Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is suffering the second largest outbreak of Ebola in history.

Internal conflict is driving people from their homes and complicating efforts to control

the virus is spread. So why has the World Health Organization declined to declare an international emergency?

And Thailand is notorious for the grave punishments it hands out to drug users,

which makes you wonder why it's getting into the weed business.

First up though.

Around the world people are fleeing danger and conflict in ever growing numbers.

The global trends once again unfortunately go in what I would say is the wrong direction.

Philippe O'Granti is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This week he announced

annual figures on the number of forcibly displaced people. Last year we reported 68 and a half,

approximately million people refugees displaced people, meaning refugees in their own country,

asylum seekers and this year the figure has increased by almost close to 71 million people.

That in turn is a big increase from 43 million 10 years ago. The causes are many but security is

a huge factor. The conflicts that are producing refugees or the situations of violence tend to be

longer and longer, which is closely linked to something that I have said many times but I think we

must say on this occasion we have become almost unable to make peace.

The big drivers are the continuing war in Syria, ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia and the total

implosion of the state in Venezuela. Robert Guest is the economist for an editor.

Ethiopia is a startling and an interesting example. What's happened there is generally thought

to be a good political development that an authoritarian government has chosen a reformist prime

...