UN refugee agency reports big rise in asylum claims

 cheap nike air max shoesThe number of people seeking asylum in industrialised countries rose by 20% in 2011, according to the UNHCR. The United Nations' refugee agency says 441,300 asylum claims were made last year, compared with 368,000 in 2010. The report covers 44 countries in Europe, north America, Australasia and north east Asia. The largest increase was in southern Europe where asylum claims rose 87% to almost 67,000. The agency says most of these claims were from people who arrived by boat in Italy and Malta from north Africa.Only the Scandinavian countries and Australasia saw a decline in the number of people seeking asylum."year of great difficulty"The UN's High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, says 2011 was "a year of great difficulty for many people".The main troublespots were in west Africa and the Arab world, and the numbers of people seeking asylum from Libya, Syria and from Ivory Coast all reached record levels. The largest number of claimants originated from Afghanistan, with a 34% increase to 35,700. China remained the second largest source country, with 24,400 claimants, followed by Iraq with more than 23,000. Mr Guterres says the international system for dealing with refugees has "held firm", despite the pressures it has experienced. And he points out that the number of asylum claims across all industrialised countries is smaller than the population of Dabaab, a singe refugee camp in north eastern Kenya.(Reuters) - The number of people seeking asylum in the West jumped 20 percent last year, with record numbers fleeing conflicts in Libya, Syria and Ivory Coast, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.

discount nike air max saleThe largest regional rise was in those applying for refugee status in southern Europe, it said. Most arrived by boat in Italy and Malta, originating from North Africa or sub-Saharan Africa. Turkey also saw a sharp influx of Iraqis.Overall, 441,300 asylum claims were registered in 44 industrialised countries in 2011 compared with 368,00 the previous year, with Afghans forming the biggest group, followed by Chinese and Iraqis, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said."Reflecting turmoil in West Africa and in the Arab world, asylum seekers from Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Libya, Syria and other countries reached record levels in 2011 with 16,700 more claims than in 2010," the Geneva-based agency said in a report.The 2011 figures were the highest since 2003 when more than 505,000 requests were lodged in industrialised countries.Asylum and immigration in general is a political flashpoint in many European countries, including Britain, France and Italy, as well as in Australia and the United States.Antonio Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said that it was important to put the latest figures in perspective."The number of asylum claims received across all industrialised countries is still smaller than the population of Dadaab, a single refugee camp in northeast Kenya," he said.The sprawling Dadaab complex, the world's largest refugee camp, now shelters 462,856 Somalis who have fled war and drought in their anarchic homeland.

nike air jordan retroEUROPE PREFERRED DESTINATIONA record 1,500 migrants, mainly from Somalia and other parts of Africa, died trying to reach European shores in 2011, the UNHCR said on January 31.About 35,700 Afghans sought asylum in the West last year, a 34 percent jump, and 24,400 Chinese lodged claims, half of them in the United States. Iraqis were the third largest group, filing 23,500 requests in industrialised countries.Europe was the preferred destination for refugees, with the continent's 38 countries receiving 327,200 asylum claims, a 19 percent rise over a year before. The European Union (EU), with 27 member states, had 277,400 claims, a 15 percent rise.But the United States was again the largest recipient of new asylum claims, accounting for 74,000 applications or one in six overall. Requests there grew 33 percent, half of them by asylum-seekers from China, Mexico and El Salvador.Canada had 25,300 applications, a 9 percent rise.Referring to North America, the UNHCR said: "Although 2011 is the highest level in almost a decade for this region, it is two-thirds that of 2001, when close to 150,000 applications in total were lodged in Canada and the United States of America."France had the second largest number of asylum requests last year at 51,900, an 8 percent rise, due to more claims from Armenians and Ivorians, although Russians formed the main group.Germany was third with 45,700, an 11 percent increase, due to higher numbers from Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan.The number of asylum-seekers in Australia and New Zealand fell by 9 percent last year to 11,800, mainly because fewer would-be refugees arrived in Australia by boat, it said.

