Record 68.5 million people displaced worldwide: UN

A UNHCR report showed 16.2 million people were freshly displaced last year, equating to some 44,500 people being pushed out of their homes every day or one person every two seconds. [AFP]

A record 68.5 million people have been forced flee their homes due to war, violence and persecution, notably in places like Myanmar and Syria, the UN said on Tuesday.

A demonstrator holds a placard reading 'Refugees welcome' during the Citizen and Solidarity March in Paris in support of migrants and refugees. [AFP]

By the end of 2017, the number was nearly three million higher than the previous year and showed a 50-percent increase from the 42.7 million uprooted from their homes a decade ago, according to a report by the UN refugee agency.