SANA - Syrian Arab News Agency

President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and the Syrian accompanying delegation took part Thursday in the summit of heads of states and governments within the 30th session of the Climate Change Conference (COP30), held in the city of Belém, Brazil.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa met on Thursday with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the sidelines of the COP30 Climate Summit currently taking place in Belém, Brazil.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa was accompanied by Foreign and Expatriates Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani.

The Syrian delegation is participating in the COP30 sessions alongside representatives from more than 190 countries.

Khaled el-Enany has been elected Director-General of UNESCO, becoming the first Arab to hold the position. The General Conference of UNESCO announced that el-Enany received 172 votes out of 174 ballots.

El-Enany will succeed Audrey Azoulay, who has held the position since 2017. He will officially take office on 15 November for a four-year term. He is the 12th Director-General of UNESCO.

Born in 1971, el-Enany is an Egyptologist and a professor at Helwan University, where he has taught for more than 30 years. From 2016 to 2022, he served as Minister of Antiquities and then as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt.

Syrian internal security forces have seized a truck loaded with weapons and ammunition intended for smuggling to banned groups following a targeted operation in the southern neighborhood of Sarmada, located in northwest Syria’s Idleb province.

In a statement issued by the Interior Ministry on its Telegram channel, authorities confirmed that security forces intercepted a “Hyundai” truck carrying a large quantity of hidden arms and ammunition.

Two individuals were arrested at the scene, who later admitted to transporting the weapons on behalf of outlawed factions, according to the statement.

After further investigations, security forces conducted a coordinated raid on a farm in the region, where they apprehended three additional suspects. In the operation, they also seized more weapons, ammunition, artillery shells, two vehicles, and counterfeit official documents.

The detainees have been referred to the judiciary for further legal action in accordance with Syrian law.

The Israeli authorities continue to enforce stringent restrictions on the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, exacerbating the already dire living and health conditions for Palestinians in the region.

According to a statement from the Gaza government’s media office on Thursday, only a fraction of the promised aid has reached Gaza since the ceasefire began, deepening the humanitarian crisis.

As of Wednesday evening, just 4,453 aid trucks had entered Gaza, far below the 15,600 that were expected to arrive. This shortfall has worsened an already critical situation, with severe shortages of essential goods following years of siege, violence, and destruction caused by Israeli bombings.

The office has called for a daily flow of at least 600 aid trucks carrying food, medicine, fuel, cooking gas, and medical supplies to meet the urgent needs of civilians and sustain life in the region.

The statement further criticized Israel for depriving Palestinians of essential food items, particularly for vulnerable groups like children, the sick, and the wounded. Meanwhile, Israel has allowed larger quantities of low-nutrient goods into Gaza, often sold at inflated prices in local markets.

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli restrictions continue to impede the delivery of vital aid, worsening the suffering of Palestinians. The ongoing blockade threatens to collapse essential services and the healthcare system, with no clear indication that Israel is fully committed to meeting its promises of aid delivery.

The Syrian Civil Defense, in cooperation with the National Commission for Missing Persons, announced the discovery of the remains of five unidentified individuals near the village of Ghazlaniyah in the eastern Damascus countryside, following a report from residents of the area.

The Civil Defense explained on its Telegram channel that the retrieval and documentation process was carried out according to established protocols to ensure the preservation of forensic evidence, in preparation for handing the remains over to the relevant authorities to complete the necessary legal procedures.

The Civil Defense also reiterated its appeal to residents not to approach or tamper with the remains or mass grave sites, emphasizing that any unauthorized intervention could lead to the destruction of forensic evidence, which is essential for identifying missing persons and uncovering the circumstances of enforced disappearances.

One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday that targeted an area between the towns of Tora and Al-Abbasiya in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, according Lebanon official news agency. The attack followed warnings earlier in the day from Israeli officials, who had threatened to escalate military operations against southern Lebanon.

The National News Agency (NNA) said that Israeli fighter jets targeted also a building in the town of Tayr Diba, also located in the Tyre region, as part of an ongoing series of strikes on southern Lebanon.

Additionally, Israeli warplanes struck a building in Al-Tayba, in the Marjayoun district, following similar threats of increased airstrikes. These attacks are the latest in a series of Israeli military actions targeting southern Lebanon, which has seen a surge in hostilities in recent weeks.

