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8-year-old Ridvan Cakiroglu rescued by Israeli search and rescue team from rubble of collapsed building 116 hours after earthquakes, on February 10, 2023 in Turkey's Kahramanmaras. As the human death toll topped 28,000, the desperation mounted with each hour that passed for those who hoped to find their relatives alive in the rubble days after two earthquakes devastated Turkey and Syria. While local media reported more people had been pulled from the rubble Saturday, Martin Griffiths, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, warned that the death toll was likely to rise. The first of Monday's devastating quakes struck Turkey and neighboring Syria in the early hours and registered at magnitude- 7.8. More than 3,500 have died in Syria, where death tolls have not been updated since Friday.

REUTERS/Ruma PaulCOX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Mohammed Ismail says four of his relatives were killed by gunmen at the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh between April and October last year. The group has fought against Myanmar's security forces and some Rohingya say it has been recruiting fighters, often through coercion, in the Bangladesh camps. Ismail, who lives with his parents, wife and brother, says he fears for his life and understands why some Rohingya are fleeing Bangladesh. A FRAUGHT CHOICEReuters spoke with several refugees who returned to the Bangladesh camps after abandoning journeys to Malaysia, via Myanmar, out of trepidation. "People are risking their lives on sea journeys as there is no future here and criminal activities are rising," Aziz said.

☆ At least 20 reported dead as Rohingya boats land in Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PIDIE, Indonesia, Dec 27 (Reuters) - At least 20 Rohingya have died at sea in recent weeks, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday, as boats carrying hundreds of the persecuted Muslims landed in Indonesia while others were believed to be adrift in the Indian Ocean. Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, which provides support to Rohingya, said the boat was the same as one earlier reported missing and feared to have sank. Some activists believe the lifting of COVID restrictions around Southeast Asia, a favoured destination for the Rohingya, could be a factor. The group is the latest in a series of boat landings and rescues around the region in recent weeks. There were 57 other Rohingya who reached Aceh on Sunday, while two other boats carrying a combined 230 people landed in November.

[1/2] Rohingya refugees rescued by fishermen are seen on a boat behind a patrol boat near the coast of Seunuddon beach in North Aceh, Indonesia, June 24, 2020. In Buddhist-majority Myanmar, most Rohingya are denied citizenship and are seen as illegal immigrants from South Asia. Nearly 200 Rohingya are feared dead or missing at sea this year already. "We hope against hope that the 180 missing are still alive somewhere out there", said UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch. Two boats carrying a total of 230 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, landed on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province in November, while this month, Sri Lanka's navy rescued 104 Rohingya adrift off the Indian Ocean island's northern coast.

☆ At least 180 Rohingya feared dead - U.N. refugee agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - At least 180 ethnic Rohingya stranded at sea for weeks after leaving Bangladesh in November are feared dead, as their rickety boat is thought to have sunk this month, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said. Citing unconfirmed reports, the agency said the "unseaworthy" boat probably sank after it went missing in the sea. More than 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are living in crowded camps in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, including tens of thousands who fled Myanmar after its military conducted a deadly crackdown in 2017. In Buddhist-majority Myanmar most Rohingya Muslims are denied citizenship and are are seen as interlopers, illegal immigrants from South Asia. Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan navy rescued 104 Rohingya adrift off the Indian Ocean island's northern coast.

☆ These photos show the many ways Christmas is celebrated around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Natalie Tham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

In a yearly series, CNBC Travel highlights diverse Christmas celebrations around the world. The Gavle goat is moving to a new location this year for the first time in 56 years, according to Visit Gavle, the city's visitor's guide. "He means a lot for us in Gavle, and he's a big part of the Christmas spirit," she said. Teachers, students and parents hold Christmas lanterns made from recycled materials during a campaign for sustainable Christmas celebrations at an elementary school in Quezon City, Philippines. "If I'm in Brazil during Christmas, I take my nephew and niece to a Christmas parade, and we have a blast!

☆ Angelina Jolie leaves U.N. refugee agency after more than 20 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Actor Angelina Jolie poses as she attends the UK premiere of "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" in London, Britain October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File PhotoGENEVA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie will quit her role as a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) but will remain a humanitarian activist, the United Nations said on Friday. Jolie, who has been on more than 60 field assignments during her 21 years with UNHCR, said she wanted to keep working with refugees outside of the global body. "I will continue to do everything in my power in the years to come to support refugees and other displaced people," Jolie said in a statement announcing her departure. Jolie has been UNHCR special envoy since 2012.

