International
Rival powers in Syria take steps to end the war and start a dialogue
The two main allies of the Syrian Government, Iran and Russia, and the greatest support of the armed opposition to President Bashar al Asad, Turkey, brought positions closer this Saturday to call for a cessation of hostilities in the midst of the offensive of the Islamist rebels and begin a dialogue that ends the war in Syria.
The Doha Forum was the scene of the first contact between the foreign ministers of these three powers that guarantee the ceasefire in Syria and that are part of the so-called Astana Format, a mechanism established in 2017 to find a solution to the war in the Arab country.
“We firmly confirm our call to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria. We call for the immediate cessation of war actions and the beginning of the dialogue between the Government and the legal opposition forces,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his speech at the forum.
Consensus between the parties
On November 27, an insurgent coalition led by the Liberation Agency of the Levant (heir to the former Syrian subsidiary of Al Qaeda) launched an offensive against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, and in just over a week, they have controlled the cities of Aleppo and Hama, both provincial capitals.
They are now at the gates of the city of Homs, in central Syria, and in case they control it they would further isolate Damascus, since it would cut the land connection with the Mediterranean coast.
This new crisis has set off all the alarms in the Middle East, something that is becoming evident this weekend in Doha, where most of the discussions and interviews revolve around the delicate situation that Syria is going through and the uncertain future of Al Asad.
In Doha, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, also insisted that “there was a consensus among all participants that the conflict must end immediately, the territorial integrity of Syria must be respected and, most importantly, the political dialogue between the Syrian Government and the legitimate opposition groups must continue.”
In the midst of the meetings between the heads of the diplomacy of Iran, Turkey and Russia, the Turkish president, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also called on all sides involved in the conflict in Syria, as well as “international organizations”, to protect the territorial unity of the Arab country.
“The best thing for our region will be that all actors who have responsibilities, all international organizations, support the protection of the territorial integrity of Syria,” Erdogan said during a speech to his party in the Turkish city of Gaziantep.
A “fundamentally different” process
Among the participants of these high-level meetings in Doha was also the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, who said in a brief appearance before the media that Turkey, Russia and Iran want to end the crisis and start a political process.
“I have called for urgent political talks in Geneva to implement Security Council resolution 2254. I am pleased to say that the ministers and everyone I am talking to support this appeal, and my hope is that a date for it can be announced very soon,” Pedersen said.
He thus referred to the resolution that in 2015 was unanimously approved by the UN Security Council, which lays the foundations for the achievement of a ceasefire and a negotiated solution to the conflict in force in Syria since 2011.
“My hope is that we can announce a date for this very soon,” said the diplomat, who said that he also held consultations with representatives of the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union, and that these meetings will continue on Sunday, at a time when the situation in Syria “changes every minute.”
“The need for an orderly political transition has never been more urgent, starting with the urgent formation of credible and inclusive transitional arrangements in Syria,” said Pedersen, who added that this requires “a serious and urgent process, fundamentally different from what has happened so far.”
This new process, according to the special envoy, should be the beginning of a roadmap that “leads to the realization of the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and the restoration of the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria.”
International
Texas opens major migrant detention center amid civil rights protests
The East Montana Camp, poised to become one of the largest U.S. migrant detention facilities for housing foreigners awaiting deportation in tents, officially opened on a military base in Texas despite protests from civil rights advocates.
Operations began this Sunday with an initial capacity of approximately 1,000 beds at Fort Bliss, the largest installation of the U.S. Armed Forces Command. Authorities plan to expand the facility to house up to 5,000 people, making it one of the country’s largest migrant detention centers, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official who spoke to EFE.
The center is expected to hold immigrants with final deportation orders, according to Republican Senator from Texas John Cornyn, who visited the site last week.
“These are people with firm deportation orders. They have no legal recourse. They have no legal right to be here,” Cornyn said, as reported by The Hill.
The senator added that the facility must remain open to Congressional oversight and media access, in response to Democratic lawmakers’ complaints about being denied entry to migrant centers, where cases of negligence have been reported.
International
NYPD declares suspicious Times Square package safe after investigation
The police reported that a suspicious package was found near West 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue around 10:30 a.m. local time (14:30 GMT), directly above the Times Square subway station connected to the Port Authority terminal.
The New York Police Department’s Bomb Squad was deployed, and officers closed streets and pedestrian areas for nearly two hours while the package was investigated.
By 11:53 a.m., NYPD officials confirmed that the item was not dangerous, and the streets were reopened shortly afterward.
The incident is still under investigation.
International
Three arrested in Dubai hours after $25 million pink diamond theft
Dubai police reported on Monday that they arrested three thieves just hours after a valuable pink diamond worth $25 million was stolen.
“The General Command of Dubai Police thwarted the theft of a very rare pink diamond valued at $25 million,” the police said in a statement shared by the official UAE news agency, WAM.
According to authorities, a diamond dealer who had brought the gem from Europe was lured to a mansion by a criminal gang under the pretense of a meeting with a wealthy client interested in the piece. However, the diamond was stolen when the dealer arrived, the statement added.
Within eight hours, three suspects from an unspecified Asian country were arrested, “thanks to the efforts of specialized teams and field units, and through the use of the latest artificial intelligence technologies,” the police said.
A video released by Dubai’s media office showed the three men with blurred faces following their arrest.
Dubai is a major hub for diamond trade, and the UAE prides itself on its strict security and stability.
Texas opens major migrant detention center amid civil rights protests
NYPD declares suspicious Times Square package safe after investigation
Three arrested in Dubai hours after $25 million pink diamond theft
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