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.



Iran: Khamenei to Endorse Pezeshkian’s Decree on Sunday

Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office
Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office
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Iran: Khamenei to Endorse Pezeshkian’s Decree on Sunday

Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office
Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office

The presidential decree of Masoud Pezeshkian will be endorsed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a ceremony on Sunday, while reports said the newly-elected president is close to announcing his new ministers.

“The endorsement ceremony is scheduled to be held at 10:00 am local time at Imam Khomeini Hussainia,” the Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

It said Iranian high-ranking authorities, military officials, a group of the country's academics, families of martyrs, and the envoys of different states to Tehran would attend the ceremony.

“The presidential decree of the newly-elected president will be endorsed by Khamenei,” the news agency added.

During the event, the Interior Minister will present a report on the process of conducting the first and second rounds of the fourteenth presidential elections.

After reading the mandate to endorse the elected president and a speech by Pezeshkian, Iran’s Supreme Leader will address the audience, according to Mehr.

Iranian websites published a photo of the presidential decree. Once the endorsement ceremony ends, the new President will head to parliament to take the constitutional oath.

According to Iran’s Constitution, the President should recite the following, “As President of the Republic I take an oath, before this glorious Quran and the Iranian nation, on God the exalted and the powerful, that I will guard the official religion of the country, the order of the Islamic Republic, and the constitution. I will employ all of my capabilities and qualifications toward fulfilling the responsibilities that I have undertaken. I will devote myself to the service of the people and the advancement of the country, dissemination of religion and morality, and protection of truth and justice.”

The new president then has two weeks to present his program and his government lineup to the Iranian parliament.

Last Friday, Pezeshkian said he would follow Khamenei’s guidance.

In an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office, he stated that he is working in close coordination and consultation with Khamenei in preparing his cabinet nominations.

National Unity

Pezeshkian then claimed he is seeking to form a government of national unity.

Iranian media said the newly-elected President told a group of his campaign officials that political figures are all trying to hold meetings with him while he is working on choosing his cabinet.