Off the wire
• 1st LD Writethru: UN chief slams deadly attacks on security personnel in Turkey  • Reduction of army shows China's desire for peace: Brazilian experts  • Oil Search likely to reject Australia's largest takeover bid  • 1st LD: Boeing 777 plane catches fire on Las Vegas runway  • 7,000 asylum seekers pass through Vienna by train within 24 hours  • Australian consumer confidence falls amid international uncertainty  • Xinhua China news advisory -- Sept. 9  • Austrian trade deficit almost halves in first half 2015  • Austrian chancellor urges European solidarity over asylum seeker crisis  • (Recast)Western Aust'n government blamed as schools ditch language classes  
You are here: 　 Home

Australia to permanently take 12,000 Syrian refugees on top of annual intake commitment

Xinhua, September 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australia confirmed on Wednesday that it will permanently resettle 12,000 refugees from war-torn Syria - one of its largest single intakes since the Second World War.

Making the announcement after a coalition party room meeting, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australia would accept 12,000 refugees from "persecuted minorities" on top of Australia's annual commitment to take in 13,750 refugees from around the world.

Abbott said this was a carefully considered and "generous" number that Australia could handle.

"Australian will resettle an additional 12,000 refugees from the Syria/Iraq conflict," Abbott announced at a media conference on Wednesday. Endi