122 million forcibly displaced worldwide ‘untenably high’: UNThu, 12 Jun 2025 10:18:32 GMT

The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes worldwide has dropped slightly from a record peak but remains “untenably high”, the United Nations said Thursday.A record 123.2 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes at the end of 2024, said UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.But that figure dropped to 122.1 million by …

122 million forcibly displaced worldwide ‘untenably high’: UNThu, 12 Jun 2025 10:18:32 GMT Read More »

122 million forcibly displaced worldwide ‘untenably high’: UN

The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes worldwide has dropped slightly from a record peak but remains “untenably high”, the United Nations said Thursday.A record 123.2 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes at the end of 2024, said UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.But that figure dropped to 122.1 million by the end of April this year, as Syrians began returning home after years of turmoil.More than 1.5 million Syrians have been able to return home from abroad or from displacement within the war-ravaged country.But the UNHCR warned that the course of major conflicts worldwide would determine whether the figure would rise again.The agency said the number of people displaced by war, violence and persecution worldwide was “untenably high”, particularly in a period when humanitarian funding is evaporating.”We are living in a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.”We must redouble our efforts to search for peace and find long-lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes.”- Sudan overtakes Syria -The main drivers of displacement remain sprawling conflicts like those in Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine, UNHCR said in its flagship annual Global Trends Report.Syria’s brutal civil war erupted in 2011 but ruler Bashar al-Assad was finally overthrown in December 2024.The report said rising numbers of Syrians have since been able to return to their homes.As of mid-May, more than 500,000 Syrians are estimated to have crossed back into the country since the fall of Assad, while an estimated 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned to their areas of origin since the end of November.UNHCR estimates that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million IDPs may return by the end of 2025.Sudan is now the world’s largest forced displacement situation with 14.3 million refugees and IDPs, overtaking Syria (13.5 million), which is followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million).”During the remainder of 2025, much will depend on the dynamics in key situations,” the annual report said, including whether peace or ceasefires can be reached in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Ukraine.It also depends on whether conditions for returns improve in Afghanistan and Syria.Another factor was “how dire the impact of the current funding cuts will be”.The United States was by far UNHCR’s biggest donor but has dramatically scaled back its overseas aid, while other countries are tightening their budgets.”The failure to protect civilians is astounding,” said Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland.”Despite the immense suffering of displaced people, we are now seeing many countries turn inwards, making drastic cuts to humanitarian funding.”- One in 67 -The number of people forced to flee persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order has almost doubled in the last decade.The figure of 123.2 million worldwide at the end of last year was up seven million compared to the end of 2023.”One in 67 people globally were forcibly displaced at the end of 2024,” UNHCR said.In total, 9.8 million forcibly displaced people returned home in 2024, including 1.6 million refugees — the most for more than two decades — and 8.2 million IDPs — the second highest ever.”We have seen some rays of hope over the last six months,” said Grandi.But countries such as the DR Congo, Myanmar and South Sudan saw significant new forced displacements as well as returns.Two-thirds of refugees stay in neighbouring countries.Iran (3.5 million), Turkey (2.9 million), Colombia (2.8 million), Germany (2.7 million) and Uganda (1.8 million) host the largest refugee populations.

122 million forcibly displaced worldwide ‘untenably high’: UN

The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes worldwide has dropped slightly from a record peak but remains “untenably high”, the United Nations said Thursday.A record 123.2 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes at the end of 2024, said UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.But that figure dropped to 122.1 million by the end of April this year, as Syrians began returning home after years of turmoil.More than 1.5 million Syrians have been able to return home from abroad or from displacement within the war-ravaged country.But the UNHCR warned that the course of major conflicts worldwide would determine whether the figure would rise again.The agency said the number of people displaced by war, violence and persecution worldwide was “untenably high”, particularly in a period when humanitarian funding is evaporating.”We are living in a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.”We must redouble our efforts to search for peace and find long-lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes.”- Sudan overtakes Syria -The main drivers of displacement remain sprawling conflicts like those in Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine, UNHCR said in its flagship annual Global Trends Report.Syria’s brutal civil war erupted in 2011 but ruler Bashar al-Assad was finally overthrown in December 2024.The report said rising numbers of Syrians have since been able to return to their homes.As of mid-May, more than 500,000 Syrians are estimated to have crossed back into the country since the fall of Assad, while an estimated 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned to their areas of origin since the end of November.UNHCR estimates that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million IDPs may return by the end of 2025.Sudan is now the world’s largest forced displacement situation with 14.3 million refugees and IDPs, overtaking Syria (13.5 million), which is followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million).”During the remainder of 2025, much will depend on the dynamics in key situations,” the annual report said, including whether peace or ceasefires can be reached in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Ukraine.It also depends on whether conditions for returns improve in Afghanistan and Syria.Another factor was “how dire the impact of the current funding cuts will be”.The United States was by far UNHCR’s biggest donor but has dramatically scaled back its overseas aid, while other countries are tightening their budgets.”The failure to protect civilians is astounding,” said Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland.”Despite the immense suffering of displaced people, we are now seeing many countries turn inwards, making drastic cuts to humanitarian funding.”- One in 67 -The number of people forced to flee persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order has almost doubled in the last decade.The figure of 123.2 million worldwide at the end of last year was up seven million compared to the end of 2023.”One in 67 people globally were forcibly displaced at the end of 2024,” UNHCR said.In total, 9.8 million forcibly displaced people returned home in 2024, including 1.6 million refugees — the most for more than two decades — and 8.2 million IDPs — the second highest ever.”We have seen some rays of hope over the last six months,” said Grandi.But countries such as the DR Congo, Myanmar and South Sudan saw significant new forced displacements as well as returns.Two-thirds of refugees stay in neighbouring countries.Iran (3.5 million), Turkey (2.9 million), Colombia (2.8 million), Germany (2.7 million) and Uganda (1.8 million) host the largest refugee populations.

