Arab diaspora

European ministers will hold emergency talks on Sept.14 on plans to distribute migrants around the continent, after Germany reintroduced border controls admitting it could no longer cope with the influx.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has proposed that the European Union give EUR 3B to Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan to help halt the flow of Syrian migrants from camps in those countries, newswires reported.

The recently established EU Regional Trust Fund on Thursday signed two contracts worth a total of EUR 17.5M that aim to address the education and food needs of 240,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey, the European Commission said.

The first contract was signed with UNICEF and is worth ?12.5 million.

At least 850,000 people are expected to cross the Mediterranean seeking refuge in Europe this year and next, the United Nations said on Sept.8, giving estimates that already look conservative. 

The UN refugee agency UNHCR called for more cohesive asylum policies to deal with the growing numbers. 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) head of communications Melissa Fleming said Europe must guarantee the relocation of Syrian refugees as a record number are arriving at FYROM, Greece and neighboring countries. 7,000 refugees reached FYROM yesterday, Fleming said, adding that nearly 30,000 were gathered on Greek islands including, 20,000 on Mytilene.

A recent close-up by London and Athens-based photographer Georgios Makkas shows that expensive smart phones, particularly ones with waterproof gadgets, mean a lot more than keeping in contact for Aegean refugees who have been risking their lives for a better future away from the risks of war and deadly poverty.

Britain will take 20,000 Syrian refugees "from camps near the war-torn country's borders" over the next five years.

British Prime Minister David Cameron made the announcement on Monday, AFP reported.

New Zealand announced on Sept.7 it will take 750 Syrian refugees over the next three years after coming under intense pressure to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Europe.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has reiterated his criticism towards United Nations Security Council permanent member states of being irrelevant to the crisis in Syria and Iraq, stressing it was the neighboring countries of Iraq and Syria which have paid the price of those crises. 

The British government is poised to accept 15,000 Syrian refugees and hopes next month to get backing for air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists, the Sunday Times reported.