GENEVA (AFP) -- Russia’s war in Ukraine has pushed the number of forcibly displaced people around the world above 100 million for the first time ever, the United Nations said Monday. The “alarming” figure must shake the world into ending the conflicts forcing record numbers to flee their own homes, the UNHCR said in a statement. UNHCR said the numbers of forcibly displaced people rose towards 90 million by the end of 2021, spurred by violence in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and since then, more than eight million people have been displaced within the country, while more than six million refugees have fled across the borders. The 100 million figure amounts to more than one percent of the global population, while only 13 countries have a bigger population than the number of forcibly displaced people in the world.

***
TORONTO (Reuters) -- The death toll from powerful thunderstorms in Canada’s two most populous provinces has risen to at least eight, authorities said, as emergency crews continued a massive clean-up to restore power to half a million people. The storms, which lasted more than two hours Saturday afternoon and packed the power of a tornado, left a trail of destruction in parts of Ontario and Quebec. Wind gusts as strong as 132kmh (82mph) felled trees, uprooted electric poles and toppled many metal transmission towers, utility companies said. Electricity companies were scrambling on Sunday to restore transmission lines. Most of the deaths from the storms occurred when people were hit by falling trees, authorities said.

***
JAKARTA (Reuters) -- Indonesia summoned Britain’s ambassador on Monday to explain the raising of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) flag at its embassy, and urged foreign missions to respect local “sensitivities” following a backlash among conservatives. The rainbow LGBT flag was flown alongside the British flag at the country’s embassy in Jakarta by the embassy. Alumni 212 Brotherhood, an influential Islamic movement, in a statement said the flag sullied the “sacred values of Indonesia”. Teuku Faizasyah, foreign ministry spokesperson, confirmed British ambassador Owen Jenkins had been summoned. “The foreign ministry reminds foreign representatives to be respectful of the sensitivities among Indonesians on matters relevant with their culture, religion and belief,” he said. Faizasyah said that though an embassy is sovereign territory, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations stipulates only that nation’s flag can be flown.

***
SEOUL (AP) -- Kim Jong-un attended the funeral for a top North Korean official, state media reported on Monday, helping carry his coffin. The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim attended the funeral on Sunday of Hyon Chol-hae, a Korean People’s Army marshal who reportedly played a key role in grooming him as the country’s next leader before Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, died in late 2011. State media photos showed a bare-faced Kim Jong-un carrying Hyon’s coffin with other men wearing masks before he threw earth to his grave at the national cemetery. They showed many soldiers clad in olive-green uniforms saluting while other officials dressed in dark suits stood at attention. KCNA said “a great many” soldiers and citizens earlier turned out along streets to express their condolences when Hyon’s coffin was moved to the cemetery. The news agency quoted Kim as saying: “The name of Hyon Chol-hae would be always remembered along with the august name of Kim Jong-il.” He wept when he visited a mourning station established for Hyon last week.

***
PARIS (AFP) -- A security guard working for the Qatari embassy in Paris was killed Monday after a fight with another man in front of the mission, French prosecutors said. The fight took place just before 07:00 am (0500 GMT) local time in front of the embassy in the 8th district in central Paris, a source close to the case told AFP. “The circumstances surrounding the security guard’s death still need to be precisely determined,” prosecutors said, adding that the use of a weapon had not yet been confirmed. The man involved in the fight has been arrested and Paris police have opened an investigation for murder.

***
MANILA (AFP) -- At least seven people were killed and scores plucked to safety in the Philippines on Monday after a fire ripped through a ferry and forced passengers to jump overboard, the coast guard and witnesses said. The blaze broke out on the Mercraft 2 at around 6:30 am (2230 GMT Sunday) as it carried 134 passengers and crew from Polillo Island to Real in Quezon province on the main island of Luzon. Seven people died and 127 were rescued, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Armando Balilo said after the last missing were found. The fiberglass fast craft boat, which had a 186-person capacity, was about a kilometre from Real when it caught fire. Thick black smoke billowed from the Mercraft as flames tore through the entire vessel, photos shared by the coast guard showed.