El gobierno laborista británico presenta este lunes una reforma para endurecer su política de asilo e inmigración y frenar la llegada de personas en pequeñas embarcaciones desde las costas francesas, en un momento en que la extrema derecha encabeza los sondeos.

La ministra de Interior, Shabana Mahmood, expondrá esta tarde en el Parlamento las medidas para luchar contra la inmigración irregular.

Entre las ya conocidas se incluyen la reducción de la protección a los refugiados, quienes serán “obligados a regresar a su país tan pronto como se considere seguro”, y la supresión del acceso automático a las ayudas sociales para los solicitantes de asilo.

Desde el 1 de enero, 39.292 personas han llegado a Reino Unido en pequeñas embarcaciones, una cifra que supera la de 2024 (36.816).

Las solicitudes de asilo aumentaron un 18% en 2024, mientras que en el conjunto de la Unión Europea (UE) disminuyeron un 13% en el mismo período, según cifras del gobierno.

Desde 2021 se han registrado más de 400.000 solicitudes, frente a 150.000 en el período 2011-2015, siempre según cifras oficiales.

Desde hace varios meses, el partido de extrema derecha Reform UK, liderado por Nigel Farage y que ha convertido la inmigración en su principal tema de campaña, encabeza las encuestas de intención de voto.

Entre las medidas ya anunciadas, los refugiados deberán “regresar a su país de origen tan pronto como se considere seguro” y su situación será revisada cada 30 meses.

Los demandantes de asilo tendrán que esperar veinte años, frente a los cinco actuales, para solicitar un permiso de residencia permanente, una medida inspirada en el modelo danés.

En cuanto a las ayudas sociales (vivienda, subsidios económicos), ya no serán automáticas.

El gobierno quiere suprimirlas “para aquellos que tienen derecho a trabajar y pueden mantenerse por sí mismos”.

En la actualidad, las autoridades pagan una asignación semanal y proporciona alojamiento a los demandantes de asilo.

El costo de los hoteles para alojar a los solicitantes de asilo ha sido muy criticado, especialmente por la extrema derecha.

El gobierno quiere modificar la aplicación en Reino Unido de la Convención Europea de Derechos Humanos para facilitar las expulsiones.

De este modo, sólo podrán permanecer en el país las personas que ya tengan familiares directos en el Reino Unido (hijos, padres).

La ministra de Interior defendió el domingo en la BBC y Sky News estas primeras medidas.

Antes de presentarlas en el Parlamento, el gobierno británico anunció este lunes que podría restringir la concesión de visados a tres países africanos, a los que acusa de no colaborar en la repatriación de sus ciudadanos en situación irregular.

El Ministerio del Interior señaló en un comunicado a Angola, Namibia y la República Democrática del Congo, indicando que considera “inaceptable” su escasa cooperación en materia de expulsiones.

Los tres países africanos “tienen un mes” para mejorar la situación, advirtió el lunes el secretario de Estado de Asilo y Seguridad Fronteriza, Alex Norris, en el canal Sky News.

Para respaldar la posible medida contra estos países africanos, el Ministerio de Interior sostiene que “miles de migrantes en situación irregular originarios de estas tres naciones se encuentran actualmente en Reino Unido”.

El gobierno dijo que considerará medidas similares contra otros países, en particular aquellos que presentan “tasas elevadas de solicitudes de asilo” de personas que han entrado irregularmente en Reino Unido.

Nigel Farage, líder de Reform UK, celebró los anuncios del gobierno laborista, diciendo que la ministra de Interior “parece una simpatizante” de su partido.

En cambio, la diputada laborista Stella Creasy criticó las reformas calificándolas de “crueles” y “económicamente mal calculadas”, en un artículo en The Guardian.

(con información de AP)

EXCLUSIVE – The War Department is narrowing its research and development strategy to six «Critical Technology Areas» officials say will speed up innovation and strengthen America’s military edge.

Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said the plan will deliver faster, more focused results to the warfighter by merging overlapping programs and steering funding toward technologies that will shape future conflicts.

«As the Department of War’s Chief Technology Officer, I am statutorily charged with the mission of advancing technology and innovation for the armed forces,» Michael wrote in a Nov. 13 memorandum to senior Pentagon and combatant command leadership. «The previous list of fourteen CTAs did not provide the focus that the threat environment of today requires.»

The six areas—Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy and Scaled Hypersonics — will be advanced through rapid «sprints» designed to move emerging technologies from prototype to production.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the streamlined approach will keep the United States ahead of its rivals.

