International

Dominican Republic continues with Haitian deportations

Photo: Prensa Latina

February 23 |

Despite the economic, social and political crisis facing Haiti, about a hundred undocumented Haitian migrants were detained in the last few hours at various points in the east of the Dominican Republic and face the risk of deportation.

The regional supervisor of Migration, José Bienvenido, confirmed to local media that the migrants were detained in zones such as Bávaro, Higüey, Bayahíbe, Nisibon, Verón and La Romana.

He specified that the Migration operations involved 11 teams with civilian and military personnel, who used trucks to transport the detainees to centers from where they would then travel to the border.

According to the Grupo de Apoyo a Refugiados y Repatriados (GARR), a total of 26,916 Haitian nationals were deported to this country last January.

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According to the Haitian NGO, the forced returns were carried out through official and unofficial border points. It specified that among those returned were 2,566 minors and 245 pregnant women.

The GARR detailed that in the Dominican Republic migrants face various types of abuses and violations of their rights, regardless of whether they are children or pregnant women. Among the most frequent are the separation of families, the detention of Haitians under any circumstances, the return of children without the presence of their parents or other family members, and the detention of minors in hospitals or on the streets.

According to GARR, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the repatriation mechanism with full respect for the rights of Haitian citizens, but it is not being complied with. Furthermore, he regretted that the Haitian government does not condemn these violations.

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.