Israeli drones were also spotted flying at low altitudes over Beirut and its southern suburbs, heightening concerns of additional strikes as the situation continues to deteriorate.

The escalation of airstrikes comes amid mounting fears over the stability of southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces increase military activity in the region. The violence adds to the broader pattern of escalating tensions in the area, raising concerns over the potential for further instability and conflict.

Chairman of the Planning and Statistics Authority Anas Salim affirmed that the project to establish a developmental identity for the Syrian Arab Republic aims to shape a long-term national vision and build sustainable development plans, emphasizing that this identity will be the guiding theme for Syria’s upcoming economic and social phase.

In a statement to SANA, Salim explained that the project was launched out of a national need and draws inspiration from the state’s visual identity. It will be built on multiple foundations — including domestic and international partnerships and national strategies — to serve as a clear and coherent framework for the new Syria.

Salim revealed that the project is expected to be completed within two months, after which the Authority will launch nationwide consultations to discuss the developmental identity with various social groups, ensuring a participatory approach that reflects the aspirations of Syrian society.

He underlined the importance of the National Statistics Committee, which the Authority is activating in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Syria, to produce accurate economic indicators in line with international standards. This effort responds to the pressing need for reliable data that truly reflects the economic reality, given the previous lack of private-sector coverage and inconsistencies in earlier datasets.

On the statistical front, Salim noted that the Authority has begun updating the national accounts system by transitioning to the 2008 framework, while reactivating several periodic and specialized surveys — including those on food security and labor force dynamics.

He emphasized that these steps represent the beginning of Syria’s reintegration into Arab and international planning and statistical platforms, adding that 2026 will mark a key milestone, when comprehensive databases are expected to be completed, enabling the full application of international standards in planning and statistics.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived at the venue of the COP30 Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil, where he was received by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. President al-Sharaa is participating in the two-day World Leaders Climate Action Summit.

The summit, which kicked off on Thursday, brings together heads of state and government, ministers, and leaders of international organizations to discuss pressing climate change challenges and commitments. The summit is part of the official activities of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), which runs from November 10 to 21.

– World attention turned to the Amazon on Thursday as the COP30 climate summit opened in Belém, northern Brazil, with the participation of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa alongside dozens of world leaders and representatives from around the world

According to the media office at the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic, President al-Sharaa will hold a series of bilateral meetings with heads of state and senior officials from both developing and industrialized nations to discuss cooperation in environmental protection, renewable energy, and sustainable development.

This visit marks the first time a Syrian president has attended a UN Climate Conference since the process began in 1995, underscoring Syria’s intention to re-engage in international efforts to address climate change and repair the damage inflicted on its natural resources by years of war and climate stress.

Nearly 50 heads of state and government responded to the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Prince William, who attended on behalf of King Charles III. Senior officials from the European Union and the United Nations also took part.

Observers noted that the absence of an official U.S. delegation altered the atmosphere of the opening sessions, giving greater space to developing countries to push for stronger funding commitments and more equitable mechanisms to support climate adaptation.

The Belém summit comes ten years after the landmark Paris Agreement (COP21, 2015), which aimed to keep global temperature rise “well below 2 degrees Celsius” and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
Subsequent conferences built on that foundation:

 COP27 (Egypt, 2022) created the Loss and Damage Fund for vulnerable nations.
– COP28 (UAE, 2023) made history by naming fossil fuels as the main cause of the climate crisis.
– COP29 (Azerbaijan, 2024) focused on financing, though many environmental groups found the pledges insufficient.

By hosting COP30 in Belém, the “gateway to the Amazon,” Brazil seeks to highlight the role of tropical forests as vital carbon sinks and biodiversity reserves. Discussions center on evaluating national commitments, accelerating the global shift to clean energy, and strengthening forest conservation.

The event also coincides with the 33rd anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which laid the groundwork for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Participants say the challenge now is to move “from promises to implementation.”

“We aim to strengthen cooperation between developing and industrialised nations on sustainability and environmental recovery,” the Syrian Presidency said in an official statement broadcast Thursday.

