Number of Syrians in Greece hits 175,000

The International Organisation for Migration says its estimate of the number of Syrians who have arrived in Greece this year has nearly doubled in just the last four days, to more than 175,000 people.

The Geneva-based intergovernmental agency attributes the jump to both an accelerated influx of Syrians from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in recent days and a lag by overwhelmed Greek authorities in determining the nationalities of those arriving.