One Person Dead as Migrants Try to Cross Channel to Britain

Migrants try to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
Migrants try to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
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One Person Dead as Migrants Try to Cross Channel to Britain

Migrants try to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
Migrants try to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

One person was found dead after a boat carrying migrants trying to cross the Channel near Calais to Britain got into difficulties overnight, French authorities said on Sunday.
Thirty-four other people were rescued and taken to emergency services, Reuters quoted the local French department responsible for the Calais region as saying.
Tackling illegal immigration has been a key priority for both the British and French governments.
More than 12,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain this year, with many making perilous crossings over the Channel from France in overcrowded dinghies that risk capsizing.
Earlier this month, four migrants died while trying to cross over the Channel from France.



Khamenei Officially Endorses Pezeshkian as Iran's President

A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
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Khamenei Officially Endorses Pezeshkian as Iran's President

A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Masoud Pezeshkian as the country's president on Sunday, after he won the elections this month.

Pezeshkian is a relative moderate who will be sworn in on Tuesday.

In a ceremony broadcast live on state television, Khamenei gave his approval for Pezeshkian, and in a speech afterwards, the supreme leader reiterated Iran's longstanding anti-Israel stance.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) is not a state, it is a criminal gang, a bank of killers, and a terrorist band," Khamenei said in his speech, while praising Hamas for its resistance against Israel in Gaza.

Pezeshkian's victory lifted hopes of a thaw in Iran's antagonistic relations with the West that might create openings for defusing its nuclear dispute with world powers.

But as the ultimate authority in Iran, Khamenei has the final say in all state matters like the country's foreign and nuclear policy as well as Pezeshkian's upcoming selections for key cabinet posts, such as the foreign, oil and intelligence ministers.