"Our motto is: 'If nobody loves you, it is our joy to love you,'" said Melva Arbelo.

Many of the dead are women and children who were unable to swim away when the boat sank.

The hearing focused largely on the status of Christians, Yezidis, some Muslims and other minorities in the face of atrocities carried out by the Islamic State group.

Protests turned violent for a second night on Sept. 21 in uptown Charlotte, about 10 miles away from the site of the fatal police shooting.

Bashar Assad said the U.S. lacked "the will" to join forces with Russia in fighting extremists.

The White Helmets were cited for "for their outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians from the destruction of the Syrian civil war."