Burnham and Macron step up fight against people-smuggling gangs

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron are set to strengthen security measures against people-smuggling gangs during a meeting at No. 10 Downing Street on Thursday. The leaders are expected to deploy 45 French officers to France's western beaches to target launch sites and "mega dinghies" used by smugglers, as well as expand a specialist French intelligence and judicial unit.

The UK government has recorded its lowest number of small boat crossings in seven years, with over 48,000 attempts prevented under a £660 million UK-French agreement. However, the opposition Conservative party dismisses the arrangement as ineffective, attributing the decline to poor weather. Meanwhile, the Middle East faces an escalation in the war, with the US launching strikes against Iranian targets, and Tehran responding with missile and drone attacks against American bases.

President Donald Trump has stated that the US campaign will not continue for "too long," but warned that his forces are ready to strike Iran again if necessary. The talks will also focus on Ukraine, as Burnham and Macron co-chaired a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, and discuss the future of the UK's relationship with the European Union.