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.

A desperate lack of funding has forced the World Food Programme to suspend some food aid in South Sudan just as the country needs it most. We speak to the WFP's acting country director, Adeyinka Badejo. Also, survivors of one of the most brutal extremist attacks in Burkina Faso say that government forces left them helpless. At least 79 people were killed in the massacre in Seytenga on Saturday. And there are calls for an extension of MINUSMA's mission in Mali after this week's UN Security Council briefing.

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".

Markus Potzel will be the United Nations' new deputy representative to Afghanistan. Between 2014 and 2016 he was Germany's ambassador to Kabul.

Much of the UK has been crippled by the largest rail strike in decades. Some 40,000 workers participated in Tuesday's walkout, calling for higher wages to deal with the spiraling cost of living. Experts say the disruptions will weigh on economic growth. Also in the show: EasyJet is on the frontline of the aviation industry's staff shortages, and businesses in Las Vegas will continue performing Elvis-themed weddings, after reaching a deal with the late singer's estate.

Violence in western Sudan this month alone has displaced more than 84,000 people, doubling the number of those driven from their homes so far this year, according to UN reports. The numbers are the highest since January 2021. Last year, at least 440,500 were displaced, five times more than in 2020, according to United Nations data.

The billionaire was named prime minister for the fourth time and asked to form a government to save the country from financial collapse. He urged fractious politicians to set aside differences to secure an IMF deal.

The UN's human rights body has found that Israeli security forces fired the shot that killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May. Israel has yet to respond to the findings.

German airline Lufthansa has said it is canceling over 2,000 additional flights at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs due to staff shortages. Its low-cost subsidiary, Eurowings, is also expected to cancel flights.

Ecuador's president has accused Indigenous protesters of attempting a coup. Clashes between protesters and security forces have left six people dead, and six of the country's 24 provinces are under a state of emergency.

An oil supertanker that has been moored in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen since 1976 could break apart and unleash part or all of its 1.1 million barrels of oil on the Horn of Africa, the UN warns. Also in this edition: Britain's Prince Charles expresses regret for the legacy of slavery, and Rwanda is set to produce its own mRNA vaccines in a first for the continent.