International
New Syrian leader addresses with the United States the lifting of sanctions for reconstruction
The new leader of the Syrian administration, Ahmed al Sharaa, has addressed with the US diplomatic mission that visited Damascus yesterday the need to lift the sanctions imposed against Syria in order to rebuild the country after the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, on December 8.
The Syrian administration welcomed the mission, to which it assured that “the Syrian people need great support to achieve recovery and rebirth at all levels,” and called for the “lifting of the sanctions imposed” against Syria, according to a statement issued in recent hours by the political office of the new Syrian authorities.
He also stressed the importance “of giving the Syrian people the opportunity to rest from the misfortunes of war and conflicts.”
He presented to the US mission “a development and institutionalization program that will be launched in the new Syria.”
Also, Al Sharaa discussed the need to “persecute war criminals and symbols of the old regime” who must “be accountable to justice,” the note points out.
He affirmed “Syria’s role in achieving regional peace and building strategic relations with the countries of the region” of the Middle East.
American visit mission in Syria
Yesterday, a US mission headed by the Middle East manager of the United States State Department, Barbara Leaf, the advisor on Middle East affairs Daniel Rubinstein and the main negotiator of the Executive for the release of hostages, Roger Carstens, met with Al Sharaa and other leaders of the new Syrian administration, as well as with civil society, among others.
Withdrawal of the reward
Leaf announced yesterday that they have withdrawn a reward of 10 million dollars for information that can lead to his whereabouts, which has been in force for years.
This reward for his information was taken when Al Sharaa was known by the war name Abu Mohamed al Yolani and headed the Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian subsidiary of Al Qaeda.
However, in 2017 he formed the Levant Liberation Agency (Hayat Tahrir al Sham or HTS, in Arabic) that he now leads and which is a split from the Al Qaeda subsidiary.
One of the priorities of the new Syrian administration, which overthrew former President Bashar al-Asad on December 8 in an insurgent offensive that lasted only twelve days, is the reconstruction of the country, destroyed by almost fourteen years of war and by the sanctions imposed by the US and other countries, as well as the return of the more than 6 million refugees.
International
TikTok sale advances as Trump reveals deal is in place
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that TikTok has secured a buyer, marking a key step for the popular video-sharing platform to continue operating in the United States.
“We have a buyer for TikTok. We’ll probably need China’s approval,” said the Republican leader during an interview with Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News. Without naming the company, Trump said it is a “very wealthy” tech firm, and the identity will likely be revealed within “two weeks.”
Under former President Joe Biden, Congress passed legislation requiring TikTok’s parent company, the Chinese firm ByteDance, to divest the app to a buyer from a “non-adversarial” country by January 20, the day Trump returned to the White House following his reelection.
Due to the lack of an agreement, TikTok temporarily ceased operations in the U.S. until Trump, on his first day back in office, signed an executive order granting a 75-day extension. He later issued another 75-day extension on April 4, and most recently extended the deadline an additional 90 days, until September 17.
Trump, who has publicly stated he has “a soft spot for TikTok,” believes the platform played a vital role in building his popularity among younger voters during the last election.
International
Protests erupt over Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ migrant jail in the Everglades
Hundreds of environmentalists, Indigenous leaders, and activists gathered on Saturday to protest against the planned opening of a migrant detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” which, according to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, could begin operating as early as Tuesday and hold up to 3,000 migrants.
The protest took place amid active construction at the site, located in the Everglades Natural Park—an ecologically sensitive wetlands region west of Miami. Demonstrators raised concerns about the environmental impact on an area that is home to 36 native species of plants and animals that are threatened or endangered.
Protest signs read messages such as: “This scam will cost us $450 million and destroy our precious Everglades,”“Continuing with ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is criminal,” and “These are concentration camps on Indigenous land.”
The backlash intensified after a televised segment aired the night before on Fox and Friends, where DeSantis toured the facility—built on an abandoned airport—and suggested the detention center could start receiving migrants as early as Tuesday.
Internacionales
Jalisco’s grim discovery: drug cartel mass grave found in construction site
A mass grave was discovered in a residential area under construction in the municipality of Zapopan, part of the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco.
“After analyzing the recovered remains, they correspond to 34 individuals,” said a state official during a press conference. Jalisco has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in Mexico, largely due to the activity of drug cartels.
As of May 31, official data shows that Jalisco has recorded 15,683 missing persons, according to the state prosecutor’s office. Authorities attribute most of these cases to criminal organizations, which often bury or cremate their victims clandestinely.
“The construction company notified us at the end of February after discovering some remains,” explained the official, González, adding that excavation efforts have been ongoing since then.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) operates in the region and was designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington has accused CJNG and the Sinaloa cartel of being the main sources of fentanyl trafficking, a synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S.
Mexico has accumulated more than 127,000 missing persons, most of them since 2006, when the federal government launched a heavily criticized military-led anti-drug offensive.
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