let's go to the suburb of crypton in johannesburg. find me in a reporting for us the morning for me to expecting a big turn out today. all that is the big question for many of the political parties participating in this election. whether or not people won't turn out to vote, given the number of complaints and disgruntlement, especially with the african national congress who is governing south africa here in clipton. specifically, it's a, an area in switzer, the oldest township in johannesburg. and during the years of a party, it was sideline, specifically because it was a black township. and now, 27 years into democracy, people here say little has changed and the a and c has done that little to help them. we had a community center which is now a polling station just outside. there's a dirt road to with pot holes. it's a community where there are a number of informal settlements and homes that are a bolt using corrugated iron, a homes that aren't able to accommodate people adequately. also an area where the buckets system for toilets i

it's only one and a half percent of the country size, but it includes johannesburg inventories, that's got a quarter of the population out there. and he says, in coming weeks, we should know where the army crown causes more severe disease or not. but that's, that africa could be facing a 4th wave within weeks if cases continue to rise. so that's what we're hearing from the south african president. of course, part of what he's talking about is the issue of south africa being effectively shut off. and other countries in southern africa being shut off from the rest of the world have decided to put in travel bands. lot of that's happening in europe. nave . barker has this report on the situation across the continent from land. the on the con, variance is in europe with every passing hour. more cases are detected with a single largest number of infections found on to flight that arrived here at amsterdam shipple airport on friday from cape town, and johannesburg of the 624 passengers on board. $61.00 tested positive for cove at 19. the more than a dozen half the omicron variant, all and now

she joins us live from johannesburg. for me do this is all quite troubling stuff as needs begins to filter, right. 3 about these new cases and you variance, at was the reaction, been like inside the africa itself, where to be fair, they're the ones excited the alarm a bite, this new strain. and that's the, precisely the message that the government is putting out that we've done good work . our scientists have been at the forefront of ensuring that they stay on top of any changes in the virus in detecting any mutations. and that's exactly what they've done, and they've also been transparent. and now instead of that being appreciated, i suppose south africa and the southern african region is being punished for coming forward with that information, especially as we see cases in other parts of the world. the government has called it nothing less than punishment and that it's unwarranted. it creates uncertainty and panic. and we've also heard from scientists in south africa who have said that we need to be cautious about what

for me to mila, i'll to 0 johannesburg. dr. oscar elaine is an epidemiologists and us public health official. he told us earlier, he understands south africa's position, but governments are right to act on what they know about the new variant. you have a variant which has about 30 mutations on the spite protein. so that alone is alarming. or there's concerned because of not much information about it, about it's rapid rate of spread. in addition, unknown whether there will be more implications on the treatments that are available. will it disable or make the vaccine effort minimize or, or lessened, or even the anti react monochrome antibodies would be other treatments? will it have a negative impact? so with that, i guess there's an error on the side of caution, but i totally understand the concern from the south african government, especially because of the policy and the financial implications to its industry as well. but we are in the mid to the global pandemic, which is showing us that it's not slowing down. and that's where

but flights are continuing to learn, one due in from johannesburg in about an hour one due in from johannesburg in aboutan hourand one due in from johannesburg in about an hour and another from one due in from johannesburg in about an hour and anotherfrom cape town. i spoke to the airport earlier today and they said as soon as those passengers land, they will be subjected to pcr tests right away. these arrivals are causing a lot of concern in the netherlands, facing record—breaking infection rates and, of course, today new messages are coming into place to try to stop the hospitals here from becoming overwhelmed.— hospitals here from becoming overwhelmed. , , overwhelmed. those people, when they arrived, overwhelmed. those people, when they arrived. there — overwhelmed. those people, when they arrived, there was _ overwhelmed. those people, when they arrived, there was quite _ overwhelmed. those people, when they arrived, there was quite a _ overwhelmed. those people, when they arrived, there was quite a lot _ overwhelmed. those people, when they arrived, there was quite a lot of - arrive

well also in johannesburg. is them be so if i could they a political analyst and senior research fellow at africa, asia dialogues, and it's good to have a withers on the news, or how do you think after the de klerk will be remembered? well, they'll be, he'll remember differently by different people because of, of his role as the last a parted president. but having said that days also says little number of south africans all remember him, fondly having done what most of his just tried to says has failed to do. that is initiate political discussions with the african national congress on behalf of black people in south africa. so the east bed sizable number of people from both sides are from both the blacks and whites will, will remember him finally. but as for me to said in that report, many young people to regard him as part and parcel of the old group, both a racist of the gunners who or press to their forefathers. did he, did he ever express regrets for the apartheid system that a he helped to our charade so,

during the military talking to was life from johannesburg. ah.

