Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif to attend Victory Day events in Azerbaijan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Azerbaijan on Thursday and Friday to mark the fifth anniversary of Victory Day and strengthen bilateral ties....
Asylum claims in the UK reached a record high in 2024, with over 108,000 people claiming asylum, relating to 84,000 cases. The Home Office released the official immigration figures for the last year.
Gov.uk reported that 18% more people claimed asylum in the UK last year than in 2023 and 5% more than the previous recorded peak of 103,081 in 2002. According to the report, 47% of cases in 20224 were positive grants of protection, down from 67% in 2023.
There were historically-high 956,000 visas issued for a non-visit reason - people coming to the UK for other reasons, such as work, study, family and humanitarian reasons usually require an entry clearance visa.
In 2024 there were 132.3 million arrivals to the UK. The majority (55%) were British nationals.
Between 2004 and 2020, there were between 22,000 and 46,000 people claiming asylum in the UK each year. However, since the second half of 2021, there has been a noticeable increase.
Small boat arrivals made up 32% of asylum applications in 2024—a slight rise from 2023 but still lower than 2021, when they accounted for 43% of applications.
The remaining claimants will have entered either through other irregular routes (such as via lorries or shipping containers); through the common travel area without valid permission to enter; or through regular routes with either valid leave to enter (such as using a visa) or using fraudulent documents.
Seven nationalities accounted for 48% of applications in 2024: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Syria, India, and Vietnam. The biggest increases compared to 2023 were among people from Vietnam (+113%), Pakistan (+79%), Syria (+70%) and Bangladesh (+42%).

The Champions League match between Qarabağ FK and Chelsea ended 2–2 at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday (5 November).
A French court has postponed the trial of a suspect linked to the Louvre jewellery heist in a separate case, citing heavy media scrutiny and concerns about the fairness of the proceedings.
A 35-year-old man drove his car into pedestrians and cyclists on France’s Oléron island on Wednesday, injuring at least nine people in an attack that has drawn attention from national leaders.
More than 10,000 supporters of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic rallied in Belgrade on Wednesday to show their backing for the populist leader’s policies, following a year of anti-government demonstrations.
Dutch smartphone maker Fairphone is entering the U.S. market, betting on growing demand for repairable and sustainable devices as right-to-repair legislation gains traction, according to Reuters.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 7th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. President Donald Trump has described a newly signed transport corridor between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a “historic deal” for international peace.
Kazakhstan and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in critical minerals, the Kazakh presidential press service Akorda announced on Thursday.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has reported that Hurricane Melissa left behind almost 5 million metric tons of debris across western Jamaica when it struck the island on 28 October.
U.S. Senate Republicans have blocked a resolution that would have barred President Donald Trump from launching military action against Venezuela without congressional approval, despite growing concern over recent U.S. strikes in the southern Caribbean.
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