It is Connoisseur Sunday at the Sheraton Kampala
SHERATON KAMPALA GETS READY FOR ‘CONNOISSEUR FESTIVAL 2013’ (Posted 25th July 2013) The Sheraton Kampala Hotel is according to Director of Sales and Marketing James Rattos all set to host the ‘Connoisseur Festival 2013’ which will be staged this coming Sunday in the Sheraton Gardens, where the hotel intends to acquaint Kampaleans with the finer […]
Ol Pejeta’s ‘drones’ nearly ready for deployment
OL PEJETA NOW IN TEST FLIGHT PHASE WITH THEIR NEW ‘DRONES’ (Posted 25th July 2013) As was reported here some time back, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy was the first among Kenya’s private wildlife sanctuaries to commit to the introduction of airborne surveillance by using UAV’s today better known as ‘drones’. Supported by Kenya’s corporate world […]
Up to 2 million pest birds destroyed over Uganda’s rice fields
UGANDA’S AGRICULTURE MINISTRY RESORTS TO DESTRUCTION OF PEST BIRDS (Posted 25th July 2014) (Picture courtesy of Wikipedia) Up to 2 million Quelea birds were destroyed in recent days over Uganda’s largest rice growing estate in the East of the country, following howls of outrage by local farmers who faced a total loss of their […]
Emin Pasha fined heavily for noise pollution
EMIN PASHA HOTEL FINED 20 MILLION SHILLINGS FOR ‘NOISE POLLUTION’ (Posted 24th July 2013) Kampala residents have celebrated a court ruling, which slapped a fine of 20 million Uganda Shillings on the fancied Emin Pasha Hotel in Kampala’s suburb of Nakasero, after an elderly resident in a nearby house filed a complaint over too much […]
Marine 1 hosted by Tanzania’s Precision Air
PRECISION AIR PLAYS HOST TO MARINE 1 DURING OBAMA VISIT TO TANZANIA (Posted 24th July 2013) During the recent visit of President Obama to Tanzania, where he was hosted by President Kikwete, did another ‘hosting’ go down largely unnoticed. The hangar of Precision Air, Tanzania’s premier private airline, ‘hosted’ the helicopter […]
ZATI asks for improved security to allow tourism growth
ZATI ASKS GOVERNMENT TO STRENGTHEN SECURITY ON THE ISLES (Posted 23rd July 2013) The Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors, in short ZATI, has made urgent representations to the central government authorities in Dar es Salaam and the government on Zanzibar to improve security arrangements for the islands of Unguja and Pemba. The investor representative body, […]
South Sudan road link with Kenya crucial to trade and travel
KENYA RACES TO ESTABLISH DIRECT ROAD LINK WITH SOUTH SUDAN (Posted 23rd July 2013) Kenya has agreed on a financing arrangement with the World Bank to create a direct road link with South Sudan’s capital Juba, which would allow goods transported by road to use a more direct route to and from the port […]
The gem that is Lake Chala
LAKE CHALA SAFARI CAMP UPGRADES TO LUXURY STATUS (Posted 23rd July 2013) One of Tanzania’s hidden gems, the Lake Chala Safari Camp, has just opened their latest addition, 5 luxury tents set right on the rim of the crater with magnificent views of the lake and Mt. Kilimanjaro. Carolyn and Rob Waltenberg, the owners of […]
Mauritius is home to two of Africa’s top ten golf courses
MAURITIUS 2 – SEYCHELLES 1 – EAST AFRICA 0 (Posted 23rd July 2013) CNN’s latest rankings for the 10 best golf courses in Africa has come up with some stunning results, for both winners and those who lost out on the top 10. Mauritius tops the rankings with 2 acclaimed golf courses, the Heritage Golf […]
South Sudan adds 5th passport category for business community
SOUTH SUDAN INTRODUCES NEW PASSPORT CATEGORY FOR BUSINESS COMMUNITY (Posted 22nd July 2013) Information was received from a source in Juba, South Sudan’s capital city, that the government was set to launch an additional category of passports, especially designated for the business community. Presently South Sudan has four categories of passports, diplomatic, official, special – […]
Tribunal ruling or not, will the Southern Bypass cross the national park?
