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British authorities charge alleged boat pilot in deaths of 4 migrants in the English Channel

LONDON (AP) — A Sudanese man alleged to have piloted a boat connected to thedeaths of four migrants trying to cross the English Channelhas been charged under a new British immigration law, authorities said Saturday.

Policemen stand guard after a migrant taxi-boat accident, in Equihen-Plage, northern France, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

A young boy runs on the beach after at least four people died while trying to board an inflatable boat for a dangerous sea crossing from northern France to the U.K. in Equihen-Plage, northern France. Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

A police officer stands guard after a migrant taxi-boat accident, in Equihen-Plage, northern France. Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Migration France Britain

Alnour Mohamed Ali, 27, was charged late Friday with endangering another during a journey by sea to the U.K., the National Crime Agency said.

The new law allows Britain to extend the reach of its criminal jurisdiction to crack down on migrants making the dangerous crossing.

The two men and two women died Thursday in strong currents while trying to board the boat Ali allegedly piloted off the coast of Calais.

French authorities rescued 38 others from the waters. Ali and another 73 migrants then continued on to England, where he was arrested.

The incident occurred at Equihen Beach in Calais as the migrants tried to wade out to what authorities call a “taxi-boat,” typically a small motorized inflatable that picks up people along large stretches of the northern French coast.

The tactic has become more popular with smugglers as police on the beaches try to thwart crossings by puncturing the rafts that groups of migrants have to inflate and carry to the water.

Under maritime law, French police do not try to stop the boats on the water because it put lives at risk.

Recent days have seen a surge inattempted crossingsand deaths, with 102 people rescued in two operations on Wednesday. Two people died last week in similar circumstances off the coast north of Calais.

Ali, also known as Elnoor Mohamed Ali, is scheduled to appear Saturday in Folkestone Magistrates Court.

byNeo

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April 13, 2026

British authorities charge alleged boat pilot in deaths of 4 migrants in the English Channel

LONDON (AP) — A Sudanese man alleged to have piloted a boat connected to thedeaths of four migrants trying to cross the English Channel...

Cuba’s Díaz‑Canel says he won’t step down under US pressure

A defiant Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said he won’t step down as Cuba’s president if pressured by U.S. officials during talks between the two countries.

His remarks were broadcast on April 9 during an interview in Havana with NBC's Meet the Press anchor Kristen Welker.

Pressed by Welker whether he would consider stepping down if the U.S. insisted, Díaz-Canel leaned forward in his seat.

“Would you ask that question of Trump?” he said, adding, “in Cuba, the people who are in leadership positions are not elected by the U.S. government. They don’t have a mandate by the U.S. government.”

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel raises his fist next to Progressive International's general coordinator, David Adler, during an event at the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) in Havana, on March 21, 2026.

Díaz-Canel’s comments come in the wake of news that U.S. and Cuban officials have met to discuss future relations between the two longtime Cold War foes. Trump officials have said the initial talk focused on expanding economic ties between the U.S. and Cuba.

When reports of the meeting first surfaced, Rubio stressed that the "status quo" in Cuba is unacceptable but cautioned that change on the island could take time. "It doesn’t have to change all at once," he said. "It doesn’t have to change from one day to the next … But Cuba needs to change. It needs to change dramatically.”

He later hardened his view to say that Cuba can only change if it has new leadership.

“The bottom line is, their economy doesn’t work. It’s a non-functional economy,” Rubio said last month during a White House meeting. “They’re in a lot of trouble, and the people in charge, they don’t know how to fix it, so they have to get new people in charge.”

This file photo shows a group of U.S. sailors from the battleship Connecticut and a gun they captured at Cape Haitien during the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1915.