Pope Francis starts a historic trip to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan on Tuesday - two countries where protracted conflicts have displaced millions.

The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad appears to be holding. The cease-fire follows three days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants that left dozens dead, hundreds injured.

The first day of Ramadan brought hope to Yemen with the start of a two-month truce. But a few days in, warring sides have already traded accusations of ceasefire violations. Nonetheless, the fragile truce offers the best hope in years for ending what the UN has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Now in its eighth year, the war in Yemen has killed nearly 400,000 people and left millions on the brink of famine. For more on this story, we speak to Dr Elisabeth Kendall, a senior research fellow at Oxford University.

The Great Green Wall was officially launched by the African Union in 2007. It aims to fight desertification by creating a huge strip of vegetation across Africa, from Dakar in the west to Djibouti in the east. The Wall would be eventually more than 8,000 kilometres long, crossing 11 African countries. Since 2007, the project has evolved, with the goal of creating millions of jobs. But critics say progress has stalled. Our correspondents report from Senegal and Nigeria.

Nigeria almost lost another highly-trained military officer after a Nigerian Airforce fighter jet was shot down by so-called bandits between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna. But Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, against all odds, displayed why the motto of the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces is "Willing … Able … Ready."⁣

The fragile peace existing at the Ladipo multi-billion naira auto parts market was threatened on Tuesday, July 13 as soldiers and traders clashed. The fracas left several people injured and vehicles destroyed.

Wary Conte keen to turn screw on fragile Liverpool