UN warns of deepening hunger crisis in war-torn Yemen, urges renewed peace efforts
The United Nations has issued a warning on Wednesday that more than 17 million people in Yemen are facing hunger. It also reported that over a million children under the age of five suffering from life-threatening acute malnutrition and the food crisis in the conflict-ravaged country has worsened since late 2023 and this could deteriorate further in the coming months.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the Security Council that the number of people going hungry in Yemen could rise to over 18 million by September. The number of children with acute malnutrition may increase to 1.2 million by early next year,with risk of irreversible physical and cognitive damage.
Fletcher said, “This unfolding crisis is made worse by a sharp decline in global funding,” he noted. The UN’s $2.5 billion humanitarian appeal for Yemen in 2025 has received just $222 million so far, only 9% of the target.
UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg, briefing the Council via video, warned of renewed instability following Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s capital and major ports. The Houthis conflict has also given rise to the crisis.
While the Houthis have said they will continue targeting vessels in the Red Sea until the war in Gaza ends, Grundberg cautioned, “Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel its already fragile situation.”
“The longer this conflict drags on, the deeper the divisions will become,” he warned, adding that both sides must demonstrate a commitment to peace, including through confidence-building measures such as the long-delayed release of all conflict-related detainees.
“The stakes for Yemen are simply too high,” Grundberg said. “Its future depends on our collective resolve to shield it from further suffering and restore hope and dignity to its people.”
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
