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South Africa's president has condemned travel bans enacted against his country and its neighbours over the new coronavirus variant Omicron.
Cyril Ramaphosa said he was "deeply disappointed" by the action, which he described as unjustified, and called for the bans to be urgently lifted.
The UK, EU and US are among those who have imposed travel bans.
Omicron has been classed as a "variant of concern". Early evidence suggests it has a higher re-infection risk.
The heavily mutated variant was detected in South Africa earlier this month and then reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) last Wednesday.
The variant is responsible for most of the infections found in South Africa's most populated province, Gauteng, over the last two weeks, and is now present in all other provinces in the country.
The WHO has warned against countries hastily imposing travel restrictions, saying they should look to a "risk-based and scientific approach". However, numerous bans have been introduced in recent days amid concerns over the variant.
In his speech on Sunday, Mr Ramaphosa said there was no scientific basis for the travel bans and that southern Africa was the victim of unfair discrimination.
He also argued that the bans would not be effective in preventing the spread of the variant.
"The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to, and recover from, the pandemic," he said.
He called on countries with bans in place to "urgently reverse their decisions... before any further damage is done to our economies".
Mr Ramaphosa described the emergence of the Omicron variant as a wake-up call for the world regarding vaccine inequality - warning that until everyone was vaccinated, more variants were inevitable.
There are no vaccine shortages in South Africa itself, and Mr Ramaphosa urged more people to get jabbed, saying that remained the best way to fight the virus.
A previous statement by the South African foreign ministry on Saturday also strongly criticised the travel bans, saying the country was being punished - instead of applauded - for discovering Omicron.
Omicron has now been detected in a number of countries around the world, including the UK, Germany, Australia and Israel.
Global concern about the coronavirus pandemic is growing, with a number of countries detecting confirmed cases of the Omicron variant for the first time.
Travel restrictions are also being imposed once again as governments suspend flights from southern Africa, the region where this strain was first detected.
Here is a look at the latest COVID-19 developments around the world.
Image:Israel is set to become the first country to completely shut its borders. File pic
Israel
On Saturday, Israel unveiled plans to ban all foreigners from entering the country, having already identified cases in the country.
If the proposals are approved, it will become the first nation to completely shut its borders in response to the Omicron variant.
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There are fears that B.1.1.529 could be more contagious than other variants - and more resistant to vaccines.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the ban would last for 14 days.
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So far, Israel has one confirmed case of the Omicron variant, and seven suspected cases.
Phone-tracking technology is going to be used to locate carriers of the new variant, in an attempt to stop it being transmitted to others.
Image:Dr Anthony Fauci 'wouldn't be surprised' if the Omicron variant is already in the US. File pic
The US
From Monday, the US is going to restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in the region.
American citizens and permanent US residents - along with spouses and close friends - will be exempt.
No cases linked to Omicron have been detected in the country so far.
But Dr Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease specialist, told NBC that he wouldn't be surprised if the variant is already in the States, adding: "When you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility ... it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over."
In separate developments, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a COVID-19 "disaster emergency" declaration on Friday, with infections and hospitalisations increasing in the state.
Image:A business traveller from Italy caught the Omicron variant on a trip to Mozambique. File pic
Italy
On Saturday, health officials confirmed that a case of the Omicron variant had been detected in Italy.
The business traveller had flown from Mozambique, landing in Rome on 11 November and returning to his home in Naples.
Five of his family members, including two children, have also tested positive. All are now isolating and have light symptoms.
Image:Two confirmed cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the southern state of Bavaria. File pic
Germany
The Omicron variant has also been detected in three travellers who arrived on a flight from South Africa on 24 November.
Two cases were detected in the southern state of Bavaria, the other in Hesse in the west of the country.
Germany, like other parts of Europe, suffering under a new wave of cases before Omicron was detected.
Image:Dutch officials are 'almost certain' that the Omicron variant is in the country
The Dutch health minister said it was possible that there were more cases of the new COVID variant in the country.
