The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has confirmed the transfer of convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius to a correctional centre in Gqeberha to start a dialogue with the family of his victim, model Reeva Steenkamp. The disgraced Paralympic gold medalist was transferred from the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility in Tshwane where he is serving a 13-year […]

South Africa reacted with outrage to travel bans, first triggered by the UK, imposed on it in the wake of the news that its genomics surveillance team had detected a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa has been monitoring changes in SARS-CoV-2 since the pandemic first broke […]

South African Airways has cancelled all of its flights to and from Mauritius following the imposition of a travel ban on South Africa by the Mauritian government. Restrictions were also placed on at least five other Southern African countries after the Omicron variant was identified by South African scientists last week. SAA interim CEO Thomas […]

South Africa has reported 2 858 new COVID-19 cases, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) figures. This was 362 fewer infections logged than the previous day. According to the data, this takes the total number of registered cases involving COVID-19 to 2 961 406 since the outbreak. Gauteng remains the hardest-hit province […]

The DA is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to ensure that the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP-GBVF) is implemented as a matter of urgency. The call comes after the DA learnt that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has yet to create a specific crime category for gender-based violence and femicide […]

While the majority of South Africa is focusing on Women and Children during these 16 days of activism against GBV, Fikile Cele and Youandi Gilain will be focusing on boys and men this year. “We have failed to stand up for our boys and men who also suffer abuse and mental health issues, we cannot […]

The travel and tourism industry has responded with joy to this evening’s announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The South African president called on overseas countries to reverse their travel bans on southern Africa; and maintained Coronavirus Alert Level 1, encouraging South Africans to get vaccinated rather than putting the country into another strict Lockdown. Here […]

While South Africa will remain on the Coronavirus Alert Level 1, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on citizens who have not vaccinated to do so immediately. “In taking the decision not to impose further restrictions at this stage, we considered the fact that when we encountered previous waves of infection, vaccines were not widely available […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on all those countries that have imposed travel bans on South Africa, and other Southern African countries, to urgently reverse their decisions… and to rather help in making sure everyone gets vaccinated. “There is no scientific justification for keeping these restrictions in place. We know that this virus, like all […]

British Transport Police have confirmed that they are investigating an incident on the London Underground in which a man with a South African accent shouted at a Muslim man to stop praying because the noise was invading his privacy. The video has been viewed over 1.1-million times on Instagram, where user ‘imjustbait’ uploaded it 24 […]

South Africa’s tourism and hospitality sector claim they have lost over R1-billion in travel bookings for travel between December 2021 and March 2022 in the past 48 hours, as a result of the travel bans instituted globally against the destination since it announced that it had sequenced a new variant, now known as Omicron. However […]

Dr Angelique Coetzee, who was one of the first South African doctors to suspect a new Covid-19 variant was in the country, says the “hype” around the variant – now known as Omicron – is out of proportion as the symptoms are mild. Dr Coetzee, who is also the Chairperson of the South African Medical […]

The Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) has confirmed that it has identified the Omicron variant in at least 13 of the 61 Covid-19 positive passengers who arrived in Amsterdam, from South Africa, on Friday. RIVM said in a statement on its site on Sunday that of the 624 passengers who arrived on two […]

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he chatted with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday, to discuss the challenges posed globally by the new COVID-19 variant – Omicron – and ways to work together to deal with it and reopen international travel. Last night in addition to the bans on southern African travel, England […]

Oscar Pistorius has been secretly moved to a prison in Gqeberha (previously Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, so that he can have a meeting with the parents of the late Reeva Steenkamp whom he was convicted of murdering. The disgraced Paralympian, who shot the former model to death in the early hours […]

Johannesburg, 27 November 2021: The following are the latest requirements for travel to or via the Netherlands from South Africa, as issued by the Dutch government, following the detection of a new Covid-19 variant, Omicron. Test requirements for travellers from South Africa on KLM All passengers travelling on KLM from South Africa, irrespective of their […]

An Airbus A340 plane has landed in Antarctica for the first time in history, according to Hi Fly, the boutique aviation company behind the flight. On Monday (November 22), Captain Carlos Mirpuri and his crew flew the aircraft from Cape Town in South Africa to Antarctica and back, in a 2,500 nautical miles journey that […]

Britain’s Health Minister, Sajid Javid, has confirmed that two cases of the new Covid-19 variant – Omicron – have been detected in Britain. Both patients had recently travelled from Southern Africa. Javid said: “Late last night I was contacted by the UK Health Security Agency. I was informed that they have detected two cases of […]

We all need some good news in South Africa, and this Sunday on Carte Blanche, the show will be celebrating Capetonian Chris Bertish. Chris is the ultimate waterman. From surfing death-defying waves to paddling solo 4500 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, he has set several world-first paddle records. And he has an exciting – and […]

JOHANNESBURG, 27 November 2021: Air France says it has taken note of the French authorities’ decision to suspend arrivals from South Africa (and six other southern African countries) for a period of 48 hours as of November 26. As a result, Air France is cancelling its flights from Johannesburg to Paris (AF 995) on November […]

South Africans on two KLM flights to Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands were allegedly herded like sheep yesterday into a small waiting area, after sitting on the tarmac for three hours, and later abandoned by KLM staff and left without food, blankets or access to their medicines while they waited crowded together – with no […]

South Africa confirmed on Thursday that it has detected the new Coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 in the country. Yesterday, Friday 26 Nov, the WHO designated it a ‘Variant of Concern’ (VOC) and named it Omicron. Here’s everything you need to know about Omicron: The variant was discovered through collaborative efforts with private laboratories and the Network […]

South African National Parks (SANParks) is sadly bracing itself for mass booking amendments from residents of various countries across the world, following announcements by several regions – including the UK, US and EU – that they will be imposing travel restrictions in and out of South Africa due to the newly discovered Covid-19 Variant of […]

Johannesburg, 26 November 2021 – On Friday morning the Dutch government announced that South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe have been flagged as a “very-high-risk area where there is a COVID-variant of concern”, Omicron. This means passengers flying KLM from South Africa to the Netherlands will only be permitted to board if they […]

B.1.1.529 has a name. Omicron. The 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. After a special assessment today by a Technical Advisory Group to assess if B.1.1.529’s mutations could alter the behaviour of the Covid-19 virus, the new variant – identified in South Africa this week – was designated as a Variant of Concern (VOC) by […]