WFP chief says Yemen food survey may not show famine

GENEVA (Reuters) - A food security survey of Yemen due to be issued on Thursday will show an increase in acute hunger but the situation may not meet all the criteria to declare a famine, World Food Programme (WFP) executive director David Beasley said on Tuesday. The survey, carried out by Yemeni and international experts in October according to an international system for classifying food crises, may show some Yemenis are in a "catastrophic" food situation, but that would not necessarily mean famine, he said. "We know the numbers are going to be showing a severe increase in hunger rates, whether there'll be famine... we'll see. But they think that may not show famine," Beasley told reporters. (Reporting by Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay)