A French court has sentenced an imam to two years in prison for helping migrants try to cross the English Channel in inflatable boats. The Iranian national had arranged several crossings from northern France to England.
The coastguard said the eight migrant boats were found along Britain's southeast coast. A senior British minister said the situation was "alarming" amid concerns that warming weather could fuel more crossings.
A total of 36 people have been intercepted trying to reach Britain from the European mainland in small boats. Officials warn that migrants are risking their lives by crossing the world's busiest shipping lane.
A European court on Thursday condemned France and Greece for their treatment of child migrants and refugees in two separate cases dating to early 2016. The court ruled that European authorities had breached Europe's human rights convention forbidding inhuman or degrading treatment.
An Australian singer-songwriter, Amy Shark, says two people were discovered hiding in the luggage compartment of her tour bus traveling from Brussels. The pair were reportedly migrants trying to reach Britain.
A wave of Iranian asylum seekers is attempting to cross into the UK via dinghies, a trend that has become popular in recent months. The British navy deployed a vessel Thursday to "help prevent" the crossings from France.