United Nations

More than 30 humanitarian organisations launched an appeal on Dec. 8 for countries to take in around 180,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict.

That figure would represent five percent of the projected refugee population by the end of 2015, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Israel said Dec. 8 it will not allow "sophisticated weapons" to fall into the hands of its enemies, after furious claims from Syria that Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes near Damascus.
      
Israel refused to confirm or deny the strikes, but its forces have previously targeted weapons allegedly destined for arch-foe Lebanon's Hezbollah.
      

Syria accused Israel of bombing its main international airport on Dec. 7 as the U.N. announced talks with rebel leaders on a ceasefire in its war-battered second city of Aleppo.

The accusation came hours ahead of an appeal by humanitarian organisations Dec. 8  for countries to take in around 180,000 refugees as the number of people fleeing the Syrian conflict continues to grow.

The U.N.'s envoy to Syria will meet in Turkey with rebel leaders from Aleppo to discuss a possible freeze in fighting in the war-torn city, his spokeswoman said on Dec. 7.

Staffan de Mistura "will travel very soon to Gaziantep (in Turkey) to discuss his plan with key rebel groups from Aleppo," Juliette Touma told AFP. She did not specify when exactly the talks would place.

Turkey’s first ever culture and tourism minister, Talat Sait Halman, passed away on Dec. 4.

Halman was born in Istanbul in 1931. He studied at Istanbul’s Robert Collage and got his master’s degree in political science from Columbia University.

The third Greek-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council ended on Saturday with a joint statement pledging goodwill and the intention for closer bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism and energy, as well as in curbing illegal immigration.

A report drafted by a civil rights organization has drawn a picture of the plight of transgender individuals in Turkey, finding that half of all transgender women sex workers in the country have been subjected to physical violence from police. It also states that the murder of transgender individuals in Turkey amounts to 40 percent of the total number of such killings in all of Europe.

Ambassadors: Continue Kosovo dialogue, set up court

NEW YORK -- Envoys of the UN Security Council member-states have called for prompt forming of institutions in Kosovo in order to set up a special war crimes court.

They also urged prompt continuation of high-level Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

NEW YORK - Kosovo's outgoing Prime Minister Hasim Taci has said that Kosovo has made progress and that he therefore hopes it will soon become a member of the UN.

Thaci "hopes Kosovo will become UN member soon"

NEW YORK -- Kosovo's outgoing Prime Minister Hasim Thaci has said that "Kosovo has made progress" and he therefore hopes it will "soon become a member of the UN."