The arrest of two suspected Iraqi terrorists has sparked renewed debates on Syrian refugees coming in United States. Republicans, mainly those from Texas where one of the Iraqi nationals was arrested, have been vocal on their concerns against US federal government’s decision to let Syrian refugees come in.
German leaders expressed shock over dozens of sexual assaults against 90 women on New Year's Eve. The witnesses blamed "Arab-looking men," but leaders warned against anti-migrant scapegoating.
A U.S. lawmaker introduced a bill aiming to toughen the vetting process for refugees seeking to enter the United States as Republican leaders in Congress sought to block Syrians fleeing war in their country.
Sweden will impose temporary border controls from Thursday in response to a record influx of refugees, a turnaround for a country known for its open-door policies that also threw down the gauntlet to other EU nations hit by a migration crisis.
Turkey's Islamist-rooted AK Party swept to an unexpected victory in elections on Sunday, returning the country to single-party rule in an outcome that will boost the power of President Tayyip Erdogan but may sharpen deep social divisions.
A masked swordsman who killed a teaching assistant and a boy and wounded two others, all with immigrant backgrounds, was driven by racist motives, Swedish police said on Friday, fuelling concerns that refugee numbers were polarizing public opinion in the country.
Germany needs to limit the number of refugees it takes in or even close its borders, conservative allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the weekend, as the country deals with record inflows of people fleeing from war and poverty.
Qatar's foreign minister said on Monday there was general international agreement with Russia on its call to fight Islamic State, but cautioned that it failed to tackle the root cause of the crisis in Syria, which was President Bashar al-Assad.
European far right parties have called refugees streaming into the region "terrorists", a "ticking time bomb", a Muslim "invasion" that will bankrupt nations and undermine the continent's Christian roots.
U.S. President Barack Obama believes that holding military talks with Russia on Syria is an important next step and hopes they will take place very shortly, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday.
Croatia threatened to close its border with Serbia on Thursday as migrants fled from overwhelmed police, trekked through fields and tried to steal into Slovenia by train in a desperate march westwards that is sowing discord and recrimination in Europe.
The Syrian military has recently started using new types of air and ground weapons supplied by Russia, a Syrian military source told Reuters on Thursday, underlining growing Russian support for Damascus that is alarming the United States.
Hungary on Wednesday detained 29 people including a "terrorist" as migrants demanding to be let through the country's newly shut EU frontier clashed with riot police firing water cannon and tear gas while refugees searched for new ways to enter the bloc.
Refugees will continue to arrive in Germany despite the government's introduction of temporary border controls and the new measures do not affect the right to asylum for people who are being persecuted, a government spokesman said on Monday.
President Barack Obama has directed his administration to prepare to take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year, the White House said on Thursday.
A camerawoman for a private television channel in Hungary was fired late on Tuesday after videos of her kicking and tripping up migrants fleeing police, including a man carrying a child, spread in the media and on the internet.
France warned on Tuesday that it would be a mistake for Europe to take in all refugees persecuted by Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, and called for a plan of action to ensure the Middle East's diversity remained despite the mounting crisis.
At least 850,000 people are expected to cross the Mediterranean seeking refuge in Europe this year and next, the United Nations said on Tuesday, giving estimates that already look conservative.
Austria said on Sunday it planned to end emergency measures that have allowed thousands of refugees stranded in Hungary into Austria and Germany since Saturday and move step by step "towards normality".
Conflicts across the Middle East and North Africa are preventing more than 13 million children from attending school, leaving their hopes and futures shattered, the United Nations Children's Fund said in a report issued on Thursday.