but me the miller reports from johannesburg. angelie good sir. it's the south african doctor who 1st to take the new symptoms in patients who had contract cove at 19. well, she says the symptoms up until ya cases so far have been mild. so what is interesting is that, that the clinical symptoms or not the same, then with delta, extreme tightness, and fatigue, and the young people that was how we 1st detected with a bit of her body i, campaign, and headache. very, very similar to what you will normally see with any viral infection. so the average has to take to just over 50 cases of the new variant and enabling but swanner 19 people have been infected. they've also been cases in belgium, israel and other countries. scientists say it may take up to 2 weeks to better understand the variance to determine how easily it spreads and how well vaccines work to protect people. because these more than 30 mutations, that might, it might escape the immune system, or it might escape the vaccines. what we have seen so far is people that has been vaccinated speci

speaking to us, back from johannesburg, plenty more. i had only news how, including why doctors in the democratic republic of congo are concerned about the health of mothers to be who live close to cobalt mines. will hear from people coming on to fi and east and ukraine while the year is no conflict that intensifies and a 2nd strike me. when for barcelona, new coach joe will have all the details in ah see don says 6 of its soldiers have been killed during an attack by ethiopian forces. it happened at an army post near a contested border area in gather reef states. the military says this forces repelled the offensive and inflicted heavy losses only alms group. meanwhile, more large protests were expected in su, dawn against last week's deal with the military, restoring prime minister, dela hm, doctor power. but those have been counsel less go straight to whistles sada, who is in khartoum for us. so what's going on? those protests were expected to begin now, but they've just been called off. why wells did the protests. some of the civilia

it was 1st spotted in south africa earlier this month in the areas surrounding johannesburg. but is now believe to be present in almost all provinces . the change is in the 32 mutations to it, what is called the spike protein. this is what the virus use is to penetrate human cells and cause infection. it's also what most vaccines are designed to target, and it could take weeks of work to uncover what impact these changes could have on how effective the vaccines are out there as an a din barber has our report. now. it's the news. no one wants to hear the discovery of a new cobit very cold ami chronic 1st identified in south africa, has hit world stock markets as concerns grow about the new global threat to a health organization has labeled it's a variance of concern w jose. closely monitoring the recently report of a ryan b 11529, early analysis show that this ryan is a large number of patients that require and will undergo further study. the w h o cautioned against hasty counter measures for now, but many governments chose instead to act fast. early indications show this barr

i'm here on the tambo important johannesburg. this is the main international airport in south africa. and as you can see, the airport is practically deserted. a far cry from the scenes we saw just a short time ago when thousands of people were riding here this but to get on any available flight. often announcement was made that most international travel in and out of fixed african states was being implemented. that announcement came as a complete surprise. you had people that were waiting boarded that was sitting on planes about to take off that they had to disembark. you had people that were waiting in the skies flying that had to turn around and come back. the situation such is that you now have tens of thousands of people who are stranded here in south africa. people who need to get back to jobs and families. and at the same time, you have so many people abroad, many of them, south africans desperate to get into the country. many of them have not been able to visit for at least 2 years. and they have loved ones, some of whom a

for me to mila al jazeera johannesburg. will us get more detail on the situation in the netherlands with dozens of passengers from south africa tested positive? here's what we know. the t flight sickle from kate turn on johannesburg at 1 am local time on friday, with only 600 people on board that don't share line can't say whether a negative test was required before departure. midway through the 11, our flights country started shuffling their borders or shutting their borders rather to south africa and islands announced its own ban i once they arrived in amsterdam, people were kept in plains on the tarmac for hours before being bused to testing facilities. and so far, at least 61 people have tested positive for corona virus and being kept in isolation. lamps are still analyzing those samples to see if they have tested positive for the only kron variance. that is the situation there. let's get more detail on the as far as from accent pisec here at she is with the university college london school of pharmacy and joins us. no

miller reports from johannesburg. angelie good here is the south african doctor who 1st to take the new symptoms in patients who had contract cove at 19. well, she says the symptoms up until ya cases so far have been mild. so what is interesting is that, that the clinical symptoms or not the same, then with delta, extreme tightness, and fatigue, and the young people that was how we 1st detected with a bit of her body i, campaign, and headache. very, very similar to what you will normally see with any viral infection. so the africa has to take to just over 50 cases of the new variant and enabling but swanner 19 people have been infected. they've also been cases in belgium, israel and other countries. so i to say it may take up to 2 weeks to better understand the variance to determine how easily it spreads and how well vaccines work to protect people. because these more than 30 mutations, that might, it might escape the immune system, or it might escape the vaccines. what we have seen so far is people that has been vaccinated species were far as it around we had the last short in august t

for me, the miller reports from johannesburg. angelica, here is the south african doctor who 1st had take the new symptoms in patients who had contracted coven 19 while she says the symptoms up until ya cases so far have been mild. so what is interesting is that, that the clinical symptoms or not the same, then with delta, extreme tightness, and fatigue, and the young people that was how we 1st detected with a bit of her body i, campaign, and headache. very, very similar to what you will normally see with any viral infection. so the africa has to take to just over 50 cases of the new variant and enabling, but swan or 900 people have been infected. they've also been cases in belgium, israel, and other countries. so i to say it may take up to 2 weeks to better understand the variance to determine how easily it spreads and how well vaccines work to protect people. because these more than 30 mutations, that might, it might escape the immune system, or it might escape the vaccines. what we have seen so far is people that has been vaccinated species were far as it around we had the last sh

i'll jazeera johannesburg. ah, let's bring in our gas in johannesburg, helen rees, chair of the world health organizations, regional immunization, technical advisory for africa, and member of the south african ministerial advisory committee for cove it and coven vaccine. last. so you k julian tang clinical biologist of the university of lester and robert as the dean abraham director of med biotech and medical biotechnology laboratory. thank you all for joining us. helen. since the new variant army crohn was identified, its panic and exile anxiety globally is, is because of the mutations themselves, or because this is an uncharted territory for the health community. when i don't think it is an uncharted territory anymore. unfortunately, i think we've had quite a lot of these scares that the emergence of new variance, if we recall good thinking back to what happened in india. so it's not uncharted, but it is concerning. and we're going to have to do a lot more research to really understand what this new variant i

cbs's debora patta reports from johannesburg. >> reporter: this is the cape town home to a revolution. inside the warehouse, rebels in white lab coats have an audacious plan to solve global vaccine inequalities. while more than half the world received one shot, most to have the nations had picks of vaccines, so african countries had to wait. as a result, less than 7% on the continent are fully vaccinated. afrigen technical director dr. caryn fenner said the pandemic was a wakeup call. >> made us realize if no one stipes up, no one else will do it. after pleading with big pharma to share recipes, these scientists are done waiting and taking the development of a covid vaccine into their own hands, so they're replicating moderna's mrna vaccine. despite commitment to global season access, moderna has not given its permission. legally afrigen can take this up to clinical trials, but petro terblanche says to get shots into people's arms, they would need a license agreement with moderna. but some experts globally said it couldn't be done. africa can't produce an mrna vaccine? >> i think we h

thank you for those updates from johannesburg family to mila. let's have a closer look at this new variance in just a bit of back story. remember we started referring to variance by the geography for me to reference that, but then in may, the world health organization rename them will trying to avoid stigmatizing those countries. so now you know, we have alpha, beta, gamma delta, as you see on this chart from covariance dot all little confusingly, if we follow this greek alphabet naming system, then this new varying b 11529 will actually be called the new variance. and you and the w i chose, we heard has been meeting today to decide if this is a variant of interest or concern. but when visualizing varies, it is always important to remember. they keep changing, they evolve in scope and size. this is from next strain dot org, and this is a global picture of all the variance that we've seen over the course of the pandemic. let me just get rid of those sketches from earlier. so that's the course of the pandemic. all of those green and blue ones, the

flights from johannesburg are still arriving in the u.s. and will continue arriving in the u.s. even after these restrictions go into effect tomorrow. tell us about that. >> reporter: that's right. in fact, i just spoke to somebody who had just recently arrived from johannesburg earlier today who described her experience traveling as just a downright nightmare and said when he was in johannesburg that her initial flight was canceled after the emergence of the news of omicron. she was eventually able to get on a flight but she says several people she saw there at the airport in johannesburg were not. i asked her if she had any second flights, she said she didn't. she added that she wouldn't be surprised if it was already in the united states. >> i wouldn't be surprised. and, again, when you have the vaccine you could carry those things and show no symptoms. so people just need to stop panicking so much. >> reporter: we were surprised to learn there was no additional screenings for her either when she arrived back in atlanta. and we're hearing that from other passengers north of u

i can see canada from my house >> reporter: but with stranded passengers, at johannesburg airport, south africa's president says the global travel restrictions are an over reaction. some doctors there saying the variant symptoms are mild. >> our symptoms are well known >> reporter: but there are mounting questions about omicron's transmissibility, resistance to vaccines and severity of symptoms here is what we know so far based on very limited evidence from south africa, this new strain appears to be highly contagious. here's what we don't know whether the variant is more deadly than previous ones and if our existing vaccines work as well against it all three manufacturers in the u.s. are testing them right now. >> it's highly likely that there will be loss of vaccine efficacy and effectiveness. but whether we will really have to tweak the current vaccines, we just don't know we have to wait a couple weeks before we get the key data. >> reporter: moderna's chief medical officer says that omicron's specific vaccine could take months to manufacture. should americans start getting used to t

andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. >> let's head to south africa now antalk to dr. should beer, professor at the university of whitmore . thank you so much for joining us today. first of all, do you have a view on whether travel bans are necessary, especially in scenarios like this, where much is known about the actual virus? >> good evening. i think it is completely naive for any country to believe that they can prevent the mutation of the variant by banning travel from a country. there is absolutely no contact with any of the south african countries, and yet what we have come to learn about the virus over the past two years now is this virus is able to disseminate readily, so it is simply not going to work, unless you impose restrictions on every country, effectually, you have basically engaged in something that won't work. >> so much is unknown about this virus and this particular one today. what do you suggest the government to do? >> we need to have a measured approach, like with anything else. in july, there was another variant known as the c12 variant, which

. >> reporter: i'm debora patta in johannesburg where scientists are racing against the clock to determine just how dangerous the new variant is. >> evans: here in the u.s., the scramble to keep it out. >> reporter: i'm michael george in new york, with concerns over omicron coming to the u.s. what we know and don't know about the new variant. >> evans: also tonight, holiday shoppers on alert as an alarming smash-and-grab crime spree targets retailers. >> reporter: i'm lilia luciano in los angeles, where shoppers are ready to spend while police are closely watching. >> evans: drug smuggling on the high seas. cbs news, joins the patrol as homeland security works the waters. >> reporter: this is one of the dozens of motorized vessels that they use to track down the drug runners. >> evans: plus, making a comeback-- low tech in high demand. ♪ ♪ ♪ and later, giving back. the atlanta rapper taking mom's advice and helping kids in need. >> this is the "cbs weekend news." >> evans: good evening, i'm carter evans. adriana diaz is off. tonight, new cases of the covid variant omicron are croppin

she is joining us from johannesburg and from his foundation did release a video recording which they are calling his final message. tell us more about that . well, it's the last time that anybody has heard from the former president. he'd been quite silent in recent years, but also court had some controversy about 2 years ago when he spoke about apartheid . not to wanting to acknowledge it as a crime against humanity. but in a video that's since been released to by the foundation. he also talks about how he said, since it the early eighty's, his called what he says, his has had what he calls the conversion that his views had changed that apartheid was wrong and morally unjustifiable. and that is the closest his ever come to saying, just how bad apart it was perhaps prior to that, not wanting to fully admit to the atrocities that were done during that period. the former president was a staunch member of the national party at the time. he's somebody who came from a conservative african of background and he was a member of the brood of on to right wing african organization. and so this w

the last unrestricted flight from johannesburg arriving at newark airport this morning. president biden coming before the cameras to urge calm and urge action tonight. urging americans who are not vaccinated to get the shot and for all adults 18 and older to get a booster. just one of the long lines tonight. americans getting their shots. this popup site in washington, d.c.'s franklin park today. dr. jha is standing by right here with us tonight. and of course, those questions. this is variant nor contagious and will the vaccines and the boosters work against it? we'll ask him in a moment here. we'll carefully get to it all tonight, beginning with abc's stephanie ramos leading us off right here in new york. >> reporter: just hours after the world health organization warned the global risks from the omicron variant are very high, president biden with dr. anthony fauci at the white house, aiming to reassure the american people and to urge them to get vaccinated, and get the booster. >> this variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. >> reporter: scientists are

we begin today with cbs news foreign correspondent joe paterno, who is in johannesburg, south africa. >> reporter: we've been here before-- a pandemic-weary world plunged into uncertainty with the discovery of a new variant. omicron has a worrying number of mutations, over 30, that scientists fear could make it more transmissible and vaccine resistant. >> the first time i saw it i just saw the mutations and i didn't quite believe it. in fact, i thought we weren't doing something right. >> reporter: this woman from south africa's national institute for communicable diseases says scientists should know within the next 14 days just how dangerous omicron is. cases are slowly rises in south africa but are still very low, sitting at just over 3,200 nationwide. but it's put the rest of the world on edge. before the arrival of the new variant, europe was already the epicenter of an alarming surge in cases. >> go, go, go. >> reporter: terrified of a repeat of spring, which saw the delta variant spread with lethal speed, one nation after another has shut its doors to countries across southern a

