There’s a stark warning tonight that millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to “the brink of starvation” unless international aid is dramatically stepped up. It comes from UNICEF, the United Nations children’s organisation.
Yemen faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with the coronavirus pandemic compounding the effect of five years of civil war.
Houthi rebels backed by Iran have been fighting Yemen’s government. It is backed by a Saudi-led coalition which is supported by the US and the UK.
2 million of Yemen’s children are malnourished, and 1.7 million have been forced to flee their homes. A child dies every 10 minutes from a preventable disease.
Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting from Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen.
Iran, also called Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. Its central location in Eurasia and proximity to the Strait of Hormuz give it significant geostrategic importance. Tehran is the capital and largest city.
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. The Iranian Revolution established the current Islamic Republic in 1979.
Iran’s political system combines elements of a presidential democracy and an Islamic theocracy. Iran is a founding member of the UN, ECO, OIC, and OPEC. It is a major regional and middle power and has large reserves of fossil fuels — including the world’s largest natural gas supply and the third largest proven oil reserves.
The country’s rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Historically a multi-ethnic country, Iran remains a pluralistic society comprising numerous ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, the largest being Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Mazandaranis and Lurs.
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security.
At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; with the addition of South Sudan in 2011, membership is now 193, representing almost all of the world’s sovereign states.
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is the second-largest Arab sovereign state in the peninsula, occupying 527,970 square kilometres. The coastline stretches for about 2,000 kilometres.