- The Guardian
- Issue #2196
One in 70 people worldwide is forcibly displaced, according to a damning new report released today by the United Nations.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says at least 117.8 million people, or one in 70 across the world, are forcibly displaced.
The UN body says that for the first time in 10 years, forced displacement declined during 2025. Despite a roughly 4 per cent decrease in 2025, this progress has been overshadowed by Lebanon’s fast-growing displacement crisis.
Since the US-Israel war on Iran began in late March 2026, Israeli attacks have forcibly displaced more than one million, with a further 3.2 million internally displaced in Iran.
Of the 117.8 million forcibly displaced, some 68.6 million are internally displaced within their own countries due to conflict or other crises.
There are around 28.5 million refugees, people who have been forced to flee their countries, with most coming from Venezuela (6.4 million) and Palestine (6 million).
Colombia (2.8 million), Germany (2.7 million) and Turkey (2.4 million) have taken in the most refugees.
In 2023, conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces increased the number of refugees to 1.5 million.
In the same year, Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip had a devastating toll on the Palestinian population. Nearly all of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people has been displaced, with many having been forced to flee multiple times.
More recently, the US-Israeli war on Iran has caused a new displacement crisis in Lebanon following the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has urged members to reject an enterprise agreement that would see staff at life insurer Acenda paid less, stripped of basic leave entitlements and given watered-down redundancy clauses.
Acenda management’s offer follows the brutal axing of 280 jobs at the company in the last 18 months and claims that some staff haven’t received a pay rise in seven years. The enterprise agreement is the first for Acenda since it was created by the merger of MLC Life and Resolution Life in 2025.
Under the proposed agreement, less than half (47%) of Acenda staff would be guaranteed a pay rise, many would lose Rostered Day Off entitlements, there would be no guarantees regarding work from home or hybrid work arrangements and new starters would be worse off when it comes to long service leave and redundancy provisions.
The FSU has encouraged staff to vote “no” and called on management to work with staff and the union on an improved offer.
PARASITE OF THE WEEK: is the fascist One Nation. The following is a statement by the journalist union: the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) condemns One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s continuing abuse of journalist Sarah Martin, as demonstrated again this week at the National Press Club.
Hanson’s personal and unprofessional attacks on Martin, together with the One Nation leader’s ban on Guardian Australia and ABC journalists attending her press conferences, are an assault on the freedom of the press in Australia.
Hanson’s actions stand in stark contrast with her remarks that she welcomes the scrutiny of the media on her party, its people and its politics.
Sarah is an experienced and professional journalist who was attending her place of work to do her job of holding the powerful to account. Journalists must be provided with safe workplaces, free from abuse, so we can uphold the public’s right to know.
Her question was entirely appropriate. The audience she reports for deserves answers. We call on colleagues across the industry, regardless of their employer, to stand with us and hold the line against attacks on press freedom from politicians who seek to avoid scrutiny.
If a fellow journalist is denied access, threatened or abused, it is our shared responsibility to stand with them. We must ensure all journalists have the same rights to report on matters in the public interest, and to ensure their questions are answered.