122 million forcibly displaced worldwide ‘untenably high’: UN

The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes worldwide has dropped slightly from a record peak but remains “untenably high”, the United Nations said Thursday.A record 123.2 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes at the end of 2024, said UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.But that figure dropped to 122.1 million by the end of April this year, as Syrians began returning home after years of turmoil.More than 1.5 million Syrians have been able to return home from abroad or from displacement within the war-ravaged country.But the UNHCR warned that the course of major conflicts worldwide would determine whether the figure would rise again.The agency said the number of people displaced by war, violence and persecution worldwide was “untenably high”, particularly in a period when humanitarian funding is evaporating.”We are living in a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.”We must redouble our efforts to search for peace and find long-lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes.”- Sudan overtakes Syria -The main drivers of displacement remain sprawling conflicts like those in Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine, UNHCR said in its flagship annual Global Trends Report.Syria’s brutal civil war erupted in 2011 but ruler Bashar al-Assad was finally overthrown in December 2024.The report said rising numbers of Syrians have since been able to return to their homes.As of mid-May, more than 500,000 Syrians are estimated to have crossed back into the country since the fall of Assad, while an estimated 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned to their areas of origin since the end of November.UNHCR estimates that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million IDPs may return by the end of 2025.Sudan is now the world’s largest forced displacement situation with 14.3 million refugees and IDPs, overtaking Syria (13.5 million), which is followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million).”During the remainder of 2025, much will depend on the dynamics in key situations,” the annual report said, including whether peace or ceasefires can be reached in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Ukraine.It also depends on whether conditions for returns improve in Afghanistan and Syria.Another factor was “how dire the impact of the current funding cuts will be”.The United States was by far UNHCR’s biggest donor but has dramatically scaled back its overseas aid, while other countries are tightening their budgets.”The failure to protect civilians is astounding,” said Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland.”Despite the immense suffering of displaced people, we are now seeing many countries turn inwards, making drastic cuts to humanitarian funding.”- One in 67 -The number of people forced to flee persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order has almost doubled in the last decade.The figure of 123.2 million worldwide at the end of last year was up seven million compared to the end of 2023.”One in 67 people globally were forcibly displaced at the end of 2024,” UNHCR said.In total, 9.8 million forcibly displaced people returned home in 2024, including 1.6 million refugees — the most for more than two decades — and 8.2 million IDPs — the second highest ever.”We have seen some rays of hope over the last six months,” said Grandi.But countries such as the DR Congo, Myanmar and South Sudan saw significant new forced displacements as well as returns.Two-thirds of refugees stay in neighbouring countries.Iran (3.5 million), Turkey (2.9 million), Colombia (2.8 million), Germany (2.7 million) and Uganda (1.8 million) host the largest refugee populations.

