Bulgaria has been accused today of "slamming the door on refugees" by putting in place a so-called 'Containment Plan' to reduce the number of asylum seekers entering the country. In a new report, Human Rights Watch found Syrians, Afghans and other would-be refugees are forced back across the Bulgarian border by police – often using excessive force – and into neighboring Turkey.
Greece has also been accused of 'pushing backs' desperate refugees who are attempting to cross its borders in a report published today by Amnesty International. The report also slammed the country's treatment of migrants and refugees as "deplorable". Bulgaria and Greece are both key gateway countries for migrants to reach the European Union, and both receive EU funding to police their borders.
The Syrian government is striking rebel-held areas of Aleppo with unguided, high-explosive barrel bombs, which have hit clearly marked official hospitals, along with homes and mosques.
A global body specializing in chemical weapons is sending a mission to investigate claims of recent chlorine gas attacks on rebel-held areas.
US Senator Patrick Leahy will stop $650 million in military funding from reaching Egypt after the country sentenced 683 people to death in a sham mass trial. Leahy is the chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees foreign aid.
Ratcheting up tensions in Ukraine even higher, pro-Russian groups stormed several government buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, despite extended EU sanctions against Moscow.
