Millions of euros in donations flooded into aid groups Friday from across Europe and the US from people heart-broken by photos of a drowned Syrian toddler lying washed up on a Turkish beach.
Under pressure at home to act, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would put up an extra £100 million (137 million euros, $153 million) in humanitarian aid for the Syrian crisis, bringing London's total contribution to the conflict to more than 1.0 billion pounds.
And the children's charity UNICEF reported that donations had sky-rocketed since the picture of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi lying face down on the sand, his little shoes still firmly tied on his feet, went viral.
"Donations are up 105 percent," said a statement from the US-branch of UNICEF.
"When the image really hit the web, page views spiked over 149 percent over same time previous day."
The International Olympic Committee also launched an emergency two-million-euro ($2.2 million) fund, as the picture of Aylan, still dressed in blue shorts and a red T-shirt, triggered a wave of emotion, despite deep divisions among European governments about how to act.
"There is an enormous response from the public, the tide of indifference is shifting," Christian Peregrin, spokesman for the Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station, told AFP.
The group, working to help migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean from Libya, had by Friday received a record 600,000 euros ($666,500) in pledges.
"Before that, 10,000 euros in a day would have been a good day," he said.
Catalyst for action
In the Netherlands, which has so far remained largely indifferent to the crisis, Aylan's tragic fate has "served as a massive catalyst" to mobilise donations, a worker at the Dutch Refugee Council told AFP.
Aylan, his four-year-old brother Ghaleb and their mother Rihana drowned on Wednesday while trying to escape the four-year conflict in Syria and reach Europe across the Aegean Sea.
Since Aylan's pictures were published "there's been a whole change in attitude. Before, there was quite a bit of fear over the arrival of refugees," the Dutch aid worker said, asking not to be named.
"Now people are realising that we have to do more."
The Dutch government was examining ways to help, Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters, but he had no easy answers, adding there had to be a "European response."
"We have to re-think the current tools available and be ready, in order to find a solution, for a new path."
"We have all been touched by the terrible news and the heartbreaking stories in the past few days," the International Olympic President Thomas Bach said, as the IOC launched its fund.
Outspoken Irish rocker Bob Geldof pledged to take in four Syrian families at his two homes calling the migrant crisis a "sickening disgrace".
And Bayern Munich football club pledged one million euros to aid groups, saying it was organising a friendly game at which it hoped to raise a further million euros for the migrants.
Aid groups in the southern German city of Munich have been overwhelmed with donations.
"All our depots are full and volunteers are sorting through things. We've really received tonnes of things," said Nicole Boessl, from the Diakonia humanitarian group.
UN says still underfunded
Other groups in the Bavarian city, such as the Catholic group Caritas, had had to ask donors to stop dropping off clothes and goods as they were overwhelmed.
In Sweden, the boss of information technology company, B3IT, persuaded his workers to cancel a planned weekend trip to Rome and donate the 42,500 euros it was costing.
"I was on my way to a meeting, when I saw the photo of the little boy. I was very upset. That could have been my children," Jonas Elgquist told AFP.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR said since Thursday it has "received a hundred thousand dollars of unsolicited funding on our global donate page, which we are sure was largely due to the photo of the Syrian toddler," said spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.
She added there has been a surge in donations in past weeks, even though the UNHCR and its partners say they remain hugely underfunded as they grapple with the growing crisis.
AFP
Sat Sep 05 2015
Millions of euros in donations flooded into aid groups from people heart-broken by photos of a drowned Syrian toddler lying washed up on a Turkish beach.
Lapan pendatang tanpa izin dihukum penjara enam bulan di Kelantan
Lapan individu dihukum penjara enam bulan selepas mengaku bersalah di Mahkamah Sesyen Khas bagi Pendatang Asing Tanpa Izin di Tanah Merah semalam.
Lebih banyak kolaborasi bidang TVET antara Malaysia dan China - Ahmad Zahid
Malaysia dan China akan mengadakan lebih banyak kolaborasi dalam Pendidikan dan Latihan Teknikal dan Vokasional (TVET) bagi memperkasa bidang itu.
