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“Hundreds” of migrants have so far been returned to Albania under the government’s “gold-standard” deal with the country, says immigration minister Robert Jenrick.

That’s despite more than 12,000 Albanian people crossing the Channel on small boats last year, according to official figures.

Speaking to Sky’s Sophy Ridge, Mr Jenrick initially said “thousands” of illegal migrants were being returned to Albania, before clarifying that “hundreds” had been placed on the flights agreed in December last year.

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He said it was still “early days” and that “spurious last minute claims” had held up deportations – but admitted many others were currently in hotels or had absconded.

Mr Jenrick was asked “How many people who’ve arrived on small boats have been returned to Albania?” – to which he replied that “thousands of Albanians are returning to Albania”.

He was then pushed by Sophy on whether this figure included criminals as well, rather than just those who arrived across the Channel.

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The Home Office minister clarified: “Well, there are hundreds of Albanians who’ve arrived who have been placed on those flights.”

The government announced in April that “over 1,000” Albanian nationals have been returned since December – but this included “failed asylum seekers, foreign national offenders and voluntary returns”.

Mr Jenrick earlier described the deal as a “gold-standard” agreement which is seeing “thousands of Albanian illegal migrants returned home and the numbers crossing from that country significantly reducing”.

In December last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, agreed to “enhance cooperation” in three areas – “security issues and home affairs (with the main focus on the fight against organised crime and illegal immigration); economic growth and investment; innovation, youth and education”.

Top nationalities arriving via small boats, as a percentage (%) of total small boat arrivals 2018 to 2022. Pic: Home Office
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Top nationalities arriving via small boats, as a percentage (%) of total small boat arrivals 2018 to 2022. Pic: Home Office

This included setting up a “joint migration task force” between the two countries to “manage illegal migration of Albanian citizens to the UK”.

Mr Rama told Sky News earlier this year that Downing Street showed “important signs of regret and embarrassment” following the language used by ministers like Home Secretary Suella Braverman when it came to migrants – after she spoke of an “invasion” of asylum seekers.

Mr Jenrick has also said previously that Albanians should be “excluded” from the “right to claim asylum“.

Mr Sunak has made “stop the boats” one of his five pledges to the British people this year.

And Mr Jenrick claimed that a “landmark” deal agreed with France has seen a “big increase in the number of interceptions” of small boats – with 33,000 migrants prevented from crossing.

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ICC prosecutor calls for arrest of Taliban duo over ‘persecution’ of women

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ICC prosecutor calls for arrest of Taliban duo over 'persecution' of women

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has told Sky News he is seeking the arrest of two senior Taliban figures over the “systemic and deliberate” persecution of women in Afghanistan.

Karim Khan KC, speaking on Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim, said the pair bore “criminal responsibility” over the treatment of women and girls in the country.

It comes after the ICC announced earlier on Thursday it had filed two applications for warrants for the arrest of Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Afghanistan‘s chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.

Mr Khan said: “The charges are gender persecution. It’s the systemic, we say, organised, deliberate, malicious suffocation of women, the targeting of girls and women, the denial of their rights to education, access to any public spaces, the inability to go to beauty salons, the inability to walk in the park, the inability really to have hope.

“And this isn’t something doctrinal. This has crossed every threshold and we say clearly is criminal. And that’s what we presented to the judges of the International Criminal Court to consider.”

The prosecutor said the evidence was “overwhelming” and that the charges amounted to the “crime against humanity of gender persecution”.

Human rights groups have heavily criticised Taliban leaders since they took back control of Afghanistan in 2021.

Under their leadership, women have faced a string of restrictions over their daily lives, including over work, education and freedom of movement.

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Mr Khan added: “This isn’t some acceptable choice from a menu of options that states can choose from. This isn’t about religious autonomy of doctrinal beliefs of Christianity or Islam or Buddhism or anything else for that matter.

“This has crossed every threshold in which women can either be seen or heard. Women can’t go to university. Girls don’t have an opportunity to go to school”.

There is no deadline for judges to rule on a request for a warrant, but a decision typically takes around four months.

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California wildfires: More than 30,000 flee as fire erupts north of Los Angeles

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California wildfires: More than 30,000 flee as fire erupts north of Los Angeles

More than 30,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes north of Los Angeles after a new wildfire broke out in California.

The latest blaze – dubbed the Hughes Fire – started late on Wednesday morning near Lake Castaic, around 40 miles from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires that devastated parts of LA earlier this month.