for me to mila al jazeera johannesburg, frances minister for overseas territories. as visiting the french caribbean islands of guadalupe, he's insisting that french laws will be enforced that make covert 1900 vaccines, compulsory for health workers, the laws response riots important for testers of poof, mandatory vaccination. and my sex nation drive is underway in the philippines when we 40 percent of the population has been fully inoculated so far. that governments has also recently tightened its border controls in an effort to limit the spreads of the only con, variance of coal with 19 ah . in honduras fee left, one candidate seo, mar, castro has claimed victory in sunday's presidential election. castro told supporters that voters have reverse authoritarianism. the governing national party also announced that its candidates had one on durance in choosing a successor to go in leader one, orlando, hernandez, mont, or follow, has more from the home to and capital. it's been a jovial environment. people very much happy celebrating and we're val, uh, we've already hear

andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. the french president, emmanuel macron, has accused the uk of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis. european ministers will meet on sunday to discuss the situation, after 27 people drowned on wednesday trying to reach the uk. mr macron confirmed that the uk is no longer invited to the talks. it comes after the british prime minister, borisjohnson, made a public call for france to take back migrants who cross the channel. lucy williamson reports from calais. the road between paris and london is getting colder. the political distance a little wider each day. here in the migrant camps, caught between the two governments, they know what it takes to bridge the channel and what the risks are if you fail. two days ago a boat capsized, killing 27 people. tonight the first victim was named as 24—year—old maryam nuri mohammed amin from iraqi kurdistan. her fiance said he was messaging her as the dinghy began to lose air. herfather, mourning her death in irbil in northern i

what is the view from johannesburg today? >> reporter: i think the view is a hardening, a frustration of measures put in place all around the world. just a short time ago morocco decided to stop all travelers coming in period. you've had the cases crop up of this new variant in europe. a cascade of countries tightening their level of restrictions or stopping travelers from this region coming in altogether. the view from the world health organization's africa director is that borders should remain open, saying these are punitive measures that might have a very slide impact, they say, in terms of slowing this variant, but really the horse has bolted. every scientist and doctor i've spoken to says even with the very quick identification of this variant and transparency of scientists, it's all over the place and travel bans might have a very minimal impact and a very severe economic impact on this part of the world. paula. >> nick, you're at the airport in atlanta, a major international hub, especially for delta. they're still fl

but there is a sort of hotspot center around johannesburg and pretoria that happened, some scientists voicing concern saying that this very and could be was the nearly anything else about including the delta strain? how worried a you about it? look, i think when we see something like this and we don't yet understand it, we must all be very concerned. and scientists have to turn their full attention to trying to understand it. but i don't think people should jump to panic, or we've seen with the delta strain, for example, that it was more transmissible. and it was more resistant to the action of vaccines . the antibodies induced by vaccines, but none the less, the vaccine still prevented severe disease. and hospitalization, but that this is why we're now trying to identify how widely spread this is. but we also, there will be a lot of work looking at, is it more transmissible? is it associated with any more severity of disease? and is, is the does, does it render the vaccines less effective, those of the policy questions that we'll be looking at. but in the meantime, a big, big a reque

andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. concerns about the new variant have triggered steep falls on the financial markets, wiping billions of dollars off the value of the world's biggest companies. in new york, the dow jones closed down 2.5%. in london the ftse 100 share index slipped 3.6% — its biggest decline in more than a year. there were biggerfalls in europe, with the dax in germany falling over li%. the legendary composer of broadway musicals, stephen sonheim, has died at his home in connecticut. he was 91. sondheim composed and wrote lyrics for a vast number of musicals, including west side story, sweeney todd, and follies. daniella relph looks back on his career. # isn't it bliss, don't you approve? # one who keeps tearing around, one who can't move... "send in the clowns" from the musical a little night music. # send in the clowns... it was stephen sondheim's only hit song — remarkably, because this was the man who revolutionised the american musical. as a young man, he learned his trade from oscar hammerstei

cbs' debora patta is going to lead off our coverage tonight from johannesburg. >> reporter: once again, south africa has become ground zero for a new variant. nearly a year ago, it discovered the beta variant. now it's detected one that has over 30 mutations, the biggest jump in the virus' evolution since the pandemic began. and what concerns scientists is whether the new variant, named omicron, is more transmissible than other strains or vaccine resistant. but at the texas children's hospital center for vaccine development, dr. peter hotez says there is no need to panic at this point. >> the key is knowing how transmissible and whether it has that ability to out-compete delta, and that bar is high. >> reporter: the virus was first detected after a spike in cases near johannesburg. numbers are still low, but they more than doubled in two days, and it's mostly been found in young adults, a group with a low vaccination rate. scientists are now working around the clock to find answers, but a jittery world is not waiting for them. international visitors are scrambling to get home as the u.

andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. eric feigl—ding is an epidemiologist, health economist and senior fellow at the federation for american scientists. he says the variant is cause for concern because of the way it's spreading in south africa. the who is very rightfully correct to be alarmed. it's not just that there's a number of mutations that look bad, but the spread in south africa is quite alarming. it went from 1% positivity, 30% positivity in under a week and it's notjust spreading in one small area, it's spreading systematically across six or seven different provinces in south africa. they're rising exponentially in all of the provinces together. that is a bad sign — even if you think the data is early, that's a very bad sign. that's displacing delta, and up till now, we have not yet encountered a variant that can displace delta from a population, and yet, we are seeing this variant do just that in under a week. some people are saying it could be up to 500% more competitively advantageous, or faster infectio

andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. president biden hasjust been speaking about the new variant. i’zfe speaking about the new variant. i've decided speaking about the new variant. i�*e: decided that we going to be speaking about the new variant. i";e: decided that we going to be cautious and make sure no travel and from south africa and countries in that region. except foramerican south africa and countries in that region. except for american citizens who are able to come back. we don't know a lot about the variant except that it know a lot about the variant except thatitis know a lot about the variant except that it is concerning, spreads rapidly. i spent half an hour with my covid team led by doctor anthony faucl the french president emmanuel macron has accused the uk of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis. european ministers will meet on sunday to discuss the situation, after 27 people drowned on wednesday trying to reach the uk — but mr macron confirmed that uk home secretary priti patel�

but we start with breaking news this morning from johannesburg. serious concern about a new coronavirus variant detected in south africa. scientists worried because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people. remember, lower vaccination rates allow the virus to mutate more easily. every unvaccinated person is a host for a new variant. this morning infections in south africa are dramatically up. markets ricochetting around the world. tokyo, shanghai, all down sharply. europe has opened up down sharply as well. in the u.s. stock index futures pointing to a very dim session here in the u.s. david mackenzie is live on the ground in johannesburg with the latest. david, what do we know? >> reporter: well, christine, here's what we know, and it's important to stress what we do not know. what we know is this variant which hasn't yet been designated as a variant of concern is very troubling, say scientists. it has many mutations, more than 30 of them on the key spike protein of the virus, which means some of them are known to scien

>> david mckenzie in johannesburg. thank you. >> phil mattingly, what is the white house plan to deal with omicron? >> reporter: there's the near term and the longer term. one thing we've seen over 48 hours, this moment of peak uncertainty in terms of what this variant will bring to the united states and make no mistake about it, you talk to white house officials, they all acknowledge it's an inevitably that it will end up in this country is in the short-term pressing for more vaccinations, pressing for boosters. nearly 60% of the country is vaccinated, fewer than 20% have gotten a booster. that is the primary short-term focus but today when the president's covid top covid advisors held a press briefing it gave a window into just how rapidly they've shifted toward preparation for what could come with this new variant, particularly as it pertains to potential shifts in vaccines. take a listen. >> we believe the current vaccines provide at least some protection against this variant. and that boosters strengthen that prot

for me to mila al jazeera johannesburg. well, the british government says, i will convene an urgent meeting of g 7. health men says on monday to discuss how best so respond me bunker ports from london. the on the con, variant is in europe with every passing hour. more cases are detected with the single largest number of infections found on to flight that arrived here at amsterdam. shipple apple on friday from cape town, and johannesburg of the $624.00 passengers on board. $61.00 tested positive for cove at 19. the more than a dozen half the omicron variant, all now isolating will approach and 100 percent of the people who return from southern africa will be contacted. we also asked the municipalities to visit 100 percent of the people at home to check whether they are really isolating the on the con, variance now being identified in germany, italy, the u. k. denmark, belgium, chet, republic, and austria. we case is likely to be circulating in france according to the french government. the urgent message from brussels couldn

for me to mila al jazeera johannesburg, or dr. martin slash why davis is the director of hell for st. louis in missouri. she says, travel restrictions like the ones we've seen a recent base just do not work. travel bands, especially when they are performative in this way target a few countries and not others where we already know the variant has already been isolated, like in the u. k are ineffective, but not only that, when done in this way, all they do is perpetuate stigma. and xena phobia against a country in south africa. they did the right thing that after this this, this variance was isolated by dr. sequel lilly. i'm loyal, as in bob, leon, scientist, based in botswana that says nothing about wind is originated. it just means that's where this superior science was done. the ability to use genomic sequencing was done. i mean, this is as a country that has done exactly what they're supposed to do, be transparent, use the superior science to be able to let the world know what's going on. and then for south africa and 7 other af