The KLM airline expressed surprise at the high number of cases because all passengers had either tested negative or shown proof of vaccination before boarding flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Authorities in the country are now attempting to contact 5,000 passengers who have travelled from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia or Zimbabwe since Monday.
Image:Switzerland has banned direct flights from South Africa and the surrounding region
Switzerland
Quarantine requirements have been widened to a greater number of travellers in an attempt to stem the spread of the Omicron variant.
Those arriving from the UK, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Egypt and Malawi will now be subject to tighter restrictions.
The Federal Office of Public Health said passengers from these countries will need to present a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine for 10 days too.
Direct flights have already been banned from South Africa and the surrounding region.
Despite cases being detected in Italy and Germany, both neighbours of Switzerland, travel restrictions have not been imposed on any countries it shares borders with.
Image:Spain is clamping down on unvaccinated Britons entering the country
Spain
From next month, British tourists will only be able to enter Spain if they can show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination.
Until now, unvaccinated travellers were allowed into the country if they could present a negative PCR test that was take 72 hours before their arrival.
"The appearance of new variants causing (coronavirus) obliges an increase in restrictions," the government said.
Spain's Industry, Trade and Tourism department said approximately 300,000 British people who are resident in Spain will not be affected by the new measures.
All travellers arriving in the country will need to quarantine for at least seven days - with those arriving from southern Africa and Hong Kong having to stay isolate for 14 days.
Indonesia is due to take over the presidency of the G20 on 1 December, and they have said that delegates attending will not be affected by the restrictions.
Image:A number of cases have been detected in Denmark
Denmark
Two cases of Omicron have been identified in Denmark in two travellers who arrived from South Africa.
Henrik Ullum, director of the State Serum Institute, said: "This was to be expected, and our strategy is therefore to continue intensive monitoring of the infection in the country."
The pair have been put in isolation, and contacts are being traced.
Australia
Two cases of Omicron have also been found in Australia, in the state of New South Wales.
Again, the pair involved were on a flight from southern Africa. They are now isolating, and 260 other people on the flight are also isolating.
Anyone arriving in the state from Southern African countries, and also the Seychelles, have been told they must isolate for 14 days.
In addition to the entry ban for non-Israelis, a three-day mandatory quarantine would be required for all vaccinated Israeli nationals, and a seven-day quarantine for those who have not been vaccinated.
The cabinet also authorised surveillance of confirmed coronavirus patients by the Israel's Shin Bet security agency.
In a statement, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said phone-tracking technology would be used.
Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli authorities had put 50 African nations on the so-called "red" list.
All Israeli nationals returning from those countries must quarantine in the government-approved hotels and undergo Covid tests.
A ban on foreigners entering Israel from most African countries was imposed on Friday.
Israel has confirmed more than 1.3 million Covid infections since the start of the pandemic, with over 8,100 deaths, according to America's Johns Hopkins university.
Austria saw thousands of people protesting against government plans to make vaccinations mandatory
Switzerland toughened its quarantine requirements for travellers from several European and African countries. Early indications from a referendum appear to suggest voters supporting the government plan on a Covid passport certificate that's required to get into most public spaces.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised South Africa for promptly sharing information with the world. He said its transparency should serve as a model for the world, and he'd spoken to his South African counterpart about co-operation on vaccinating people in Africa
Australia said flights from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, the Seychelles, Malawi, and Mozambique would be suspended for 14 days. Non-Australians who have been in those countries in the past two weeks are now banned from entering Australia
Governments have to act
It is a rapidly evolving situation. Omicron's genetic profile has raised concerns, but there's a shortage of real-world data that means nobody has the complete picture of what it can do.
It is unclear how big a threat it poses.
Yet, it is at this early stage, in an absence of definitive facts and when there is a danger of both under-reacting and overreacting, that governments have to act.
It's like you or me deciding whether to marry someone after the first date. Only the stakes are much higher.
