The world is less peaceful than a decade ago, mostly due to conflict in the Middle East and Africa that is costing the global economy trillions of dollars, an international index showed on Wednesday.
"There's been a gradual decline in peacefulness over the last decade," said Steve Killelea, head of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), which is headquartered in Australia.
"The reason for this slow, gradual decline in peacefulness really comes back to the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and the spillover effects into other areas," Mr Killelea told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.
Europe has faced a migrant crisis since 2015, following wars in Libya and Syria. More than 1 million people from Africa and the Middle East, as well as many from Afghanistan, have tried to reach the continent via Turkey or by sea.
By analysing data from think tanks, research institutes, government and universities, the IEP estimated that in 2017 violence cost the economy $14.8 trillion - nearly $2,000 a person.
If the least peaceful countries - such as Syria, South Sudan and Iraq - were as stable as the most peaceful - be it Iceland or New Zealand - that could add an extra $2,000 a head to their economies, IEP said in its annual Global Peace Index report.
"As you can see, peace is integrally locked in with economic wealth," said Mr Killelea, who described the study as the only research that measures the economic impact of violence.
Europe was ranked as the most peaceful region in the world, while the Middle East and north Africa were the least peaceful.
The United Nations in May said the humanitarian crisis in Syria was worse this year than at any time before in the country's seven-year civil war.
In neighbouring Iraq, ISIS poses a threat along the border with Syria, even though the country declared final victory last December over the militants, which overran a third of Iraq in 2014.
The sub-Saharan African region accounted for nearly half the 11.8 million people worldwide who were displaced within their countries by violence and conflict last year, according to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
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MATCH INFO
BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
McTominay 44'
Mata 73'
Pogba 80'
The specs
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The specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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