FG 774,000 jobs: NASS orders suspension of recruitment exercise⁣⁣⁣, Global tourism may lose up to $3.3tn and more

Overgrazing of grasslands on the lower slopes of the Drakensberg escarpment is degrading the land. Two women run a group that promotes measures to restore the ecosystem, which is key to South Africa's water resources.

The High Court in South Africa has ruled that the former president be allowed to appeal a decision setting aside medical parole. Last week it was decided he should return to jail.

Press freedom in Africa has suffered in 2021 due to growing authoritarianism and insecurity, especially in East Africa – the region most hostile to journalists on the continent.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣⁣

The African sides that qualified for the 2022 Amputee Football World Cup are facing challenges. Liberia, Angola, Tanzania and Morocco will play in the tournament in Istanbul in October 2022.

Amid a global pandemic that’s threatening lives and livelihoods, politics instead seem infused with culture clashes and identity wars. Why is so much of the conversation in the run-up to France’s presidential election about outsourced industry and loss of identity? Where’s the left? In uncertain times, when citizens want a state that protects them, many arguments center around which side is more elitist. Are we looking at a breakdown of the social contract?

2021 brought big changes to households and businesses around the world. In the last show of the season, Stephen Carroll and Kate Moody take a look at some of the biggest business and economic stories of the year and how they might evolve in 2022.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.⁣

South Africa's trailblazing constitution protects LGTB people, but 25 years on, social attitudes have yet to catch up: A survey by the rights group "Out" revealed that half of black respondents knew someone who had been killed because of their sexual orientation.

One of South Africa's giants in the fight against the apartheid regime in the 20th century, Desmond Tutu remained a critical voice in the country's politics throughout his life.

Flags across the country will be flying at half-staff this week as South Africa prepares to say goodbye to the late archbishop and anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu.