International
UN Security Council holds emergency session on Syria at Russia’s request
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting this Monday afternoon, requested by Russia, to address the situation in Syria after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad last weekend.
The session will take place behind closed doors and is scheduled to begin at 15:00 local time in New York (20:00 GMT).
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, already spoke this Sunday about the future of the country, assuring that its future must be decided by “the Syrian people.”
“After 14 years of brutal war and the fall of the dictatorial regime, today the people of Syria can take advantage of a historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future,” Guterres noted after the Levant Liberation Agency group took Damascus and al-Assad fled the country.
UN Security Council meets to discuss situation in Syria
And he added that for this new stage in Syria “the international community is needed to ensure that any political transition is inclusive and broad, and that it meets the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria in all their diversity.”
The Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary-General of the United Nations already today discussed solutions about the transition period in Syria and the possible measures to rebuild the country, according to the Turkish foreign portfolio itself.
During today, the insurgents commissioned Mohamed al Bashir, the president of the Salvation Government – the de facto administration in the northern Syrian province of Idlib controlled by the Levante Liberation Agency – to form a government for the transition in Syria, said the Syrian television now directed by the opposition.
New government
“The president of the Salvation Government, Mohamed al Bashir, will be in charge of forming a new Syrian government to manage the transition phase,” said the Syrian channel.
The Salvation Government is a kind of political and civil branch of the Levant Liberation Agency (Hayat Tahrir al Sham or HTS, in Arabic) that was created in Idlib, a province in northwestern Syria and a bastion of the opposition.
16 million Syrians need help
The United Nations estimates that 16 million Syrians are currently in need of humanitarian aid and urges the international community to increase funding for cooperation in order to “open new facilities for refuge, sanitation and food.”
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said on Monday at a press conference that “our colleagues (on the ground) tell us that more than 16 million people already need humanitarian aid in Syria, which represents a huge proportion of the population, and is increasing as the situation continues to develop.”
The Islamist coalition Liberation Agency of the Levant (HTS, in Arabic), heir to the Al-Nusra Front – a former affiliate of Al Qaeda in Syria – took control of the main Syrian cities and on Sunday declared Damascus free after an offensive of just twelve days.
Possibility of accepting the Levant Liberation Agency
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, left open the possibility of recognizing the legitimacy of a hypothetical HTS government, which led the overthrow of Bashar al-Asad.
“I think we are all anxious to know what the future holds for us, but I think we have to take things little by little; seeing how they advance day by day and maintaining certain objectives,” Dujarric said at his daily press conference.
In addition, the General Secretariat stressed that “Syria, regardless of the changes that have been made, remains, obviously, a member state” of the organization.
“Very often, when there is a change of government, there is a communication that comes from a permanent mission (…) Everything is hypothetical for now, we will see how it progresses,” said Dujarric.
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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