South Africa’s new alcohol ban sparks fury

Opponents of the certificate, which restricts entry to events and restaurants to mostly vaccinated people, forced Sunday's referendum. Most voters, instead, have backed the government's approach.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hosted his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the Presidential Villa Abuja.⁣ ⁣The South African President who is accompanied by a delegation of ministers and business leaders is on a state visit expected to reinforce South Africa’s bilateral relations with Nigeria as well as strengthen partnerships directed at African development and cooperation in multilateral forums.⁣

Russia is one of the countries with the lowest vaccination rates and highest Covid-19 death rates in the world. With just over 30 percent of the population vaccinated, the Russian authorities' vaccination campaign has been deemed a fiasco. And yet when Vladimir Putin announced the launch of the Sputnik V vaccine in summer 2020, it was supposed to "save humanity from Covid". More than a year later, the jab has still not arrived on the European market and the majority of Russians do not trust it.

South Africa's president warns of a "health apartheid", criticising travel bans once again. This as Omicron becomes the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the country. Meanwhile in Cameroon, we meet survivors of sexual violence from the Anglophone regions. Rape and abuse are being used as weapons of war in the conflict. Finally, our reporters are in Gambia ahead of Saturday's presidential poll. We bring you a report on voters waiting to take part in the country's democratic transition.

The new variant has come with a spike in cases, but it remains to be seen how much it will affect South African hospitals. New COVID infections have jumped from about 200 a day last month to more than 11,500 on Thursday.

The spekboom plant, excellent at sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere, has been badly degraded in South Africa. Now an initiative is using innovative planting methods to bring back the plant and restore soil and biodiversity.

The leader of the UK's opposition Labour party said on Sunday (December 12) that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had broken the public's trust over COVID-19 regulations, making him "unfit for public office." Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Keir Starmer said Johnson posed a risk to public health following reports that parties were held at Downing Street during a 2020 Christmas lockdown when such festivities were banned.

South Africa is grappling with the fourth wave of the coronavirus, driven by the omicron variant. The country is pushing for more vaccinations — and for its own mRNA vaccine.

The former South African president's medical parole was found to be "unlawful". He was instructed to return to jail to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

Will Jacob Zuma return to prison? South Africa's highest court orders the former president to be re-incarcerated after setting aside an earlier decision to release him on medical parole. Meanwhile, the country records close to 27,000 new Covid-19 cases, an all-time record. Plus, European football clubs say they may not release their African players to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, amid fears surrounding the tournament's Covid-19 health protocol.

A quarter of couples experience infertility despite regular sex, according to the French national research institute INSERM. The reasons include exposure to pollutants, endocrine disruptors, trying for a child later on in life, smoking and obesity. But in more than 15 percent of cases, the cause of the infertility remains unconfirmed. France's health minister has decided to take action by putting together a working group to better understand the issue and suggest changes by the end of the year. FRANCE 24's Eléonore Vanel and Camille Nedelec report.

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.