A migrant stands on a hill at an abandoned army outpost near Ieropigi village, northern Greece, at the Greek - Albanian border.
A migrant stands on a hill at an abandoned army outpost near Ieropigi village, northern Greece, at the Greek - Albanian border.
A migrant stands on a hill at an abandoned army outpost near Ieropigi village, northern Greece, at the Greek - Albanian border.
A migrant stands on a hill at an abandoned army outpost near Ieropigi village, northern Greece, at the Greek - Albanian border.

UK offshore migrant plans in disarray after Albania denies involvement


Thomas Harding
  • English
  • Arabic

Britain’s plans to send illegal immigrants for processing in a third country were in doubt on Monday after the Albanian government angrily denied it would be used as a base.

Reports at the weekend suggested that Albania had agreed to host an offshore detention centre for illegal immigrants who cross the English Channel in small boats from France.

Under the plan, people picked up off the English coast would have been flown 2,400 kilometres to the Balkan country while their claims were processed.

Talks between London and officials in Tirana had been finalised to fix Albania as an offshore hub after other venues have been ruled out, The Sun newspaper first reported, with British Home Secretary Priti Patel fully behind the plan.

But Albania’s foreign minister strenuously denied any such agreement. “So embarrassing the fake news spreading in the British media about an ‘offshore hub in the Balkans’ namely in Albania to ‘detain migrants crossing Channel from France’,” Olta Xhacka said on Twitter.

She also went on to condemn the British policy, saying Albania would “never be a hub of anti-immigration policies of bigger and richer countries.”

Ms Xhacka said she had told the Albanian embassy in London to demand a retraction of the story.

Illegal immigrants on the French coast, heading for the UK. AFP
Illegal immigrants on the French coast, heading for the UK. AFP

Albania’s director of communications also issued a strong denial, condemning the story as “completely untrue”.

“We do our duty to the tradition of our children, not the duty of those who are greater and richer than we are,” Endri Fuga said on Twitter.

He added that Albania was “proud” to host 4,000 Afghan refugees who had fled the Taliban.

Albania has also become part of a route for migrants from north Africa and the Middle East heading to Europe via Greece.

Migrants or refugees who don’t want to stay in Greece have several options, all illegal: To stow away on a ferry — or buy a berth on a smuggling boat — for Italy; use fake papers to catch a flight out; or walk through Bulgaria, North Macedonia or Albania.

And with Bulgaria being seen as too dangerous, and North Macedonia increasingly well guarded, large numbers are opting for Albania, even though its patrols are strengthened by officers from the European Union’s Frontex border agency. Police data show Albania has seen a rise in arrests for illegal entry this year, while North Macedonia — outside which 10,000 people had camped five years ago waiting to sneak in — reports a decline.

Albanian interior ministry spokesman Ardian Bita said last week his country is “doing its utmost to fight the organised crime” groups that help traffic migrants, and has arrested “a considerable number” of smugglers this year.

The main base for the crossings is an abandoned army guard house — filthy and decrepit — and the surrounding woods a few hundred meters from the border, a half-hour’s walk from the closest Greek village of Ieropigi and 220 kilometres west of Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki. There’s water from a pumping station, from which some also tap electricity to charge their phones.

UK plans for a national overseas processing centre as part of the country's new Nationality and Borders Bill are now unclear after discussions with other countries have foundered too. Negotiations have failed with Denmark and Rwanda, as well as Ascension Island, the British South Atlantic territory.

The UK’s new approach mirrors a controversial policy in Australia where migrant are sent to camps in Papua New Guinea, which has been condemned by the International Criminal Court as “cruel, inhuman and degrading”.

The UK plan has come as a record 17,000 immigrants have crossed from France to Britain in the last nine months, many paying huge sums to people smugglers.

Ms Patel has said the overseas hub plan would deter people from attempting to make the dangerous 20-mile crossing between Britain and France. She said on Friday that governments “should be able to consider every single option” when dealing with asylum seekers.

A government representative said: “The New Plan for Immigration is the only long-term solution to fix the broken system, and includes changes to the law to tackle criminal gangs and prevent further loss of life.

“This is a shared, international challenge and we continue to work with other countries to meet it.”

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg

Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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Countries recognising Palestine

France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra

 

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

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

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Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Company Profile

Company name: NutriCal

Started: 2019

Founder: Soniya Ashar

Based: Dubai

Industry: Food Technology

Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount

Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia

Total Clients: Over 50

Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites

The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.

It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.

“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.

The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

The Lowdown

Us

Director: Jordan Peele

Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss

Rating: 4/5

PROFILE OF INVYGO

Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

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The Breadwinner

Director: Nora Twomey

Starring: Saara Chaudry,  Soma Chhaya,  Laara Sadiq 

Three stars

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Company%20profile
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

ESSENTIALS

The flights 
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes. 
Where to stay 
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.

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Baby Driver

Director: Edgar Wright

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James

Three and a half stars

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It's up to you to go green

Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.

“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”

When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.

He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.

“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.

One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.  

The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.

Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.

But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”

Updated: October 04, 2021, 11:53 AM