Hike in asylum applications in industrialised countries in 2013. - The latest annual figures released by the United Nations' High Commission for Refugees on 21 March reveal that the number of asylum applications shot up in 44 industrialised nations in 2013, mainly due to the crisis in Syria. In total, nearly 612,700 people lodged asylum applications in 2013 in North America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific region, the highest number since 2001. In the previous year, 2012, 479,300 applications...