The number of deaths and attacks caused by terrorists decreased last year compared to 2015, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2017, but trends suggest violence will continue.
The number of countries which experienced at least one death from terrorism was greater last year than at any other time in the past 17 years. The number of countries rose from 65 in 2016 to 77 last year, while the global score - which registers the impact of terrorism - decreased by 4 per cent from 2015.
"Globally, the really big improvement occurred in Nigeria, because Boko Haram was the deadliest group two years ago," said Daniel Hyslop, research director at the Institute for Economics and Peace, a Sydney, Australia-based think tank. "Deaths have gone down 80 per cent, which means 3,000 fewer people being killed from terrorism in that country, thanks to cooperation in that region."
In Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, 2016 was the worst year - apart from 2001 and the 9/11 attacks on the US - since 1988 for terrorist violence.
"When you look at the region, it's because of an increase in lone attacks and ISIL-inspired extremists," Mr Hyslop said. "There's been 82 deaths from terrorism in OECD countries and there were 260 for the full year of 2016, so by raw count of deaths, there have been fewer deaths."
He said, however, that the trend could swing the other way.
"We know there's a large number of loners that security services are monitoring and there's always the potential for there to be an increase in the trend," he said. "But the report also shows the percentage of foiled attacks has improved, from 19 per cent in 2015 to 34 per cent in 2016, so a lot of these attacks are being intercepted by security forces."
Since the Nice truck attack in July 2016, at least 13 other attacks using vehicles have been carried out in OECD countries, including the attack in Manhattan two weeks ago.
Eleven of these attacks have targeted civilians with at least six on crowds. "OECD countries face the challenge [of foreign fighters joining new permutations in other conflicts] as they return from Syria and Iraq with ISIL-directed attacks increasing from 11 countries in 2015 to 15 in 2016," said Steve Killelea, IEP's executive chairman.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
General%20Classification
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'Will%20of%20the%20People'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMuse%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWarner%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million