration is struggling to stop thousands of people fleeing war and poverty from trying reach the UK from France in flimsy, overcrowded boats.
More than 31,000 migrants have made the perilous crossing of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes so far this year, more than in all of 2023, though fewer than in 2022. At least 56 people have perished in the attempts this year, according to French officials, making 2024 the deadliest since the number of channel crossings began surging in 2018.
Starmer leads a center-left government, and has raised some eyebrows in September when he visited Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and praised her nationalist conservative government’s “remarkable” progress in reducing the number of migrants reaching Italy’s shores by boat.
Starmer will argue on Monday that “there’s nothing progressive about turning a blind eye as men, women and children die in the channel.”
The opposition Conservative Party argues that Starmer should not have scrapped the previous government’s plan to send some asylum-seekers who reach Britain by boat on one-way trips to Rwanda. Supporters of the proposal say it would act as a deterrent. Human rights groups and many lawyers say it is unethical and unlawful to send migrants thousands of miles to a country they don’t want to live in.
Starmer called the plan a “gimmick” and canceled it soon after he was elected in July. Britain paid Rwanda hundreds of millions of pounds for the plan under a deal signed by the two countries in 2022, without any deportations taking place.
Senior police and government officials from the 196 Interpol member states are attending the global police body’s four-day congress in Glasgow, Scotland.
On Tuesday, Brazilian police official Valdecy Urquiza is expected to be named the new general secretary of the Lyon, France-based organization, replacing Jürgen Stock of Germany.


Russia favors new round of peace talks with Ukraine, highlights gulf between them

Russia favors new round of peace talks with Ukraine, highlights gulf between them
Updated 18 sec ago

Russia favors new round of peace talks with Ukraine, highlights gulf between them

Russia favors new round of peace talks with Ukraine, highlights gulf between them
  • Kyiv has sent Moscow an offer to hold another round of peace talks this week
  • Ukraine and Russia have held two rounds of talks in Istanbul, on May 16 and June 2
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Monday that Moscow was in favor of a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine but the two sides’ positions were diametrically opposed so there was a lot of diplomatic work to be done.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kyiv has sent Moscow an offer to hold another round of peace talks this week, and that he wants to speed up negotiations for a ceasefire.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that as soon as there was a definitive understanding of the date for the next round of talks then Moscow would announce it.
“There is our draft memorandum, there is a draft memorandum that has been handed over by the Ukrainian side. There is to be an exchange of views and talks on these two drafts, which are diametrically opposed so far,” Peskov said.
Ukraine and Russia have held two rounds of talks in Istanbul, on May 16 and June 2, that led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers. But the two sides have made no breakthrough toward a ceasefire or a settlement to end almost three and a half years of war.

Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashes into school in Dhaka, killing at least 1

Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashes into school in Dhaka, killing at least 1
Updated 9 min 9 sec ago

Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashes into school in Dhaka, killing at least 1

Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashes into school in Dhaka, killing at least 1
  • Children were present at the Milestone School and College at the time of the crash Monday afternoon, according to the military and a fire official
  • At least one person died and four others were injured in the incident

DHAKA: A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed onto a school campus in northern Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 1 person and injuring others, according to the military and a fire official.
The aircraft crashed onto the campus of Milestone School and College, in Dhaka’s Uttara neighborhood, where students were taking tests or attending regular classes. Television footage showed fire and smoke billowing from the site of the crash.
Jamuna TV reported that at least 13 people, including students, were injured. Bengali-language Prothom Alo daily said most of the injured were students with burn injuries, with at least 20 people taken to a hospital.
Parents and relatives panicked at the scene as rescuers, using tri-cycle rickshaws or whatever was available, transported the injured.
Rafiqa Taha, a student at the school who was not present at the time of the crash, told The Associated Press by phone that Milestone School and College, with some 2,000 students, runs classes from elementary to twelfth grade. On Monday, she said, some students were taking tests while others attended regular classes.
“I was terrified watching videos on TV,” said the 16-year-old student. “My God! It’s my school.”
The Bangladesh Army’s public relations office confirmed in a brief statement that the downed F-7 BGI aircraft belonged to the Air Force. Fire official Lima Khanam stated by phone that at least one person died and four others were injured, though she did not provide further details.


Russia launches drones, missiles at Ukraine, kills one in Kyiv

Russia launches drones, missiles at Ukraine, kills one in Kyiv
Updated 45 min 35 sec ago

Russia launches drones, missiles at Ukraine, kills one in Kyiv

Russia launches drones, missiles at Ukraine, kills one in Kyiv
  • Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said rescuers and medics were working on sites across four districts of the capital

KYIV: Russia launched a fresh wave of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine in an overnight attack on Monday, killing one person, wounding seven others and causing multiple fires in Kyiv, city officials said.

Explosions lit up the night sky as the high-pitched whine of drone engines echoed off the walls of the capital’s high-rise buildings.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said rescuers and medics were working on sites across four districts of the capital. A subway station in central Kyiv, commercial property, shops, houses and a kindergarten were damaged, city officials said.

Ukraine’s air force said that Russia launched 426 drones and 24 missiles overnight across the country, but that only 23 drones hit their targets.

