Haiti faces humanitarian crisis

The missionaries had been heading home from building an orphanage when they were pulled off a bus by a gang, according to media reports. Haiti has witnessed more than 300 kidnappings already this year.

Haitian officials had said the gang had asked for $1 million each for the group of 17, which included five children. The gang had threatened to kill the North Americans.

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.

Six months after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the health system is collapsing. Amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation, a raging measles outbreak has already killed more than 150 people and infected tens of thousands more in January alone. Measles is not the only sanitary threat facing young children in the country.

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

The Ukraine conflict dominates this year's Munich Security Conference, as world leaders pay less attention to the Afghan crisis. Two decades ago, a similar negligence unleashed catastrophic consequences for global peace.

The wall will cover almost half of the border between the two countries. Many Haitians cross the border in search of work in the fields or in the construction industry in the Dominican Republic.

Ukrainians are fleeing to their EU neighbors as they fear even further escalation. The UN and the EU have vowed support as the already dire humanitarian situation worsens.

Worsening violence in parts of the Haitian capital has renewed fears of a loss of access to the northern part of the country. The violence comes as local gangs fight for power.

Lying on a small bed next to her mother, 14-month-old Aisha Usman stares blankly, her eyes sunk in their sockets and rib cage visible.

The Caribbean island of Hispaniola is home to two countries: Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Both have a population of around 10 million — but that's about where their similarities end.