The Mexican state of Michoacan is facing an unprecedented wave of violence. More than 800 homicides have been recorded there since January, making it Mexico's most violent state. Criminal groups are waging war to control territory, while the state's residents have become hostages and victims of the violence. Our correspondents Quentin Duval, Laurence Cuvillier and Juan José Estrada Serafín report.

The Mexican state of Michoacan is facing an unprecedented wave of violence. Since January, more than 800 homicides have been recorded there, making it Mexico's most violent state. While criminal groups wage a war to control territory, the state's residents pay a heavy price: kidnappings, murders and forced displacements. Our correspondents met one local man who decided to stand up to organised crime by leading a vigilante group. For many other residents, though, exile is the only viable choice.

US gold medal Olympian Brittney Griner is on trial in Russia after police allegedly found cannabis vape canisters in her luggage. The basketball star said she had no intention of breaking the law.

The court handed Griner a nine-year sentence after finding she committed the crime "deliberately," despite her pleas that it was an "honest mistake." The US has made Russia a prisoner swap offer for the basketball star.

She submitted to a drug test after opponents made a scandal of her partying with friends.

A long-delayed report by the UN's Human Rights Office on China's treatment of Uyghurs cited what it called 'credible' allegations of torture and other rights violations. Beijing opposed the release of the report and has denied the accusations.

This is what $278 million (₦195 billion) worth of cocaine looks like. This revelation was made possible after NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Lagos and arrested four Nigerians and a Jamaican.

There are many forces driving this surge in drug prevalence. Africa is persistently young, increasingly affluent and rapidly urbanising – all factors that elevate the probability that a person will decide to use illicit substances.

Environmental crime is the third most lucrative criminal business in the world. Yet too often it is still treated like petty crime. Activists hope new EU legislation may soon change that.

One child is being admitted for medical treatment for malnutrition every minute in Somalia as severe drought threatens to cause the deaths of children on a scale not seen in half a century, a spokesperson for UNICEF said on Tuesday.

Ever since Gerald Muwonge tested positive for HIV eight years ago, keeping his viral load in check has meant carrying around vials of pills for his daily treatment regimen while dodging the stigma his condition could invite on a gay man in Uganda. He hopes that could soon change thanks to an injectable treatment that only needs to be taken once every two months.

Security forces in El Salvador surrounded Tutunichapa, a poor neighborhood of the nation's capital, after a vow from President Nayib Bukele to root out drug gangs.