An Ethiopian man describes how he was tortured by human traffickers as he went in search of his nephew on a now infamous migration route from the Horn of Africa through Yemen to Saudi Arabia.
Tag Archives: Yemen
Kidnapped and tortured on an infamous migration route to Saudi Arabia
An Ethiopian man describes how he was tortured by human traffickers as he went in search of his nephew on a now infamous migration route from the Horn of Africa through Yemen to Saudi Arabia.
Dozens more migrants die after boat capsizes off the coast of Yemen
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that 56 people had died and 132 were missing after a vessel carrying 200 migrants capsized off the coast of Shuqrah, in Yemen’s Abyan Governorate on 3 August.
Global hunger worsened in 2024, affecting 295 mln people: UN report
Global food insecurity and malnutrition continued to worsen in 2024, with 295 million people suffering from acute hunger across 53 countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its partners said in a report released on Friday.
The figure represents an increase of 13.7 million compared to 2023, marking the sixth consecutive annual rise in acute food insecurity in the world’s most fragile regions.
The findings were published in the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), an international alliance comprising the FAO, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and various governmental and non-governmental organizations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the figures as “another unflinching indictment of a world dangerously off course.”
In the report’s foreword, he warned that “hunger and malnutrition are spreading faster than our ability to respond, yet globally, a third of all food produced is lost or wasted.”
He added that long-standing crises are now being compounded by a more recent one: a dramatic reduction in lifesaving humanitarian funding.
While acute food insecurity typically stems from a combination of factors – such as poverty, economic shocks, and extreme weather, the report emphasized that conflicts remained the primary driver in many of the worst-hit regions. Some populations face conditions beyond acute hunger.
Famine was confirmed in parts of Sudan in 2024, while catastrophic levels of food insecurity were recorded in the Gaza Strip, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali.
In Gaza, famine was narrowly averted thanks to stepped-up humanitarian aid, but the report warned that the risk could return between May and September 2025 if the large-scale military operation and blockade continue.
The report also highlighted the severe impact of forced displacement. Of the 128 million people forcibly displaced in 2024, nearly 95 million – including internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, and refugees – were living in countries already grappling with food crises.
In addition, economic shocks triggered food insecurity in 15 countries, affecting 59.4 million people, including Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Also, extreme weather events pushed 18 countries into crisis, impacting more than 96 million people, particularly in Southern Asia, Southern Africa, and the Horn of Africa.
Trump says US will end attacks on Yemen
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s ordering a halt to nearly two months of U.S. airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis, saying they have indicated that “they don’t want to fight anymore” and have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade route.
“We’re going to stop the bombing of the Houthis, effective immediately,” Trump said at the start of his Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
That likely means an abrupt end to a campaign of airstrikes that began in March, when Trump promised to use “overwhelming lethal force” after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s mounting another blockade on the Gaza Strip.
At the time, they described the warning as affecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.
Trump said the Houthis had indicated to U.S. officials that “they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings.”
Iran denies role in missile attack by Houthi rebels
Iran rejected accusations it’s behind attacks by Houthi rebels, calling them “baseless”.
Speaking at a regular briefing Monday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said a recent attack by the group against Israel was an “independent decision”.
“The Yemeni people, because of their humane feelings and religious solidarity with the Palestinians, and also to defend themselves in the face of continuous aggression by America, have taken some measures. This is an independent decision and all accusations against Iran in connection with what Yemenis are doing are baseless,” Baghaei said.
A missile launched by the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at Israel’s main international airport on Sunday after its impact near an access road caused panic among passengers.
The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport came hours before Israeli Cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify military operations in Gaza.
The army was calling up tens of thousands of reserves, Israel’s chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S. was supporting Israeli operations against the Houthis.
In a later statement, he said that Israel would respond to the Houthis “and, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Baghaei said any country from which an attack against Iran is initiated will be considered a legitimate target.
“If an assault is made against the Islamic Republic of Iran from any country’s soil, based on international law that spot will be considered a legitimate target,” he said.
Dozens killed in U.S. bombing on Yemeni detention centre for African migrants
Yemen’s Houthi authorities on Monday alleged a U.S. airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The U.S. military had no immediate comment.
The strike in Yemen’s Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis, is the latest incident in the country’s decadelong war to kill African migrants from Ethiopia and other nations who risk crossing the nation for a chance to work in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Graphic footage shows aftermath of explosion
Graphic footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded at the site. The Interior Ministry said some 115 migrants had been detained at the site.
The Civil Defense agency said at least 68 people had been killed and 47 others wounded in the attack.
Footage from the site analyzed by the AP suggested some kind of explosion took place there, with its cement walls seemingly peppered by debris fragments and the wounds suffered by those there.
A woman’s voice, soft in the footage, can be heard repeating the start of a prayer in Arabic: “In the name of God.” An occasional gunshot rang out as medics sought to help those wounded.
African migrants caught in middle of Yemen’s war
Ethiopians and other African migrants for years have landed in Yemen, braving the war-torn nation to try and reach Saudi Arabia for work. The Houthi rebels allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border.
Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. An Oct. 3, 2022, letter to the kingdom from the U.N. said its investigators “received concerning allegations of cross-border artillery shelling and small arms fire allegedly by Saudi security forces, causing the deaths of up to 430 and injuring 650 migrants.”
Saudi Arabia has denied killing migrants.
Intelligence Officials Testify, Trump’s Auto Tariffs, DOGE Access
A group chat among top U.S. national security officials discussing airstrikes in Yemen has been made public, sparking outrage and raising questions about the Trump administration’s handling of classified information. President Trump imposes a 25% tariff on car imports to boost U.S. manufacturing, but auto industry leaders warn it could raise prices and disrupt markets. And, the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to sensitive personal data from multiple federal agencies is sparking legal battles over privacy and security.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Anna Yukhananov, Brett Neely, Ryland Barton, Arezou Rezvani and Mohamad ElBardicy.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis, and our technical director is Carleigh Strange
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South Korea Impeachment, Israel Attacks Houthis, Georgia’s Political Crisis
South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach the country’s acting president. Israel launched its largest and most aggressive attack so far against the Houthis in Yemen. And, the country Georgia is set to swear in a new president while the incumbent has refused to stand down.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Nick Spicer, Peter Granitz, Lisa Thomson and Alice Woefle. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas and Milton Guevara. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.
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Middle East turmoil, New Hampshire primaries and Justices hear case on deregulation
What’s behind the uptick in attacks between the U-S military and the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. How the presidential race for the republican nomination looks in New Hampshire. And today, the Supreme Court hears a case that could upend federal regulations.
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