The UN's special adviser on genocide prevention, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, says the parties fighting in Ethiopia's war have few options but to negotiate.

At 91 years old, actor and director Clint Eastwood is still bringing his quiet intensity to the big screen, in stories that explore the dustier corners of the American experience. Film critic Lisa Nesselson tells us why there is plenty to like – but not necessarily love – in his latest film, "Cry Macho".

"Russia doesn't threaten anyone," the government spokesperson has said in a bid to calm concerns raised by Ukraine, the European Union and the US.

The African Union is forging ahead with mediation talks in Ethiopia as the US warns of the potential far-reaching consequences of the conflict. But productive negotiations are still far from assured.

Police have previously denied that the arrests are ethnically motivated. Almost 200 young children have starved to death in Tigray.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday, stressing the need for all parties to commit to an immediate and indefinite ceasefire in the northern Tigray region, the State Department said.

France on Tuesday became the latest country to advise citizens to leave war-torn Ethiopia as Tigrayan rebels claimed to be advancing closer to the capital Addis Ababa.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said it was time to reassess Western policy vis-à-vis Syria and that the approach followed in recent years had failed. “The only end to the crisis is a political solution,” he added. The Jordanian minister also hinted that his country was favourable to bringing Syria back into the Arab League.

Fighting continues in Ethiopia, where rebel groups are advancing on the capital Addis Ababa. While much has been said about the northern front, where the army is at war with the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF), another armed group – allied to Tigrayans – is fighting from the south and west of the country. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) now controls a large swathe of territory. Together, the TDF and OLA plan to topple the government and take over the capital. The government accuses these rebel groups of committing crimes against civilians, including several massacres. Our regional correspondent reports.

Ethiopian authorities have closed all secondary schools so pupils can harvest crops for those on the frontline of the civil war, state-affiliated media says. ... More than 2 million pupils were already out of school due to the war which started in the northern region of Tigray last year, the government says.

Chinese private investment in Uganda is growing while Westerners are losing appetite to put money to work in the country, President Yoweri Museveni told Reuters, pledging to step up efforts to tackle corruption which has made slow progress. Museveni, in power since 1986 and one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, said Uganda was working to sign a number of deals with Chinese private sector lenders in sectors from agro- and fertilizer-processing, minerals processing or textiles.

After more than a year of war in Tigray, Ethiopia's ethnic divides now run deeper than ever. This will make it hard for the country to heal if peace ever comes.