South Africa

Methanol was found in all of their bodies and investigations are continuing to determine whether the levels of the toxic chemical were enough to have killed them last month.

It's still not known what caused the deaths of the young people, aged between 13 and 17. Pathologists are studying the cause of death from blood samples.

The death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue in South Africa's Durban area. The president blamed climate change for the flooding.

Up to 80% of South Africans are either vaccinated or have recovered from an infection The only vestige of COVID-19 rules are masks, which are still required in public spaces and on public transport.

A month after omicron was first identified, cases have dropped by more than a third in South Africa.

The positivity rate in the country is more than 26%.

De Klerk shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela, and ceded the presidency to him in 1994 after Black South Africans were allowed to vote. But he's remained a controversial figure there.

Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee who competed at the 2012 Olympics, has been eligible for parole since July after serving half his sentence. He was convicted of murdering model Reva Steenkamp.

Journalists around the world continue to face challenges translating the science and urgency of climate change.

Global Witness, an international human rights group, says a record 227 grassroots environmental activists were killed in 2020. More than half were killed in Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines.