for covid—19, though is showing only mild symptoms. the 69—year—old president, who is fully vaccinated, is in self—isolation in cape town and has delegated all responsibilities to deputy president david mabuza for the next week. in the past few days, a nationwide outbreak in south africa, believed to be linked to the new omicron variant, has been infecting around 20,000 people a day. one of hong kong's most popular mass sporting events — the annual swim across victoria harbour — has gone ahead. it was suspended for two years in succession because of pro—democracy protests and then a pandemic lockdown. because of covid, entry numbers were restricted to about half of the usual three thousand competitors, all of whom were fully vaccinated. what a spectacular sight and the amazing thing to see as you jump out of the water at the end, or maybe stagger out in my case. a rare gemstone has been discovered by experts in sri lanka. take a look at this — the blue sapphire —weighing three