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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.

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.

India launches a rugby sevens league this weekend in a bold bid to win fans and bolster dreams of the Olympics in a country where cricket is king.The 34-match Rugby Premier League (RPL) will be staged for two weeks from Sunday in Mumbai and has attracted greats of the game such as the United States’ try-scoring machine Perry Baker.”Is there space for a sport outside of cricket in India? 100 percent,” Rugby India president Rahul Bose told AFP as he hopes to convert sports fans into following the fast-paced, short-form version of rugby union.The RPL is run by GMR Sports, which owns a team in the cricket T20 behemoth that is the Indian Premier League (IPL).It combines Indian rugby players in six franchise teams alongside 30 globally experienced teammates, including current World Rugby Sevens Series stars such as Australia’s Maurice Longbottom and Fiji’s Filipe Sauturaga.Coaches include former USA mentor Mike Friday, New Zealand legends Tomasi Cama and DJ Forbes, and England great Ben Gollings. Bose, a former India rugby international and successful Bollywood actor, has big dreams.”An Indian (rugby) team getting into the Olympics, whether it’s men or women, is inevitable,” Bose said. Bose believes it could happen within a decade.And that could mean an India team taking part in a home 2036 Olympics, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared he wants to host.”There’s a lot of money,” Bose said, adding that the budget of the Mumbai-based national rugby federation had grown more than 30-fold. “There’s a lot of opportunity.”He is coy on precise funding, saying only that overseas stars in the RPL were being paid an “equitable” fee to what they receive in tournaments worldwide.- ‘Dream come true’ -India’s overall record at the Olympics is poor, winning only 10 gold medals in its history.Cricket offers an obvious chance to increase that tally when it returns at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but India is keen to be competitive in other sports.Fiji scrum-half Terio Tamani, who will play for Hyderabad Heroes, believes rugby could offer an opportunity.”They have facilities, they have money for them to develop,” said Tamani, whose country won Olympic men’s rugby gold in 2016, Fiji’s first Olympic medal of any colour. India captain Prince Khatri, also of Hyderabad, said training and playing with marquee stars he had previously seen only on television was “a dream come true”. “I’m learning a lot,” he said. “This is just the beginning.”RPL says it has talent scouts going countrywide to draw youngsters into six regional training centres.”That’s the real gold dust,” said ex-USA coach Friday, now training Kalinga Black Tigers.”Because ultimately the league will happen for 14 days but it’s about what happens after in the other 11 months.”Baker, a two-time World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year, said the league will help fast-track local players.”Having these top-calibre players around will help elevate them,” the American said. – Long history, niche sport – Kiran Kumar Grandhi, chairman of GMR Sports, said having “world class” rugby in India will foster grassroots development.GMR has the experience.Part of a New Delhi-based conglomerate spanning airports and highways, GMR owns the IPL’s Delhi Capitals and franchises in India’s popular Pro Kabaddi League and Ultimate Kho Kho League.India is pushing for both of those tag-type sports to be included in the Olympics.Rugby has a long history in India, dating back to 1871 during British rule.That was when the glittering silver Calcutta Cup was created and it remains the oldest trophy contested between international rugby union teams, in this case England and Scotland.But rugby has remained a niche sport. The RPL’s home at the 7,000-capacity Mumbai Football Arena is not even a dedicated rugby pitch.But RPL organisers believe that, just as the IPL saw ratings surge with the T20 transformation of cricket, it can woo fans and sponsors with a version of rugby where matches are over in a fast-and-furious 22 minutes.”The sport is just built for spectators and television,” Bose said, adding he ambitiously hopes for 10 to 15 million people to tune in via broadcast giants Star Sports and JioStar.India’s Arpan Chhetri, who will play for Bengaluru Bravehearts, said players are focused on one ambition.”Our target is to get into the Olympics,” he said. “We will keep going until we succeed.”

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced a 15 percent increase in the electricity price to shore up revenues for the state-run utility, in line with conditions imposed by an IMF bailout.The Public Utilities Commission said it allowed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to charge the higher rates from Thursday, six months after a controversial reduction that pushed the utility into the red.The government had forced a 20 percent price cut on the CEB in January, despite fears that it would cause the government-owned company to lose money and undermine the national budget.Ensuring cost-recovery and doing away with subsidies is in line with the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund, which granted a four-year, $2.9 billion loan to help salvage Sri Lanka’s economy.The country had declared bankruptcy after defaulting on its $46 billion foreign debt in April 2022, having run out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports, such as food, fuel and medicines.Months of protests over shortages led to the toppling of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022.His successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, secured the IMF bailout and proceeded to cut subsidies and raise taxes.Wickremesinghe lost the September election, but his successor, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, is pushing ahead with the IMF-backed reforms.Inflation, which peaked at nearly 70 percent in September 2022, has dropped sharply, and the country has been experiencing deflation since September.The IMF says Sri Lanka is slowly emerging from its worst meltdown and that the economy has turned around, although risks remain.

