Five French soldiers have been charged with failing to assist 27 people who drowned trying to cross the Channel in the worst small boats disaster on record. A judicial source said nine people in total had been placed in custody over the tragedy and five were formally charged. The AFP news agency reported that those charged included three women and two men on duty at the Channel rescue centre at the time. The disaster sparked a row between the UK and France as each side tried to blame the other for failing to rescue the deceased. It took the UK and French coastguards 12 hours to respond following the first Mayday call. Call records released to lawyers by the French authorities as part of an investigation into the disaster found that the first distress call to the French coastguard was logged shortly before 2.15am on 21 November 2021. The boat overturned at around 3.15am. Shortly afterward, at 3.30am, a passenger reported that some of the group, mostly Iraqui kurds, were in the water. The French authorities replied: “Yes, but you are in English waters, Sir.” Those on board made more than 20 distress calls between 3.40am and 7.30am at sunrise. At around 2.00pm the rescue services arrived at the scene and all but two of the group had drowned or died of exposure. Throughout the course of the night the UK coastguard, responsible for logging emergency calls and coordinating search and rescue missions in the Channel, continued to deny that the dinghy was in British waters, repeatedly telling the passengers to call the French coastguard. The records from France suggest that the boat entered British waters at 2.30am. The charges were welcomed by a spokesperson for Utopia 56, an organisation representing the migrants. "We can only be delighted that things are progressing from a criminal point of view," said Flore Judet. According to AFP those in custody were from the French rescue service Cross Gris Nez, in charge of rescues in the Channel. Cross Gris Nez declined to comment. The Paris court in charge of the investigation was not immediately available for comment. Read More Migration by numbers: What’s really driving the surge in people coming to the UK? Immigration is a great British success story – politicians should tell the truth about it Scarred by war, Ukrainian children carry on after losing parents, homes and innocence Asylum backlog at record high as charities brand human cost of delays staggering Labour leads Tories in poll on immigration as figures set to show migration rise Starmer would stop lower wages for overseas workers used to fill UK jobs

Derek Brunson said, 'They showed faith in me, brought me over here, signed me, I want to put on a hell of a show for the fans'

At least 21 people have died after a fire broke out at an ArcelorMittal-owned mine in Kazakhstan

Thailand’s Move Forward Party, which has staked claim to lead a government after emerging as the single-largest party

Authorities are relentlessly plugging the "cracks" in China's Great Firewall to quench dissent.

'I find it annoying as a viewer. I feel he acts like this with certain cast members and not with others,' wrote one of Jennifer Aydin's fan

'We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music,' said Bernstein's children

Sales of smartphones continued to shrink globally in the recently-ended quarter as consumers watched spending, market tracker...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he will have a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a

With AI rapidly becoming a buzzword across industries, oil and gas companies are exploring ways to use this

Ukraine trained its Neptune missiles on Russian targets in the illegally-occupied Crimean peninsula on Tuesday in a fresh attack, according to reports. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said in an update that a Ukrainian Neptune missile was shot down over the northwestern part of the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimean peninsula. The attack was carried out around 8.30pm local time. A Ukrainian drone also targeted Russia’s Black Sea port city of Sevastopol. Debris from the drone landed on the roof of an apartment building but there were no injuries, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russia-appointed governor of Sevastopol. Russian emergency services were determining how to remove explosive materials from the site, Mr Razvozhayev said. "Specialists from the Sevastopol emergency services are now on site and a decision will be taken on moving explosive materials," he said, adding that all forces and services remain on “full combat alert". The Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent target since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February 2022. Crimea has served as a key Russian hub in the war. In a separate attack in the early hours of Wednesday, the ministry said Ukraine hit Russian territories in the border areas with a total of 31 drones. “Air defence systems on duty over the territory of the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions intercepted and destroyed 31 Ukrainian aircraft- type unmanned aerial vehicles,” the ministry said on its official Telegram channel. Ukrainian officials have not issued a comment on the reported attacks. It has generally maintained silence on the offensive on Russia and Russian-controlled territories that Moscow blames on Kyiv. However, it has routinely maintained that targeting Russian infrastructure in its region aids the military counteroffensive launched against the full-scale invasion. Last week Russia accused Ukraine’s Western allies of helping plan and conduct a missile strike on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters on the annexed Crimean Peninsula. “There is no doubt that the attack had been planned in advance using Western intelligence means, Nato satellite assets and reconnaissance planes and was implemented upon the advice of American and British security agencies and in close coordination with them,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin suffers loss of 261 troops in 24 hours as Kyiv offensive gains momentum Ukraine advances on southern front as Zelensky assesses preparations for winter Russia facing ‘functional defeat’ in the Black Sea – but Kyiv allies warn they are running out of ammunition Putin’s ‘punishment battalions’ full of convicts and drunk recruits: ‘They’re just meat’

President Joe Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office on Friday evening -- his first time speaking to the country directly from that setting -- following congressional passage of a compromise measure that raises the federal borrowing limit and avoids a catastrophic default.