A woman alleged to be a Islamic State (IS) member can be repatriated from Turkey, New Zealand has said.
New Zealand has agreed to welcome the woman and her two young children, who have been detained in Turkey since February.
The decision follows a bitter dispute with Australia over which country needed to shoulder responsibility for the woman, who had been a dual citizen of both countries until Australia stripped her of her citizenship under its anti-terrorism laws.
The woman and her children were arrested when they tried to illegally cross from Syria into Turkey, according to the defence ministry in Ankara.
Image: Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand could not remove citizenship from anyone if it left them stateless. File pic
Turkey identified her only by her initials SA, while New Zealand media say she is Suhayra Aden, who was 26 at the time of her arrest.
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New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her country’s international responsibilities had been taken into account and said it could not remove citizenship from anyone if it left them stateless.
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She said: “I made very strong representations to Australia that she should be permitted to return there.
“Her family moved to Australia when she was six and she grew up there before departing for Syria in 2014 on an Australian passport.
“Unfortunately, Australia would not reverse the cancellation of citizenship.”
Australian home affairs minister Karen Andrews said the woman lost her citizenship as a result of her own actions, and that ending citizenship for dual nationals engaged in terrorist conduct was an integral part of Australia’s response to terrorist threats.
“The government’s first priority is always to protect the Australian community,” Ms Andrews said.
Ms Ardern said the safety and wellbeing of New Zealanders was the government’s paramount concern. She said there had been extensive planning with the police and other agencies.
“I can assure people great care is being taken as to how the woman and her young children are returned to New Zealand and how they will be managed in a way that minimises any risk for New Zealanders,” Ms Ardern said.
Image: British schoolgirl Shamima Begum, who joined IS in February 2015, has also been stripped of her citizenship
Authorities declined to say when the family would be repatriated, citing legal and security concerns.
Ms Ardern said anyone suspected of being associated with a terrorist group should expect to be investigated under New Zealand laws, although the case remains a matter for the police.
New Zealand police confirmed an investigation is under way but declined further comment on whether the woman would face any criminal charges.
It follows Shamima Begum, the former British schoolgirl who joined IS in February 2015, being stripped of her citizenship in 2019.
Ms Begum was 15 when she left east London with two other schoolgirls to join Islamic State in Syria.
In 2019 she was found nine months pregnant in a Syrian refugee camp, and shortly after her British citizenship was revokedby then home secretary Sajid Javid over national security concerns.
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.