south africa, from johannesburg and cape town. on friday, 13 confirmed cases they, together with the other passengers, $61.00 in total who tested positive cove 19 are now isolating. the dutch authorities are taking this very, very seriously indeed. but you're right to say that. so we are right now counting things one by one. we may soon given the significant rise start to see this as being sought to see a surge of numbers in multiple countries. it is the view of one prominent south african scientist who 1st flags on the chron brought it to international attention that this very, it may already be present, may already be seated in multiple countries across europe, including here the united kingdom. the best line of defense says, or slow von de leon, the head of the european commission, who's been speaking in the past few minutes, is that we must vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate, or prepare for the worse and hope for the best. and lest we forget neve about the delta vary, which was the biggest cause of concern across europe before th

andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. the french president emmanuel macron has accused britain of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis. european ministers will meet on sunday to discuss the situation after 27 people drowned on wednesday trying to reach the uk, but mr macron confirmed that an invitation for britain's home secretary priti patel has been withdrawn. lucy williamson reports from calais. the road between paris and london is getting colder, the political distance a little wider each day. here in the migrant camps, caught between the two governments, they know what it takes to bridge the channel and what the risks are if you fail. two days ago, a boat capsized, killing 27 people. tonight, the first victim was named as 24—year—old maryam nuri mohamed amin from iraqi kurdistan. her fiance said he was messaging her as the dinghy began to lose air. herfather, mourning her death in erbil, in northern iraq, spoke to the bbc. translation: from germany, she went to france and in - france, she got i

let's start in johannesburg. south africa with family to miller. my goodness. there's journal, it's go to for me to now and me the, the dasia version we're feeling here. the beta variant as i remember, actually originated in south africa and, and here we go again with another one and then just in between all of that. so the africa also struggled through the delta variance which was dominant at the time affecting 99 percent of cases. and yet again, now the detection of a variant that has scientists worried specifically because of the complexity and the multiple mutations they're seeing in that spike protein, which you mentioned is concerning, because they're worried about how it will spread from person to person. and also, they are uncertain about just how effective vaccines will be in protecting people, and also how antibodies that people who already have covered already have had covered how those antibodies may or may not neutralize the virus. they are somewhat cautious in terms of the extent of what this new variant might mean that they continue to collect da

for me to mila al jazeera johannesburg. em fx. a nation drive is underway in the philippines. only 40 percent of the population has been fully an achilles. and so far, the government has recently tightens its border controls. in an effort to limit the spreads open you variance. in honduras, celeste, which candidates your mark castro has claimed victory in sunday's presidential election. castro told supporters that voters have reversed authoritarianism, governing national policy also announced that its candidate had one and your interview, choosing the successive to go and leader one or london hernandez, one order for the has more from the capital. it's been a jovial environment. people very much happy celebrating and were val we've already heard from us. you might have counseling herself who came in and spoke to her supporters stopping short of declaring victory would say that to day the people of honduras have one and promised a government reconciliation saying that it's early as tomorrow she wants to meet with the under other candidate to form a government of reconciliation,

countries have holsted flights from southern africa with the army. chrome strain was 1st detected in johannesburg, the restrictions of laughter, passengers rumbling to get odd for many of them. it's already too late. the last plains to europe and north america have already departed ahead of travel deadlines imposed by governments. although carriers are still offering flights to do hard to buy and singapore, which are a major connection up policy earlier, spoke with travelers at south africa's biggest report are strange because nothing, nothing i can do coming as a paul. it's not getting anything dead with spain, and i don't know when, when i can, i can fly to say we've checked on the air fronts and the flight wasn't consult. i say you can you hear? i'm see, i'm 10 of your clients the well with and send you but everything. so when it was gonna buy a new ticket, so ms. chaos and diety and confusion. following the discovery of a new coven variant called me crohn. at his turn, the world upside down, people are rushing to the port in a pace for the attempt to get on any remaining slice. and in fact, t

okay, let's go live to farmer miller in johannesburg. what do we know about the new variant? whole sciences in south africa have expressed some shock at the number of mutations in this very and saying that they're more than 30. and the issue here is that that number of mutations could potentially affect how antibodies neutralize the spike protein in this particular virus. they are awaiting further daughter to determine the extent of transmissible, etc. that's really the spread of the virus from one person to another. and also just what impact it will have on people who are vaccinated an effect seeds keep people protected in south africa. a the dominant variant so far has been the delta variance, but scientists are saying this new variant has some of those elements but far more and this is why they are worried. this is why it is a variant of concern. the world health organization is meeting to discuss what to do about this particular variant, where they it, as is as dangerous as they think it is, or if perhaps it is identified as one of interest and may potentially by be down