March quake to drive 2.5% drop in Myanmar GDP, says World Bank

Myanmar’s economy is set to shrink 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, largely as a result of March’s devastating magnitude-7.7 earthquake, the World Bank said on Thursday.The country’s economy had already been battered by four years of brutal civil war when the March 28 tremor hit, killing nearly 3,800 people and destroying swathes of homeS and businesses.A World Bank report predicted GDP will contract 2.5 percent in the financial year ending in March 2026 “mostly due to earthquake impacts”, with output $2 billion lower than it would have been without the disaster.”Production across all sectors has been disrupted by factory closures, supply chain constraints, labour shortages, and damage to infrastructure,” said a World Bank statement.The tremor also inflicted an estimated $11 billion of damage, equivalent to 14 percent of GDP, according to the report.Myanmar’s sparsely populated administrative capital Naypyidaw and the second-largest city of Mandalay were the worst impacted by the quake.The World Bank predicted both regions would suffer from output slashed by a third between April and September, before being buoyed by reconstruction efforts in the second half of the financial year.”The earthquake caused significant loss of life and displacement, while exacerbating already difficult economic conditions, further testing the resilience of Myanmar’s people,” said Melinda Good, World Bank division director for Thailand and Myanmar.Myanmar’s military seized power in a 2021 coup which sparked a many-sided civil war between its troops, pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic armed groups which have long held sway in the country’s fringes.While the military and some of its adversaries have pledged a ceasefire throughout this month to spur aid efforts, intense combat has continued in locations across the country.The fighting has eviscerated Myanmar’s economy. Inflation for the year up to April 2025 was estimated at 34.1 percent, the World Bank report said.More than three million people are currently displaced in the country and the World Bank said 2024’s poverty rate was estimated at over 30 percent.

Disasters loom over South Asia with forecast of a hotter, wetter monsoon

Communities across Asia’s Himalayan Hindu Kush region face heightened disaster risks this monsoon season with temperatures and rainfall expected to exceed normal levels, experts warned on Thursday.Temperatures are expected to be up to two degrees Celsius hotter than average across the region, with forecasts for above-average rains, according to a monsoon outlook released by Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on Wednesday.”Rising temperatures and more extreme rain raise the risk of water-induced disasters such as floods, landslides, and debris flows, and have longer-term impacts on glaciers, snow reserves, and permafrost,” Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a senior adviser at ICIMOD, said in a statement. The summer monsoon, which brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall, is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security in a region that is home to around two billion people.However, it also brings destruction through landslides and floods every year. Melting glaciers add to the volume of water, while unregulated construction in flood-prone areas exacerbates the damage.”What we have seen over the years are also cascading disasters where, for example, heavy rainfall can lead to landslides, and landslides can actually block rivers. We need to be aware about such possibilities,” Saswata Sanyal, manager of ICIMOD’s Disaster Risk Reduction work, told AFP.Last year’s monsoon season brought devastating landslides and floods across South Asia and killed hundreds of people, including more than 300 in Nepal.This year, Nepal has set up a monsoon response command post, led by its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.”We are coordinating to stay prepared and to share data and alerts up to the local level for early response. Our security forces are on standby for rescue efforts,” said agency spokesman Ram Bahadur KC. Weather-related disasters are common during the monsoon season from June to September but experts say climate change, coupled with urbanisation, is increasing their frequency and severity. The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a “distress signal” of what is to come as climate change makes the planet’s water cycle ever more unpredictable.

“Aucun projet d’introduction en Bourse” pour Club Med, selon son actionnaire Fosun

Le groupe chinois Fosun, actionnaire majoritaire du Club Med, n’a “aucun projet d’introduction en Bourse” du voyagiste, a-t-il indiqué jeudi, au lendemain de déclarations du dirigeant du Club Med en faveur d’un retour à la Bourse de Paris.”Fosun Tourism examine régulièrement diverses options stratégiques et financières, en fonction des plans de développement et des intérêts à long terme de la société. À ce stade, nous n’avons aucun projet d’introduction en Bourse de Club Med”, est-il écrit dans un communiqué transmis à l’AFP.”À l’avenir, le conseil d’administration de Club Med procédera à une évaluation approfondie et déterminera la meilleure option pour soutenir le développement durable et à long terme de la société”, ajoute-t-il encore.Dans un entretien publié mercredi sur le site du Figaro, Henri Giscard d’Estaing, président du Club Med, déclarait plaider auprès de l’actionnaire chinois du groupe pour un retour prochain à la Bourse de Paris. Pour le patron du groupe Club Med, “revenir à la Bourse de Paris dès le premier semestre 2026” représente “la meilleure façon” de mettre en oeuvre le projet stratégique de la société. Fosun avait cherché l’an dernier à ouvrir le capital du groupe français de tourisme mais n’avait finalement pas trouvé de nouveaux partenaires.L’année 2024 a également été marquée par un réaménagement de la direction de Club Med sur fond de tensions avec Fosun, qui a cependant vu Henri Giscard d’Estaing rester à la tête du Club. Evoquant justement la succession, Fosun indique dans son communiqué jeudi que “la mise en place d’un plan de succession est une pratique courante en matière de bonne gouvernance d’entreprise”.”Depuis l’année dernière, la préparation de la succession de Club Med a connu des progrès importants, et Henri travaille en étroite collaboration avec Fosun pour faire avancer les modalités de cette transition”, écrit-il.Le groupe chinois assure que “l’identité française du Club Med est au cÅ“ur de la valeur de la marque et que Fosun Tourism “reste pleinement engagé dans le développement à long terme du Club Med et témoigne d’un profond respect pour l’héritage et le patrimoine français de la marque”.