Plymouth is gearing up to welcome its first Syrian Refugee families as part of a national scheme to provide sanctuary to those fleeing conflict.
The Government announced in September that the UK would provide sanctuary to 20,000 Syrian Refugees over the next five years, and has confirmed a target of up to 1,000 refugees will be flown over to the UK by Christmas.
For most Plymouthians the word refugee currently conjures up an image of people living in tents at Calais or trying to cross the Mediterranean in leaky overcrowded boats. But did you know Plymouth is a dispersal centre for refugees in the UK? Nationally there is a great debate about how we should respond to the current situation, for which there is no imminent end in sight. This is a complex...
A large explosion, thought to be a bomb attack, has occurred this morning in Mezzah, Damascus, local and state media reported.
Syrian State TV claimed there were casualties, however numbers have not been confirmed. According to local media, the target of the bombing this morning was the Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Al-Halqi who survived the assassination attempt.