Humanitarian crisis unfolds in northern Ethiopia

Amid international pressure to end conflict in the Tigray region, lawmakers approved forming the commission — but officials said talks would exclude Tigrayan leaders.

Ethiopia has released opposition party leader Eskinder Nega after holding him in prison for a year and a half, his party said. Ethiopian state media has reported he was among several government critics set free.

The strike in the town of Dedebit, in the northwest of the region near the border with Eritrea, occurred late on Friday night, said two aid workers, who asked not to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

The fighting between forces of the Ethiopian government and rebels from the Tigray region has had a devastating effect on the civilian population. The UN has warned of a "grave humanitarian situation."

The United Nations is seeking more than $5 billion from international donors this year to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. It's the largest ever UN appeal for a single country, to avert what it describes as a "catastrophe". More than half of Afghanistan's population will need emergency assistance this year, with the UN estimating that 55 percent of Afghans are suffering from acute hunger. FRANCE 24's Business Editor Stephen Carroll has the details.

The Indomitable Lions become the first team to qualify for the knockout round as Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko-Ekambi score two goals each to beat Ethiopia 4-1 in Yaoundé. Meanwhile a 1-0 victory for Burkina Faso against Cape Verde leaves Group A wide open ahead of the final round of group stage games.

The conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region continues to escalate one year after breaking out. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on civilians to take up arms against the Tigrayan forces and warned he would bury his enemies with blood.

Ethiopia's government has accused the head of the UN's health agency of interfering in its internal affairs. Separately, another UN body warned that the Tigray region is on "the edge of a major humanitarian disaster."

A World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Monday that the global body would postpone a decision on Ethiopia's request to investigate its leader for allegedly supporting rebellious forces fighting the Ethiopian government. WHO Executive Board chair Patrick Amoth made the statement at a meeting of the board in Geneva where current director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' bid for a second term as head of the U.N. agency is due to be discussed.

The carcasses of goats and sheep strewn across the scrubland of northern Kenya are testament to the devastation wrought by the once-in-a-generation floods that have hit the region. In just one area of Marsabit County, herders lost around 20,000 goats and sheep last week after the torrential rain, Roba Koto, the top government official in North Horr constituency, said.

All sides in Ethiopia's civil war have been accused of unspeakable atrocities. Will anyone be held responsible for them? Tim Sebastian speaks to the country's minister for democratization, Zadig Abraha.

Northern Ireland's economy has been sluggish for years, with a quality of life that's lower than the rest of the United Kingdom. That's why many young people are leaving.