A Pakistani man was extradited from Canada to the United States on Tuesday to face charges of plotting to carry out an attack on Jews in New York City, the Justice Department said.Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested in Canada in September.According to a criminal complaint, Khan planned to travel to New York and carry out a mass shooting in support of the Islamic State (IS) at a Jewish center in Brooklyn on the October 7 anniversary of the deadly 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.”He planned to use automatic weapons to kill as many members of our Jewish community as possible, all in support of IS,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.Khan allegedly revealed his plans in conversations with conspirators who were actually undercover law enforcement officers, the Justice Department said.He was taken into custody by Canadian authorities in the municipality of Ormstown some 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the US-Canada border.Khan is charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to commit acts of terrorism. He could face a maximum of life in prison if convicted.

India’s coastguard said Tuesday it was battling to stop a fierce blaze that has engulfed a Singapore-flagged container ship listing off the country’s southern coast.The 268-metre (879-foot) container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 carrying 22 crew members caught fire some 78 nautical miles off India’s Beypore port on Monday. Eighteen crew members were rescued by the Indian coastguard and navy, with four still missing, according to Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority.China’s Xinhua state news agency reported, citing its embassy in India, that two of the missing people were from Taiwan.Indian Coast Guard said Tuesday that “fires and explosions persist” on the vessel, which was tilting at around “10–15 degrees”.They issued photographs that showed flames leaping from the stacked containers, with the ship surrounded by thick plumes of billowing black smoke.Initial images on Monday showed heavy containers that had seemingly been hurled up by a powerful explosion on board, with the coastguard saying that some were in the water.Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority had said there were “some injuries” among the crew.Coastguard vessels alongside the blackened and burning ship poured jets of water onto the flames, video footage showed. The MV Wan Hai 503 container ship is the second to run into trouble off India’s southern coast within weeks.A Liberian-flagged container ship with hazardous cargo sank off the coast of Kerala on May 24. The Indian navy rescued all 24 crew members.

Pakistan announced on Tuesday a 20 percent hike in defence spending in this year’s federal budget, a month after a conflict with India that saw the worst violence in decades.More than 70 people were killed in the four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May before a ceasefire was announced.  Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented a $62 billion budget to parliament on Tuesday evening, allocating 14 percent to the military — rising from 2.12 trillion Pakistani rupees ($7.5 billion) to 2.55 trillion this coming fiscal year. It comes after Pakistan’s government announced Friday on social media that it was in discussions to acquire 40 new Chinese fighter jets and new air defence systems. Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023, as a political crisis compounded an economic downturn and drove the nation’s debt burden to terminal levels, before it was saved by a $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. It has since then enjoyed a degree of recovery, with inflation easing and foreign exchange reserves increasing.”We have moved in the right direction,” Aurangzeb said at a briefing ahead of the budget announcement in parliament. “Any transformation takes two to three years and we have done a good job in terms of where we wanted to take things.”The budget will be voted on by parliament later this month, but the government’s safe majority means only minor changes are expected.An economic survey released on Monday for the outgoing fiscal year which ends on June 30, showed that the country missed almost all the targets set at the beginning of the year, with GDP expected to grow by 2.7 percent – falling short of the initial 3.6 percent target set in the last budget.The government has set an ambitious target of 4.2 percent GDP growth for the next fiscal year.The budget set aside 8 trillion rupees ($28.4 billion) to service its huge amount of debt.A World Bank report said last week that nearly 45 percent of Pakistan’s 240 million population is living below the poverty line, while the country’s literacy rate stands at 61 percent.It is the government’s second budget since coming to power last year, in an election which saw the wildly popular leader Imran Khan jailed for charges he says were politically motivated. 

