South Africa: COVID is back with a vengeance

It is the first Lunar New Year celebration since China's communist leadership lifted the country's strict measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

South Africa said on Monday it was "friends" with Russia, as it hosted Russia's top diplomat for a visit that has sparked criticism against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

Thousands turn out to opposition-organised protests in South Africa to express deepening frustration over the country's power crisis. Also, in a rare trial of a former president, ex-Mauritanian leader Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz appears in court on corruption charges.

Thousands turn out to opposition-organised protests in South Africa to express deepening frustration over the country's power crisis. Also, in a rare trial of a former president, ex-Mauritanian leader Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz appears in court on corruption charges. Finally, faced with about 15,000 tonnes of "e-waste" dumped in landfills every year, Rwanda is focusing more resources on recycling old smartphones.

French luxury goods giant LVMH is not feeling the post-Covid pinch. The group has released its figures for 2022, which show revenue just below the bar of €80 billion. Meanwhile, shipments of smartphones have dropped to a near-decade low. Finally, we find out about a lawsuit that involves King Charles III and Elon Musk.

Police are searching for two gunmen who opened fire on guests at a birthday party in Gqeberha. There has been a growing number of mass shootings in South Africa in recent years.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced this week to cancel a trip to Davos by an escalating energy crisis that is inflicting rolling blackouts on the continent’s most developed economy.

The government will remove regulatory hurdles to invest in new electricity infrastructure. Loadshedding has almost brought South Africa's economic growth to a standstill.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national "state of disaster" over the country's rolling power shortages. Energy provider Eskom says its ageing coal-fired power plants cannot keep up with demand and it's been imposing scheduled cuts. The blackouts are weighing on business activity and South Africa's economic growth.

In November 2022, thousands of young Chinese people took to the streets to protest repeated Covid-19 lockdowns, constant PCR tests and to demand greater freedom. The movement was stifled in a few days and authorities abandoned their strict zero-Covid policy. But if China's youth took the risk to voice their anger, it's because their frustration goes well beyond Covid rules. FRANCE 24's Lou Kisiela, Antoine Morel and Yan Chen report.

Pretoria's Western allies are upset by South Africa hosting upcoming joint naval exercises with Russia and China. Historical ties between Moscow and the ruling ANC may explain President Ramaphosa's stance.

South Africa has begun military exercises with both China and Russia as part of a routine army drill. The joint training has drawn immense criticism from the West, coming nearly one year on from the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.