Putin to hold talks with Xi, attend SCO summit and military parade during China trip
Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China next week for talks with President Xi Jinping, to attend a regional security summit, and to appe...
The UN refugee agency expects 1 million Syrian refugees to return in early 2025 but urges nations not to force returns, citing ongoing humanitarian needs and uncertainty after rebels seized power.
A U.N. refugee agency official said on Tuesday that some 1 million Syrian refugees are expected to return to the country in the first six months of 2025, asking states to refrain from forcing them to do so.
A lightning rebel advance swept Syria's President Bashar al-Assad from power this month, shocking the world and raising the prospect that some of the millions of people who fled the country during its 13-year civil war might return.
"Now we have forecasted that we hope to see somewhere in the order of 1 million Syrians returning between January and June next year so we shared this plan with donors, asking for their support," said Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
"We have massive humanitarian needs on a scale that hasn't in any way diminished," she added, noting that 1 million people have been internally displaced since the rebel advance began.
In the immediate aftermath of the rebels seizing power, thousands of people fled Syria, while thousands had also returned to the country mostly from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, Imseis said.
She added that some of those fleeing could be linked to the former government or else be religious minorities with concerns about their standing under the new authorities, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which once had ties to al-Qaeda.
Countries should be patient as Syrian refugees consider whether to return, she added. "It's important to maintain that protection for Syrians who have already found refuge in host countries, and that they are not forcibly returned to Syria," she said.
Asked about some countries' decisions to freeze asylum applications for Syrians, she said: "We have been very clear in the non returns advisory to all countries. It is just far too soon to make this determination on the safety and stability of Syria and there are many questions that are that need to be answered."
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China next week for talks with President Xi Jinping, to attend a regional security summit, and to appear as Xi’s “main guest” at a military parade on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, the Kremlin announced on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has cancelled Secret Service protection for Democratic Presidential candidate and former Vice President, Kamala Harris according to a senior White House official.
Georgia’s ruling party is pointing to recent remarks by former USAID Administrator Samantha Power as evidence that U.S. aid programs are used to influence political regimes abroad. The comments, made during a prank interview, have fueled debate in Tbilisi over sovereignty, NGOs, and foreign funding.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Afghanistan is facing a worsening humanitarian and health crisis in 2025, with millions of returning refugees expected to stretch the country’s already fragile health system.
A woman pinned beneath concrete, a man with a badly broken leg, a child trapped under the rubble.
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