Ban urges Iraq's neighbors to take in refugees

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged Iraq's neighbors to keep their doors open to tens of thousands of Iraqis fleeing violence and also called on countries further afield to share the burden. "For neighboring countries this means keeping borders open," Ban said in a video address to a gathering of more than 450 officials from 60 countries, the first global attempt to address a refugee crisis that campaigners say threatens to spread throughout the Middle East. "For other countries it means continuing to provide asylum or other forms of protection."