The World Bank has announced the approval of an additional grant of $150 million from the International Development Association for the Human Capital Emergency Project in Yemen. In a statement issued on Friday, the bank stated, "This funding is of utmost importance and will be continuously used to provide essential health, nutrition, water supply, sanitation, and hygiene services while simultaneously strengthening the systems of a country grappling with the consequences of ongoing conflict." According to UN reports, seventeen million people in Yemen face acute food insecurity, and acute malnutrition plagues two million children.
Amnesty International has renewed its demand for the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group to immediately release 11 individuals from the Baha'i minority who have been held in their prisons for nearly four months. In a statement issued on Friday, the Amnesty Gulf office said, "The Houthi authorities must immediately release 11 Baha'is who have been forcibly disappeared, including human rights activists and humanitarian workers. They have been detained for over 100 days for exercising their right to freedom of religion and belief." Houthi forces had raided a peaceful gathering of Baha'is on May 25th, detaining 17 individuals. After international pressure, six individuals (one man and three women) were released in June, and two men were released in July.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in Yemen issued a warning today, Saturday, about the spread of diseases and the difficulty of accessing healthcare in Yemen due to a decrease in humanitarian funding. In a statement published on the X platform, WHO stated, "There is no exaggeration in estimating the severity of humanitarian needs in Yemen. What is of concern is the continuous decline in funding trends, which will exacerbate the crisis." As of August 2023, only 31.2% of the required amount of 4.34 billion US dollars will be received, leading to severe cuts in aid, which will impact the most vulnerable populations, according to the organization.
Two children and a woman from the same family were injured in a landmine explosion in the village of Al Khudayrah in the Al-Humayniyah district, located in the Hodeidah province in southern Yemen.The government-run Saba news agency reported that the two children are Warood Salim Khudayri and Saeeda Ali Khudayri, and the older woman is Fathiya Saeed Khudayri. Thousands of landmines have been planted in Yemen since the inception of the war in 2015.
Iran has stated that the return of all parties to the nuclear agreement is not ruled out, but Washington has expressed doubts about Iran's seriousness in restraining its nuclear program. The website "Iran in Arabic" quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying on Saturday that he had discussed the contentious issues between Iran and the United States with several former US officials during a seminar held at one of the American research centers. However, on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Iran's decision to block some UN nuclear inspectors "indicates that they are not interested in being a responsible party in their nuclear program."
