Police say a toddler’s body that washed up on the Norwegian coast on New Year’s Day is that of a boy who died along with his family as they attempted to cross the Channel.
The child has been identified as Artin Irannezhad, who was 15 months old when he drowned with his parents and two older siblings.
Rasoul Iran-Nejad and his wife Shiva Mohammed Panahi, both 35, drowned along with their three children, including Anita, who was nine, and six-year-old Armin.
Image: The clothing and life jacket that the toddler was wearing. Pic: Norwegian Police
The body of Artin, who was wearing a blue overall and life jacket, was not found at the time and drifted across the North Sea to Norway.
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His remains washed up in the municipality of Karmoey in the southwest of the country – more than two months after the tragedy.
Police were able to confirm the toddler’s identity by matching his DNA with a relative close enough in lineage who happens to live in Norway.
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Camilla Tjelle Waage, head of investigations at the sheriff’s office in Karmoey, confirmed: “The boy who was found is Artin Irannezhad.
“He is of Iranian origin and disappeared during a shipwreck in the English Channel off the coast of France on 27 October.
“Both parents died, as well as Artin’s two older siblings who were found dead after the shipwreck. The rest of the family have been notified.”
Image: Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35, Shiva Mohammad Panahi, 35, Anita, nine, and Armin, six. Pic: Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights
She added: “This story is tragic, but at least it’s good to be able to give the relatives an answer.”
Choman Manish said he spoke to them most days at their makeshift home in a camp on the outskirts of Dunkirk, France.
The 37-year-old Kurd, from Iraq, told Sky News they were a “beautiful friendly family”.
Mr Manish said: “I’m really so sad because I know this family. I advised them, please don’t go by boat, it’s not good and a really bad situation if you stay in the water.
“I said, it will be bad for you. They told me God is big. I know God is big, but what can I do?
“I told them many times, but they never accepted my word… they trusted in God, they think God will protect them.”
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‘I said please don’t go by boat’ before fatal trip
Fifteen people were rescued following the sinking.
Thousands of migrants attempt to cross into Europe each year by land and sea from North Africa, the Middle East and beyond in search of a better life.
They often taking huge risks and pay large amounts to people smugglers.
It is the first time in the country’s history that House representatives have voted the Speaker out.
Behind closed doors early on Tuesday, Mr McCarthy told fellow Republicans: “If I counted how many times someone wanted to knock me out, I would have been gone a long time ago.”
Several Republicans, however, had said they were sticking with Mr McCarthy as they emerged from the meeting, during which they said he received standing ovations.
It is a move that angered Mr Gaetz and other far-right Republicans, as Mr McCarthy relied on Democratic votes to pass a temporary funding extension on Saturday that avoided a partial government shutdown.
A band of about 20 Republicans had forced Mr McCarthy’s hand by repeatedly blocking other legislation.
Mr Gaetz and his allies said they were frustrated by the slow pace of spending legislation on Mr McCarthy’s watch.
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Republican Representative Tim Burchett, who said he would vote to oust Mr McCarthy, said: “We took a whole month of August off. I think that that’s pretty telling.”
To look at the House of Representatives is to see the turbulence of America’s political ecosystem.
The ousting of Kevin McCarthy leaves the lower chamber of Congress in a state of paralysis.
There will be an interim Speaker but his or her role will effectively amount to finding a permanent replacement.
It is a dysfunction at the heart of power, an extension of the fault lines that fracture the modern-day Republican Party.
Never before has a House Speaker been ejected in this way, another day of history in US politics
The history-makers at the wheel have travelled a distance from the party fringes to positions of influence.
Matt Gaetz is the high-profile House representative who tabled the motion to oust McCarthy.
He’s prominent amongst a hard-line conservative core of House Republicans, Trump-aligned, and bent on reshaping party traditions and reorientating its trajectory to the right.
It is a tail that can wag the dog and this episode is clear evidence of it.
The rules dictate that just one representative – Mr Gaetz in this case – can trigger a vote to oust the Speaker.
That arrangement was a deal Mr McCarthy struck in January to appease his party’s right wing and enable his accession to the position of Speaker.
It didn’t look like clever politics by Mr McCarthy at the time and it looks even less so today.
Today, politics are harder in a party whose politics have changed.
Not all are convinced by Mr Gaetz’s intentions, with some Republicans believing he is angling for a change at a higher office.
“It seems very personal with Matt. It doesn’t look like he’s looking out for the country or the institution,” Mr McCarthy said.
Mr Gaetz has denied he is spurred on by a dislike of Mr McCarthy.
At least 21 people have died in a coach crash near Venice in northern Italy, according to authorities.
Another 18 people were injured in the crash on Tuesday evening, with Italian police confirming there were tourists of “various nationalities” on board.
There were at least two children among the passengers, police added, while Venice’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, said they found Ukrainian passports at the scene.
“Several of the victims were foreigners, we found Ukrainian passports,” he said.
With rescue operations ongoing, the number of deaths could climb higher.
“The bus was rented for its guests by Camping Jolly in Marghera,” police said.
“On board, at the time of the accident, there were tourists of various nationalities. Also with them were at least two minors.”
Mr Brugnaro described the incident as a “terrible tragedy”.
“I immediately ordered the city to go into mourning, in memory of the many victims who were in the crashed bus,” he posted on social media.
“An apocalyptic scene, there are no words.”
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Several people have died in a coach crash near Venice in northern Italy
The coach fell close to railway lines after veering off a road in the district of Mestre, which is connected to Venice by a bridge, Italian television and news agencies reported.
According to Sky Italia, 18 bodies have so far been dragged from the wreckage after the coach fell 15 metres (49ft) onto electricity lines and caught fire.
The cause of the accident was still unclear, but one of Italy’s national police forces said officers are on the scene to investigate and to “give aid” to those hurt.
The railway is also “currently interrupted”.
Image: The bus veered off a road. Pic: @poliziadistato via X
Image: Police officers are on the scene. Pic: @poliziadistato via X
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said her thoughts are with the victims.
“I express my deepest condolences, my personal and that of the entire government, for the serious accident that occurred in Mestre,” she posted on social media.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends. I am in close contact with the Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and with the Minister (of the interior) Matteo Piantedosi to follow the news on this tragedy.”
Italy has suffered a number of deadly bus crashes in recent years.
In 2013, 40 people died when a bus plunged off a viaduct in southern Italy in one of the country’s worst road accidents.
Four years later, 16 people on a bus carrying Hungarian students died in an accident near the northern city of Verona.
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Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted on X: “I am aware of the shooting event at Siam Paragon and have ordered the police to investigate. I am most worried about public safety,”
Authorities said later that the situation was under control.