South African papers vent their frustation over travel bans imposed after the country detected a new coronavirus variant. For l'Humanité, the Omicron variant is proof that "vaccine access for all is a global emergency". Other French papers examine the crisis in Guadeloupe and Martinique, puzzled by a proposal to give the territories more autonomy. Plus, a snow storm strands 61 people in a UK pub - a reminder that some lockdowns can be fun!

The ex-apartheid fighters locked the ministers in a hotel room after failed talks over a compensation deal. Police arrested a total of 56 people after the incident.

The Biovac Institute reached a deal with Pfizer to prepare and deliver vaccine doses for the continent. It comes amid an increase of cases in Africa, where just 2% of the population have received a first dose.

The pandemic has transformed way we consume and experience fashion. The latest Paris Fashion Week was entirely digital. For the first time in the event's history, proceedings kicked off with the work of students from the Paris-based French Institute of Fashion (IFM), who see their creations through the prism of cultural and political significance. Meanwhile in Johannesburg, South African designer Thebe Magugu is dedicated to reviving the "blaxploitation" cultural movement of the 1970s.

South Africa's Zulu people gather outside the gates of the royal palace to bid farewell to their departed king. Goodwill Zwelithini was the longest-serving monarch in Zulu history, reigning for half a century through years of apartheid and democratic transition. He died last Friday, aged 72, after weeks of treatment for a diabetes-related illness.

It is not known how many of the reptiles remain at large. So far, 27 have been captured after they escaped from a commercial breeding farm earlier this week.

Offering a fresh, distinctive flavour and strong South African identity, wines produced in the vineyards of the Hemel en Aarde valley are proving popular with wine lovers near and far, despite restrictions on the sale of alcohol in South Africa due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers begin distributing Covid tests door-to-door as health officials increase testing in eight areas across England where nearly a dozen South African Covid-19 variant cases have been identified in the last week. The 11 cases could not be linked to international travel, sparking concerns of localised transmission of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant.

Poaching figures dropped by a third in 2020, with South Africa's environmental ministry citing the coronavirus lockdown as a significant reason for this. The country is home to 80% of the world's rhinoceroses.

Here is why you should pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on the newsstands on Thursday.

afterAfter almost 100 days of closure the South African passenger rail service is operating again as the country's lockdown restrictions ease up.

Vegetables simmer gently in giant copper vats used to brew South African craft beer before alcohol sales were banned as part of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown in March.