RUSSIA SENDS WARSHIPS TO MEDITERRANEAN
MOSCOW: Russia is sending a new flotilla of warships to the Mediterranean, the defense ministry said on Tuesday, amid the escalating situation in Syria.

The frigate Yaroslavl Mudry, the landing ships Kaliningrad and Alexander Shabalin as well as two other vessels have left their home port of Baltiysk on the Baltic and are heading for the Mediterranean, the defense ministry said in a statement. The statement did not mention Syria but military sources have previously told the Interfax news agency that Russian naval ships could be used to evacuate the thousands of Russian citizens still in Syria in case the situation in the country worsens.

UN SENDING CHEMICAL WEAPONS KITS TO SYRIA MONITORS
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations (UN) is sending chemical weapons kits to its troops in the Golan Heights because of growing fears over Syria’s deadly non-conventional arsenal, officials said. UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous briefed the UN Security Council on efforts to bolster the safety of the UN force, which monitors a ceasefire zone between Syria and Israel, after five troops were injured in attacks. Extra armored cars have also been sent from other missions to the UN Disengagement Observer Force, which has been monitoring a ceasefire between Israel and Syria since 1974.

MEXICO TO CREATE NEW POLICE FORCE TO FIGHT CARTELS
MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced the creation of a national police force to crack down on crime and battle the country’s powerful drug cartels. The force—a gendarmerie based on the model of Spain’s Guardia Civil—would be 10,000 strong. Currently Mexico has a patchwork of city and state police, along with some national police. The priority, he said, is to decrease the number of “homi-cides, kidnappings and incidents of extortion.” The president’s six-point strategy includes an overhaul of the security forces that would see the country divided into five operational regions. AFP