«Our nation’s military has always been the tip of the spear,» Hegseth said. «Under Secretary Emil Michael’s six Critical Technology Areas will ensure that our warriors never enter a fair fight and have the best systems in their hands for maximum lethality.»

The initiative also aligns with President Donald Trump’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, which directs the War Department to become an «AI-First» organization.

Officials say the shift will reshape how intelligence is processed, how logistics are managed and how weapons systems are deployed.

«In alignment with President Trump’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan, the Department of War must become an ‘AI-First’ organization,» Michael wrote. «When adopted rapidly, AI will fundamentally transform the Department from the enterprise-level, to intelligence synthesis and to warfighting.»

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a news conference at the Pentagon, June 22, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Michael’s plan emphasizes resilience and self-sufficiency on the battlefield. Biomanufacturing will create bio-based materials to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, while Contested Logistics Technologies will help U.S. forces sustain operations in contested or denied environments.

The goal, he said, is to ensure troops can fight and resupply even when traditional lines are cut. Each new technology area is meant to reinforce that capability.

«Future warfare will likely be characterized by contested environments in which the Joint Force is challenged to surge, operate into and within the operational theater, and resupply, reconstitute, and recover forces,» Michael wrote. «This CTA will enable the demonstration, validation, and scaling of novel approaches and technologies.»

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Artificial intelligence and quantum computing are among the six new technology areas the War Department says will shape future U.S. military operations. (Getty Images)

Other priorities include quantum computing for secure battlefield communications, scaled directed energy systems such as high-energy lasers and high-power microwave weapons, and the expansion of hypersonic capabilities for both offensive and defensive missions.

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Each effort depends on close coordination between the Pentagon, private industry and allied militaries to ensure the technologies reach the field quickly.

«Executing these sprints will require unprecedented coordination between the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, military departments, combatant commands and other Office of the Secretary of War components,» Michael said. «I am committed to working with you and our partners inside and outside of the Department on these efforts.»

Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski announced that an auction of items connected to the Holocaust has been called off.

The planned auction had been connected with the Felzmann auction house in Germany.

«I spoke with the German Foreign Minister @JoWadephul regarding the planned auction in Neuss of items from the time of German terror during the Second World War. We agreed that such a scandal must be prevented,» Sikorski noted in a Polish-language post on X, according to a translation.

«Thank you, minister @JoWadephul, for the information that the offensive auction of Holocaust artifacts has now been cancelled. Respect for victims requires the dignity of silence, not the din of commerce,» he noted in an English-language post.

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Nazi Germany’s horrific mass murder of Jews during World War II represents a major point in 20th century world history. Items that would have been up for auction included letters written by prisoners in concentration camps, as well as Gestapo index cards and other perpetrator documents, The Associated Press reported, citing German news agency dpa.

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A photo taken 27 May 1944 in Oswiecim, showing Nazis selecting prisoners on the platform at the entrance of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. (Photo by -/Yad Vashem Archives/AFP via Getty Images)

There had been pushback against the plan for the auction.

For example, the Fritz Bauer Institute strongly objected to the Holocaust-related auction in a press release.

«The Fritz Bauer Institute protests against the planned auction by the Felzmann auction house and fundamentally opposes any commercial trade in documents relating to Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. No business should be conducted with such documents,» a German-language press release declared, according to a translation.

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A group of child survivors behind a barbed wire fence at the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland, on the day of the camp’s liberation by the Red Army, 27th January 1945. Photo taken by Red Army photographer Captain Alexander Vorontsov during the making of a film about the liberation of the camp. The children were dressed in adult uniforms by the Russians. The children are (left to right): Tomy Schwarz (later Shacham), Miriam Ziegler, Paula Lebovics (front), Ruth Webber, Berta Weinhaber (later Bracha Katz), Erika Winter (later Dohan), Marta Weiss (later Wise), Eva Weiss (later Slonim), Gabor Hirsch (just visible behind Eva Weiss), Gabriel Neumann, Robert Schlesinger (later Shmuel Schelach), Eva Mozes Kor, and Miriam Mozes Zeiger.

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«For victims of Nazi persecution and Holocaust survivors, this auction is a cynical and shameless undertaking that leaves them outraged and speechless,» Christoph Heubner of The International Auschwitz Committee declared in a statement, according to the AP. «We urge those responsible at the Felzmann auction house to show some basic decency and cancel the auction,» he had noted in the statement, according to the outlet.