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WORLD NEWS Thursday 21 January 2021

U.N. announces talks on new Syria constitution resume Jan 25

By EDITH M. LEDERER lowed by the drafting of a
Associated Press new constitution and end-
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The ing with U.N.-supervised
U.N. special envoy for Syria elections. The resolution
announced Wednesday says the free and fair elec-
that the next round of talks tions should meet "the high-
toward revising the war- est international standards"
battered country's consti- of transparency and ac-
tution will start in Geneva countability, with all Syrians
on Jan. 25 and urged the — including members of
parties to move to actual the diaspora — eligible to
drafting. participate.
Geir Pedersen told the U.N. At a Russian-hosted Syr-
Security Council he views ian peace conference in
the meeting of delegations January 2018, an agree-
from Syria's government, ment was reached to form
opposition and civil society a 150-member committee
as very important. He said to draft a new constitution,
many subjects have been which took until September
discussed for more than a 2019. A 45-member com-
year and it's now time for mittee known as the "Small
the Constitutional Com- Body" will be holding its fifth
mittee to ensure that "the In this April 30, 2019 file photo, U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen speaks to journalists meeting starting next week.
meetings are better orga- following a U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria at U.N. headquarter. Pedersen, who has been
nized and more focused." Associated Press overseeing the talks, told
"I believe that we need to said. new constitution to waste unanimously endorsed a the Security Council that
ensure that the commit- "I believe that these are time until presidential elec- road map to peace in Syria under the U.N. resolution
tee begins to move from reasonable goals, but I tions this year and avoid that was approved in Ge- it is clear that the political
`preparing' a constitutional cannot assure the council U.N.-supervised voting as neva on June 30, 2012 by process "must be Syrian-
reform to `drafting' one, as that they will be met this called for by the U.N. Secu- representatives of the Unit- owned and led, but the
it is mandated to do," he time," he said, appealing to rity Council. ed Nations, Arab League, conflict is highly interna-
said. the committee to be ready According to Syria's elec- European Union, Turkey tionalized, with five foreign
Pedersen said the com- to move to a new phase of tions law, presidential elec- and all five permanent Se- armies active in Syria."
mittee can start consider- work in this next session Jan. tions are scheduled to curity Council members Pedersen urged "a more
ing specific constitutional 25-29. take place between April — the U.S., Russia, China, serious and cooperative in-
issues and draft provisions The United States and sev- 16 and May 16, at least 90 France and Britain. ternational diplomacy" say-
and agree on future meet- eral Western allies have days before Assad's seven- It calls for a Syrian-led po- ing despite their differences
ings on specific topics. "And accused Syria's President year term expires. litical process starting with key countries are commit-
there needs to be more ur- Bashar Assad of deliberate- A council resolution ad- the establishment of a tran- ted to the U.N. resolution.q
gency in the process," he ly delaying the drafting of a opted in December 2015 sitional governing body, fol- After a decade of con-
Gas explosion rips through Madrid building, killing 3

By ARITZ PARRA and MANU is missing, according to told Spanish public broad-
FERNÁNDEZ the Spanish government’s caster, TVE, who confirmed
Associated Press representative for the Ma- that none of the clerics
MADRID (AP) — A powerful drid region, José Manuel were among the victims.
gas explosion tore through Franco, who confirmed the Emy Lee Grau, an area
a residential building in three dead. resident who was watch-
central Madrid on Wednes- A police spokesman on ing television in a building
day, killing at least three the ground told reporters across the street, said that
people and ripping the fa- that firefighters were try- the moment of the blast
cade off the structure. ing to put out a small fire was “terrifying.”
A tower of smoke rose from inside the damaged build- “Everything shook, it felt like
the building, where re- ing before they could bring the roof was falling on us.
pairs were being done to in search dogs and special We were terrified when we
a gas boiler, and billowed rescue teams to look for saw the amount of smoke
through Toledo Street, near any possible survivors. coming out of the church’s
the city’s center. Aerial An Associated Press report- building,” the 20-year-old
footage shared by Spain’s er saw emergency work- Madrid resident told The As- A firefighter works at the scene of an explosion in downtown
National Police showed ers carry two bodies away sociated Press. Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
rubble covering a nearby from the area, one that A nearby nursing home Associated Press
schoolyard — though Ma- firefighters covered with a was evacuated and no in- cials said. wasn’t immediately sure
drid’s mayor said no one blue blanket and anoth- juries were initially reported Martínez Almeida also said where it was coming from.
was seriously injured at the er shrouded in reflective among the residents, Ma- that some mild damage “We all thought it was from
school. emergency sheeting. drid Mayor José Luis Mar- had been identified in a the school.
At least eight people were The building belongs to the tínez Almeida told reporters nearby school, where he We went up the stairs to
injured in the blast, one seri- nearby La Paloma Catho- on the ground. The home’s said people suffered no the top of our building and
ously, the Madrid emergen- lic Parish and hosted the 55 residents were initially more than “scratches.” we could see the structure
cy service said in a tweet. offices and apartments for taken to a hotel across the Neighborhood resident of the building and lots of
And a technician who some of its priests, Madrid street and were later sent Leire Reparaz said she gray smoke,” the 24-year-
was working on the boiler Archbishop Carlos Osoro to other care homes, offi- heard the explosion and old said.q