Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
The EU's border agency will dispatch a plane to monitor the shores of the English Channel for migrant activity after 27 people died when their overcrowded, inflatable boat sank en route to Britain, the deadliest migration accident on record on the treacherous crossing.
European migration officials agreed on the new deployment at an emergency meeting Sunday in the French port of Calais. They also pledged to work together more closely against migrant smuggling networks and the trade in inflatable boats that are being used in increasingly frequent journeys by people fleeing conflict or poverty in Afghanistan, Sudan or beyond.
U.K. officials were notably absent from the gathering at the Calais City Hall, after Wednesday's sinking prompted a new political crisis between Britain and France. The neighbors accuse each other of not doing enough to deter people from crossing the Channel, and countries across the European Union have long argued over how to manage migration.
"We have to prevent lives being lost. We have to prevent chaos coming to our external borders," EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters after the meeting. She called for more sharing of intelligence and said governments need to "go after the money."
Starting Dec. 1, a plane operated by EU border agency Frontex will help France, Belgium and the Netherlands monitor their shores to better identify smuggling networks, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
German, Dutch and Belgian ministers also took part in the meeting, and participants stressed the need to cooperate with the U.K. Such cooperation has been complicated by Britain's departure from the EU this year.
"This meeting was not anti-English. It was pro-European," Darmanin said. "We want to work with our British friends and allies."
British Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was "unfortunate" that she was uninvited to the meeting, and reiterated Britain's proposal for returning migrants to France. French officials firmly rejected the idea when it was initially proposed.
France is carrying out an organized crime investigation into the sinking. Iraqi Kurds and at least one person from Somalia were among those aboard, though most have not been publicly identified.
The meeting Sunday focused on smuggling networks, who charge from 3,000 to 7,000 euros ($3,400 to $7,900) for the journey across the Channel. Darmanin said a car with German license tags was seized in connection with the investigation.
Earlier Sunday, Patel met with Dutch Migration Minister Ankie Broekers-Knol and stressed "the need for European partners to work together" through shared intelligence and joint police initiatives, according to her office.
"Both agreed that return agreements are essential for breaking the criminal business model," it said.
Aid groups, meanwhile, are arguing for more humane, coordinated asylum policies instead of just more police. At makeshift camps along the French coast, clusters of people from Sudan, Iran and Iraq huddled under the chilly rain, waiting for their chance to cross the Channel. They're undeterred by Wednesday's deaths or by the stepped-up beach patrols.
The number of migrants trying to cross the channel in small boats has jumped this year but overall the number of migrants arriving in Britain is low compared with other European countries. Darmanin said France handles five times as many asylum requests per year than Britain does.
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Canadian Blood Services issued an apology on Friday to the LGBTQ2S+ community for what it now admits was a harmful and discriminatory blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says that she is hopeful an announcement could be made soon amid multiple reports that a WNBA team is coming to Toronto in 2026.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.