News headlines:
*An untimely dump of 17,718 historic Covid-19 cases on 22 November created the impression that South Africa had seen a dire spike in coronavirus infections - just as the country told the world about the Omicron variant.
*President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to receive the report on vaccine mandates soon, as businesses, unions and health groups call for the policy to be implemented.
*Ahead of an anticipated "avalanche" of cases emanating from the State Capture Inquiry, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has made corruption its priority, said prosecutions boss Advocate Shamila Batohi.