At the start of a U.N. conference on desertification in Ivory Coast, President Alassane Ouattara has said the country wants to raise $1.5 bln to revive forests and land in the world's top cocoa producer.

Abubakar Adam has not seen seven of his 10 children in the two months since armed men snatched them from their boarding school in Nigeria's northern Niger state. He sold his car, a parcel of land, cleaned out his savings and along with other parents sought help from friends and relatives to raise 30 million naira ($72,993) to get their children back. But the bandits just took the money - and one of the men delivering it - leaving Adam with nothing. The rash of kidnappings across the largely poor northwest has left hundreds of parents facing the same desperate quandary: beg, borrow and sell assets, or risk never seeing their children again.

South Africa's economy has shed some three million jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result many people who've lost their income have had to leave the cities and move back to their villages.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Friday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

A Japanese venture company, SkyDrive has successfully conducted a test flight of an experimental flying car with one person on board.

Land conflict in Brazil's Amazon is coming to a head between indigenous peoples and land invaders who take their lead from the anti-environment rhetoric of ultra conservative President Jair Bolsonaro.

Nigeria has given its West African neighbours requirements that must be met before it re-opens its land borders.⁣⁣ Here are the conditions... ⁣⁣

Land for sale in Russia’s the Far East

Nigeria's decision to close its land borders was aimed at cracking down on smuggling. But traders in neighboring Niger say their businesses are being crippled as a result.

Land and forest fires are becoming very common in Indonesia. International environment watchdog Greenpeace says the government needs to strictly enforce laws against responsible parties.

Chaotic land reforms, drought and lack of financing have made it difficult for Zimbabwe's small-holder farmers to get ahead. Increased focus on funding irrigation schemes is hoping to change that.