The UN refugee agency says persecution and conflict in places like Syria and Afghanistan raised the number of refugees and internally displaced people worldwide to a record 65.3 million at the end of last year.

The UN said today that more than 5,900 Afghan children were smuggled into Europe last year.

CELEBRITY couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt made a surprise visit to Bosnia to highlight the plight of refugees still unable to return home 15 years after the war there ended.