BRUSSELS -- The European Union (EU) Monday launched a forum devoted to exchanging ideas on how to build a stronger and more resilient Schengen area, which saw itself breaking down during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The first months of the pandemic showed us what happens when Schengen stops functioning: Europe grinds to a halt," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the on-line forum, which gathered members of the European Parliament and the EU's home affairs ministers. (EU-Schengen-Forum)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- U.S. San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Monday announced the launch of the first phase of the city's Street Crisis Response Team (SCRT) pilot program.

The SCRT is part of San Francisco's efforts to develop alternatives to police responses to non-violent calls, which advances the roadmap to fundamentally change the way that the city handles public safety, and is also a major step in implementing Mental Health SF, the announcement said. (US-San Francisco-Crisis Response)

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BAGHDAD -- A commando force of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) conducted an operation against militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in the southern part of the northern province of Nineveh, leaving six IS militants killed, the CTS said Monday.

The CTS commandos, backed by U.S.-led international coalition aircraft, attacked a cave used by IS militants in Makhmour Mountain in the south of Nineveh's provincial city of Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, The CTS said in a statement. (Iraq-IS-Operation)

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UNITED NATIONS -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in society, including in COVID-19 response and recovery.

The UN chief was addressing countries that are parties to the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which he stressed can only be fully implemented by tackling the obstacles, injustices and discrimination that this population experiences. (UN-Guterres-Persons with Disabilities) Enditem

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