Robots stand in graduates’ place in Indonesian university

In the northern Chinese city of Shenyang, robotic arms, built to collect samples quickly while lowering the risk of cross-infection between people, were used as part of a campaign to suppress a rise in coronavirus cases in the surrounding province.

Hundreds of students demonstrate in Athens and other cities over a plan to increase policing at the country's violence-prone universities. The ministries of education and police this week rolled out the plan to create a dedicated 1,000-strong force to patrol campuses.

At least one person has died and two students have been injured in clashes between South African students and police over tuition fees at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Also, Ivory Coast's Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, who was seen as a possible successor to President Alassane Ouattara, has died in Germany, two days after his 56th birthday. And we meet South Africa's first Black female helicopter pilot, who runs a foundation training women in aerospace and aviation.

Students at London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) are demanding the resignation of Director Adam Habib after he used the N-word in an online meeting. Habib claims people have "rushed to judgment."

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says its staff have been attacked and some witnessed Ethiopian soldiers killing at least four men in the war-torn northern Tigray region. Also, Burundian radio stations broadcasting over the border from Rwanda have been ordered to shut down. Conditions set by Gitega for the resumption of relations with Kigali mean bad news for exiled journalists. And finally, Scotland's University of Aberdeen will return a controversial bronze sculpture to Nigeria, after a review found that it had been looted.

A Hong Kong professor has developed a programme using role-playing robots to help children with autism improve their social skills, an initiative that has been adopted by other non-profit groups and schools.

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu says strong efforts must be made to address insecurity problems affecting agricultural productivity in the country.

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

In the wake of the devastating fire in the Jagger Library in Cape Town, restorers are trying to save what they can. So far the salvage has been a success.

Thousands took to the streets in opposition to the expensive project as soaring debt to China and Prime Minister Viktor Orban's overly friendly attitude toward Beijing anger many.

Dentists and researchers at the Khon Kaen University designed the equipment which they claim prevents the spreading of virus through aerosols by 99.99 per cent.

The financial crisis caused by the pandemic has left young graduates with limited job prospects. Experts say it could take years for the job market to make a full recovery.