Tanzania news update – More blackouts ahead for Tanzanian hotels and resorts
POWER RATIONING HITS TANZANIA AGAIN The national power company TANESCO has announced yesterday that power rationing would be getting worse in coming days and weeks for the mainland and Zanzibar, as water levels in the main reservoirs of the hydro electric dams were continuing to fall as a result of insufficient rains and ongoing drought […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – KAA releases tender documents for new JKIA terminal
KENYA AIRPORT AUTHORITY FINALLY PUBLISHES TENDERS FOR NEW JKIA TERMINAL The long awaited tender documents for a brand new terminal building at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport have been published yesterday, opening the door for international bidding to go underway. The ‘stand alone’ new facility, which is expected to be connected to the existing terminal […]
Uganda hospitality news update – Sheraton reopens Paradise Restaurant
SHERATON RE-OPENS PARADISE RESTAURANT The Kampala Sheraton Hotel today re-launches its new look Paradise restaurant on the garden terrace of the hotel, bringing extensive renovations and innovations to a successful conclusion. The Paradise is a popular lunch, afternoon tea and evening dinner and entertainment spot in the city, and in particular the evening event schedule […]
Tanzania hospitality news update – Rivertrees gets new management team
RIVERTREES INSTALLS NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM Following the annual ‘spring cleaning’ at Rivertrees Country Inn, located on the banks of the Usa River, a new management team has taken charge under the direction of owner Martina Gehrken Trappe – yes of the famous Trappe family tree – and it is time to welcome David and Kimberly […]
Uganda hospitality breaking news – Intercontinental Hotels sign management deal with ‘Shimoni’ site owners
SHIMONI SITE TO BECOME THE ‘KAMPALA INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL’ It was confirmed overnight from impeccable sources that yesterday, 23rd of June, was an agreement signed between the new owners and developers of the Shimoni hotel site and Intercontinental Hotel Group to manage the new 5star facility when it is ready. The site was in 2006 handed […]
Tanzania conservation breaking news story – Government drops ‘Serengeti Highway plans’
TANZANIA GOVERNMENT YIELDS TO PRESSURE OVER SERENGETI HIGHWAY News received late yesterday indicate that the Tanzanian government has backed down in the face of growing global criticism and opposition to their plans to construct a highway across the Serengeti, by assuring the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris that government will seek an alternative Southern […]
Kenya conservation breaking news – Burn Ivory Burn on 20th July 2011
BURN IVORY BURN Kenya is set to burn ivory again in a show of defiance against poaching and commercial pressure to join other countries wanting to sell ivory stocks on the open market, when on 20th of July, in a public high profile event, President Mwai Kibaki will set over 300 confiscated tusks and processed […]
Seychelles breaking news – New 16MW power plant commissioned
NEW POWER PLANT GOES ON LINE TODAY The close ties between the Seychelles and the Kingdom of Abu Dhabi / United Arab Emirates has once again born dividends when a new thermal power-plant was commissioned today in the presence of the kingdom’s Minister for Energy, members of his delegation and senior ministers from the government […]
Tanzania aviation news update – New Songwe aerodrome to be ready by December
SONGWE AERODROME ‘TO BE READY BY DECEMBER’ The long overdue upgrading and expansion of the Songwe aerodrome ‘is progressing well now’ according to a statement issued by the deputy transport minister in the Tanzanian parliament yesterday. The minister was responding to impatient area MP’s questions about the ongoing delay of finishing the construction of terminal […]
Tanzania tourism update – ‘Smart Partnership 2013’ set for Tanzania
NEXT ‘SMART PARTNERSHIP DIALOGUE’ IN 2013 SET FOR TANZANIA The ‘Langkawi International Dialogue’ now better known as the ‘Smart Partnership Dialogue’ is set to return to Africa after Tanzania was given the nod of approval during this year’s session. The ‘LID’ is the brainchild of former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed when promoting greater […]
Madagascar aviation news update – New direct flights from Nosy Bay to Jo’Burg
AIR MADAGASCAR TO OFFER NEW NOSY BAY SERVICE TO JNB While Air Madagascar remains on the EU black list and is unable to fly to Europe at present, the airline is nevertheless spreading its wings further into Africa. It was just announced that they will with immediate effect offer a direct service between Nosy Bay […]
Uganda conservation news update – When will it be ‘Lutembe Bay, going … going … going … gone’
WILL IT SOON BE ‘GOOD BYE RAMSAR SITE’ The Lutembe Bay, located en route between Kampala and Entebbe along the Lake Victoria shores, has reportedly come under renewed assault by land grabbers and as often the case, NEMA, our environmental watchdog, appears asleep instead of not just raising the alarm but decisively acting to protect […]
Uganda conservation news update – Gorilla killers arrested
GORILLA KILLERS ARRESTED, ARRAIGNED IN COURT Information has been received of the killing of a male ‘black back’ gorilla in Bwindi National Park last Friday with added news that the poachers were caught red handed by park wardens, rangers and trackers, who follow the prized gorillas around the clock. The culprits had with them snares, […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, Third edition June 2011
TOURISM, AVIATION AND CONSERVATION NEWS from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean region A weekly roundup of reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome Get daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome or read the daily postings on my blog via: www.wolfganghthome.wordpress.com Third edition June 2011 AUTHOR’S NOTE: […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – Kenya Airways signs 10 aircraft deal with Embraer, takes 10 more options
KENYA AIRWAYS SIGNS UP FOR 10 MORE EMBRAERS AND 10 MORE OPTIONS In a breaking news story it was confirmed that East Africa’s leading airline, Kenya Airways, has just signed a 10 aircraft deal – vis a vis a letter of intent – with Brazilian manufacturer Embraer for 10 more of their jets, with an […]