Reigning champions Australia face South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s from Wednesday amid a chorus of criticism over the competition’s format.Wisden, cricket’s ‘bible’, was scathing in its assessment, with editor Lawrence Booth writing in this year’s edition that the WTC is a “shambles masquerading as a showpiece”.Former England captain Michael Atherton said “everyone knows the WTC in its present guise is flawed”.One fundamental problem is that political tensions mean India and Pakistan, two of cricket’s leading nations, have not played a Test against each other since 2007.The nine-nation WTC is further skewed because the teams are not all required to face each other or to play the same number of matches.  Countries are free to decide how many Tests they want to play in the two-year qualifying cycle and positions are calculated based on the percentage of available points won by teams.South Africa have played just 12 Tests in the current cycle — all of them two-match series — compared to England’s 22 — and have not played either England or Australia.South Africa also sent a weakened side to New Zealand in early 2024, and lost, with the best players staying at home to appear in the domestic T20 competition — a sign of the times in modern cricket.Booth wants the cycle doubled to four years, with teams playing each other home and away over series that last at least three Tests.- ‘Nobodies’ -South Africa reeled off six straight wins to book their place in this year’s final, only for former England captain Michael Vaughan to say they had got there “on the back of beating pretty much nobody”.But Proteas coach Shukri Conrad objected that South Africa had beaten teams who had beaten the ‘Big Three’ of India, Australia and England.”One of the nobodies we beat won a Test match in Australia — West Indies beat Australia in a Test match. They are not nobody,” insisted Conrad. “New Zealand beat India, three-zip in India. New Zealand is not a nobody. “Sri Lanka won Test matches (against England and New Zealand). I don’t buy this thing about us beating nobody.”Victory in the final in London would be a huge boost to South Africa following years of near-misses in ICC white-ball tournaments.”It’s the biggest thing for South African cricket at the moment,” said Conrad. One of those involved in devising the points system, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP it was tricky to come up with a workable format.”It’s difficult to come up with a solution where everyone is happy given the barriers to an orthodox table that exist, such as the India-Pakistan situation,” he said.”Commercial considerations will also mean the ‘Big Three’ will want to play each other in five-Test series.”But the WTC, set up to boost Test cricket’s profile in an era of many competing formats, matters to players and fans.New Zealand’s win in the inaugural 2021 World Test Championship final was welcomed as a long-overdue global triumph for a popular side. Australia’s failure to qualify for that match was labelled a “big missed opportunity” by skipper Pat Cummins, who made amends with victory in an Oval final two years ago.That India were beaten finalists in both 2021 and 2023 indicated there is still a place for the five-day game in world cricket’s economic powerhouse, where Twenty20 cricket holds sway.Former India captain Virat Kohli, speaking after securing his long-awaited first Indian Premier League title last week with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, left no room for doubt about his views on where Test cricket sits in the hierarchy.”If you want to earn respect in world cricket all over, take up Test cricket and give your heart and soul to it,” he said.But the awkward question for the sport’s chiefs is whether the WTC is helping or hindering that aim. 

India deployed coast guard aircraft and a warship on Monday after a Singapore-flagged container ship caught fire off the southern coast, the defence ministry said, with four crew members missing.Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said in a statement that there were “some injuries” among the crew, with four members unaccounted for.Photographs taken by a coast guard plane showed a thick plume of billowing black smoke and containers that had seemingly been hurled up by a powerful explosion on board.”Fire incident reported onboard Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503,” India’s defence ministry said in a statement, adding that it had diverted a destroyer to aid the stricken ship.It said the 268-metre (879-foot) vessel caught fire some 78 nautical miles off Beypore port.Singapore’s MPA said that, of the total crew of 22, 18 had been “accounted for and are in the process of being transferred from lifeboats to a passing vessel”, adding that “some injuries have been reported among them”.It said four crew members remain unaccounted for.”The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy are rendering assistance to the crew and conducting search and rescue operations for the missing crew,” the MPA said.A Liberian-flagged container ship with hazardous cargo sank off the coast of Kerala in southern India last month. The Indian navy rescued all 24 crew members.

Sri Lanka is withholding the results of a survey of crop-destroying wildlife, including monkeys and peacocks, because data collected from some farmers appeared unrealistic, a minister said on Monday.Deputy Environment Minister Anton Jayakodi said authorities had begun a review of the nationwide survey conducted on March 15, the first of its kind, because “some of the data was unbelievable”.Authorities suggested some enraged farmers might have exaggerated the numbers to suggest that the problem was even bigger.Data in some places appeared “unusually high”, officials said.Residents across the island country were asked to count wild boar, peacocks, monkeys and lorises — a small, largely nocturnal primate — spotted near farms and homes during a five-minute period.”We started the survey to understand the size of the problem,” Jayakodi told reporters in Colombo. “But we now have to review the results… there have been issues with some unusual data.”Jayakodi said officials would return to assess data before releasing the final results of the survey, which was aimed at drawing up a national plan to deal with nuisance wildlife.Opposition legislator Nalin Bandara said the survey was “a complete failure, a waste of money”.Officials say more than a third of crops are destroyed by wild animals, including elephants that are protected by law because they are considered sacred.While elephants are major raiders of rice farms and fruit plantations, they were not included in the March count.The then agricultural minister proposed in 2023 exporting some 100,000 toque macaques to Chinese zoos but the monkey business was abandoned following protests from environmentalists.Sri Lanka removed several species from its protected list in 2023, including all three of its monkey species as well as peacocks and wild boars, allowing farmers to kill them.