let's go straight to farmer de miller, who is in johannesburg for us from it. that's been a real outcry in south africa about these international flight bands. would have people been saying well, that outcry comes specifically from scientists and the government in south africa who have certainly been frustrated in the last 2448 hours saying that simply because south africa has done its work and has been transparent. now south africa's being punished by being put on the ritler says it's a justified and it's created unnecessary panic. the south african government is also says it will approach the u. k, as well as the european union to discuss some of the bands that have been put in place saying that they're not necessary. and that while they're about 50 cases of this particular variant in south africa, it's one that's also been detected in many other countries. and it shouldn't be assigned to south africa in particular. and that's simply because south africa, they say sciences here have been at the forefront of tracking these mutations and any changes in the viru

you're right in saying that 2 flights arrived from cape town, johannesburg shipple airport on friday is one of europe's busiest international travel hobbs. we gather that they were held for several hours before authorities there concluded that 60 warm people had indeed tested positive for covert 19. there had early this morning being the assumption from the dutch authorities that some of that number would be tests were test positive for the arm across variance, as well as that, of course. now appears to keep be the case. the figure 13 for the time being was on that whether or not that will change, we will undoubtedly know in the coming hours. and what does this mean for the spread of the very end from the rest of europe, the u. k, for example, i believe had a flight from south africa on friday, but no one coming up that plane was tested for cave and according to the u. k. health minister. yes, i was like a bit of a delay in the information. i think that's what's behind this and no, undoubtedly the british government will be under an awful lot of pressure to justify why it didn't perh

the miller has more than that from johannesburg, frustration at janice birds international airport. as dozens of people try to return to the united kingdom, it comes hours out of date was announced. a new variant of cove at 19 had been identified in south africa that led to the united kingdom announcing a new travel ban on people coming from southern african countries, including south africa. but swanner and some bob, which is a big inconvenience. we had our flights booked for a week time, but we got the news from our daughter in the u. k. about 12 31 o'clock last night saying that you were going to introduce the read. this is sunday sun justified. it's abrupt and it's not good for tories in for south africa. was seen these regulations way past last night. people up frantically trying to get back into the south african sciences say they're worried, existing vaccines may not be effective. and the new variant may spread easily. the genomics develops in south africa has been outstanding throughout this whole pandemic period. and that's why we've been able to identify when changes occur

for me to mila al jazeera johannesburg. ah, listen book in a fossil capital of fire tear gas during a demonstration against the president. protest as a hot cowboy, as failed to stop a wave of violence by om groups. nicholas hack has more. there's anger in bertina foster. this was supposed to be a peaceful protest in support of security forces and against a president who's been unable to stop a wave of attacks by arm, whoops, affiliated with iso and al qaeda. the shouts we want president temporary to resign . the government has lost control of border areas, the north and east, forcing millions of people, mostly children, and teenagers, to flee the violence free burkina faso, the chat, police fire tear gas. in response. he got used to step down. this is the end of the resume or rock boris years lost all trust and attacked my arm groups on a police outpost anita earlier this month killed dozens of people sparking nationwide outrage after it was revealed. the officers had gone 2 weeks on the front line without food rations, for

confirmed the strain. among 13 passengers have come in from south africa to flights from cape town and from johannesburg, nearly 600 people who landed on friday. it means more countries are imposing travel bands and restrictions. morocco is suspending all inbound flights for 2 weeks. israel has shut its borders to all foreigners, and there is a lot of anger about the travel bands, south africa in particular, which says it is being unfairly targeted for even sharing the data about the varied semerano force of the pair. the president will be addressing the nation at next hour. it's not with this report though, from the bank, looking at the situation across europe. the, on the corn variance is in europe with every passing hour. more cases are detected with a single largest number of infections found on 2 flights that arrived here at amsterdam . shipple apple on friday from cape town, and johannesburg of the $624.00 passengers on board. $61.00 tested positive for cove at 19. the more than a dozen half the omicron variant, all and now isolating will the present 100 percent of the people who return from south

i'll 0 johannesburg. ah! fossil results from honduras, the giving left us opposition candidate lead on to sundays presidential election. if the armada castro winds, she'll become the country's 1st female leader. her main rival is the current may of the council, electoral official, say voter turnout was high. let's go to our correspond romanella, paula, who is long for us in the capital on. yet i said these results just coming in, but it sounds like people are celebrating already. that's so very much the case has been several hours now since the national electoral congress announced these preliminary results. so that about 7, about 16 percent of the vote had been counted 60 percent of the national vote. but given us your motto, gas through the opposition candidate in these general elections, 53 percent of the vote, a significant lead against the candidate for the ruling national party. as you can see, as you mentioned, this is a very jovial atmosphere, a very celebratory atmosphere. people cheering people chan