Jordan says Syrian refugees cost over $7 bln

Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said Syrian refugees influx has cost the country more than seven billion US dollars since 2011, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Turkish border crossing closed as Syrians flee. Turkey must keep border open (EU/The Geneva convention)

Turkey's foreign minister said Saturday his country would keep its “open border policy” for refugees, but did not indicate when thousands of Syrians camped out near a closed frontier post could cross.

EU, Turkey refugee plan only a draft, says Ankara

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday the European Union had woken up too late to Turkey’s importance in stemming the flow of refugees from Syria and accused it of insincerity in talks on Turkish membership despite recent overtures.

UN backs EU military action against migrant smugglers

The UN Security Council on Friday gave its approval to a European military operation to seize and dispose of boats run by migrant smugglers in the Mediterranean off Libya's coast.

Kerry says Syria's Assad must go but timing negotiable

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has to go but the timing of his departure should be decided through negotiations.

Nach Kritik aus Europa: USA nehmen 10.000 Syrien-Flüchtlinge auf.

US-Präsident Obama will in Zukunft deutlich mehr Flüchtlinge aus Syrien aufnehmen: 10.000 Syrern solle in den kommenden zwölf Monaten die Einreise ermöglicht werden. Zuletzt hatten die USA nur 1500 Flüchtlinge aus Syrien aufgenommen.

Refugees start arriving in Germany after Hungary ordeal (video Al Jazeera)

The first of thousands of exhausted refugees expected to arrive in Germany within days have started to arrive in the German city of Munich after boarding special trains from Austria's Vienna.

Germany, Spain call for uniform EU asylum policy

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and visiting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday declared themselves in favor of a uniform EU asylum policy.

FYROM allows ‘limited number’ of migrants to cross border from Greece. (Assurances that the border will not be closed in the future)

FYROM*** on Friday allowed a limited number of "vulnerable" migrants to enter the country a day after sealing its border with Greece and leaving thousands of refugees stuck in no-man's land.

Kurds battle IS on Syria border as Turkey blocks refugees

Kurdish fighters pressed an offensive Saturday to capture a key Syrian border town from the Islamic State group, as Turkish forces sought to prevent thousands fleeing the fighting from crossing the frontier.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife met Sunday with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, during the last day of his visit to Turkey.

The Bidens visited the Church of St. George, a Greek-Orthodox cathedral in Istanbul, before heading to the historic Suleymaniye Mosque, the largest in the city.

Gaza: Ban Ki-moon forms independent panel to investigate recent conflict

UN,  10 November 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the formation of an internal inquiry aimed at reviewing “certain incidents” reported at United Nations facilities in the Gaza Strip during the recent summer conflict there between Palestinian factions and the State of Israel.

During his visit last month to the war-ravaged enclave, the Secretary-General called for a thorough investigation into incidents where UN facilities – including schools run by the UN agency tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) – sustained hits resulting in the deaths of numerous innocent civilians and UN staff members.

Turkey: 18 killed in Kurdish protests

At least 18 people have been killed in pro-Kurdish protests in southeast Turkey, the Anadulo news agency reported on Wednesday.
The protesters were angry at Ankara’s lack of action to protect Kurdish population of the Syrian border town of Kobane from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Eight of the deaths came in Turkey’s main Kurdish city of Diyarbakir where the most intense rioting took place overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, a local security official told AFP.

Turkey asks US to ramp up air strikes against Islamic State

Turkey has asked the United States to step up air strikes to keep Islamic State militants (ISIS/ISIL) from seizing a key Syrian Kurdish border town, a senior Turkish official was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"Our government and our related institutions have emphasized to US officials the necessity of immediately ramping up air bombardment in a more active and efficient way," Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said, according to comments published on the website of the television channel AHaber.

Turkish government gets OK for military operations in Syria, Iraq. The mandate to begin tomorrow will last for one year.

A comprehensive motion authorizing the government to deploy the Turkish army into Iraq and Syria and to allow the deployment of foreign troops on Turkish soil was approved Oct. 2 in Parliament, providing the necessary legality for Turkey’s potential contribution to the international coalition’s efforts to destroy jihadists.

The motion, based on Article 92 of the Turkish Constitution, received 298 votes in favor and 98 against.

Turkey’s ISIL mandate includes 'military action abroad, opening bases to foreign troops'

The mandate the Turkish government is seeking from the Parliament to authorize the army to send troops into Iraq and Syria to deal with growing threat of extremist jihadists does also include opening its bases to foreign troops, a senior government official has said, signalling about potential Turkish contribution to the international military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“The motion we are about to send the Parliament is going to be comprehensive and to deal today’s and tomorrow’s threats,” deputy Prime Minister and spokesperson of the government, Bülent Arınç told reporters Sept. 30 following weekly cabinet meeting.

Kerry urges Assad's allies to end Syria war

BEIRUT: US Secretary of State John Kerry dismissed Syria's election as a "great big zero" on Wednesday, urging President Bashar al-Assad's allies Iran, Russia and Hezbollah to end the country's three-year war.

His remarks during a surprise trip to Beirut came ahead of the publication of official results from the election, dubbed a "disgrace" by Washington.

Kerry also announced US$290 million in humanitarian aid for Syria and neighbouring countries hosting refugees, key among them Lebanon.

Commissioner Malmström deplores loss of life in boat tragedy between Libya and Lampedusa

European Commission, Statement, Brussels, 12 May 2014/Anna Cecilia Malmström (European Commissioner for Home Affairs):

 

"I am deeply shocked by the new tragedy that took place in international waters between Libya and Lampedusa, resulting in at least a dozen deaths. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. Let me thank the Italian authorities for their huge efforts in putting in place the Mare Nostrum operation, also supported by the European Commission, which has saved and continues to save tens of thousands of lives. 

Multiple emergencies pose great test of the global humanitarian system, UN official says

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2 January 2014 – An unprecedented number of people are beginning the New Year either internally displaced or as refugees, the United Nations humanitarian chief warned today, urging sustained support in 2014 for millions who have been driven from their homes by violence and bloodshed or uprooted by devastating natural disasters.

UN agency condemns Israeli demolition of Arab homes, urges adherence to international law

26 December 2013 – The United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees today condemned Israel’s latest demolitions in the West Bank which have displaced 68 people, including 32 children, in the depths of winter, saying it is violating international law and calling on it to abide by its obligations.
“Because of these demolitions, which violate international law, these historically self-sufficient communities have been forced to endure the pitiless seasonal weather in inadequate housing, entirely dependent on international assistance,” the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said of the demolitions which took place on Christmas Eve in Ein Ayoub near Ramallah and Fasayil Al Wusta near Jericho in the Jordan valley.