What we know is Omicron has mutations that theoretically help it to spread more quickly and there is mounting evidence of that happening in South Africa. It also has mutations that theoretically make vaccines less effective.
But we don't know how transmissible it is. We don't know whether it is milder or more severe. We don't know what will really happen when it comes up against our significant wall of immunity built up through vaccines.
After an emergency meeting on Friday, the WHO said the first known confirmed infection from this variant had been collected on 9 November, it had "a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning".
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The WHO said it would take a few weeks to understand the impact of the new variant, as scientists worked to determine how transmissible it was.
The head of the South African Medical Association told the BBC that the cases found so far in South Africa - where only about 24% of the population is fully vaccinated - were not severe, but said investigations into the variant were still at a very early stage.
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In addition to the entry ban for non-Israelis, a three-day mandatory quarantine would be required for all vaccinated Israeli nationals, and a seven-day quarantine for those who have not been vaccinated.
The cabinet also authorised surveillance of confirmed coronavirus patients by the Israel's Shin Bet security agency.
In a statement, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said phone-tracking technology would be used.
Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli authorities had put 50 African nations on the so-called "red" list.
All Israeli nationals returning from those countries must quarantine in the government-approved hotels and undergo Covid tests.
A ban on foreigners entering Israel from most African countries was imposed on Friday.
Israel has confirmed more than 1.3 million Covid infections since the start of the pandemic, with over 8,100 deaths, according to America's Johns Hopkins university.
Austria saw thousands of people protesting against government plans to make vaccinations mandatory
Switzerland toughened its quarantine requirements for travellers from several European and African countries. A referendum is taking place on Sunday on whether to keep the covid passport certificate that's required to get into most public spaces.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised South Africa for promptly sharing information with the world. He said its transparency should serve as a model for the world, and he'd spoken to his South African counterpart about co-operation on vaccinating people in Africa
Australia said flights from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, the Seychelles, Malawi, and Mozambique would be suspended for 14 days. Non-Australians who have been in those countries in the past two weeks are now banned from entering Australia
Governments have to act
It is a rapidly evolving situation. Omicron's genetic profile has raised concerns, but there's a shortage of real-world data that means nobody has the complete picture of what it can do.
It is unclear how big a threat it poses.
Yet, it is at this early stage, in an absence of definitive facts and when there is a danger of both under-reacting and overreacting, that governments have to act.
It's like you or me deciding whether to marry someone after the first date. Only the stakes are much higher.
What we know is Omicron has mutations that theoretically help it to spread more quickly and there is mounting evidence of that happening in South Africa. It also has mutations that theoretically make vaccines less effective.
But we don't know how transmissible it is. We don't know whether it is milder or more severe. We don't know what will really happen when it comes up against our significant wall of immunity built up through vaccines.
After an emergency meeting on Friday, the WHO said the first known confirmed infection from this variant had been collected on 9 November, it had "a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning".
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The WHO said it would take a few weeks to understand the impact of the new variant, as scientists worked to determine how transmissible it was.
The head of the South African Medical Association told the BBC that the cases found so far in South Africa - where only about 24% of the population is fully vaccinated - were not severe, but said investigations into the variant were still at a very early stage.
A number of countries have been added to Northern Ireland's international travel red list due to the emerging threat from a new coronavirus variant.
Malawi and Mozambique were added to the NI red list from 4pm on November 26, whilst Angola and Zambia will be included from 4am on November 28.
They join the following countries already placed on the red list:
South Africa
Botswana
Namibia
Zimbabwe
Lesotho
Eswatini
The Department of Health is liasing closely with its counterparts in the UK and Republic of Ireland, and say these actions have been taken in response to the emerging threat from the new omicron variant (B.1.1.529).
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Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Michael McBride said: “The emergence of the omicron variant is a serious and concerning development following the extreme pressures that we have already faced during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic to date.
