Brussels, 18/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - The total number of asylum requests, with most claimants “coming from countries with long-standing displacement situations”, rose by 17% to an eight-year high in the first six months of this year, according to a report by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Some 198,300 asylum applications were lodged in the period from January 1 to 30 June, compared with 169,300 in the same period in 2010, the report states. “As application...