Crossword Genius

Hunger getting attention in the borders of Yemen (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

yearn

'hunger' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'attention in the borders of yemen' is the wordplay.
'attention' becomes 'ear' (ear is a kind of attention).
'in the' indicates putting letters inside.
'borders of' suggests removing the centre.
'yemen' with its centre removed is 'yn'.
'ear' inserted inside 'yn' is 'YEARN'.

'getting' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for yearn that I've seen before include "Have an intense feeling of longing" , "Have strong desire" , "Have a craving" , "Curdle" , "lust" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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