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A teenage boy who survived a migrant boat sinking that left at least six people dead in the English Channel has been arrested has part of a probe into the incident. The Sudanese boy, aged 16 or 17, was rescued and taken back to France after the boat suffered engine damage and capsized. He is suspected of “activiely participating” in the crossing in exchange for reduced rate for his own passage to Britain, according to French authorities. He is among four people being detained as part of an investigation into the incident, with alleged offences including manslaughter and criminal association. The probe was announced as official figures showed another 444 people arrived in small boats on Wednesday, pushing the total for this year over 17,000. A pregnant woman and young children were among those rescued, as crossings surged just days after Saturday’s disaster. The teenager and another Sudanese man in his 20s were among 38 survivors who were taken to safety in France following the sinking. Twenty-three more were rescued and brought ashore in the UK. At least six people, thought to be Afghan refugees, died. Authorities fear other victims may have drowned but remain missing at sea. Two Iraqi men who were allegedly part of the smuggling network that organised the crossing have also been detained on French soil. The specialist Junalco organised crime unit, which leads major people smuggling investigations in France, said the sinking happened around 12 miles from the French coast on the night of 11 to 12 August. “Investigations at this stage have made it possible to establish that the makeshift boat had suffered engine damage and had torn at sea, when most of the passengers did not have life jackets,” a spokesperson said. “Almost all of [those on board] were of Afghan nationality and had passed through the ‘Jungle’ camp in Calais, before setting off from a beach further from the town.” A passing commercial ship saw the dinghy sinking and called the emergency services at around 4.20am local time (3.20am BST), authorities said, and several nearby ships were diverted to the area. A Navy tugboat, French rescue crew, two British rescue boats and helicopter were deployed to locate the boat, but several people were already in the water. One person was declared dead after being pulled from the sea and evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Calais, while another five bodies were recovered. Searches continued into Saturday afternoon but no other people were found, and survivors’ accounts suggested others may have boarded the vessel in France. Junalco said it had made a request to British law enforcement for assistance with its ongoing investigation, following interviews of survivors in the UK. More than 50 people are thought to have drowned attempting to cross the Channel since 2018, while others have lost their lives attempting to board lorries and trains in France, or walk through the Channel Tunnel. On 10 August, several people were rescued from a sinking dinghy that had reached British waters. The RNLI said it pulled several people from the water but believed everyone was accounted for. The previous day, French authorities reported six children suffering from hypothermia had been taken to hospital after their boat went down off the coast near Sangatte. More than 17,200 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year, around 15 per cent down on the over 20,000 seen by the same point in 2022. Weeks of unseasonably windy weather and rough seas had suppressed crossings, but high numbers are expected if calm and fine conditions continue in the coming days. Prime minister Rishi Sunak has made “stopping the boats” one of his top five priorities ahead of the next general election, but government attempts to deter crossings have so far failed amid a lack of alternative safe and legal routes for asylum seekers. Afghans are now the most common nationality making the journey, following the collapse of resettlement schemes after the 2021 Taliban takeover. There has been an increase in Sudanese asylum seekers after conflict broke out earlier this year, and the government refused to set up a route for people fleeing the country. Read More Six dead and dozens rescued after migrant boat capsizes in Channel as search continues Sudanese refugees face deportation from UK as government fails to set up safe and legal routes Bibby Stockholm migrants won’t be back on barge ‘for weeks’ after Legionella scare Small boat arrivals continue as Channel crossings set to top 17,000 Ministers urged not to ‘abandon’ Afghans on anniversary of Taliban takeover Minister vows to make Afghan resettlement schemes ‘work properly’

The National Crime Agency joins the investigation into the death of the 10-year-old girl.

Chandrayaan-3 may not be the first to land on the south pole if it's beaten by Russia's new Moon mission.

The visit, which not yet confirmed, would be the first since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Jeff's massive lump causes him a ton of pain as he wants it removed by Dr Sandra Lee

The US is preparing to accelerate its complaint that Mexico’s ban on genetically modified corn violates the nations’

NBA star James Harden expressed disbelief after Chinese fans snapped up 10,000 bottles of his own-branded wine in seconds, demonstrating the massive reach of livestreaming in the country, where basketball is loved by millions.

Sara had additional nipples from birth, but her breasts eventually completely matured

Donald Trump has promised to share an “irrefutable” report on his baseless claims of election fraud in Georgia. “A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11.00am on Monday of next week,” Mr Trump said. The former president and 18 of his allies have been indicted on a range of criminal charges relating to Mr Trump’s attempts to alter Georgia‘s 2020 election results. He has been charged with 13 counts including racketeering, filing false documents, and attempting to coerce public officers to violate their oaths, according to court documents. It marks the fourth major indictment against Mr Trump in nearly as many months, and the second related directly to his actions during the 2020 election. Mr Trump has been issued with an arrest warrant and ordered to surrender by 25 August. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed arraignments for the week of 5 September and a trial date of 4 March 2024. Read More Trump claims Fox News is conspiring to stop him winning in 2024 Will the Georgia gang of 18 turn on Trump? Trumpworld hanging by a thread as co-accused pressured to flip on ex-president Fulton County DA Fani Willis proposes Trump’s Georgia trial date the day before Super Tuesday Trump judge makes barbed comment about Elon Musk as contents of Jack Smith’s Twitter warrant revealed

Donald Trump’s former lawyer Jenna Ellis has been forced to crowdfund her defence fees after being indicted alongside the former president this week. Ms Ellis was among the 18 associates of Mr Trump to face charges in Georgia for alleged attempts to alter the state’s 2020 presidential election results. She posted a link to her fundraising campaign on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter on Tuesday. “We will fight for Jenna. If you would like to help support our efforts please consider donating by clicking the link below,” a quote from her lawyer Mike Melito read. ”America and the profession of law are worth the fight.” As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser on GiveSendGo had raised more than $14,000. “Jenna Ellis, former senior legal adviser and personal counsel to President Trump, is being targeted and the government is trying to criminalize the practice of law,” her account stated. “Help her fight back and stand for the truth!” She also received more than 1,600 prayers, which is an option for her supporters. Ms Ellis joins the likes of Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and John Eastman in being indicted by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis. Mr Trump has been charged with 13 counts including racketeering, filing false documents, and attempting to coerce public officers to violate their oaths, according to court documents. He claims it is part of a continuing “witch hunt” to stop him from running in the 2024 election. It marks the fourth major indictment against Mr Trump in nearly as many months, and the second related directly to his actions during the 2020 election. Mr Trump has been issued with an arrest warrant and ordered to surrender by 25 August. In March, Ms Ellis was censured by Colorado legal officials after admitting she made a string of false claims about the 2020 presidential election. She acknowledged that she had made “misrepresentations” on television and Twitter during Mr Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to reverse the results of the election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Ms Ellis is no longer supporting Mr Trump and has thrown her support behind Ron DeSantis to become the 2024 Republican nominee for president. Read More Trump claims mystery report clears him of Georgia election charges as DA seeks March trial date – live updates Rudy Giuliani biographer has a theory for why ex-New York mayor is so loyal to Trump Trump claims Fox News is conspiring to stop him winning in 2024 Special prosecutor will investigate Georgia’s lieutenant governor in Trump indictment Fulton County DA Fani Willis proposes Trump’s Georgia trial date the day before Super Tuesday Rudy Giuliani biographer has a theory for why ex-New York mayor is so loyal to Trump Frank LaRose, GOP Senate candidate in Ohio, fires a top staffer for tweets critical of Donald Trump Election workers who face frequent harassment see accountability in the latest Georgia charges

