South Africa

South Africa: Violence against Immigrants Shocks South Africans

Date: May 28th, 2008 |

Xenophobic attacks against foreign immigrants from other African countries occurred in Johannesburg, Cape Town and other areas in recent weeks. The violence appalled South Africans and prompted President Thabo Mbeki to call the attacks the worst acts of inhumanity in South Africa since the end of apartheid. The attacks occurred mostly in the townships and [read more]

South Africa: Baboons Catching a Break from Detractors

Date: January 30th, 2008 |

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Baboons are considered pests in the suburbs of Cape Town, often breaking into homes looking for food, but now a conservation group is offering tours through the parks and nature preserves around Cape Town to raise awareness about the animals and give them a better name. Baboons have a reputation for aggressiveness and unruly behavior, [read more]

South Africa: Table Mountain Muggings Prompt Call for Military Patrols

Date: August 29th, 2007 |

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Fifteen muggings in 14 days on Cape Town’s Table Mountain prompted the city’s top tourism official to ask the army to patrol the famous peak so visitors can explore it safely. Fifty-two rangers and 200 volunteers patrol the peak daily, but criminals have become adept at hiding among the mountain’s crags and vegetation to avoid [read more]

South Africa: New Policy for Tourists’ Safety in Cape Town

Date: March 21st, 2007 |

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Cape Town officials have initiated a policy to help keep tourists safe by raising the awareness of tourists to potential dangers and locals to the ways they can assist tourists in their midst. The government has distributed brochures with safety tips designed to inform but not frighten, offering practical advice for avoiding crime. Officials are [read more]

South Africa: Sharks Off Cape Town

Date: September 19th, 2006 |

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Summer is approaching in South Africa and authorities and business owners in Cape Town are trying to come up with a plan to protect swimmers from sharks. Two people have been killed and two maimed in shark attacks in the past four years. Thirteen attacks have been reported, and in just the last 18 months [read more]

South Africa: Local Address Disclosures on Arrival No Longer Necessary in Joburg

Date: March 12th, 2008 |

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Beginning March 17, visitors arriving at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg will not have to provide immigration officials with their address in South Africa, a precaution implemented because of serious crimes committed against arriving passengers who have been reportedly followed to their destination and robbed. Such incidents have suggested that local addresses and declarations [read more]

South Africa: Power Failures Affect Table Mountain Cable Car; Armed Attacks Near Kruger Park

Date: January 24th, 2008 |

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Load-shedding by the national electricity company caused the cable car running up Cape Town’s Table Mountain to stall just short of its docking station, stranding some 900 tourists on the peak for three hours. The cable system’s backup power supply failed but everyone was safely evacuated in an hour with no injuries, only inconveniences. The [read more]

South Africa: Criminals Follow Tourists from Airport, Rob Them at Hotels

Date: July 25th, 2007 |

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Criminal gangs appear to be targeting tourists arriving at the airport in Johannesburg, following them and robbing them outside their hotels. Five groups were robbed in July, two on July 15, the bandits making off with luggage, laptop computers, cameras, cell phones and wallets. Even the South African ambassador to the UN was followed from [read more]

South Africa: Cape Town Township Tour Groups Robbed

Date: December 5th, 2006 |

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Robberies of three foreign tour groups in a matter of days prompted Cape Town officials to ask for police escorts for all tours into the surrounding townships, but the provincial police commissioner refused, saying such a move would send the wrong message, that the townships are dangerous. The incidents occurred in Langa and Sea Point. [read more]

South Africa: Immigration Officer Strike to Create Chaos at Airports

Date: August 29th, 2006 |

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More than 800 immigration officers were scheduled to go on strike Sept. 1 in a move that could cause long delays for passengers arriving at international airports. Negotiations in the pay dispute have been going on for more than a year, and there is no telling how long the strike could last. Just days before [read more]