The European Union's border agency on Friday announced that it has dispatched a patrol vessel to the English Channel for the first time to support French search and rescue operations related to small, overcrowded boats at sea.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) also said it plans to deploy additional vessels to join French patrols in the coming months.
In recent years, a large number of irregular migrants have attempted to cross the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom. The smuggling boats are often dangerously overcrowded and operate under hazardous conditions.
As of early August, 15 people had died this year while attempting to cross the Channel. On August 4, a total of 173 people were rescued by French and British maritime rescue services from a smuggling boat that caught fire in the English Channel.
EU deploys patrol vessel to English Channel to tackle migration crisis
EU deploys patrol vessel to English Channel to tackle migration crisis
Chinese pop culture giant Pop Mart launched a carnival event in Shanghai as the first stop of its roadshow.
With a grand opening ceremony held on Friday against Shanghai's most iconic landmark, the Oriental Pearl Tower, the carnival intends to create immersive urban pop-culture experiences by bringing together entertainment, dining, retail, and sightseeing.
Featuring nine attractions, the touring carnival allows visitors to take part in the interactive activities, in which they can not only enjoy plenty of fun but also win a variety of prizes.
For this event, the Oriental Pearl Tower has also introduced a range of combo ticket packages, so that visitors can customize their itineraries to suit their needs while enjoying great value.
"I think the ticket package combining the Pop Mart carnival and the Oriental Pearl Tower sightseeing is really a great deal. It only costs 99 yuan (about 14.75 U.S. dollars), well worth the price. It's nice to see such collaboration between different sectors, which can effectively boost tourism," said a tourist.
The partnership between Shanghai's iconic city landmarks and the leading pop-culture IPs has injected fresh momentum into the city's trendy cultural tourism market.
"In the future, we hope to continue bringing in high-quality IPs and immersive, interactive entertainment experiences, while further diversifying Oriental Pearl Tower's offerings and unlocking greater integrated value of the landmark across culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions," said Guo Yifeng, general manager of Shanghai Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower Co., Ltd.
The event will run until November 1.
Pop Mart carnival roadshow makes debut in Shanghai
