marine le pen called emmanuel macron the establishment candidate. he said she fed off hate. french voters will cast their votes on sunday. gloves off over brexit. british prime minister theresa may accuses european politicians of making threats against the uk to try to influence the general election result. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it shows a schoolgirl called anu, from brimingham here in the uk. the seven—year—old lost her leg shortly after birth and was filmed showing off a new sports blade to herfriends in the playground. they‘ re pretty impressed, and catching her won't be easy. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. the war in yemen has killed more than 10,000 civilians. that is an appalling number.

but it may soon be dwarfed by the numbers starving to death. yemen is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe which the warring parties are making worse and which the outside world seems unwilling, or unable, to tackle. my guest is the un humanitarian coordinator in the country, jamie mcgoldrick. is he losing the struggle to save millions of lives? jamie mcgoldrick, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. here you sit on a visit to the united kingdom.

your base is in yemen. yeah. what is the right word to describe the situation in yemen today? is the word "famine" the right one? well, famine will come if the current conditions continue. i think the war, the conflict, the insecurity, and the collapse of the economy, all of that is lending itself to a situation where people have no other choice but to slip into that. you know, there are 7 million people in the country already who are in a very fragile situation in terms of the food security. if we cannot respond by giving them medical support. water support, food and nutrition, those people will turn to famine by the end of the year. 7 million? yeah. i always feel that when we start to talk about famine and we start to talk these sorts of numbers, there is a danger that people around the world will feel that perhaps you are exaggerating. the idea of 7 million people facing the very immediate, real danger of starvation to death is almost unimaginable. yeah. but it doesn't happen overnight. i mean, it doesn't

happen all at once. it happens incrementally. measurements we have taken of communities in 59 districts through the country, both the north and the south, shows quite clearly the fragility of the communities, the families, and individuals. if we don't do something like bring more money, more response and humanitarian assistance to those populations, and at the same time they don't have the health support, 50% of medical services and clinics will no longer function. so if all of that is in place and we can't do better in terms of response, those fragile people will slip in. is this a man—made catastrophe? completely. this is nothing to do with nature. this is only to do with the fact that warring parties and parties to the conflict, they are not doing what they are supposed to do, which is to allow us to address the situation properly. the international community does not give us the resources we need. we are currently 15% funded of an appeal that requires $2.1 billion.

if that is the situation, those people who are the most vulnerable, those living hand to mouth and who don't know where the next meal is coming from and can't feed their families, we cannot help them because we don't have the resources and sometimes the access. i want to unpick why this is happening and where responsibility lies. butjust in terms of which the degree to which the world cares about this right now, caroline anning of save the children said this the other day, "yemen is the forgotten conflict." " forgotten. " is that the way you feel about it when you sit in your office in yemen? i would not say "forgotten." i would say "purposefully forgotten. " people don't want to be reminded of it. i think what's happening in yemen, you have other crises in the region which overshadow it, because of the media, because of the people involved, the parties involved. much more attention is given to the horns and them aleppos and the mosuls because they capture that moment. in yemen, there's silence. do you feel that you are not getting your message across? here you sit in the hardtalk studio, but you, and notjust you, but the international humanitarian

machinery, including the united nations and all of its agencies, have failed. we've failed because we're not getting the resources in. if we're not, it's not that we are not telling the story properly, it's because the parties often don't want the story to be told. well, who doesn't want the story told? we tell the story about the suffering. the suffering is caused by the parties who are involved in this conflict. so let's name them. the houthis and the saleh, and the saudi—led coalition. they are two major parties of this conflict. it is because of that that all those millions of people are now suffering. we need to do something to get that story out and alert the world to the magnitude of the suffering. 7 million people don't know how they're going to feed their families tomorrow. 500,000 children under five who are those skeletal you see on tv in any crisis. you just gave a response to me about culpability which included three, that was the houthi rebels, the government, well, which now sits in aden because it had to quit sana'a. and the third element you pointed to was what you describe as the saudi—led coalition. they are the outsiders

in this conflict. you are pointing a finger at the richest country in the middle east as being directly responsible for keeping this crisis outside public view. is that what you're saying? what we are saying is right now the parties involved in this conflict don't really care at all about the people they say they represent. so we have a situation where you have millions of people, up to 19 million people, who need some form of assistance. we cannot get to them for various reasons. we can't get resources to them for the reasons i'vejust mentioned. we don't have the funds. because of that, there are people, through no fault of their own, represented by some of these groups, supposedly represented in political discussions by these groups, but they are abandoned, they are abandoned to their own fate, which is starvation. if that is all true, and you speak with great passion

about it, why did your ultimate boss, the secretary—general of the united nations, after a donors‘ conference just a few days ago, aim to raise more than $2 billion to deal with the humanitarian crisis in yemen. why did he come away from it saying it was "an outstanding success" when the pledges you got only amounted to half of what you wanted. it was an outstanding success because people came around the table for the first time to talk about the humanitarian catastrophe in yemen. that hasn't been done... hang on. the message that the conference delivered to the potential donors was "these people are at risk of starvation and famine right now, and unless you make good on some financial pledges, they will die." and you only got half of what you wanted, and you call that an outstanding success? but it's the fourth month into the year. so i think if we can turn those pledges into real cash and deliver assistance to those people and start saving lives, that is a very strong message for the second half of the year.

