The UN refugee report for 2021 has shown that 89.3 million people were displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights abuses or events seriously disturbing public order.
The figure did not include the mass departure of seven million, Ukrainians caused by Russia's invasion, but it shows an 8 per cent increase of almost seven million people in the span of only 12 months.
The new total is more than double the 42.7 million people who had been forcibly displaced at the end of 2012.
Within the 89.3 million were 27.1 million refugees, 53.3 million internally displaced people and 4.6 million asylum seekers.
In a clear indicator of the uneven spread of displacement, 69 per cent of the 89.3 million came from only five countries.
The figures for these countries are shown in the chart below alongside the next five that make up the 10 nations with the largest number of displacements in 2021.
The year was perhaps most notable for the number of existing conflicts that escalated and new conflicts that flared.
The World Bank reported that 23 countries, hosting a combined population of 850 million people, faced high- or medium-intensity conflicts in 2021.
The number of conflict-affected countries has doubled over the past decade, with women and children disproportionately exposed to deep-rooted discrimination and extreme vulnerability.
In Afghanistan, the events leading up to the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021 resulted in displacement within the country as well as into neighbouring countries.
The number of people displaced internally rose for the 15th straight year, even as more than 790,000 Afghans returned during the year.
The conflict in the Tigray region in Ethiopia led to at least 2.5 million more people being displaced within their country, with about 1.5 million of them returning to their homes during the course of the year.
Violent insurgencies in the central Sahel region of Africa continued to drive internal displacement, particularly in Burkina Faso.
The root causes of conflict in the region include extreme poverty and chronic underdevelopment. The climate crisis, with temperatures in the region rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, is making the humanitarian situation even worse.
In Myanmar, the military takeover in February 2021 ignited widespread violence and forced many people to flee.
With renewed displacement from Venezuela, primarily to other Latin American countries, the number of Venezuelans displaced abroad also grew by more than half a million.
In addition, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen all reported increases of between 100,000 and 500,000 people displaced internally during the year.
Countries hosting most refugees
The Syrian refugee population continues to be the largest globally, with 6.8 million refugees hosted in 129 countries.
Syrian refugees constituted 27 per cent of the global refugee population at the end of 2021. In the course of the year, the number of Syrian refugees increased by 145,900 due to new births and a rise in individual recognitions in Germany (38,100), Austria (7,900) and other countries in Europe.
Even so, and after more than a decade of conflict, more than three quarters of Syrian refugees are still hosted by neighbouring countries.
This explains why Turkey has for several years hosted the most refugees. 2021 was no exception and the number of displaced people hosted by the country rose to 3,759,800 from 3,696,831 in 2020.
A new entrant in the 2021 top 10 was Colombia, which hosted the second largest number of displaced people at 1,843,900. The exponential rise was driven by the exodus from neighbouring Venezuela.
Countries receiving most asylum applications
In 2021, the number of new individual asylum applications registered globally increased by 25 per cent, from 1.1 million to 1.4 million, compared with the previous year, although this remains lower than the 1.7 million and two million applications in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Given the numerous new and existing displacement situations, the lower number of new asylum applications reflects continued travel restrictions and barriers relating to access to territory that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.
In the US, more than half of all new applications in 2021 were lodged by citizens of only five countries: Venezuela (27,000 or 14 per cent), Guatemala (23,000 or 12 per cent), Honduras (19,600 or 10 per cent), El Salvador (14,900 or 8 per cent) and Cuba (12,900 or 7 per cent).
In Germany, nearly two thirds of new applications were from citizens of Syria (54,900), Afghanistan (23,300) and Iraq (15,600).
Mexico received the third largest number of new asylum applications (131,400), which increased more than three-fold from 41,200 in 2020. More than two thirds of them originated from Haiti (51,800, or 39 per cent) and Honduras (36,400, or 28 per cent).
Despite giving the impression that it is overwhelmed by refugees, the UK is only seventh on the list for countries that received the most applications, with 56,500, a little more than half the number received by its cross-Channel neighbour, France, which received 90,200.
The numerical reality hasn't stopped the UK from striking a deportation agreement with Rwanda to take its unwanted asylum seekers.
The US processed the most applications in 2021 (188,900), a reflection of the more welcoming approach to refugees enacted by President Joe Biden compared to his anti-immigration predecessor, Donald Trump.
Immigration-friendly Germany received the most applications in Europe by a significant margin, with 148,200
As new refugee situations emerge and intensify — as happened in Ukraine next year — and existing ones reignite or remain unresolved, the UN refugee agency said there is an acute need for durable solutions at increasing scale.
“Our report today shows that by the end of 2021, those displaced by war, violence, persecution, and human rights abuses stood at almost 90 million, well over double the figure of 10 years ago,' the UNHCR's Matthew Saltmarsh told The National.
"And since then the figure has passed 100 million due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine – causing the fastest and one of the largest forced displacement crises since World War II – and other emergencies, from Africa to Afghanistan.
"One hundred million is an alarming figure. It’s a record that should never have been set. And it should serve as a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts, end persecution, and address the underlying causes that force innocent people to flee their homes.”
Major refugee crises of 2021 - in pictures
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
Series result
1st ODI Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets
2nd ODI Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets
3rd ODI Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets
4th ODI Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets
5th ODI Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets
Super Saturday results
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, Brett Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Old Persian, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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PRISCILLA
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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If you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.
The hotels
Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
