The number of people crossing the Darien Gap, one of the most dangerous and impassable regions of Latin America, has almost tripled compared to the same period last year, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

Proposed regulations to govern the transition towards ending the national state of disaster have been gazetted by co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk is in early talks with lender Gazprombank to restructure its debt with the sanction-hit Russian bank, it said on Wednesday.

Education honours degree student Sibongile Mani, 31, a mother of two, was convicted of theft of nearly R1m deposited into her student account by Intellimali, a service provider for  the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Chinese truck drivers hoping to outwit Covid-19 inspectors are faking travel histories to get through checkpoints or avoid quarantine, state media reported, as weary citizens struggle with restrictions more than two years after the pandemic began.

The grant provides support to more than 10-million unemployed people who are most vulnerable to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The World Bank president said on Wednesday Gulf oil producers could play a key role in dampening oil and gas price volatility in coming months.

Coronavirus infections in Asia passed 100 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the region records a resurgence in cases, dominated by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant.

Roche said on Wednesday a late stage trial for its tiragolumab drug to treat small cell lung cancer has failed to reach its targets, dealing a blow to the Swiss company's effort to develop the next generation of immunotherapy treatments.

Family and friends are seeking answers after a Durban University of Technology student was found dead at South Beach last week.

South Korea's military said it had successfully test-fired a solid-fuel space rocket for the first time on Wednesday, a step it says will help eventually launch a constellation of satellites to better monitor threats such as North Korea.

Heavy rains deluged Australia's east coast on Wednesday, submerging entire towns, while thousands of people fled their homes for the second time within weeks after fast-moving flood waters burst river banks and broke over levees.

The national department of health has confirmed 92,370 unused Pfizer vaccines will expire on March 31.

The Western Cape health department has been heavily criticised for its name change, with some health activists labeling the new name unimportant and grandstanding by health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases says there are no safety concerns related to getting both the flu and Covid-19 vaccines, provided they are taken 14 days apart.

Eastern Cape police and the Road Traffic Management Corporation will this week destroy 520 cars which were imported into SA illegally and then registered fraudulently.

Ukraine updates.

Eight people were on board a United Nations helicopter that crashed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo said.

Gay and transgender rights are going backwards in parts of the world, Britain's first special envoy on LGBT Rights has warned, as Hungary implements an anti-gay law and equality reforms in Singapore and Bermuda are blocked.

A suspected Arab gunman killed at least four people in a Tel Aviv suburb on Tuesday before he was fatally shot

Aminu Sani was travelling by rail to see his newborn baby in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna on Monday night when a loud blast shook the train and gunfire followed, forcing passengers to take cover on the floor.

Rhodes University says it will consider the guidance provided by the Supreme Court of Appeal concerning one of its students and act accordingly.

The DA on Tuesday labelled the actions of Operation Dudula as “criminal” and “xenophobic” as they became the latest party to condemn the group.

Almost three years to the day after Nomsa Makhanya, a member of the Kempton Park Taxi Association, was shot dead in front of her daughters in Tembisa, Gauteng, a man was sentenced to a hefty jail term for her murder.

Cabinet met on Monday night and took a decision that SA must move towards ending the national state of disaster soon, but regulations will be put in place to govern the transition period.

The Durban University of Technology has applied for a second court interdict against the EFF Student Command after recent protests.

Many Gauteng residents spend at least an hour reaching their destinations while travelling during peak hours. Others sit in traffic even longer.

The attorney for convicted Walter Sisulu University student Sibongile Mani made an impassioned plea for his client to be given a suspended sentence.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate says it has opened an inquest after an unknown man who had allegedly taken police officers hostage was killed on Monday.

Operation Dudula in Tshwane has given companies in Rosslyn 14 days to comply with their demands regarding the hiring of foreigners.