A Syrian industrial delegation headed by Engineer Mahmoud Fadila, Director General of the General Company for Cement and Building Materials Marketing (OMRAN), visited several factories in Turkey to discuss cooperation and the development of Syria’s cement industry.

During the visit, the delegation was briefed on the latest technologies used in cement production. Discussions focused on enhancing productivity, improving quality, and keeping pace with global advancements in the field.

Syria’s Minister of Agriculture, Amjad Badr, met with Vincenzo Caputo, Director of the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Umbria and Marche (IZSUM), on Thursday to discuss expanding agricultural cooperation and supporting Syria’s efforts to rebuild its agriculture sector.

The meeting, in Damascus, was also attended by Italy’s Ambassador to Syria, Stefano Ravagnan, the Director General of the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), and the FAO Representative.

The talks focused on boosting agricultural production, particularly in the areas of olive and wheat cultivation, while also broadening cooperation to include livestock vaccination programs and tackling transboundary animal diseases.

Ambassador Ravagnan emphasized the importance of supporting Syria’s agricultural sector, highlighting that the Italian Institute is the only Italian entity authorized to operate abroad, enabling it to facilitate the exchange of expertise and technology between the two countries.

Caputo, Director of the Italian Institute, noted that cooperation had already begun through a series of regular technical meetings. The FAO Representative also expressed the organization’s commitment to supporting efforts to protect Syria’s livestock resources.

In his remarks, the Director of ACSAD stressed the value of leveraging Italy’s experience in livestock immunization and veterinary training, affirming the organization’s readiness to offer technical assistance.

The expanded cooperation between Syria and Italy represents a significant step towards rebuilding the country’s agricultural industry, fostering both immediate recovery and long-term sustainability.

Civil defense and firefighting teams on Thursday extinguished two forest fires that broke out in the Sarstan Reserve and Jdeidet Hazour village in the Safita area of Tartous Governorate.

Ahmad al-Khatib, Head of Operations at the Civil Defense, told SANA’s correspondent that the teams quickly headed to the fire sites to contain the flames, but faced difficulties due to rugged terrain and strong winds.

Syria’s coastal forests witnessed a severe wave of wildfires last summer, with more than 20,000 hectares of forested land burned during July and August, causing a major environmental and humanitarian disaster.

Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 140 people dead and 127 others missing.

“Given the scale of the areas affected by Typhoon Kalmaegi, and those expected to be hit by another approaching storm, I have approved the proposal of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to declare a national state of calamity,” Marcos was quoted by the Philippine News Agency as saying.

The National Disaster Council reported that more than 500,000 families — or over 1.9 million Filipinos — have been affected by the typhoon.

Kalmaegi is the 20th typhoon to strike the Philippines this year. The country is now bracing for another storm, Fung-Wong, which is expected to intensify into a super typhoon and could hit the archipelago by the end of this week.

Syria’s Ministry of Energy signed final agreements on Thursday with a consortium of international companies, led by the Qatari-based UCC Holding, to build four new power plants with a total capacity of 5,000 megawatts. The plants will use a combination of natural gas and solar energy.

According to a statement from the Ministry on its Telegram channel, the projects include the construction of a 1,200-megawatt plant in northern Aleppo, two plants in Deir Ezzor and Zayzoun with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts each, and an 800-megawatt plant in Mahardah. In addition, a series of solar energy projects, totaling 1,000 megawatts, will be developed across four different locations.

This project marks one of the largest strategic energy initiatives in Syria since 2011 and is part of the Ministry’s broader plan to rehabilitate the national electricity grid, improve operational efficiency, and ensure the sustainable stability of the power supply.

Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir, in a statement following the signing, called the project a major milestone in the development of Syria’s energy infrastructure. He emphasized that the project would “strengthen national energy security, stabilize the electrical grid, and open the door to more international investments in sustainable development projects.”

The Minister added that the Ministry’s vision is to rebuild the energy sector on scientific and economic principles, balancing operational efficiency with environmental sustainability.

The Ministry has stressed that these projects are critical to the country’s broader goal of achieving energy independence and reducing reliance on foreign energy imports.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa and an accompanying delegation arrived in Brazil on Thursday to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), taking place in the city of Belém from November 6 to 21.

