Violence continued to escalate in Chechnya and in the North Caucasus republics of Ingushetia and Dagestan. Intensified attacks by insurgents throughout the month included a suicide bombing on police headquarters in the Ingushetia capital Nazran that killed 25 and injured over 100 on 17 August. As violence in Chechnya worsened, the murder

The rebels announced on Monday a peace plan, under which the military offensive against their strongholds in the province of Saada should stop and the army should withdraw to positions it held before the beginning of the latest military operation.

"This so-called ceasefire initiative contains nothing new," the country's Supreme Security Committee said

Sixteen people have drowned in the Gulf of Aden over the weekend in two separate incidents involving smuggling boats sailing from Somalia.

The passengers onboard the first boat said that the vessel, reportedly carrying 44 Somalis, capsized early Saturday night when the smugglers began to push the passengers over board into the

The UN food agency - WFP says up to 100,000 people are reportedly on the move desperately seeking sanctuary in safer areas of Sa'ada governorate, as a result of fighting between government forces and rebels in north-western Yemen.

WFP estimates that the number of internally displaced persons - IDPs could rise to 150,000.

Spokeswoman Emilia Casella says the extremely volatile security situation in Sa'ada town has forced relief agencies to temporarily relocate their staff.

Under the plan, offered by the rebels' spokesman Muhammad Abdul-Salam, the government would first stop the military offensive against the rebels' strongholds in the province of Saada and withdraw to its positions before the beginning of the latest military operation.

He did not detail any commitments that would be made by his group, which had earlier rejected government-proposed ceasefire terms focussed on the withdrawal of rebel forces.

Background

WFP in Yemen commissioned a Secondary Data Analysis (SDA) to consolidate information available from a variety of sources on food and nutrition security to provide an initial analysis that identifies areas where food insecurity indicators converge. The SDA identifies gaps in secondary information to be filled by primary data collection and makes recommendations as to how these gaps might be addressed. Results are to be used to provide guidance for WFP and partners in formulating the intervention strategy for the coming years.

Country Context

In brief

Programme purpose: The ultimate purpose of the programmes is to enable the Yemen Red Crescent Society (Yemen Red Crescent) to achieve its strategic and operational objective of building up capacities and scaling up services in line with its Strategy for 2007-2011

Programmes summary: During the reporting period, the main focus has continued to be on the development and implementation of comprehensive disaster management including preparedness,

"Now we use grain as animal fodder to complement grazing but fodder prices have increased threefold over the past two years," said Ali al-Qanis, aged 74, a local herder with 50 sheep. "These steep price hikes mean a sheep or goat is becoming a financial liability."

To make matters worse, the selling price

SANAA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Gentle showers temporarily damp the dust and cool the August heat of Sanaa, but cannot remedy a grim water outlook for the Yemeni capital's 2 million people.

Some residents receive piped city water only once every nine days and others get none at all. The sinking water table means the municipality can now operate only 80 of its 180 wells, said Naji Abu Hatim, a Yemeni expert at the World Bank.

"People don't believe the magnitude of the problem. They see a little cloud and say, 'oh, God is still there,