KPDN Kelantan sita 34,871 liter minyak diesel di Kuala Krai
Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Kos Sara Hidup (KPDN) Kelantan menyita kira-kira 34,871 liter minyak diesel bernilai lebih RM74,900 di sebuah premis perniagaan di Kuala Krai, semalam.
Baki stok simpanan air di empat empangan pada paras kritikal - NADMA
Empat empangan air di Johor, Pulau Pinang dan Kedah menunjukkan penurunan paras simpanan sumber air mentah pada paras kritikal setakat semalam susulan cuaca panas.
Pesawat Maritim Malaysia bantu padam kebakaran di Miri
Maritim Malaysia telah mengatur gerak pesawat Bombardier CL-415 miliknya, bagi membantu dalam operasi memadamkan kebakaran hutan tanah gambut secara bersepadu.
Polis tahan lelaki bakar mercun di tengah jalan raya
Polis menahan seorang pembantu bengkel yang disyaki membakar mercun di tengah jalan raya, ketika perarakan pengebumian berdekatan sebuah pasar raya di Banting, Selangor, semalam.
Usaha kumpulan minoriti serang dasar kerajaan perlu dibendung - Ahmad Zahid
Ahmad Zahid menyifatkan kumpulan minoriti itu umpama 'biawak hidup' kepada sebarang perancangan memajukan negara.
NADMA laksana pembenihan awan di Papar, Lahad Datu dan Tawau
Operasi itu dilaksanakan bagi mendapatkan sumber air mencukupi di kawasan tadahan hujan ekoran cuaca panas.
Sultan Selangor berkenan lancar Tabung Pembangunan Ehsan Selangor-Gaza
Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah hari ini berkenan melancarkan Tabung Pembangunan Ehsan Selangor-Gaza.
PADU: Keraguan pengguna patut menjadi satu mesej yang kerajaan kena faham - Pakar
Masalah itu tercetus akibat kurangnya komunikasi yang cermat dan akhirnya, ia membawa kepada pemahaman yang bersegmen dan kompleks.
Setiausaha Luar Britain bertemu Presiden Palestin
Cameron menyatakan kesediaan Britain menyalurkan bantuan kemanusiaan bernilai AS$37 juta kepada Gaza.
Disebut-sebut bakal PM UK: Siapa Liz Truss, wanita kelahiran Oxford ini?
Penduduk dunia terutama warga Britain kini menanti pengumuman pelantikan Perdana Menteri baharu menggantikan Boris Johnson yang meletak jawatan pada 7 Julai lalu.
Projek ubah suai rumah Perdana Menteri UK disiasat
Spekulasi mengatakan perbelanjaan untuk mengubah suai rumah Boris Johnson adalah RM1.14 juta, walaupun geran yang diperuntukkan hanya RM171,000.
Presiden EU dakwa PM UK berbohong semasa kempen Brexit
Terlalu banyak "pembohongan" yang dilakukan mengenai realiti Eropah semasa kempen referendum itu, kata Juncker dalam satu forum di Brussels.
May offer to quit fails to move key opponents of her Brexit deal
British Prime Minister Theresa May offered on Wednesday to quit in a bid to get her European Union divorce deal passed.
Cari media tradisional untuk berita sebenar - forum
Giles Kenningham yang merupakan ketua pasukan media bahagian politik David Cameron, berkata media sosial dalam talian dipenuhi berita palsu.
Kerajaan konservatif May umum program perundangan
May kembali berkuasa selepas pilihan raya awal pada 9 Jun tetapi kerajaannya kehilangan majoriti.
UK Memilih: Parlimen tergantung, May tekad terus kekal PM
Tanpa ada pemenang yang jelas, May memberikan petanda akan terus berjuang mempertahan jawatannya, namun pantas disanggah pemimpin Parti Buruh, Jeremy Corbyn.
UK Memilih: May atau Corbyn?
Pilihan raya kali ini adalah kayu ukur kemampuan penggantinya Theresa May untuk mendapat mandat besar rakyat.
David Cameron umum lepas jawatan sebagai ahli Parlimen
Beliau bagaimanapun berkata, akan terus menjalankan tugas sebagai ahli Parlimen sehingga pilihan raya umum akan datang.