MIDDLE EAST: IRIN-ME Weekly Round-up 270 for 19 - 25 February 2010

	humanitarian news and analysis UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Table of contents 1. YEMEN: ?I?d rather die than go back to him? 2. EGYPT: Child poverty on the rise - UNICEF 3. YEMEN: Children hit hardest by northern conflict 4. ISRAEL-OPT: Gaza fishermen under fire 5. YEMEN: Food security takes a knock YEMEN: ?I?d rather die than go back to him? SANAA, 21 February 2010 (IRIN) - It was every little girl?s dream - she was to get a new dress, jewellery, sweets and a party for all her friends. What 10-year-old Aisha* did not know was that after the wedding party she would have to leave school, move to a village far from her parents? home, cook and clean all day, and have sex with her older husband. full report EGYPT: Child poverty on the rise - UNICEF CAIRO, 23 February 2010 (IRIN) - A new report by the UN Children?s Fund (UNICEF) and the Egyptian government says the number of children living in income-poor households is increasing, causing poorer living conditions and a greater deprivation of their rights as children. full report YEMEN: Children hit hardest by northern conflict SANAA, 23 February 2010 (IRIN) - Hundreds of children have either been killed or used as child soldiers in fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi-led Shia rebels in the north of the country since August 2009, according to a new report by Seyaj Organization for Child Protection (SOCP), a local child rights NGO. full report ISRAEL-OPT: Gaza fishermen under fire GAZA CITY, 24 February 2010 (IRIN) - Sami al-Qouqa, a 30-year-old former fisherman from al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, lost his left hand when his fishing boat came under fire from an Israeli gunboat on 12 March 2007, in an incident documented by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. full report YEMEN: Food security takes a knock SANAA, 25 February 2010 (IRIN) - Cereal production in Yemen has declined for the second consecutive year due mainly to a lack of rainfall, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Abdulmalik al-Thawr. full report

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

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