African Union leaders are meeting in Equatorial Guinea. Inflation and war in Ukraine are increasing food prices across Africa. Four AU member states are suspended because of coups.

Russia has effectively agreed to a "corridor" to export grain from Ukraine but there are many sticking points before Kyiv can come on board. Meanwhile, the global wheat shortage is getting more and more urgent.

More than 14 million people have fled their homes since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations (UN) says. Almost seven million left for neighbouring countries, while eight million people are displaced inside Ukraine itself.

To stay under 1.5C, according to the IPCC, means that carbon emissions from everything that we do, buy, use or eat must peak by 2025, and tumble rapidly after that, reaching net-zero by the middle of this century.

The word sand usually conjures up images of a holiday on the beach. But the fine grains also happen to be a precious commodity. Humans extract 50 billion tonnes of sand and gravel every year, making it the second most exploited resource on the planet. Can the world keep digging for more? The Down to Earth team investigates.

Amid a growing food crisis sparked by disrupted grain exports from Ukraine and Russia, the EU's ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas told FRANCE 24 that exports by land more than doubled between April and May, from 600,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes.

The conflict has cut off supplies from Ukraine's ports, which once exported vast amounts of cooking oil as well as cereals such as maize and wheat. This has reduced the global supply and caused the price of alternatives to soar. Global food prices are almost 30% higher than the same time last year, according to the UN.

Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation, Rania A. Al-Mashat, granted an interview to FRANCE 24 in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan. Although the war in Ukraine is threatening Egypt's food security, the minister believes that "pre-emptive action" undertaken by Cairo in the past few years will help "mitigate" the impact of a possible wheat shortage. Al-Mashat also called for the COP27 climate summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in November to be one turning of "pledges" into "implementation".

The UN Refugee Agency said this was the highest number of displaced people recorded since World War II. Refugees coming to the EU from Africa's Sahel region could rise, said the report.

Forest fires have broken out both in Spain and France as a record early heat wave moves northward through Europe. And humans are not the only ones to suffer in the extreme temperatures.

Europe continues to struggle with a heat wave, though some have seen a respite from record high temperatures for the time of year. One of several wildfires has raged out of control on Greece's second-largest island.

Hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed in what appears to be an ethnically motivated attack. Witnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, reported at least 260 deaths.