At least 12 pilgrims died and more than a dozen were injured in a stampede at a Hindu shrine in Kashmir on Saturday morning, police said.

Mourners from across the world will remember the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu at an official state funeral held at the St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town on Saturday morning.

China ended its final week of 2021 with its biggest tally of local coronavirus cases for any seven-day period since subduing the country's first epidemic nearly two years ago, despite an arsenal of some of the world's toughest Covid-19 measures.

Keep up with the funeral service of archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

After nearly two years of bruising lockdowns which saw Gauteng's commuter rail network destroyed by thieves, Metrorail commuter train services continue their slow comeback.

The world bids farewell to 2021 on Friday night. Here's a look at some of the festivities and preparations from various parts of the world, including Australia, Japan and Taiwan.

The province with the most new Covid-19 cases reported on the last day of 2021 — as the country gears up to celebrate New Year's Eve without a curfew in place — is the Western Cape, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

A New Year's Eve tip-off led to the arrest of two men, who the Hawks caught transporting more than R1m worth of drugs from Gauteng to Cape Town on Friday.

November was Russia’s deadliest month of the Covid-19 pandemic, deepening a demographic crisis that President Vladimir Putin says is a threat to the country’s future.

Private security guards securing refugees' monthly allowances were overpowered and robbed of US$60,360 (R962,742) at Tongogara Refugee Camp at Chipinge in Zimbabwe.

Spikes in car and home insurance premiums are on the cards for next year, thanks to various Covid-19-related knock-on effects.

When World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe began his review of the year by highlighting "some jaw-dropping performances" he perfectly encapsulated the sport's current paradox - people are stunned by what they are seeing, but not necessarily impressed.

Businesses working in Morocco's key tourism sector say the country's tough Covid-19 restrictions, including a full flight ban, are undermining its competitiveness compared to rival destinations.

Sinovac's two-dose Covid-19 vaccine followed by a booster Pfizer-BioNTech shot showed a lower immune response against the Omicron variant compared with other strains, according to a study by researchers.

The UK has approved Pfizer's Covid-19 pill for patients over the age of 18 who have mild to moderate infection and are at high risk of their illness worsening.

Four children were among six people killed in a crash involving a bakkie and a truck on the N1 south in Mokopane, just outside Polokwane, on Friday.

Former University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Dr Mamphela Ramphele has credited the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu for her dress style.

Russia expressed satisfaction with the outcome of Thursday’s phone call between presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, easing the month-long standoff over Ukraine even as the US repeated its warning to Moscow to de-escalate tensions.

Manqoba Mngqithi has admitted Mamelodi Sundowns have been handed a tough draw in Group A of the 2021-22 Caf Champions League, not least against Pitso Mosimane's back-to-back champions Al Ahly.

Hurricane-force winds fuelled wildfires near Boulder, Colorado, destroying hundreds of homes, overwhelming firefighters and forcing the evacuation of entire drought-stricken towns.

Cameroon's football federation said four of their players have tested positive for Covid-19, with the Africa Cup of Nations hosts set to kick off the tournament against Burkina Faso in just over a week's time.

Coronavirus live updates.

Nigeria have been hit by a double blow to their attack for the Africa Cup of Nations finals with key strikers Emmanuel Dennis and Victor Osimhen dropping out of the squad for the tournament in Cameroon.

The ruling comes after Jane Bwanya, the fiancée and life partner of the late flamboyant 57-year-old Capetonian and multimillionaire Anthony Ruch, approached the court in February to have an earlier order from the Western Cape High Court upheld.

Here's what you were reading this year.

Despite the Covid-19 curfew being lifted on Thursday, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele says the state of disaster will remain in place.

Former Bafana Bafana midfield star Maimane Phiri was shot twice in an incident in his tavern in Alexandra on Thursday night where another victim was killed, and where the assailant then turned the gun on himself.

What lockdown rule should be the next to go?

It is two years since the fatal Melville drive-by shooting in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

Artist Lebani Sirenje, who is renowned for painting portraits of prominent South Africans at their funerals, enthralled mourners with two paintings of the Arch on Friday morning.