it's a very big "if," isn't it? let's look at the realities. let's look at all the different un—backed appeals for money. northern nigeria, south sudan, the horn of africa, let's not even talk about what's needed in syria because of the conflict there, and afghanistan too! what chance have you got, not even of getting to the $2 billion you say is urgently needed right now, but even making good on the promises of $1 billion that you got the other day. well, it remains to be seen. i think it's the big challenge in any of these pledging conferences. because pledges and promises, they're easy to make. what we hope is that we can show that one, we can deliver, which we are doing well, despite all the circumstances. two, if we got more resources, we can save more lives. i think people are quite willing to invest in that message. if they thought they were investing in failure... we've got a really good system set up, the un and the international community. we are saving lives, we're delivering food to 3 million people a month, we're delivering water, sanitation, and health, to millions every month. we have more opportunity to save lives and safeguard livelihoods. why would, frankly, international

donors feel it is worth pouring resources into yemen, when one looks at the reports from the ground, and it is clear that the warring parties, and you named the saudi—led coalition, so let's stick with them, are using aerial bombardment to hit civilian targets. now, they deny that they do it deliberately, but the facts on the ground are clear, that hundreds and hundreds of civilians, including children and people in hospitals, have been killed by the saudi—led coalition. well, all parties in this conflict have a blatant disregard for anything to do with civilians and civilian infrastructure. ground fighting, shelling, bombing and airstrikes, as you mentioned. and 1,600 kids have been used for recruitments to military forces. from the point of view of the parties involved, one of the motives of this crisis, i think, is completely disregarding the responsibilities of the geneva conventions. you want money! yes. you want money to rebuild hospitals

and finance the saving of lives, and that, of course, means healthcare. if you look at what was said by the most recent un—sponsored watchlist report, what is happening on the ground, they say, quote, "the coalition is responsible for repeated attacks on medical facilities and staff." "they are leading these attacks to the closure of hospitals, compromising children's access to treatment, increasing, clearly, rates of injury and disease." on that basis, are you really going to get donors to put more money in? we will get money. we will get money, because the response by the humanitarians, regardless of the impact of this conflict, is very solid. and the more money we get, the more delivery we can do in terms of assistance. what happens in terms of the military side of things, it's not my concern. my concern is the impact of that on the lives and the livelihoods of people.

it has to be your concern. it is my concern in that i advocate com pletely a nd totally and consistently for all parties to the conflict to understand their obligations and accept them and honour them in a conflict of this kind. is it time for you to speak out and say, "you know what, there are things on the ground i have seen and my staff tell me about which are tantamount to war crimes." you have seen the reports. they are already there. i am asking you. i have seen the humanitarian impact of the air strikes, shelling, the ground fighting. i have seen the tragedy that's caused. who was responsible for it? i would leave that up to the other parties, ot the international community. the secretary general in the past called for investigations that have not taken place yet. let me ask you a blunt question. this is what the saudi un ambassador said recently: "the accusation of these reports that we have attacked and bombarded civilian targets, including healthcare facilities, are unfounded." "0ur coalition," he says, "has exercised maximum restraint

and rigorous rules of engagement." what is your response to that? that is the response from the that side... is that true? there are facts on the ground and the reports you've mentioned, there needs to be more investigation and legally sound arguments to say this has happened. that has not happened because we don't have monitors and legal people on the ground who can do that. so right now it's people saying, this has happened. i have no way of proving that. no one has that technicaljudgement and ability to make that. i absolutely understand that yourjob is to co—ordinate humanitarian relief efforts. there is a very real limit to what else you can do or say about the conflict in yemen. but the fact is, as things stand, and the signals we get from the new trump administration in washington, the united states is, it seems, keener than ever to back the saudis in this, and it is, a regional conflict. does that concern you? anything that contributes

to the conflict continuing is what i would worry about, because of the impact it has on people's lives. people that are completely powerless. and so anything that adds more fuel to that fire, more arms to that fight, would make the conflict exacerbated and make it difficult for us and exacerbate the possibilities of famine coming to a population who are completely fragile right now anyway. paint me a picture of what you actually can do on the ground right now. sana'a is now occupied by the houthi rebel forces. the notional government of yemen is now siting in aden. there are pockets of conflict all around the country. some territory is still held by al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula. there is talk also of so—called islamic state having a presence in yemen today. realistically, what can you actually do and deliver? well, the un and its partners, the ngos, red cross, and others, we have five offices, the north, south, east, west, and the centre part.