Within hours, the blaze had burned across more than 10,000 acres (41sq km), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. They added that the fire is at 14% containment.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Los Angeles County officials said in a news conference that more than 31,000 people – greater than the entire population of Castaic – were told to leave over warnings of “immediate threat to life”.

Another 23,000 people are in zones under evacuation warnings.

Planes were seen making runs over the mountains to drop water and fire suppressants.

A plane dropping water on the Hughes fire

As California continues to reel from a month of wildfires, President Donald Trump said the government should not provide aid to help rebuild until authorities use water from the northern part of the state.

In a Fox News interview, he repeated false claims that the state’s fish conservation efforts there are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas.

The president has accused Governor Gavin Newsom of refusing to redirect water from northern California as it protects the Delta smelt – an endangered species of fish. Mr Newsom has denied the claim

“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,” he said.

‘Driving into hell’

Helicopters have also reportedly scooped water out of the lake to drop on the latest fire to stop it from approaching Interstate 5, where a 30-mile stretch of the Mexico-to-Canada highway had already been closed.

Speaking to NBC4, a local affiliate of Sky’s US partner network NBC News, one witness said scenes from the nearby 5 Freeway “looked like you were driving into hell”.

“There was red fire coming up from below,” she told the broadcaster. “It was pretty terrifying… It looks like a smoke bomb went off.”

Read more:
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Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Smoke from the fire caused “worsening air quality” forcing Ventura College to close, while Los Angeles Zoo shut its doors over “Red Flag” weather conditions.

It comes as the National Weather Service (NWS) branch in Los Angeles said areas around the city – including Oxnard and Burbank – are under critical fire conditions until 8pm on Thursday (4am on Friday in the UK).

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

High winds to continue

Low humidity and high winds have been driving the spread of the fires across southern California, which has not seen significant rainfall for nine months.

The continuing gusts have left officials concerned that the Palisades and Eaton fires could break their containment lines. At least 28 people are believed to have died since the blazes began on 7 January.

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According to Cal Fire, the Palisades fire, which started as a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades, has destroyed thousands of homes and burned more than 23,000 acres. It is currently at 70% containment.

The Eaton fire broke out just hours later, and spread to 14,021 acres and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and businesses. It’s currently at 95% containment.

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Sealed with a kiss: Same sex couples in Thailand celebrate equal marriage rights

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Sealed with a kiss: Same sex couples in Thailand celebrate equal marriage rights

Hundreds of same-sex couples have been tying the knot in Thailand today as it becomes by far the largest nation in Asia to allow equal marriage and the first in South East Asia.

A mass LGBTQ wedding at a shopping mall in Bangkok saw hundreds of marriage registrations as the law came into effect. It marked the culmination of years of campaigning and thwarted attempts to pass equal marriage laws.

Porsch Apiwatsayree and Arm Panatkool have been together for 17 years, but first got engaged 11 years ago.

“Personally, I think it marks the beginning of equality in Thailand and it also, in a way, inspired people to see that love is normal,”Porsch said, holding his hand on his heart. “Every love is the same, every love is the same inside.”

Couples wait for their marriage certificates. Pic: AP
Image:
Couples wait for their marriage certificates. Pic: AP

Thailand’s same-sex marriage bill was passed in an historic parliamentary vote last June, making Thailand the third country in Asia to do so after Taiwan and Nepal.

Thailand ranks highly on global assessments of LGBTQ legal conditions and public attitudes. It’s very different from many of its neighbours where most nations oppose gay rights. Opinion polls have also shown overwhelming public support for equal marriage.

But the kingdom remains a conservative Buddhist society with a largely patriarchal family structure.

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Pisit Sirihirunchai, left, and Chanatip Sirihirunchai show their marriage certificates. Pic AP
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Pisit Sirihirunchai, left, and Chanatip Sirihirunchai show their marriage certificates. Pic AP

‘Love is just love’

Porsch and Arm still believe it has some way to go to ensure tolerance translates to full acceptance.

“We have to wait and see because even the law has approved that love is the same. We need more and more acceptance,” Porsch said.

Porsch Apiwatsayree and Arm Panatkool were joined at the ceremony by their families and friends
Image:
The couple were joined at the ceremony by their families and friends

His own wedding to Arm was celebrated in the grounds of a luxurious new shopping centre. The families of both grooms played a huge part in the ceremony, lining up to face each other in a humorous and moving Thai custom of call and response between each party.

“What I feel now is the closeness between people and families,” said Porsch.

“Love is just love,” Arm added, with a beaming smile.

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