Migrants walk in the water trying to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. Five migrants, including a seven-year-old girl, died on April 23, 2024, trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, local authorities said, just hours after Britain passed a controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
Migrants walk in the water trying to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. Five migrants, including a seven-year-old girl, died on April 23, 2024, trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, local authorities said, just hours after Britain passed a controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
Migrants walk in the water trying to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. Five migrants, including a seven-year-old girl, died on April 23, 2024, trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, local authorities said, just hours after Britain passed a controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
Migrants walk in the water trying to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. Five migrants, inc

Labour set to give 100,000 'in limbo' migrants the chance to claim asylum in UK


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Labour will allow more than 100,000 asylum seekers the chance to seek permission to stay in the UK if the party wins the upcoming general election.

Migrants who arrive in the UK illegally, such as those crossing the English Channel in small boats, are currently blocked from applying for asylum, which Labour says would change under a government led by Keir Starmer.

The Refugee Council said 93,931 people are stuck in limbo in the UK, with their asylum claims declared permanently inadmissible. The number is expected to rise to more than 115,000 by the end of the year.

Labour has said they will all be entitled to apply for asylum if the party wins power.

The party has indicated it would axe the current Conservative government’s scheme to send migrants who arrive in the UK illegally to Rwanda, branding the plan a “gimmick”.

However, Labour has not ruled out allowing flights that were arranged under Rishi Sunak's government to go ahead.

It also said it would “in principle” continue to pay the costs of any migrants who had already been sent to Rwanda.

A Labour spokesman told lobby reporters in the House of Commons: “The most important thing is that we speed up the way in which claims are being processed, the way in which we then have returns agreements in place and deal with the backlog that there is.

“The thing that is unsustainable at the moment is the amount of the backlog that there is within the system.”

Earlier this week, the first person was sent to Rwanda under the UK's new voluntary scheme, which offers failed asylum seekers money to relocate abroad.

That came as officials began an operation to detain migrants earmarked for the first flights to Rwanda under the government’s flagship deportation plan.

“The first illegal migrants set to be removed to Rwanda have now been detained,” said the Home Office.

Calling it “another major milestone”, the ministry released photographs and a video of immigration enforcement officers detaining several migrants, who were seen being led away in handcuffs and put into secure vehicles.

Migrants attempt to cross the Channel from France – in pictures

  • A Sudanese migrant on the beach at Gravelines, near Dunkirk, after leaving a smuggler's boat which was punctured with a knife by French police officers to prevent an attempt to cross the English Channel. All Photos: AFP
    A Sudanese migrant on the beach at Gravelines, near Dunkirk, after leaving a smuggler's boat which was punctured with a knife by French police officers to prevent an attempt to cross the English Channel. All Photos: AFP
  • French National Police launch tear gas from a vehicle to disperse migrants on the beach of Gravelines.
    French National Police launch tear gas from a vehicle to disperse migrants on the beach of Gravelines.
  • A migrant comforts another person who collapsed after failing to board a smuggler's boat.
    A migrant comforts another person who collapsed after failing to board a smuggler's boat.
  • Migrants walk through the water to try to board a people smuggler's boat and cross the English Channel, at Gravelines, near Dunkirk, in northern France. AFP
    Migrants walk through the water to try to board a people smuggler's boat and cross the English Channel, at Gravelines, near Dunkirk, in northern France. AFP
  • A Sudanese migrant is helped to the shore by others after failing to board a smuggler's boat.
    A Sudanese migrant is helped to the shore by others after failing to board a smuggler's boat.
  • Migrants walk into the sea.
    Migrants walk into the sea.
  • French National Police officers confiscate a dinghy.
    French National Police officers confiscate a dinghy.

The government expects to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year, after the Home Office said Kigali had “in principle” agreed to accept that number.

Of those, 2,143 “can be located for detention” before being flown to the African country, the ministry said, leaving more than 3,500 currently accounted for.

Ministers have insisted the enforcement teams will find them.

The Home Office has increased capacity to more than 2,200 detention spaces, trained 200 new caseworkers to process claims and has 500 highly trained escorts ready for the start of removals to Rwanda. Commercial charters have also been booked and an airport has been put on standby.

The Conservatives, widely expected to suffer a drubbing in the general election, hope the Rwanda expulsions plan will help them claw back some ground in the polls.

Mr Sunak made “stopping the boats” one of his five pledges to the public, with the asylum seeker's removal this week seen as a signal to voters that the government's wider migration agenda can be made to work.

About 711 people were recorded crossing the English Channel on Wednesday, the highest number on a single day so far this year, according to provisional figures from the Home Office.

The cumulative number of arrivals in small boats in 2024 now stands at a provisional total of 8,278.

This is 34 per cent higher than the total at the same point last year, which was 6,192, and 19 per cent higher than the total at this stage in 2022, which was 6,945.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

info-box

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Happy Tenant

Started: January 2019

Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana

Based: Dubai

Sector: Technology, real-estate

Initial investment: Dh2.5 million

Investors: Self-funded

Total customers: 4,000

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Asia Qualifier

Fixtures
Friday, April 12, Malaysia v UAE
Saturday, April 13, UAE v Nepal
Monday, April 15, UAE v Kuwait
Tuesday, April 16, UAE v Singapore
Thursday, April 18, UAE v Oman

UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Aaron Benjamin, Akasha Mohammed, Alishan Sharafu, Anand Kumar, Ansh Tandon, Ashwanth Valthapa, Karthik Meiyappan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Rishab Mukherjee, Niel Lobo, Osama Hassan, Vritya Aravind, Wasi Shah

Jewel of the Expo 2020

252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome

13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas

550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome

724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses

Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa

Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site

The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants

Al Wasl means connection in Arabic

World’s largest 360-degree projection surface

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

World Cricket League Division 2

In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.

UAE fixtures

Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final

Gulf Under 19s final

Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

Company profile

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Carzaty%2C%20now%20Kavak%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20launched%20in%202018%2C%20Kavak%20in%20the%20GCC%20launched%20in%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20140%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Automotive%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20raised%20%246m%20in%20equity%20and%20%244m%20in%20debt%3B%20Kavak%20plans%20%24130m%20investment%20in%20the%20GCC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Turkish Ladies

Various artists, Sony Music Turkey 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bedu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaled%20Al%20Huraimel%2C%20Matti%20Zinder%2C%20Amin%20Al%20Zarouni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%2C%20metaverse%2C%20Web3%20and%20blockchain%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Currently%20in%20pre-seed%20round%20to%20raise%20%245%20million%20to%20%247%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Privately%20funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

Company profile

Name: Steppi

Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic

Launched: February 2020

Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year

Employees: Five

Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings

Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year

Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETuhoon%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EYear%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFares%20Ghandour%2C%20Dr%20Naif%20Almutawa%2C%20Aymane%20Sennoussi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ehealth%20care%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E15%20employees%2C%20%24250%2C000%20in%20revenue%0D%3Cbr%3EI%3Cstrong%3Envestment%20stage%3A%20s%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWamda%20Capital%2C%20Nuwa%20Capital%2C%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: May 02, 2024, 1:06 PM