we deliver assistance through those co—ordination response offices. we are present in 80% of the country geographically and physically. there is no problem in thes sense of getting to people. the problem is, sometimes there is interference, diversion, blockages, but the biggest issue apart from security is resources. if we don't have resources, it doesn't matter how many people are on the ground, if we cannot deliver. and the important part for us is to get those resources to be better placed to start saving lives. is itjust about resources, though? for example, i know that the most important port facility that gets aid into the country is hudaydah. sure. the problem is, hudaydah has been bombed. five of the big cranes that lift the goods out of the ships in the port are not in operation. so, you know, it isn't just about money. the port of hudaydah is very much a topical issue right now. we need that port because of the proximity to the population in need, the port's location and the fact that it has the capacity to offload both

commercial and humanitarian goods. yemen a country that relied on 90% of its imports to survive. so if any of those ports don't work, then there is a problem for people to access humanitarian goods. the saudi coalition says, we cannot, at the moment, stand by and let the port do what it does, because we know that the houthi rebels are shipping significant amounts of arms through that port. i think people know that the arms do notjust come through those ports, there are many ways arms can come into the country. yemen's awash with guns weapons and ammunition, it has been for decades. everyone in the country has a gun, it is that kind of country. one thing you have to think about is

whether you and a significant un presence inside the port may be required to ensure that the saudi—led coalition doesn't continue to view that port with profound suspicion. are you prepared to go in, monitor, inspect, manage the port so that it will become an easier route for the aid to reach the country? we want the port not to be harmed any further, we want military intervention not to take place there. at last week's conference in geneva, key member states all made this plea to say that the port should be protected because of the importance it has in terms of delivering assistance to the population. anything the un can do to prevent that, and that would require discussion for all the parties involved in this, both on the sana'a authorities‘ side and also the saudi—led coalition. those conversations would have to take place at a political level for there to be agreement for people

to be put on the ground and help us have that port available to be able to deliver humanitarian assistance. you told us that there are 7 million people today who are on the brink of starvation, who truly don't know whether they will have enough bread to eat tomorrow. there is not enough time for a long—winded negotiation. the port is still functioning, but in a diminished way. we are looking at other ways to bring food into the country. through the aden port in the south and also cross—land from saudi arabia and amman. there are contingency plans to be put in place in case the port does get embroiled in a military conflict. we just advocate it shouldn't because it is such an important capacity for us. we know from saudi officials that they have gathered forces within military reach of hudaydah. what is your message to them? the same message that angela merkel made the other day, there is no military solution to this crisis. no one has won anything of any great note as yet. earlier this year the saudi—led coalition made advances

on mocha and beyond. but now we have come to a situation where we are stymied. we are looking for that not to need to go any further, and come up with a solution for that port to remain the vector for us to deliver assistance to the population in need. i don't think a military campaign will make any difference. i don't think we can see a victory there. i don't think it will be the tipping point that will bring about a game change for anything, it will be hard fought by all sides. negotiations tend to get somewhere when the sides come to a realisation that there is not going to be a military victory. do you think we have got there? i think the parties would look back and think, in two years, what have we gained? what we need to do is get the international community to put pressure on those parties to get back to negotiations. there is no military or humanitarian solution to this crisis.

all we are doing is keeping people alive. the parties must understand this is the only way forward. and it takes them to start to say to themselves, talk about the humanitarian consequences. you never hear political leaders saying anything about this human suffering. it's about narrow political interests, or regional political interests, and what we are looking for is an opportunity for those people to get people back to the table, stop the war, silence the guns, give us a ceasefire and give us the resources. what you're saying is deeply depressing, that the parties to the conflict, and you indicate you're notjust talking about the parties to the yemeni conflict, that none of them really consider orfrankly, care, about the humanitarian suffering in the country. i would say that's true. would you say that's true of, we've been talking about saudi arabia, one of the closest strategic partners of the saudi arabian government is the united states government, and the uk government also backs the saudi arabian government and uk weaponry has been deployed.