In another tense and sleepless night for Kyiv residents, many rushed to take shelter in underground stations. Explosions were heard across the city as air defense units engaged in repelling the attack.

At the scene of a strike, dazed residents stood amid shattered glass and scorched walls, surveying the damage after a drone hit the lower floors of an apartment building.

In the region of Ivano-Frankivsk, several hundred kilometers west of Kyiv, four people including a child were injured in the overnight attack, according to the state emergencies service.

The mayor of that region’s eponymous capital said the attack was the largest on his city since the start of the war in 2022.

Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, said Russia had hit it with 12 strikes overnight. He said a civilian industrial facility had caught fire and windows had been blown out in an apartment building.


Torrential rain leaves at least 18 dead in South Korea, trail of devastation

Torrential rain leaves at least 18 dead in South Korea, trail of devastation
Updated 7 min 36 sec ago

Torrential rain leaves at least 18 dead in South Korea, trail of devastation

Torrential rain leaves at least 18 dead in South Korea, trail of devastation
  • Nine people remained missing as of Sunday evening, the ministry said, with residents of the worst-hit areas in shock.

SEOUL: Severe wet weather in South Korea eased on Monday following days of torrential rain that triggered floods and landslides and left at least 18 people dead, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Monday.
Nine people remained missing as of Sunday evening, the ministry said, with residents of the worst-hit areas in shock.
At Gapyeong, some 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) northeast of the capital Seoul, some residents recalled narrow escapes from the floods after 173 millimeters (6.8 inches) of rain deluged the area over just 17 hours on Sunday.
Gapyeong was among a number of places that saw a record amount of rain in a single day and broke the previous high for national daily precipitation of 156.3 mm that was set on September 30, 1998.
“The ground just sank beneath me, and the water rose all the way up to my neck. Luckily, there was an iron pipe nearby. I held on to it with all my strength,” said Ahn Gyeong-bun, the owner of a restaurant that was almost completely destroyed.
Two people died and four were missing after a landslide engulfed homes around Gapyeong and floods swept away vehicles as of Sunday, the ministry said.
For those remaining like Ahn, an uncertain future awaits.
“I’ve run this restaurant for 10 years ... What am I supposed to do now?” said Ahn, as she stood next to the badly damaged structure of her building perched next to a still swollen river.
At times breaking down in tears, the 65-year-old said several of the restaurant’s refrigerators were washed away by the flood.
Across South Korea, rain damage had been reported to 1,999 public structures and 2,238 private facilities, including farms, the interior ministry said.
While the rain has eased, the national weather agency has now issued a nationwide heatwave watch.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ordered a thorough response to the disaster, his office said.
“As local heavy rains have become commonplace, customised measures based on regional characteristics are urgently needed,” said Kang Yu-jung, the spokesperson for Lee’s office.
“If serious laxity or mistakes are found in civil servants’ discipline, we will hold them accountable and thorough measures will be taken to prevent a recurrence.”
Lee, who took office in June, has promised to make the country safer and to prevent any repeat of the disasters in recent years that have often been blamed on the inadequate response by authorities.


Sri Lanka Catholics seek prosecution of sacked spy chief

Sri Lanka Catholics seek prosecution of sacked spy chief
Updated 21 July 2025

Sri Lanka Catholics seek prosecution of sacked spy chief

Sri Lanka Catholics seek prosecution of sacked spy chief
  • Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church on Monday demanded the criminal prosecution of the intelligence chief who was sacked for failing to prevent the 2019 Easter bombings that killed 279 people

AFP: Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church on Monday demanded the criminal prosecution of the intelligence chief who was sacked for failing to prevent the 2019 Easter bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners.
Church spokesman Cyril Gamini Fernando said they welcomed the dismissal days ago of Nilantha Jayawardena, who was head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) when jihadist suicide bombers attacked three churches and three hotels.
“This (sacking) is for the negligence part of it, but we want the authorities to investigate Jayawardena’s role in the attack itself,” Fernando told reporters in Colombo. “We want a criminal prosecution.”
He said evidence presented before several courts and commissions of inquiry indicated that the SIS, under Jayawardena, had attempted to cover up the actions of the jihadists in the lead-up to the April 21 attacks.
“Six years on, we are still looking for answers. We want to know the truth about who was behind the attack,” he said.
Jayawardena, 52, was dismissed Saturday from the police department, where he was the second most senior officer in charge of administration and on track to become the next inspector-general.
Court proceedings have revealed that both military and police intelligence units were closely linked to the home-grown jihadists, and some had even been on the payroll of the intelligence services.
The current ruling party, led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, had while in opposition accused Gotabaya Rajapaksa of orchestrating the attacks to win the 2019 presidential election.
The once powerful Rajapaksa family has denied the allegations.
The attacks occurred despite a warning from an intelligence agency in neighboring India, which alerted Jayawardena 17 days before the devastating bombings.
He was found guilty of ignoring a series of alerts. More than 500 people were also wounded in the bombings, Sri Lanka’s worst jihadist attack on civilians.
Jayawardena was removed from his position as SIS chief in December 2019 but was later promoted to deputy head of the police force, overseeing administration.
However, he was placed on compulsory leave a year ago, pending the disciplinary inquiry, following repeated judicial orders to take action against him.