South African Youth Jailed for Life in Thailand after Signing for Parcel Containing Drugs, Addressed to her Employer!

Family, friends and an ever increasing group of concerned supporters, of Ashley Oosthuizen (22), a young South African girl, who was imprisoned for life in a Thai jail two years ago, are appealing to the ANC government in SA to pay urgent attention to her case. Oosthuizen's family also fear that they will now rarely be able to contact her, after she was recently moved to a new prison. Her parents have apparently last spoken with her in December last year. Oosthuizen was arrested on October 8, 2020 on drug-related charges after receiving and signing for a parcel at her workplace, which was not addressed to Oosthuizen, but to the former owner of the "Hot in the Biscuit" restaurant in Koh Samui where she was employed as a driver. The restaurant had at the time of the incident belonged to her then boyfriend, who was known as Triss Nepps (Tristan Nettles) on social media. Oosthuizen was arrested at the scene, convicted on charges of international drug trafficking and the death…
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Confused Millennials in UK Beat Up White South African Security Guard Mistaking His Accent For Polish!

A gang of teenagers beat up a school security guard before jumping on the bonnet of his van, smashing his windows and telling him to “go back to Poland”. The victim, a former police officer from South Africa, needed hospital treatment after suffering a broken shoulder in the racist attack at Bishop Fox’s School in Taunton, Somerset. The 52-year-old man said a group of four youngsters punched him “repeatedly” and one of them threatened to slit his throat with a knife. The gang then stole his keys and hurled them into a hedge so he couldn’t drive away – before lashing out further by denting the van and smashing its windows with a block of concrete. “They obviously didn’t recognise his South African accent and told him to go back to Poland,” said Ron Blake, a colleague of the victim at the security firm that released dashcam footage of the incident. “They were on the public highway outside the school gates,” added Mr Blake. “They set about the security guard and repeatedl…
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WATCH: SA doctor singing to young patients in Ireland goes viral

A South African doctor has become bit of an online sensation in the United Kingdom since a video of him singing to a sick boy went viral. According to UTV in Northern Ireland, Dr Ryan Coetzee, who works in the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, can regularly be heard using the hospital's children's ward as his "stage". Coetzee reportedly became an online hit when he was filmed singing to a young patient. In the video, Coetzee sings in a loud, baritone voice: "Homegrown alligator, see you later, gotta hit the road, gotta hit the road..." https://youtu.be/RU8eRyj7los The song "Shotgun", originally by English singer-songwriter George Ezra, reportedly woke a young boy, Oscar McLaughlin, much to his joy. "In my head I was hearing someone singing George Ezra, then when I woke up it was actually Ryan," the 8-year-old Oscar told UTV. Oscar was admitted on Saturday and was reportedly quite ill, but felt better after he was woken by the singing doctor. On Wednesday, after checking u…
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Home affairs insists an unabridged birth certificate is not needed for parents travelling with children, but apparently nobody told customs officials

The department of home affairs has reiterated that the requirement for an unabridged birth certificate for children travelling with their parents no longer applies, but the parents must still carry it anyway – in case customs officials ask to see it at ports of entry. This follows a huge outcry among travellers who claimed they were stopped at ports of entry by customs staff who demanded the unabridged certificate for their children, despite the announcement by the department it was no longer a requirement. The department of tourism recently said tourism supports about 1.5 million jobs directly and indirectly in SA. StatsSA figures for 2016 show the sector directly contributed 2.9% – or R125.1 billion – to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). When the initial requirements were first issued, Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom took issue with the home affairs decision, saying the move would kill tourism in SA and impede economic growth. Home affairs was forced to back off. …
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#LandExpropriation: South-African farmers are now leaving SA for Canada due to uncertainty created by the South African government’s move to expropriate land without compensation

Due to uncertainty created by the South African government's move to expropriate land without compensation, several South African farmers are migrating to settle in other countries, agricultural industry association Agri SA said on Wednesday. "This is extremely serious, and the knock-on effect on the whole economy is going to be there. If you don't have confidence [in an economy], why would you invest? Something else is also happening ... we are losing young farmers. They decide they cannot do this, they don't see a future to a certain extent," said Pierre Vercueil, Agri SA deputy president who is also a commercial farmer. "We see immigration [of farmers from South Africa]. You just have to go the embassies and ask what is happening. Over the last 20 years, we have seen the decrease in farmers' numbers from something like 60 000 to 35 000, and this is escalating. On Tuesday, Parliament by majority vote adopted a report recommending that Section 25 of the Constitution be amen…
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Moving to the UK: The Unmarried Partner Visa – all you need to know