i think it is one of the inconsistencies, the incoherence you find in conflicts in the middle east, you get different parts of governments supporting different aspects of the conflict. it is unfortunate, on one hand we are supported in the humanitarian point of view by the parties who are keep the conflict moving. let's talk about the personal impact of all of this. i am trying to picture you sitting in your office, in sana'a, responsible for staff in five regional offices, getting field reports, telling you that the situation is deteriorating and thousands and thousands are suffering the most unimaginable privations. what kind of toll does it take on you? i think it galvanises you and makes you even harder and stronger, trying to fix it. the un is the only international body inside the country. and there is a lot of pressure on us and a lot of demands on us and things we should

be doing more of. what i would do is, i go out more often that not to some of these areas. i was in taiz last week, two weeks ago which is the enclave of the city which is closed off. it took me nine and a half months to negotiate entry into there. you see people returning so there is some hope there, but you also see some negative elements. you see kids dying of sickle cell anaemia in a hospital because there are no salaries for staff and no medicines. at the same time, you see suv cars flying around. that inconsistency is unfortunate and very inhumane. so for me, it's myjob to wake up in the morning, bang on the doors and push on with the team that is there, a very good un team that is there. i understand that desire just to push on, but there are some extraordinary figures. 462,000 babies and young children under the age of five are at immediate real threat of death because they are suffering from acute, severe malnutrition. that suggests that all of the work you are trying to do,

you are failing. we are failing, because we are not getting to those people with the resources quickly enough. what i would also say is, if you look at some of the figures and trends, while the severe malnutrition has not, it has not gone that greatly more than it was two years ago, but we've actually been able to capture that. it's still a massive number and we have an immense task ahead of us. what i would say is, there are kids dying, like, one child every ten minutes dies. so while we're on this programme, three children will have died through preventable diseases in a hospital, or not getting to the hospital, because they haven't got the fare, or if they get there, the hospital is not working, or, there is no medicine in the hospital. so, there are people dying in villages all around the country, and nobody is recording their deaths. not because of the conflict per se, but because of the consequences of the conflict and the economy not working.

famine, water problems, health problems, all of that ocming together in a congruence that kills people on a very regular basis. this cannot be properly tackled unless there is an end to the war? totally. look at the realities. there is no meaningful peace process right now. there have been attempts, i think, seven of them, to get some sort of negotiated ceasefire—peace process going. how bleak, how depressed are you right now? you would be normally, but last week i was quite pleasantly surprised by the force of support that came to us. a better understanding and clarification of what is causing it. at the same time, quite a decent response to the appeal for $1.1 billion. the talk about the port in the room, conversations that critical settlement is required... 0ne crucial moment in our exchange, you told me that you don't think any party in this conflict really cares about the scale of suffering.

so it will go on? they don't. no it won't go on because i think pressure will come from the outside that changes require, this is going nowhere. no, what is happening is a tailspin of deterioration of the humanitarian population. who are on the brink of famine. the responsibility for that lies with all the parties involved in that. they have to, at some point, say, enough is enough. the people in yemen have said that, they can't take this any more. they are at breaking point. they have sold their land, their cars, children get married much younger, people are suffering. i think we are at breaking point. if we don't stop that soon, nobody knows what will happen in yemen. politically and otherwise. it's got a damaged future anyway. it could be damaged irreconcilably, nobody knows. jamie mcgoldrick, we have to end there, but thank you for being on hardtalk. thank you. hello there.

the weather contrast on wednesday got more stark across the uk with low cloud dominating parts of east anglia and the south—west. a breeze off the chilly seas. in the sunshine, plenty of it, high teens. for the next few days, clumps of cloud of running into the same areas that we have seen during the past 2a hours. the odd brighter break here and there. a spot of rain and drizzle and maybe a few further west. a few breaks in the clouds

in devon and cornwall. further north, a chilly start to northern ireland. in scotland, more chilly start. around shetland low cloud close to the close. around shetland low cloud close to the coast. that will come and go through the day. a few brighter days through the midlands. still plenty of cloud across the southern counties. the chance of one or two passing showers. a breezy day. limiting the temperatures. in the west, gusty winds. into thursday night, we see fear outbreaks across england and wales leading to temperatures dropping at touch. you might get a touch of frost here and there but most frost—free

particularly further south you are. another breezy day on friday. cloud drifting across southern counties of england and wales. maybe into the midlands later. clear skies through northern england and scotland. temperatures down a little bit but could still get too high teens across western scotland and maybe to the west of cumbria. into the weekend, high—pressure receding towards icelanders. towards iceland. how close this system gets is a big question might it could spread rain across devon and cornwall. north of that, some brighter spells including a little less chilly across south—eastern areas. the rain close by. monday into sunday, whether it reaches of the south coast, it clears towards into the continent. a bit more sunshine around in places. the best in the west. take care.

i'm rico hizon, in singapore. the headlines: the candidate of the elite, or the spirit of defeat? rivals for the french presidency trade insults in their televised debate. amid rising religious intolerance in pakistan, we meet the imam who saved the life of a man accused of blasphemy. i'm kasia madera, in london. also in the programme: the american town where one in ten are addicted to opioids and pharmaceutical companies are getting the blame. and the story of the albino orangutan, rescued from captivity. we talk to the group that saved her.