Kenya news – Kenya Airways commits 290 Million Shillings to Rugby Seven team in record breaking deal
KENYA AIRWAYS SIGNS MAJOR SPONSORSHIP DEAL WITH KENYA RUGBY 7 Information was received late yesterday that Kenyas national airline has signed a 2 year record sponsorship deal worth 290 million Kenya Shillings for the Kenyan Rugby Seven national side. 18 players and four coaches and staff will under the new and much improved deal get […]
East Africa news – The unseen enemy from above is now hunting Al Shabab on the ground
THE INVISIBLE ENEMY IS NOW HUNTING AL SHABAB FROM THE SKIES In what must have been one of the worst kept secrets, probably not meant to be kept at all, has it finally been made official last weekend by US army sources that a number of UAVs are now operating from Ethiopian territory, deployed against […]
Seychelles aviation news – New Air Seychelles livery shown off over Mahe
AIR SEYCHELLES THE CREOLE SPIRIT DISPLAYS NEW LIVERY The first of three B767-300 aircraft has now come back from the paint shop and is for the first time flying in its new livery, a change recently announced with much fanfare and as part of rebranding the Seychelles national airline. The plane, christened The Creole Spirit […]
Tanzania news – Tourism Minister tells operators not to cheat the tax man
DONT CHEAT THE TAXMAN, MINISTER ADVISES TOUR OPERATORS Tanzanias minister for natural resources and tourism Ezekiel Maige attended a meeting last weekend of the Kilimanjaro Tour Operators Association in Moshi to interact with the private sector and get first hand information on grievances voiced by members. Notably did association members denounce non-member companies, which they […]
Tanzania aviation breaking news – Air Tanzania to get airborne again on Tuesday
AIR TANZANIA TO GET AIRBORNE AGAIN ON TUESDAY The Tanzanian national airline, if that attribute at all can apply these days considering that the carrier was grounded for months at end and has a single turboprop plane, is due to return to the skies over Tanzania on Tuesday this week. After a massive bailout from […]
Rwanda tourism updates – New destination image and brand overhaul set for 2012
RWANDA TOURISM TO REBRAND IN 2012 While in Kigali recently it could be established that the Rwanda Development Board Tourism and Conservation, was preparing for a complete rebranding of its image abroad, aimed to attract more visitors and offer a greater range of innovative products for tourists, alongside its most visible tourists activity gorilla tracking. […]
Tanzania conservation news – Plastic bags to be banned, finally
GOOD NEWS FOR TANZANIAS ENVIRONMENT, AT LAST A total ban for the manufacture and use of plastic bags is in the offing in Tanzania, as government is fine-tuning legislative and regulatory drafts, which in due course are to be submitted to parliament for debate and endorsement. Previous control measures, introduced in 2006, proved to be […]
Kenya aviation news – Nyaribo airstrip near Nyeri gets new paved 1.3 KM runway
NYARIBO AIRSTRIP GETS UPGRADE AND EXPANSION The Kenya Airports Authority has during the week inspected the 180 million Kenya Shillings input in modernizing and expanding this airfield in Nyeri county, assuring the aviation and business fraternity present during the occasion of continued infrastructural improvements for the industry. The runway expansion and addition of brand new […]
East Africa news update – Common currency talks set for Entebbe
FINANCIAL MARKET INSTABILITY PROMPTS ADDED TALKS ON CURRENCY UNION Recent wild swings in the values of the three core currencies and record devaluations within the East African Community, the Kenya Tanzania Uganda Shillings, has resulted in Central Bank chiefs, apparently with the blessing of their political masters, to advance the schedule of talks towards a […]
Uganda aviation breaking news – Qatar Airways rocks market with incredible launch fares
QATARS LAUNCH FARES SWEEP THE MARKET True to their word, that their launch fares would rock the market, has Qatar Airways now published incredible deals for the first week of operations into Uganda, covering the period between 02nd November until 11th November. Regular travelers, when told of the launch fares, were stunned, asking after quoting […]
Seychelles news – Water reservoirs now more than half full again, rationing ends
WATER SHORTAGE ENDS, FINALLY Intense and out of season rains in recent week have started to fill up the main water reservoirs cross the main island of Mahe, allowing the Public Utilities Corporation to end the strict rationing regime it had to introduce at the height of the drought. As reported here at the time, […]
Tanzania aviation news – Precision Air IPO ends, results out on 11th November
PRECISION AIR IPO ENDS Yesterday saw the closure of the IPO of Precision Air shares, for which Tanzanians and East Africans could place applications of a minimum of 200 shares, valued at 475 Tanzania Shillings. Stock brokers and participating banks reported doing brisk business and there is an air of expectation that the offer is […]
South Sudan news – GoSS and JICA sign technical cooperation agreement for new bridge in Juba
NEW NILE BRIDGE FOR JUBA The Japan International Cooperation Agency, in short JICA, has earlier in the week signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of South Sudan, Ministry of Roads and Bridges, for the construction of a 560 metre long bridge crossing the Nile. The agency had for the past several months conducted […]
Rwanda aviation breaking news – Second B737-800 ‘Sky Interior’ lands in Kigali to join the growing RwandAir fleet
RWANDAIR WELCOMES HOME 9XR WG (RwandAirs new bird performing a fly past over the runway of the airport) A second brand new B737-800 landed this afternoon at Kanombe International Airport in Kigali, bringing the fleet of RwandAir to now 7 aircraft, both leased and owned. The aircraft, fitted with Boeings latest cabin layout Boeing Sky […]
Uganda aviation news – Just days to go until Qatar Airways’ inaugural flight
QATAR AIRWAYS TARGETTING TRAVELLERS TO CHINA, GLOBAL NETWORK Only days away from its inaugural flight between Doha and Entebbe is Qatar Airways stepping up its marketing efforts, in fact pulling out all the stops, to get into the hearts and minds of travel agents and frequent travelers. The fight for market share now goes underway […]
