European police forces are targeting increasingly professional Iraqi Kurd and Afghan criminal gangs responsible for pan-European people-smuggling operations, officials said on Friday.
The gangs use sophisticated techniques including welding false doors onto lorries to build secret spaces within refrigerated lorries to try to elude guards within the European Union, according to Britain’s National Crime Agency. The networks rely on the collusion of truck drivers who charge about £2,000 to carry migrants into the UK, said officials.
“The Iraqi Kurd groups are highly organised with a presence all the way from Iraq to the UK,” said deputy director Tom Dowdall. “They have a significant presence in northern France and they have been well-established for at least ten years.”
The agency said that nations putting up physical barriers to migrants “played into the hands” of the smugglers, since it forced the desperate into the arms of criminals to overcome the difficulties of crossing borders.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned Friday that Italy shutting its ports to humanitarian rescue ships will trap more migrants in Libyan detention centres and in the hands of smugglers.
Italy's new far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who took office on June 1, has said the rescue ships are no longer welcome on his shores, arguing that the country had already taken more than its fair share of migrants.
The European police agency Europol estimated that criminal gangs are making €3-6 billion a year from people smuggling. European law enforcement is focused on key hotspots where organised crime gangs link up with desperate migrants, who then can become victims of trafficking.
The gangs are loading migrants into lorries in different countries to try to confuse police operations working across national borders, said Mr Dowdall. Law enforcement is using techniques such as devices to detect heartbeats but they do not work for lorries with refrigeration units that drowns out the sounds of hidden migrants inside.
Company%20Profile
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Company%20Profile
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.5-litre%20V12%20and%20three%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C015hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C500Nm%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eight-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Early%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh2%20million%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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