Seychelles news update – National Day celebrations graced by Tanzanian President
SEYCHELLES AND TANZANIA AGREE ON JOINT ANTI PIRACY MEASURES The visit by Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete to the Seychelles a few days ago has brought two allies together, both affected by ocean terrorists and both losing tourism business from the absence of cruiseships and suffering from increased cost of imports due to the insurance surcharges […]
Uganda news update – UWA paying its ‘tormentors’ – only in Uganda
UWA TO PAY ITS ‘TORMENTORS’ – ONLY IN UGANDA News emerged over the weekend that the Commission of Enquiry, instituted by the immediate past – and thanks for that a million many stakeholders say – Tourism Minister Kahinda Otafire has to be funded by UWA, the very body they are to investigate over allegations for […]
Rwanda conservation news – KWITA IZINA week concludes with naming of new babies
KWITA IZINA ‘GORILLA NAMING’ SETS STAGE FOR MORE CONSERVATION EFFORTS (Thousands of Musanze and Cyaniga residents came to witness the event and crammed the festival grounds) The Prime Minister of Rwanda, the Rt. Hon. Bernard Makuza, was the guest of honour at this year’s 7th gorilla naming festival ‘Kwita […]
Kenya conservation news – Dr. Paula Kahumba earns global award
DR. PAULA KAHUMBA EARNS GLOBAL ACCLAIM FOR HER CONSERVATION WORK When talking of work done by women in Africa and especially the accomplishments of women in Africa that list may be long, yet the recognition by society is often slow in coming and more often even only grudgingly given at home. Not so in the […]
Mauritius aviation update – Air Mauritius returns to profitability
AIR MAURITIUS RETURNS TO PROFITS The financial year 2010/11 has seen the Mauritius national airline return to profit territory after posting a loss of over 280 million Rupees last year, when the company announced a profit of about 380 million Rupees, equivalent to over 9 million Euros. Part of the reasons cited by airline executives […]
Rwanda conservation breaking news – ‘Igitaramo’ community celebration a success
‘IGITARAMO’ FESTIVAL DEFIES RAINSTORM The annual community festival ahead of the naming of the new born gorillas, held at Kinigi – a community living near the national park – rang in the final countdown to the last day of an otherwise activity filled week. Hundreds of local people defied a torrential downpour which suddenly moved […]
Aviation news update – Addis flights stay suspended over ash cloud worries
ETHIOPIA FLIGHTS CANCELLED BUT DUE TO RESUME ‘SOON’ As the ashcloud is very slowly moving across the Eritrean and Ethiopian airspaces have airlines in Entebbe announced the temporary suspension of flights to and via Addis Ababa as a safety measure, while awaiting the cloud to gradually lose its intensity and eventually disappear. Emirates, operating daily […]
East Africa news update – Local currencies fall to record lows
CURRENCIES TAKE MORE HITS ACROSS THE REGION The currencies of Eastern African countries, in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, fell to record lows in recent days as speculation against the respective Shilling currencies continued and locally influenced by strong demand for Dollars and Euros for loan payments and dividend transfers. While tourists may celebrate the windfall […]
East Africa news – Lunar eclipse excites tourists and locals
LUNAR ECLIPSE EXCITED ONLOOKERS Last night will brought about the longest and darkest lunar eclipse witnessed since 40 years ago, according to records provided to this correspondents by local news sources, when the full moon rose at dusk before being progressively darkened by the earth’s moving in between the sun and the moon. Across East […]
Uganda news update – Ministry of Health set to declare country ‘Ebola free’
EBOLA SCARE OVER The 41 day time window for the discovery of new Ebola cases, after the outbreak of 12th May, is expiring today in Uganda allowing the Ministry of Health to declare the country once again Ebola free. As reported here there was one single case of the outbreak recorded when a young girl […]
Rwanda news update – RDB T&C launch community water projects
RWANDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD LAUNCHES KWITA IZINA WATERPROJECTS RDB – Tourism and Conservation today launched their annual Kwita Izina related projectsin the presence of local, regional and international media representatives and witnessed by local government leaders, conservation partners and most important large numbers of beneficiaries from the local communities living around the […]
Mauritius conservation news – Orange Skinks ‘sent to UK for survival’
ORANGE TAILED SKINKS SENT TO UK TO ENSURE SURVIVAL A rare and extremely threatened species of skinks have been collected from their habitat in Mauritius recently and were sent with all due precautions to ensure their safe arrival in Britain where they will be undergoing a captive breeding programme in Jersey. Already extinct on their […]
Rwanda conservation breaking news – Kwita Izina Conservation Conference concludes
KWITA IZINA CONSERVATION CONFERENCE SENDS RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENT At the conclusion of the annual Kwita Izina Conservation Conference yesterday evening at the Kigali Serena Conference Centre did participants and stakeholders from Rwanda, other East African Community member states but also from as far as Israel and South Africa agree on a series of recommendations which […]
Kenya tourism news update – Nairobi comes second after Cape Town for African conference venues
NAIROBI’S RANKING AS CONFERENCE DESTINATION MOVES UP The International Congress and Convention Association has raised Kenya to the third place in Africa for meeting and convention business, up a place compared to the previous year, while Nairobi came second after Cape Town with a record of 27 international conferences and meetings qualifying under ICCA standards […]
Rwanda conservation news live from Kigali – Kwita Izina conservation conference kicks off today
ANNUAL CONSERVATION CONFERENCE KICKS OFF IN KIGALI TODAY The main theme of presentations, contributions and discussions during today’s annual Kwita Izina conservation conference, held at the Kigali Serena Conference Centre, will focus on the UN’s Year of the Forests and is themed: Forest Stewardship by Community – Contributions, Benefits and Prospects, offering the Rwanda Development Board […]
