Yemen

Yemen cholera cases pass 300,000 as outbreak spirals - ICRC

The situation has continued to "spiral out of control", with about 7,000 new cases every day, the ICRC warned.

More than 1,700 associated deaths have been reported, according to the UN.

Yemen's health, water and sanitation systems are collapsing after two years of conflict between pro-government forces and the rebel Houthi movement.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera.

Attack on refugee boat off Yemen leaves dozens dead

Coast guard Mohamed al-Alay told Reuters the refugees, carrying official UNHCR documents, were on their way from Yemen to Sudan when they were attacked by an Apache helicopter near the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Mohammed Abdiker, emergencies director at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 42 bodies had been recovered.

He said the attack at around 3:00am on Friday (local time) was "totally unacceptable" and that responsible combatants should have checked who was aboard the boat "before firing on it".

Babies starving to death as Yemen calls for aid

Charity Save the Children took the images this week in the Yemeni Capital Sanaa, in the wards of the Al Sabeen Hospital.

The NGO says its teams are seeing skeletal children in Yemen's hospitals on the brink of death, so hungry they do not even have the energy to cry.

UN: World facing greatest humanitarian crisis since 1945

UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said that more than 20 million people faced the threat of starvation and famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria.

Unicef has already warned 1.4m children could starve to death this year.

Mr O'Brien said $4.4bn (£3.6bn) was needed by July to avert disaster.

"We stand at a critical point in history," Mr O'Brien told the Security Council on Friday. "Already at the beginning of the year we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the United Nations."

155 dead after airstrikes hit funeral home

No other details were immediately available.

The Saudi-led coalition, involving several Arab countries, began a military campaign in Yemen in March 2015 aimed at preventing Houthi rebels allied to Iran and forces loyal to Yemen's deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh from taking power.

The conflict that has left millions in need of aid and pushed communities to the brink of famine.

An estimated 10,000 people have been killed in what many term the "forgotten war," according to the UN.

Yemen government denies cutting ties with Iran

"Cutting ties with Iran does not align with Yemen's supreme interests," said Rageh Badie.

The internationally recognized government has long been accusing Iran of arming and training the country's Shiite rebels known as Houthis. Tehran admits to supporting and advising the rebels, but denies any military aid.

Syria at UN summit as Russian bombing causes tensions

The Kremlin says it is acting on request of the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad. The United States opposes Assad and has questioned Moscow's assertion that it is targeting Islamic terrorists, saying the areas hit close to Homs are strongholds of the moderate opposition to Assad.

World leaders also tried to address the crises in Libya and Yemen with high-level meetings on Friday.

Saudi Arabia denies striking Yemen wedding party

Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri tells The Associated Press Wednesday that "we did not conduct any operations in that area two days ago," referring to Monday's incident, in which more than 130 people were killed in the deadliest single event of Yemen's civil war.

Asiri says there is no evidence of what caused the deaths, and that ordinary civilians cannot distinguish between airstrikes, missiles, cannon fire or local explosions.

Yemen officials: Death toll from strikes on wedding at 131

The U.N. says at least 2,355 civilians have been killed in fighting since March, when the coalition began launching airstrikes against Shiite Houthi rebels and allied army units, who control the capital and are at war with the internationally recognized government as well as southern separatists, local militias and Sunni extremists.

Yemen rebels release foreign hostages, including 2 Americans

Houthi officials and officials at the airport in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters, said three Americans, two Saudis and a British national detained earlier this year were released and flown to Oman.