Since his entry onto the American political stage in 2015, former president Donald Trump has managed to avoid serious consequences from most investigations into his conduct through the loyalty of his close associates and by deploying the power of the office he held from 2017 to 2021. Even as he faces four criminal cases against him, Mr Trump’s continued campaigning for the presidency in next year’s general election has allowed his confidantes to credibly hold out the possibility that a win over President Joe Biden next year would allow him to deep-six at least the two cases currently being prosecuted against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith. And in the case pending against him in a New York court, he managed to avoid charges more serious than those he faces for allegedly falsifying business records thanks to the loyalty of his company’s executives, including a longtime aide who served a jail sentence rather than give evidence against him. But many legal experts believe the 40-count indictment brought against Mr Trump and 18 co-defendants by Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis will push his co-defendants, some who have been among his closest allies, beyond their breaking points and force them to turn on the ex-president rather than face the wrath of a Georgia jury. The list of targets who Ms Willis is now prosecuting includes some of the twice-impeached, indicted-four-times-over ex-president’s most high-profile confederates, including his former personal attorney, ex-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who faces 12 separate felony charges as a result of his work to help Mr Trump push to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. Mr Giuliani, a former prosecutor who made a name for himself by bringing Racketeering Influenced and Criminal Organisation (Rico) prosecutions against the Italian-American mob in the 1980s, is now being prosecuted under a state version of the anti-organised crime law alongside John Eastman, the ex-law professor with whom he appeared at the 6 January 2021 rally which preceded that day’s attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Mr Trump’s supporters. They will also be joined in the dock by three ex-Trump administration officials: Mr Trump’s last White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, ex-Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, and a Trump White House aide turned campaign official, Michael Roman, each of whom is understood to have been described in a federal indictment of Mr Trump as anonymised co-conspirators. Also charged alongside the ex-president are former Trump campaign lawyers Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell. In addition, Ms Willis successfully sought charges against a slew of other defendants associated with Mr Trump’s allegedly illicit efforts, including an alleged plan to submit forged electoral college certificates for counting by then-vice president Mike Pence. These other co-defendants include Georgia GOP officials, including ex-Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer, ex-Coffee County, Georgia elections director Misty Hampton, and other GOP activists who signed the forced electoral certificates. According to legal experts, the sheer number of co-defendants, plus the harshness of the charges against them, will push at least some of them to flip on Mr Trump in hopes of a better deal. These experts say the particulars of Georgia’s criminal law, under which a friendly Republican governor could not issue a pardon for these offences, will also push many of the people named in the indictment to cooperate with prosecutors. Glenn Kirschner, a former assistant US attorney in Washington, DC who prosecuted several racketeering trials in the 1990s, told The Independent that Ms Willis appears to have already secured significant help from numerous individuals based on the number of unindicted co-conspirators described in the indictment. While Mr Kirschner suggested the “best” deals — including full immunity from prosecution — had most likely been handed out before Ms Willis brought her case to a grand jury, he also said the number of defendants who were ultimately indicted will necessitate more dealmaking if Ms Willis wants to take the case to trial. “There’s no way 19 are going to trial,” he said. The former federal prosecutor said his practice as an assistant US attorney was to “identify potentially valuable defendants that I wanted to develop into cooperating witnesses”. “Sometimes I succeeded, often I didn’t. But what I did find was that when you talk to them before they were indicted, the whole prospect of them being criminally indicted was a little theoretical, hadn’t quite hit home,” he said. “And then once they see their name on the wrong side of the ‘v,’ it tends to get their attention. And often, that’s when they would want to begin negotiating again. And we would develop a fair number of cooperating witnesses after they were indicted.” Mr Kirschner added that in his experience, the mechanics of holding trials would also limit the number of defendants who are tried and will give Ms Willis incentives to cut deals when possible. His suggestion that there has already been significant cooperation by people involved in the case was echoed by John Dean, the former White House counsel under Richard Nixon who testified against the disgraced president during the Watergate scandal. Mr Dean, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and turned state’s evidence for federal prosecutors, told CNN on Monday that he believes it’s “very likely” that Mr Trump’s co-defendants will “flip” now that charges have been filed. “They just wanted to see the indictment, and they’ve seen it now, and it’s not pretty,” he said, adding that he thinks Mr Meadows will “probably find a solution to get out of the Georgia case, too”. Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who worked for House Democrats during Mr Trump’s first impeachment trial, also told The Independent that he thinks co-defendants who cooperate now will be far worse off than they could have been had they turned on the ex-president earlier. “The best deals were already handed out. It’s like you know, it’s like getting a season ticket —the earlier you buy, the better the value,” he said. “The good deals were there for the fake collectors, many of whom got immunity without having to agree to any jail time.” Mr Eisen also noted that Ms Willis has a history of pleading out Rico defendants, “sometimes on very generous terms,” in exchange for cooperation. “So I think we may see some of these individuals turn on the former president and the remaining co-conspirators,” he said. But another attorney who spoke to The Independent, Georgia-based defence lawyer Andrew Flesichman, expressed significant doubts that any of the 18 co-defendants not named Trump would turn on the ex-president, citing the relatively tame penalties they could face if convicted and the lack of leverage which state prosecutors have compared to their federal counterparts. Mr Fleischman pointed out that the federal experts who have been opining on the case in the press aren’t taking into account how the federal system forces defendants into deals because of the lack of parole for convicted defendants who are sentenced to jail or prison. “The sentencing exposure for most of these people is not even that bad,” he said. “All these offences, you can get straight probation on them, and all these people are first-time offenders and this won’t count as a felony on their record, so I don’t think the state has as much pressure to turn people as some people are saying.” Mr Fleischman said it’s more likely that the people who were going to flip on Mr Trump have already done so. He also suggested that those co-defendants who were fake electors have a credible defence by claiming they were lied to by other co-defendants. “If you stick with Donald Trump, you can still raise your defence that you were lied to, which is a pretty good defence for these false electors, and then their sentencing exposure is not that bad,” he said. “I could understand if they want to take it to trial on some kind of principle.” The Independent has reached out to Mr Trump’s representatives for comment. Read More Fulton County DA Fani Willis proposes March 2024 date for Trump Georgia trial Trump judge makes barbed comment about Elon Musk as contents of Jack Smith’s Twitter warrant revealed Mark Meadows pushing to move Georgia charges to federal court Rudy Giuliani is furious about being charged with same mob law he claims he pioneered Will the Georgia gang of 18 turn on Trump? Trumpworld hanging by a thread Jenna Ellis forced to crowdfund Georgia lawyer fund after cutting ties with Trump Lindsay Shiver argues with estranged husband outside home in police bodycam footage

China’s push to control its exports of gallium has sent prices for the metal used in semiconductors to