Fourteen go on trial over deadliest Channel small boats disaster

• Fourteen suspected people smugglers have gone on trial in Paris for their role in the worst ever small boats disaster in the English Channel.
• In November 2021, at least 30 men, women and children drowned when their motorised dinghy deflated and started taking on water halfway between France and the UK.
• The 14 defendants – mainly Afghan nationals – are accused of manslaughter and facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised criminal group.