Syria, Iraq conflicts send asylum-seeker numbers up 45%: UN

AFP - 26 March 20 15 - The number of asylum-seekers in industrialized countries rose by nearly half last year, driven by the devastating conflicts in Syria and Iraq, with Germany the top destination, the UN refugee agency said Thursday.

In 2014, some 866,000 people applied for asylum in such countries, marking a 45-percent jump from a year earlier and a 22-year high, the UN refugee agency said.

The surge is linked to the spiraling conflicts in Syria and Iraq, which have created 'the worst humanitarian crisis of our era,' spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters.

Egyptian navy has fired shots at Iranian warships

Egyptian navy has fired shots at Iranian warships

Four Egyptian naval vessels have crossed the Suez Canal en route to Yemen to secure the Gulf of Aden, maritime sources at the Suez Canal said Thursday.

The sources said they expected the vessels to reach the Red Sea by Thursday evening.

Warplanes from Saudi Arabia and Arab allies struck the Shiite Muslim rebels fighting to oust Yemen’s president on Thursday, a gamble by the world’s top oil exporter to check Iranian influence in its backyard without direct military backing from Washington. 

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Saudi Arabia’s coalition against Yemen’s Houthis

Jordanian air force jet fighters

DUBAI, March 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and allies launched air strikes in Yemen on Thursday to stop the advance of the Iran-allied Houthi militia towards President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s southern refuge of Aden. 
Saudi Ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir said a coalition of more than 10 countries had joined the military campaign to try to protect Hadi’s government, without naming the countries involved. 
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar signed a joint statement with Saudi Arabia announcing the military action.

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