Xenophobic attacks – Nigerian envoy meets citizens in South Africa

The NGO says authorities desperately need to do more to address the crisis of gender-based violence, particularly amid the pandemic. But hard data on the number of victims is still worryingly difficult to come by.

The Dutch public health institute said in a statement that testing was continuing on the samples of 61 people who tested positive for COVID after arriving from South Africa.

It was the largest single transfer of white rhinos ever undertaken. The species is threatened by illegal poaching.

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.⁣

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.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Tuesday⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

Born and raised in Canada, Nigerian singer-songwriter Falana has crafted a unique soundscape mixing afrobeat, pop, soul and dancehall influences. Her self-produced 2019 EP "Chapter One" was described by The New Yorker as "changing the sound of global pop". Recording in Jamaica, England, Canada, the US, Portugal, Ghana and Nigeria, Falana has a uniquely global perspective. She recently dropped her hotly anticipated sophomore EP, entitled "Rising". The singer-songwriter told FRANCE 24's Florence Villeminot about the new release, which explores themes like female empowerment.

Nigerian Designer and Entrepreneur, Tosan Ideh replicates artefacts like Nigeria's famous Benin Bronzes onto fashion accessories that he hopes will promote the country's cultural heritage as well as turn profits.

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.

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.