☆ Climate disasters put plight of displaced in COP27 focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There are some 22 million people like Hassan displaced every year in climate-fueled disasters, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM). And with climate change fueling increasingly extreme weather worldwide, the number displaced is expected to grow to about 143 million by mid-century. Given the growing need, developing countries at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt this month are demanding that wealthy nations offer more in the way of help. "Each government impacted by climate change migrants can raise the subject" at the U.N. summit, said Caroline Dumas, the IOM's special envoy for migration and climate action. "I'm a refugee, former refugee," said Emtithal Mahmoud, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.

☆ Syrian refugees return home as Lebanese repatriation scheme begins
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Syrian refugees sit with their belongings on a pick-up truck as they prepare to return to Syria from Wadi Hmayyed, on the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirARSAL, Lebanon Oct 26 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon returned home on Wednesday, the first day of repatriations organised by Beirut, amid concerns from rights groups that the scheme may involve elements of coercion. Lebanese authorities say the repatriations, under a revived programme run coordinated by the country's General Security agency, are voluntary. In 2018, the General Security agency launched a mechanism through which any Syrian refugee could signal a desire to return home, liaise with Syrian authorities to make sure that individual was not wanted there. That pathway saw around 400,000 Syrians return home but was put on hold with the outbreak of COVID-19.

☆ Malaysia's deportation of Myanmar refugees violates international law - UN
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The deportations, which included former navy officers seeking asylum, expose those sent away to danger and are a violation of the international law on non-refoulement, according to UNHCR, referring to a law that protects refugees or asylum seekers from being deported. "In the last two months alone, hundreds of Myanmar nationals are reported to have been sent back against their will by the authorities," UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told a Geneva press briefing. The latest incident involving an asylum seeker being sent back to conflict-torn Myanmar occurred on Oct. 21, Mantoo added, despite intervention by the UNHCR with authorities. Myanmar's embassy in Malaysia previously said in a post on Facebook that 150 Myanmar nationals were deported by plane on Oct. 6 in cooperation with Malaysian immigration authorities. So far, more than 150,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including many ethnic Rohingya Muslims, have fled to neighbouring Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Malaysia deported 150 Myanmar nationals this month, including former navy officers seeking asylum, and plans to send back more despite the risk of arrest they face at home, four sources familiar with the matter said. The two were deported from Malaysia for failing to hold valid documents to reside in the country, the sources said. Myanmar's embassy in Malaysia said in a post on Facebook that 150 Myanmar nationals were deported by plane on Oct. 6 in cooperation with Malaysian immigration authorities. The agency did not comment on dangers faced by Myanmar nationals deported back home. Despite such criticism, Malaysia is planning to deport more Myanmar nationals, according to community leaders who said they were briefed by authorities on planned deportations.

☆ Lebanon to resume sending refugees back to war-damaged Syria
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. The plan would not involve the United Nations, which maintains that conditions in Syria do not allow for the large-scale return of refugees. The Lebanon office of the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was "not facilitating or promoting the large-scale voluntary repatriation of refugees to Syria." New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in July that "Syria is anything but safe for returnees". In its September report, the United Nations' Syria commission said the country was still not safe for returnees.

☆ Red Cross pauses Ukraine field work for security reasons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary ICRC and Norwegian Refugee council pause field work on MondayBoth cite security fears after Russian missile attacksOperations continue, field work expected to resumeGENEVA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross and at least one other aid group paused their field work in Ukraine for security reasons on Monday after Russia fired missiles at cities across Ukraine. A second ICRC spokesperson later added that while field work had halted, aid workers were able to continue desk work. The Norwegian Refugee Council also said that it had halted its aid operations in Ukraine until it is safe to resume. "We cannot aid vulnerable communities when our aid workers are hiding from a barrage of bombs and in fear of repeated attacks," said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the NRC. A spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency said its operations continued, with staff sheltering during air raids.

A picture of Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati is placed on a residential building in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon September 23, 2022. The tragedy has underscored soaring poverty in northern Lebanon, and Tripoli in particular, that is driving ever more people to take desperate measures three years into the country's devastating financial collapse. Tripoli, Lebanon's second city with a population of roughly half a million, was already Lebanon's poorest before the country plummeted into financial crisis, the result of decades of corruption and bad governance overseen by ruling elites. The economic crisis has led poverty to sky-rocket, with 80% of the population of some 6.5 million poor, according to the United Nations. Several other boats attempted the voyage from Lebanon last week: Cyprus rescued 477 people from two vessels that left Lebanon.

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