A total of 64,625 people applied for asylum in Italy during 2014, an increase of 143 percent in a year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said on Friday.


Within Italy the largest group of asylum-seekers last year hailed from Nigeria.

Published: 20 Mar 2015 source link

he new figures mark a sharp uptick in applications when compared to 2013, when 26,620 people applied for asylum in Italy, and reflect the broader trend of a growing number of people seeking protection in Europe.

A total of 626,000 people requested asylum across the EU’s 28 countries last year, with Italy accounting for 10.3 percent of the region’s applications in 2014.

While the figure may appear high for Italy, there were just 1.1 applications per thousand inhabitants last year. This falls just below the European average of 1.2 and far short of Sweden’s high ratio of 8.4.

Italy’s statistics also show that of more than 170,000 people who arrived by boat in the country last year, less than half requested permission to stay as refugees. As The Local reported earlier this year, Germany receives considerably more asylum applications than Italy.

Last year 202,700 people applied for asylum in Germany, an increase of 32 percent in a year and equivalent to 2.5 per thousands residents. Sweden came in second with 81,200 applicants, a 13 percent increase on 2013.

France had the fourth-highest number of asylum applications last year, behind Italy, although the 62,735 requests mark a five percent fall on the previous year.

Syrians fleeing the ongoing war in their country accounted for 122,790 of the applications registered in Europe last year. But they remain a tiny fraction of more than 3.9 million Syrians registered by the UN refugee agency, with the majority sheltering in countries bordering the conflict.

Within Italy the largest group of asylum-seekers last year hailed from Nigeria (10,135), where Boko Haram militants have led a violent campaign against citizens. The second-largest group (9,790) came from Mali, where French troops intervened in 2013 to combat Islamists taking over territory in the country.

Archaeologists have recently discovered the most complete ancient crossbow to date in the terracotta army pit one in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Among hundreds of pieces of crossbows unearthed in the past, this one is said to be the best-preserved in general, with a 145cm arch and a 130cm bow string. The bow string has a smooth surface which experts believe to be made from animal tendon instead of fabric and the trigger mechanism is made of bronze, according to Shen Maosheng, head of the archaeological team.

Shen also points out that this new discovery sheds light on how Qing, two wooden sticks usually discovered alongside the weapon, were used to maintain and transport the crossbows in ancient times. Although ancient documents often mentioned Qing, its function had never been clearly identified until this recent discovery.




"When we dusted off the sticks, we found three holes equidistant from each other and concluded that they were probably used to hang up ropes that fastened the crossbows when they were not in use," Shen said.

"It was a great way to keep the arch and string in shape and thus maintain their power in the long run. Besides, Qing was practical to help fix the crossbows during transportation."

The best crossbows' shooting range could double that of an AK47, reaching almost 800m, Yuan Zhongyi, former curator of Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors told Huashang Daily. The discovery of the complete set of crossbows will help scientists to create the most precise model of the weapon and calculate its shooting range more accurately.