Kenya aviation news – Kenya Airways releases Quarter 2 results
KENYA AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES OPERATING RESULTS FOR QUARTER TWO The Pride of Africa yesterday released consolidated Quarter Two results, showing once again impressive growth and giving hope to a subsequent rise in the companys share price, which in view of the soon to be launched rights issue has been somewhat trading below true value. The offered […]
Seychelles aviation breaking news – B767-200’s go back to ILFC
AIR SEYCHELLES RETURNS TWO B767-200 TO ILFC Negotiations over the early return of two leased B767-200 aircraft to the International Lease Finance Corporation were successfully concluded earlier in the week and the first of the two birds, Isle de Bijoutier flew out of Mahe International Airport today after the required final engineering checks had been […]
Horn of Africa opinion piece – As Kenya goes into Somalia, Afwerki sneaks off to Khartoum
AS KENYA GOES INTO SOMALIA, AFWERKI SNEAKS OFF TO KHARTOUM No sooner had Kenya upped the ante in the Horn of Africa, by sending troops, navy and airforce units into Somalia to pursue the radial Islamist Al Shabab militias, a known Al Qaida affiliate organization, did Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki get into a plane to […]
Tanzania hospitality news – Union uses Minister to force itself upon the Holiday Inn
HOTEL UNION USES MINISTER TO FORCE ITSELF UPON THE HOLIDAY INN IN DAR It was learned yesterday that the Minister for Labour and Employment in the Tanzanian government has apparently become a willing tool to force recognition of a labour union on the management of the Holiday Inn Hotel in Dar es Salaam, when after […]
Uganda news – Golf course under renewed threat by so called developers, aka destroyers
KAMPALAS GOLF COURSE UNDER THREAT BY DEVELOPERS Alarming news spread through the golfing fraternity yesterday when developers a byword nowadays for greedy and often destructive assaults on green open spaces across the city, fenced off a portion of the Kitante Golf Club in the heart of the city. Owned by the Uganda Golf Union the […]
Seychelles to host ICTP launch at World Travel Market
SEYCHELLES TO HOST ICTP LAUNCH AT WTM The launch of the International Council of Tourism Partners when all signed up members will be revealed to the international media at the World Travel Market, is taking place on November 08th at the Seychelles stand AS550 at 16.00 hrs, hosted by the Seychelles Tourism Board. Seychelles, a […]
Rwanda aviation news – Second brand new B737-800 now enroute to ‘The Land of a Thousand Hills’
FERRY FLIGHT UNDERWAY FOR SECOND RWANDAIR B737-800 RwandAirs second new bird is now in the air enroute to its final destination Kigali, after a formal handover ceremony at Boeing in Seattle. As was the case with the first B737-800 a few weeks ago, RwandAirs chief pilot Capt. Babis is the pilot in command and will […]
African conservation news – Another ton of blood ivory seized at Chinese border
ANOTHER TON OF IVORY SEIZED IN VIETNAM ENROUTE TO CHINA The words deafening silence come to mind when the official response to petitions and pleas by global conservation organizations to the Chinese government is described over the countrys deplorable record in illegal ivory and rhino horn trade. In the cross hairs for the past two […]
Kenya tourism and conservation news – Museum Society all set for ‘Know Kenya Better’ week
KENYA MUSEUM READY FOR KNOW KENYA MORE WEEK As the hashtag line #TembeaKenya finds ever more followers amongst the tweep community in Kenya, with live reports from their travel across the country tweeted in and then re-tweeted by Magical Kenya and Kenya Wildlife Service, was the Kenya Museum Society busy to put final touches on […]
Kenya news update – Will new roads, bypasses and flyover bring salvation to Nairobi’s traffic congestion?
INVESTMENTS IN NEW ROADS AND BYPASSES WILL IMPROVE LIFE QUALITY IN NAIROBI A regular deep throat source in Kenyas capital city of Nairobi has told this correspondent that governments ongoing efforts to improve the road network in and around Nairobi will yield big results in the next 3 5 years, when quality of life in […]
Kenya news update – Police announce first arrests, seize arms and explosives
FIRST ARREST IN BLAST CASE YIELDS WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES The Kenya Police was able to give good news overnight that a first arrest has been made in connection with the ongoing search for the culprits in the dual grenade blasts, which have rocked Nairobis streets two days ago. I am not authorized to give official […]
Uganda aviation news – Travel agents lock horns with Gulf Air in absence of offices and GSA
GULF AIR OFF TO ROCKY START IN KAMPALA A recent seminar for a very select group of agents and press conference for equally select media representatives by Gulf Air in Kampala seems to have served little purpose other than exposing the state of un-readiness, as emails obtained by this correspondent between travel agents and the […]
Ethiopia aviation news – Singapore new ET destination from November by codeshare
ETHIOPIAN STARTS CODESHARE TO SINGAPORE Effective 01st of November will Singapore Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines commence a codeshared flight connection between Addis Ababa and Singapore, adding a new destination for both airlines. The daily flights will route via Dubai, from Addis served by ET on a codeshared basis, and passengers destined to Singapore will then […]
Weekly roundup of news from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean region, Fourth edition October 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 Many of these articles then also […]
Kenya aviation news – Now KAA follows KCAA to demand higher fees and charges
AIR CARGO OPERATORS OPPOSE NEW KAA CHARGES Attempts by the Kenya Airport Authority to milk operators as an aviation source put it, follow hot on the heels of similar attempts by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to raise fees and charges. If KAA could produce a good product, if they had kept pace with demand […]