Many people assume that there is a separate type of visa application for the unmarried partner. However, this is not the case. If one fulfils the criteria to be an ‘unmarried partner,’ one would apply in the same way as the spouse or dependent of the main UK visa applicant. One can thus be the unmarried partner of an Ancestral visa applicant, a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa applicant, the unmarried partner of a British citizen, Tier 4 Student visa applicant, etc. The conditions and requirements of the visa of the unmarried partner would thus basically be determined by the immigration status or type of visa the main applicant is applying for. The unmarried partner thus has the same status as the spouse or civil partner of the main visa applicant. How to qualify as an unmarried partner To qualify as an unmarried partner, an applicant will need to prove that he/she has been living together with the partner, in a relationship akin to marriage for two years or more. You will also ne…
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What South African expats need to know about financial emigration and recession

With the South African economy currently in recession, lessening the effects of Rand volatility is a top priority for many people at the moment. Many expatriates have retirement funds and other assets in South Africa that they would like to withdraw and transfer offshore. This is known as the process of financial emigration. SAFFA.com had a look at the most common questions about this process below. What exactly is financial emigration? Financial emigration is the process of officially changing your status with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) from a permanent resident, or resident living temporarily abroad, to that of a non-resident of South Africa. This means that you have permanently left South Africa and relocated abroad. The process of financial emigration is daunting and admin-heavy. The average turnaround time to complete the entire process is three months. We recommend using an experienced, certified South African financial emigration specialist to complete the …
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A re-invented, revived version of SA’s best-loved shoe is now available in the UK and Europe

South Africans abroad – this good news is for you! - Actually, it’s good news for anybody who wants to own a pair of SA’s most loved and well-known shoes – the humble (and highly sought after) VELDSKOEN™ are now available online. A bit more about the shoe The company has revived and re-invented the classic brown leather shoe by adding soles and laces in eight bright colours. Now you can get yourself a pair delivered straight to your door all over Europe and the UK! The shoes – which come in red, green, blue, pink, yellow, orange, and the more traditional black and grey – launched in South Africa exactly a year ago, in April 2017, and will now be leaving tracks all over Europe after the official UK and European launch in London, at the end of April 2018. How the shoe was reborn Company founders, Nick Dreyer and Ross Zondagh decided to make their own, updated version of the South African classic in August 2016, while watching the Olympic Games. They saw that the South A…
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SA rugbyspeler vir hoë Engelse toekening benoem

ʼn Speler wat vir Suid-Afrika se naasbestes uitgedraf het, voor hy sy rugbyheil in Engeland gaan soek het, is vir ʼn hoë Engelse toekenning benoem. Ruan Ackermann (22), die seun van die Springbok Johann Ackermann, is een van vyf spelers op die lys waaruit die toekenning vir die Premierliga se vonds van die jaar gedoen sal word. Hy speel vir die klub Gloucester, wat deur sy pa afgerig word. Ackermann jr., wat deur sommige as ʼn toekomstige Engelse toetsspeler beskou word, is glo een van die gunstelinge om die toekenning te wen. Hy het reeds vier wedstryde vir die Barbarians gespeel – onder meer teen die Springbokke (2016) en die All Blacks (2017) – en het verlede jaar twee wedstryde vir Suid-Afrika A gespeel.
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Are you eligible for a British passport?

Fast facts about British nationality for South Africans - You could be eligible for British passport if you were: Born to a parent (father or mother) who was born in the UK before 1983. Born before 1983 to a parent who was born after 1949 – as long as that parent Was a British citizen, or Had a parent born in the UK Born in South Africa after 31 May 1962 but before 1983, and you have a UK-born grandparent Born after 1948, and your parents were married before 1949 and your paternal grandfather (your father’s father) was born in the UK Born between 2 March 1970 and 18 April 1980 in (Southern) Rhodesia, and you have a grandfather born in the UK.
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