live U.S. aircraft damaged in Jordan air base strikes as explosions hit southern Iran
Overnight Iranian strikes on an air base in Jordan damaged multiple U.S. aircraft and left one without a wing, American media reported. Meanwhile, ...
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%).

Four people were killed, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian port city of Novorossiysk overnight, according to the governor of the Krasnodar region. Ukraine's drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, said Russian military ships were destroyed in the attacks.
Wildfires have broken out in Türkiye’s Antalya province, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate as strong winds fuelled the flames.
Overnight Iranian strikes on an air base in Jordan damaged multiple U.S. aircraft and left one without a wing, American media reported. Meanwhile, explosions were heard across parts of southern Iran according to local media reports.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they attacked two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, calling the strikes a response to a U.S. attack on five Iranian tankers.
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil refinery in Siberia and a seaport in Dagestan in the past 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday to discuss air defences for Ukraine over winter.
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil refinery in Siberia and a seaport in Dagestan in the past 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday to discuss air defences for Ukraine over winter.
Eight Muslim-majority countries have launched a joint push for wider international action against trade linked to Israeli settlements, seeking to build momentum from new measures announced by the UK and other Western governments.
Saudi Arabia is facing a problem that goes beyond the latest Houthi attacks on its southern oil facilities. The kingdom is now dealing with pressure on energy exports at the Strait of Hormuz to the east and the Red Sea route to the west.
Two Azerbaijani sailors were killed on Wednesday when a foreign cargo ship they were travelling on was attacked by drones in the Black Sea, Baku's Foreign Ministry has said.
Iceland’s government plans to introduce legislation in February to permanently ban commercial whaling, potentially leaving Norway and Japan as the world’s only countries still allowing the practice.
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