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Travellers at Sydney's International Airport on Nov 1, 2021. (File photo: AFP/Saeed Khan) - 

Health officials in Australia said Sunday (Nov 28) they had detected the COVID-19 Omicron strain for the first time after testing two passengers from southern Africa who flew into Sydney.

The eastern state of New South Wales' health authority said it had conducted urgent genomic testing and confirmed the new strain was present two passengers who landed in Sydney on Saturday.

Both passengers came from southern Africa and arrived in Australia on a Qatar Airways flight via Doha, NSW Health said in a statement.

They tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after arriving, leading to an urgent analysis for possible infection by the heavily mutated Omicron strain.

"The two positive cases, who were asymptomatic, are in isolation in the special health accommodation. Both people are fully vaccinated," NSW Health said.

Another 12 passengers from southern Africa in the same flight did not test positive for COVID-19 but have been placed in quarantine, it said.

About 260 passengers and crew on the plane have also been told to isolate, the health authority said.

Australia had earlier on Saturday imposed new restrictions on people who have been to nine southern African countries, as the highly infectious Omicron variant raises concerns about another wave of the pandemic.

Britain, Germany and Italy detected Omicron cases on Saturday as more nations imposed restrictions on travel from southern Africa.

New Zealand also announced fresh measures from Sunday evening, Radio New Zealand reported.

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said late on Saturday that only New Zealand citizens will be allowed to travel into the country from the nine southern African nations, according to the news service.

Citizens would be required to stay in managed isolation for a full 14 days, as well as undergo testing, he was quoted as saying.

Australia early this month eased its international border restrictions for the first time during the pandemic, allowing fully vaccinated residents to return to the country without quarantine after higher vaccination levels.

Australia had largely stamped out infections for most of this year until an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant in late June spread rapidly across its east. About 205,000 cases and 1,985 deaths have been recorded so far, lower than many other countries in the developed world//CNA

People take their antigen rapid test under supervision, at a Quick Test Centre during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Singapore September 28, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su - 

Singapore is tracking the emerging Omicron COVID-19 variant 'very closely', and could be forced to take a few steps back again before taking more steps forward, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (Nov 28).

Speaking at the People's Action Party (PAP) convention, Mr Lee said that Singapore has made "a lot of progress" in the fight against COVID-19, but must be prepared for more bumps along the way.

"Right now, a new variant of concern is emerging. We've learnt a new word – the Omicron variant. We are tracking this very closely. We are not sure yet, but we may well be forced to take a few steps back, before we can take more steps forward," said Mr Lee.

"But despite all this, I am confident that we will find our way to living with the virus, and safely resume all the things we love to do. We are making all this effort because we want to get there safely, suffering as few casualties along the way as possible."

The Omicron variant has been designated "of concern" by the World Health Organisation, with countries imposing travel curbs on travellers from a number of African countries.

On Friday, Singapore also said it will restrict entry to travellers with recent travel history to seven African countries following the emergence of the variant in that region.

All long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with travel history within the previous 14 days to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are not allowed to enter Singapore or transit here.

Mr Lee also noted that COVID-19 has been a "searching test" of public trust, and this applies to countries all around the world.

"Some societies are high-trust, others are low-trust – and it makes all the difference in a crisis. Singapore is and must always be high-trust."

"That is the way to weather not just COVID-19, but any storm that comes our way."

Mr Lee gave the example of countries that have had great difficulty vaccinating their whole population, despite vaccines being available. He pointed out that "political divisions and deep distrust" have made it harder for the US and many European countries to bring COVID-19 under control.

"Many of them are anti-vaxxers - not just because they are misguided or ignorant, but because of deep distrust – of authority in general, and of their own government in particular," he added.

He noted that Singapore is fortunate not to have such divisions in its society.

"We did not become a cohesive, trusting society overnight. Social cohesion is the work of decades. And trust has to be built up long before the crisis. When a crisis strikes, if the trust is not already there, then it is already too late," said Mr Lee.

"I am grateful that the PAP government enjoys the public’s trust, built up over years of working closely with Singaporeans. We've been delivering faithfully on promises. Consistently producing results for the people – housing, healthcare, education, well-paying jobs, better lives. We have shown year in, year out, in good times and bad, in crisis after crisis, that the PAP government will always be there - with you, for you, for Singapore."

During the COVID-19 crisis, the Government needed to draw on this "reservoir of trust", as it faced many difficult and urgent decisions impacting lives and livelihoods, said Mr Lee.

"Whatever we decide, however hard we try to get it right and to cushion the impact, more often than not some group or other will be affected or disappointed," he added.

"Yet still the Government must exercise its judgment to the best of its ability, and carry Singaporeans along."

Mr Lee noted that in a crisis, leaders cannot afford to waver.