The Presidential Media Directorate announced in a statement on Wednesday that President al-Sharaa would undertake an official visit to Brazil on November 6 and 7 to attend the summit, which brings together dozens of world leaders and heads of state.

According to the statement, the visit will also include bilateral meetings with participating delegations and leaders on the sidelines of the conference.

This marks the first participation of a Syrian President in the annual climate summit since its establishment in 1995.

COP30 is one of the world’s leading climate events under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), bringing together representatives from more than 190 countries to discuss global efforts to combat climate change.

A workshop titled “Comparative Experiences from Other Contexts”, focusing on the role of government institutions in the search for missing persons, opened Thursday at the Semiramis Hotel in Damascus.

The event was attended by Justice Minister Anas Khattab, Head of the National Commission for the Missing Dr. Lina Suleiman, and ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger.

Participants discussed legal, institutional, and humanitarian frameworks for identifying and documenting cases of missing persons, drawing on comparative experiences from international contexts.

In remarks during the opening session, Minister Khattab said the Syrian government “considers the issue of missing persons a humanitarian priority that requires coordinated institutional action and transparency.”

Bomberger highlighted the importance of “building state capacity and supporting families of the missing through credible and coordinated processes.” The two-day workshop includes panel discussions on legal procedures, documentation standards, and mechanisms for cooperation between national and international institutions

The United States has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council in support of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the Gaza Strip, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations announced on Wednesday.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), a spokesperson for the U.S. Mission said in a statement that the draft — whose voting date has not yet been set — “welcomes the Peace Council to be chaired by President Trump to oversee the transitional government in Gaza” and “authorizes the international stabilization force outlined in his 20-point peace plan.”

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz convened the Council’s 10 elected members along with regional partners — Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — to discuss the text, which Washington says reflects broad regional backing for the proposal.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States will achieve tangible results at the United Nations instead of endless discussions,” the spokesperson said, adding that “the parties have seized this historic opportunity to put a final end to decades of bloodshed and achieve Trump’s vision for lasting peace in the Middle East.”

President Trump announced on October 9 that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on the first phase of his Gaza peace plan, which includes a ceasefire and prisoner exchange. The agreement came into effect on October 10, marking two years since the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that left more than 239,000 Palestinians dead or wounded and rendered much of the territory uninhabitable.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that it had observed the movement of dozens of Israeli military vehicles in its area of operations in southern Lebanon over the past two days, including several Merkavatanks.

According to the UN News Center, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said during a press briefing on Tuesday evening that UNIFIL peacekeepers “continue to monitor Israeli military presence and activities within the mission’s area of operations.”

He noted that the mission recorded the movement of 100 Israeli army vehicles in the eastern sector and about 60 in the western sector, in addition to hundreds of gunfire rounds fired from south of the Blue Line, some of which landed near a UNIFIL position in Kafr Shouba and close to Shebaa in the eastern sector.

“We remind all parties of their obligation to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and to respect UN property at all times,” Haq stressed.

He added that UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to uncover and report unauthorized weapon and ammunition caches to the Lebanese Army for disposal, while also supporting capacity-building and training programs for Lebanese troops on explosive threat response and defense techniques.

UNIFIL also continues to conduct joint patrols with the Lebanese Army to ensure security during the olive harvest season near the Blue Line.

Israeli occupation forces have repeatedly targeted UNIFIL sites in Lebanon, in violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

The Security Council last August extended UNIFIL’s mandate until December 31, 2026, marking its final renewal ahead of a planned, safe, and gradual one-year drawdown, after which the Lebanese Army will assume full security responsibility in southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL was established in March 1978 following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, with a mandate to confirm Israeli withdrawal, restore international peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government in reasserting its authority in the area.

Israeli occupation forces conducted a new incursion into the village of Ruwayhina in southern Quneitra countryside on Thursday, local sources told a SANA reporter.

According to the sources, a force of four military vehicles entered Ruwayhina, set up a temporary checkpoint in the village center, and then withdrew shortly afterward.

Yesterday, Israeli forces advanced into the eastern countryside of Quneitra, preventing quarry and crusher workers from reaching their work sites.

Israeli forces continue their repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty, breaching the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, international law, and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Syria has condemned these recurring Israeli incursions, calling on the international community to take urgent action to halt such aggression.