WORK ON SOUTHERN BYPASS CONTINUES INSPITE OF TRIBUNAL RULING (Posted 22nd July 2013) When Dr. Paula Kahumbu, the East African Wildlife Society and ANEW carried the day a few weeks ago, as the tribunal upheld their legal challenge that the EIA for the section of the planned bypass cutting across Nairobi National Park land was […]
Equity Bank seems to back Jetlink’s winding up over 700 mio KShs loans
BANK DEMANDS MAY SEAL JETLINK’S FATE (Posted 22nd July 2013) Information is emerging from Nairobi that Equity Bank may have thrown in their support and weight behind a winding up petition filed by aviation fuel supplier Fine Jet, which is seeking the dissolution of Jetlink and the subsequent sale of all their assets to pay […]
Entebbe’s growth remains in the double digits
ENTEBBE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CONTINUES TO SEE DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH (Posted 22nd July 2013) Data received from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority confirm what top managers told the recently held Routes Africa aviation conference in Kampala, namely that the airport continues to see double digit growth over past year’s passenger numbers. Details show a 14 percent […]
Kenya Fashion Week set to launch on 24th August
KENYA FASHION WEEK TO LAUNCH ON 24TH AUGUST (Posted 22nd July 2013) The fourth edition of the Kenya Fashion Week will be held on the 24th August at the soon to open Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi, a media release received overnight confirms. Sanjeev Sharma, Marketing Director of Just Like That Ltd., the event organizers, […]
Kenya Airways adds fourth flight to Mahe till end August
KENYA AIRWAYS ADDS FOURTH FLIGHT TO MAHE UNTIL END OF AUGUST (Posted 21st July 2013) Kenya Airways has with immediate effect added a fourth weekly frequency between Nairobi and Mahe, making one of the world’s most fancied destinations even easier to get to. Operating, depending on demand on a particular flight, with the Embraer […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Third edition July 2013
AVIATION, TOURISM AND CONSERVATION NEWS from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. A weekly roundup of breaking news, reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome You can get your daily news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome or join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’. Read […]
Mombasa County Police get rapid response cars
MCTA CHAIRMAN HERSI APPLAUDS LAUNCH OF POLICE RAPID RESPONSE CARS (Posted 21st July 2013) (Picture courtesy of Mohammed Hersi’s Facebook page) The Mombasa County Police has just taken delivery of 6 state of the art rapid response team cars, with the full fleet eventually comprising 30 of them. Equipped with the latest communication […]
The Seychelles lose a music icon as Francois Havelock passes
As a long time friend of the Seychelles, and regular visitor, I stay in touch with many individuals on the islands and they share their news from the archipelago with me. Derek Savy just published a moving article about the passing of one of the Seychelles’ music greats, Francois Havelock. Having heard his songs played […]
Ethiopian’ pilots land ‘smoking’ Q400 safely in Axum
SECOND ETHIOPIAN INCIDENT GOES LARGELY UNNOTICED (Posted 20th July 2013) An Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to the town of Axum earlier in the week ran into some trouble, when cockpit indicators on the Bombardier Q400 showed smoke developing. A few minutes to the scheduled landing, from the sketchy details available at present, the […]
Kenya Railways launch tender for design of new Mombasa line
TENDERS INVITED FOR DESIGN OF NEW STANDARD GAUGE NAIROBI – MOMBASA RAILWAY (Posted 20th July 2013) Kenya’s seriousness about constructing a second, standard gauge railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi, and eventually on to Kisumu and the Ugandan border, was underscored yesterday when Kenya Railways launched their tender for the design of the new line, […]
1.148 tusks seized in Hong Kong harbour raid
HONGKONG AUTHORITIES SEIZE OVER 1.100 ELEPHANT TUSKS (Posted 20th July 2013) The largest seizure of blood ivory since 2010 took place yesterday at Hong Kong harbour, when 1.148 tusks were discovered in a container shipped from Togo. Customs officials in Hong Kong confirmed the find. No arrests have been reported at this stage but the […]
Kenya’s leading hospitality businesses vie for World Tourism Award honours
SUN AFRICA IN RUNNING TO MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW AT WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS (Posted 20th July 2013) The race is now on towards the finishing line on the 16th of October, when the Kenya Tourism Board, aka www.magicalkenya.com will host the 20th edition of the World Travel Awards ceremony, during which the winners […]
Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania under the spotlight
NORWEGIAN MEDIA EXPOSE ROT IN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF TANZANIA (Posted 19th July 2013) Norway’s Aftenposten on the 06th of July filed a damning article, exposing the rot and corruption which contributed to the disappearance of 6.8 NOK, leaving the society, according to the article, technically bankrupt. With the Tanzanian government at the ropes […]
Kenya and Nigeria sign new BASA
NEW BILATERAL AIRSERVICE AGREEMENT PAVES WAY FOR ABUJA FLIGHTS (Posted 18th July 2013) Kenya used the presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nigeria for an African Union Summit to progress a range of bilateral issues, among them the conclusion of negotiations over a new air services agreement between the two countries. Kenya Airways […]
Last Call for artists as Sauti Za Busara deadline looms
FINAL CALL FOR ARTISTS FROM SAUTI ZA BUSARA (Posted 18th July 2013) It is now less than two weeks to go until the period for submission of interest for artists will end and the selection process start for Sauti Za Busara 2014. The Zanzibar culture and performing arts festival Sauti Za Busara has over the […]
The worst may be over for Kenya Tourism says KTB source
HAVE TOURISM ARRIVAL FIGURES BOTTOMED OUT IN KENYA? (Posted 17th July 2013) The latest statistics published by the Kenya Tourism Board suggest the worst is now over for the tourism industry, as by end of May the month by month comparison with 2012 – then still on course to become another record year – show […]
Dr. Naikuni gets recognition by ‘Airline Strategy Awards’
KENYA AIRWAYS’ DR. TITUS NAIKUNI AWARDED TOP AVIATION HONOURS (Posted 17th July 2013) Dr. Titus Naikuni, CEO of Kenya Airways, last weekend received the ‘Airline Business Award’ at a ceremony in London, where outstanding contributions to the aviation industry by individuals were recognized. At the helm of Kenya Airways for over 10 years now, […]
ACI Africa prepares for annual conference in Lome
ACI AFRICA CONFERENCE SET FOR LOME IN OCTOBER (Posted 17th July 2013) The Airport Council International – Africa will be holding their annual conference this coming October in the Togolese capital city of Lome from the 19th to the 23rd of October, bringing together 57 members, operating 200 plus airports across 47 African countries. […]
Qatar Airways set for Addis Ababa flights from September
QATAR AIRWAYS BOUND FOR ADDIS (Posted 16th July 2013) Addis Ababa is to be Quatar Airways’ next African destination, with the launch scheduled for September 13th this year. The award winning airline will initially fly three times a week between Doha and Addis, using a two class configuration Airbus A320 with 12 seats in business […]
JKIA’s second runway construction still due to start by late this year
KAA TO LAUNCH SECOND RUNWAY CONSTRUCTION AT JKIA THIS YEAR (Posted 16th July 2013) A regular source close to the Kenya Airport Authority has given the clearest indication yet that the construction of the long overdue second runway of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, East Africa’s largest aviation hub, will still commence this year […]