And as leaders strive to do the right thing, they must continue nurturing the people’s trust, he added. This means dealing competently with the problems, explaining clearly what they are doing and why, as well as where they are headed as well as being open and transparent.

It is also important to lead by example, he pointed out.

"In Singapore we take this for granted, but it is very important and worth reminding ourselves. The same rules apply to everybody – safe distancing, mask wearing, testing and isolation requirements," Mr Lee said.

"You may be Minister or MP, community leader or safe distancing ambassador – you abide by the same rules, whoever you may be."

Trust is important not just between Singaporeans and the leaders, but between each other too, said Mr Lee. And while rules and penalties are necessary, they are not enough, he explained.

"We must also trust our collective spirit as one people. Looking out for one another, supporting those in greater need, staying united in a crisis," Mr Lee added.

"Singapore cannot claim to have better doctors or scientists, or better healthcare than the US or Europe. But the decisive difference in our response is this: We trust one another, and therefore we work with one another and not against one another."//CNA

Abdul Baqi Haqqani said the Taliban want to "create a reasonable and Islamic curriculum". (Photo: AFP) - 

Afghan women will be allowed to study at university but there would be a ban on mixed classes under their rule, the Taliban's acting higher education minister said on Sunday (Nov 28).

The hardline Islamist group that stormed to power in mid-August after ousting the Western-back government have vowed to rule differently compared to their 1990s stint when girls and women were banned from education.

"The... people of Afghanistan will continue their higher education in the light of Sharia law in safety without being in a mixed male and female environment," Abdul Baqi Haqqani, the Taliban's acting minister for higher education said at a meeting with elders, known as a loya jirga, on Sunday.

He said the Taliban want to "create a reasonable and Islamic curriculum that is in line with our Islamic, national and historical values and, on the other hand, be able to compete with other countries".

Girls and boys will also be segregated at primary and secondary schools, which was already common throughout deeply conservative Afghanistan.

The group have pledged to respect progress made in women's rights, but only according to their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Whether women can work, get education at all levels and be able to mix with men have been some of the most pressing questions.

But the Taliban rebranding is being treated with scepticism, with many questioning whether the group will stick to its pledges.

No women were present at the meeting in Kabul on Sunday, which included other senior Taliban officials.

"The Taliban's ministry of higher education consulted only male teachers and students on resuming the function of universities," said a lecturer, who worked at a city university during the last government.

She said that showed "the systematic prevention of women's participation in decision making" and "a gap between the Taliban's commitments and actions".

University admission rates have risen over the past 20 years, particularly among women who have studied side by side with men and attended seminars with male professors.

But a spate of attacks on education centres in recent months, killing dozens, had caused panic.

The Taliban denied being behind the attacks, some of which were claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State group.

During their previous brutal rule, the Taliban excluded women from public life, entertainment was banned and brutal punishments were imposed – such as stoning to death for adultery.

The Taliban have yet to announce their government, saying they would wait until after the departure of US and foreign forces//CNA

A passenger arrives at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel on Jan 25, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun) - 

Israel on Saturday (Nov 27) said it would ban the entry of all foreigners into the country, making it the first country to shut its borders completely in response to a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus variant, and said it would use counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology in order to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that the ban, pending government approval, would last 14 days. Officials hope that within that period there will be more information on how effective COVID-19 vaccines are against Omicron, which was first detected in South Africa and has been dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.

"Our working hypotheses are that the variant is already in nearly every country," Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked told N12's Meet the Press, "and that the vaccine is effective, although we don't yet know to what degree".

Israelis entering the country, including those who are vaccinated, will be required to quarantine, Bennett said. The ban will come into effect at midnight between Sunday and Monday. A travel ban on foreigners coming from most African states was imposed on Friday.

The Shin Bet counter-terrorism agency's phone-tracking technology will be used to locate carriers of the new variant in order to curb its transmission to others, Bennett said.

Used on and off since March 2020, the surveillance technology matched virus carriers' locations against other mobile phones nearby to determine with whom they had come into contact. Israel's Supreme Court this year limited the scope of its use after civil rights groups mounted challenges over privacy concerns.

The variant, which has also been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Hong Kong, Italy, Germany and Britain, has sparked global concern and a wave of travel curbs, although epidemiologists say such restrictions may be too late to stop Omicron from circulating globally.

Israel has so far confirmed one case of Omicron, with seven suspected cases. The Health Ministry has not said whether the confirmed case was vaccinated. Three of the seven suspected cases were fully vaccinated, the ministry said on Saturday, and three had not returned from travel abroad recently.

About 57 per cent of Israel's 9.4 million population is fully vaccinated, according to the Health Ministry, which means they have either received a third shot of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine or it has not yet been five months since they received their second dose. Israel has recorded 1.3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 8,000 fatalities since the pandemic began//CNA