"Whilst it is highly likely that there will be cases of the variant in NI at some point it is essential that preventative measures are taken to delay and/or reduce its incursion. This is a rapidly developing situation with the potential need for the addition of more countries to the Red List in the coming days.”
Dr McBride concluded: “It is really important that everyone takes sensible precautions - get a PCR test if you have symptoms. Self-isolate when asked and wear your face-covering. Remember to ventilate rooms and please get your vaccine and boosters as soon as you can.”
It is the Department of Health’s intention to align Northern Ireland with the rest of the UK on PCR testing and self-isolation requirements for new arrivals.
The heavily mutated coronavirus strain linked to a sharp rise in cases in South Africa was designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization, as more countries moved to tighten curbs on travel from the affected region.
The strain would be given the name Omicron, the WHO said after an emergency meeting on Friday, when its experts examined data from South Africa that appeared to show exponential growth in cases of the B.1.1.529 Sars-Cov-2 variant.
“Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs,” the WHO said.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, told the Financial Times there was no estimate of total cases yet but that they were “increasing . . . overall” across South Africa. She said she was “concerned” because Omicron was “quite divergent” compared with other variants.
Earlier a host of countries including the UK and Israel, as well as EU member states, imposed travel restrictions on a group of southern African countries following mounting concern over the new variant.
“Early indications show this variant may be more transmissible than the Delta variant, and current vaccines may be less effective against it,” Sajid Javid, UK health secretary, told the House of Commons.
Senior US officials said on Friday that the country will restrict travel from South Africa and several other African countries including Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi starting from Monday.
The ban, which was recommended by Dr Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden’s chief medical officer, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will not apply to US citizens or permanent residents.
Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, warned that the variant “could spread around the world within a few months”, as the first case was confirmed in Europe. She urged Europeans to get vaccinated, including having third booster shots.
Belgium’s health minister, Frank Vandenbroucke, confirmed the first EU case in samples taken from a traveller from Egypt. A confirmed case, in a returnee from Malawi, and two suspected cases were also detected in Israel, which also moved quickly to shut down almost all travel to and from most of Africa.
Naftali Bennett, Israel’s prime minister, warned that the country was on the “threshold of a national emergency” as it dispatched soldiers to take travellers recently returned from the affected countries into quarantine.
Hong Kong said it had recorded two cases of the variant following genome sequencing analysis, including in a traveller who arrived from South Africa.
The countries affected by the UK travel restrictions are South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini.
South Africa on Friday accused the UK of rushing to ban travel before the variant had been properly assessed.
“Whilst South Africa respects the right of all countries to take the necessary precautionary measures to protect their citizens, the UK’s decision to temporarily ban South Africans from entering the UK seems to have been rushed,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The variant has a highly unusual 50 mutations, including 32 in the spike receptor, suggesting it could evade the immune protection provided by vaccines and spread faster than Delta, though no definitive data are yet available.
Van Kerkhove said that in areas where tests suggested Omicron was present “there is an increase in cases. I can’t say if we see increased transmissibility for sure”.
“We don’t want people to panic. This is why researchers are doing this work,” she said. “We have seen a growth advantage . . we need to compare it against other variants.”
It would take about two to three weeks to understand how the vaccines affected the Omicron variant, she said.
Additional reporting by Mehul Srivastava in Tel Aviv, Andy Bounds in Brussels, Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe in London and Aime Williams in Washington
A woman from Iraqi Kurdistan who was travelling to Britain to be with her husband was among those who died in the Channel tragedy.
She was identified by her family last night as Baran Nuri Muhamadamin, 24, from the town of Souran in the far northeast of Iraqi Kurdistan, where the territory meets the Turkish and Iranian borders.
The woman’s uncle, Kurmanj Ezzat, told The Times that the death had been confirmed by a friend of her husband, who was also living in the UK and had arranged for his own wife to travel with her.
Vigil held for migrants who died in Channel crossing attempt
“He went to France and met them and told them how to cross the water,” he said. “He then went to wait for them in the UK. But after