air jordan retro shoesAustralian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's asylum policy was thrown into confusion in 2011 when the High Court rejected her plan for a refugee swap with Malaysia. Opposition in parliament then forced the government to abandon tough offshore processing popular with many voters."Asylum levels in Australia remain below those recorded by many other industrialised and non-industrialised countries," the UNHCR said.Large crowds have gathered in Florida for a rally to mark a month since unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin was shot and killed.Civil rights leaders, the teenager's parents and crowds of well-wishers met in Sanford to urge city officials to arrest shooter George Zimmerman.The rally was held details emerged of Mr Zimmerman's statements to police that he acted in self-defence.One friend of Mr Zimmerman said he believed he was "about to die".According to a Trayvon Martin punched George Zimmerman, knocked him to the ground and began bashing his head.Orlando police did not dispute the version of events reported by the Sentinel, and Sanford's city manager said he would pursue whoever was responsible for a presumed leak.The friend of Mr Zimmerman, Joe Oliver, told CNN on Monday evening that Mr Zimmerman was on his way back to his car when he clashed with Trayvon Martin."I do believe George Zimmerman was in fear for his life," Mr Oliver said, adding that he had heard Mr Zimmerman's own account of the night.Mr Zimmerman has not been charged with any crime after maintaining that he opened fire in self-defence.

nike air max 2011Teenager's reputation attacked? While thousands of people massed outside, Mr Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, addressed city commissioners in Sanford on Monday, urging them to pursue justice. Some 500 people were reported to have crammed into hear the exchanges.American footballers Ray Lewis and Santonio Holmes were expected among the crowds."We're not asking for an eye for an eye. We're asking for justice, justice, justice," Mr Martin said.Civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson also spoke, and a petition was presented which has gathered some 1.8m signatures calling for Mr Zimmerman to be prosecuted."The whole world is watching Sanford," Mr Jackson said. "The whole world is watching Florida today."Earlier, it emerged that Mr Martin was in Sanford after being suspended from his Miami high school because traces of marijuana had been found in his bag.Al Sharpton told media that the news was an attempt to destroy the dead teenager's reputation.In another development, city officials named an African-American, Capt Darren Scott, as acting chief of Sanford police department. The appointment came days after the former police chief, Bill Lee, who is white, temporarily stepped down amid scathing criticism over his department's handling of the case.'Assassination' The department has cited Florida's "stand your ground" laws, which protect individuals from prosecution when deadly force is used as self-defence, as the reason Mr Zimmerman was not arrested.

2011 nike air maxMr Zimmerman's lawyer, Craig Sonner, told ABC News on Monday that his client was assaulted during his fatal confrontation with Mr Martin."George Zimmerman suffered a broken nose, and had an injury to the back of his head," Mr Sonner said. "He was attacked by Trayvon Martin on that evening. This was a case of self-defence."Mr Sonner also said that Mr Zimmerman had received death threats and that a group known as the New Black Panther Party had been offering a $10,000 (￡6,300) bounty for him.Friend Joe Oliver said the vilified 28-year-old - the son of a white father and Hispanic mother - was no racist. "This is a guy who thought he was doing the right thing at the time and it's turned out horribly wrong," said Mr Oliver. "George had no intention of taking anyone's life. He cried for days after."Monday's demonstrations were the latest in a string of rallies that have been held amid simmering public anger over the racially charged case, which has grabbed national headlines.Over the weekend, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, an African-American, told MSNBC he considered the shooting to be "nothing short of an assassination". A grand jury is considering whether to charge Mr Zimmerman and will hear evidence in the case on 10 April.The Department of Justice and the FBI are also conducting civil rights investigations into the police handling of the case.

cheap nike air max 2011Mr Martin was carrying a bag of sweets and a can of iced tea when he was approached by Mr Zimmerman.The neighbourhood watchman had told a police dispatcher he thought Mr Martin, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, looked suspicious. The fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager in Florida has prompted protests demanding the arrest of the perpetrator, who says he was acting in self-defence. How much force does the law permit?On a dark and rainy February night, George Zimmerman sat in his car in Sanford, Florida, a legally-carried 9mm pistol by his side. There had been a rash of crime in the community, Mr Zimmerman later said, and on that night, the neighbourhood watch volunteer grew wary when a young black man in a hooded sweatshirt appeared.In a recording of a 911 call released by police, Mr Zimmerman, in his truck, tells a dispatcher that a "real suspicious guy" who "looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs" was walking through the neighbourhood.Mr Zimmerman, 28, can be heard huffing and puffing as though he is running, and he tells the dispatcher he is following the person. The dispatcher says: "OK, we don't need you to do that."Seconds later, a confrontation and a struggle ensued, and a shot was fired. Trayvon Martin, 17, was struck in the chest and diedMr Zimmerman was detained and questioned by the local police department, then released without charges. He told police Martin had started the fight and that he shot in self-defence.Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee has said officers did not charge Mr Zimmerman because no evidence contradicted his account.