Hong Kong seizes more blood ivory
NEW BLOOD IVORY SEIZURE IN HONG KONG TRACED BACK TO KENYA Reports are coming in from global conservation sources that authorities in Hong Kong have seized another 1.3 tons of blood ivory, stashed away in a container marked as being loaded with ‘architectural stones’ from Kenya. This latest find, the third major seizure of blood […]
AFRAA renews and widens joint aviation fuel purchase deal
AFRAA SIGNS UP 14 MEMBER AIRLINES FOR RENEWED FUEL DEAL Information from Nairobi has confirmed that the African Airline Association is in the process of renewing a joint fuel purchase deal for 2013, renewing a previous deal put into place in 2011/12. A tender has reportedly been issued for up to 1 billion litres of […]
Hoteliers demand ‘exclusion zone’ for draconian anti booze election rules
HOTELS AND RESORTS MUST BE EXCLUDED FROM ELECTION NO ALCOHOL RULE A regular source from Kenya’s hospitality industry has off the record complained that the currently under discussion legislation, to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol between the 02nd and 04th of March, when Kenya is expected to hold the next Presidential and General […]
Irish mountaineer dies on Kilimanjaro while leading charity climb
MOUNTAINEERING FUNDRAISER DIES ON KILIMANJARO (Picture courtesy of Wikipedia) Irish citizen Ian McKeever, known for his world record in 2007 to climb the world’s seven highest mountains, including Mt. Everest, in record time, has earlier this week died while leading a charity expedition up Mt. Kilimanjaro. Reportedly struck by lightning during torrential rain at […]
ATCL resumes flights with Q300 aircraft
AIR TANZANIA GETS BACK INTO THE SKIES, AGAIN Following the extensive repairs to the airline’s Bombardier Q300 turboprop aircraft, damaged in a takeoff mishap in April last year in Kigoma, it is understood that Air Tanzania will resume flight operations this week, returning in fact to Kigoma as their first route. Additional destinations for ATCL […]
Visitors to Kenya face SIM card deregistration, fines and even jail?
REGULAR VISITORS WITH UNREGISTRED SIM CARDS FACE BLOCKS, FINES AND JAIL TERMS Regular visitors to East Africa, holding local telecom operators’ SIM cards they use on arrival, may be in for a rude shock when next returning to Kenya, where the registration deadline for mobile phone numbers expired at the end of last year […]
Air Mauritius and PIA in talks on new route?
AIR MAURITIUS IN TALKS WITH PIA TO ESTABLISH FLIGHT CONNECTIONS Exploratory talks are reportedly underway between Air Mauritius and Pakistan International Airlines about the start of flights between Karachi and Port Louis, which could for the first time connect Pakistan and Mauritius with a nonstop connection. Neither airline currently flies to the other’s country leaving […]
Emirates starts handling A380 flights from new Concourse A
EMIRATES’ FIRST FLIGHTS LEAVE FROM NEW A380 TERMINAL Information received from a regular source at the Emirates Kampala office confirmed that yesterday saw the opening gambit of the new A380 terminal at the Dubai International Airport when national airline Emirates boarded the first ever commercial flight from there following a series of successful trial runs. […]
Kenya Airways flight to Cairo makes emergency landing in Khartoum last night
KENYA AIRWAYS FLIGHT TO CAIRO MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING IN KHARTOUM Information is starting to come to light about an emergency return of a Kenya Airways B737-700 aircraft, which was enroute to Egypt’s capital Cairo after a scheduled stop enroute in Khartoum. Flight KQ 320 left Nairobi at 17.20 hrs and after about 3 hours landed […]
Emirates deploys the A380 on double daily flights to New York and Paris
EMIRATES A380 NOW DOUBLE DAILY TO THE BIG APPLE AND TO PARIS Dubai’s national airline Emirates has now commenced double daily Airbus A380 frequencies to New York and Paris, adding significant extra capacity on both routes. Growing demand for long haul travel to both destinations from around the world, and in particular from the airline’s […]
RwandAir sets new single day passenger record
RWANDAIR CLOSES RECORD 2012 AND LOOKS TO FUTURE Rwanda’s national airline has in 2012 recorded a staggering 40 percent growth in passenger numbers, with a new single day record on the 22nd December of 2.205 passengers flown across the network. John Mirenge, CEO of RwandAir, expressed his delight over the result when he was quoted […]
2012 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed by 180,000 new readers in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 3 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than […]
Final News Roundup of 2012 – from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands
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 breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’ or […]
2012 in Review – The Highlights of a Travelling Life
2012 IN REVIEW – HIGHLIGHTS REMEMBERED (Dedicated to my Muse) Looking back on 2012 and the many trips across the region, to the Indian Ocean islands and as far as to the Gulf, some experiences stand out to be remembered and treasured while others are best forgotten. Those best forgotten I shall not mention, leaving […]
Breaking News / Qatar Airways launched record legal claim over delay in airport construction
QATAR AIRWAYS SUES AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION COMPANY FOR 600 MILLION US DOLLARS In breaking news, just confirmed by Qatar Airways Director of Corporate Communications, was a price tag of 600 million US Dollars put on a law suit now launched against the joint venture construction company engaged to build the new mega airport in Doha. Speculations […]
Seychelles first wind power plant gets connected to the grid this weekend
WIND POWER GOES ‘ACTIVE’ IN TIME FOR THE NEW YEAR Seychelles’ tourism growth of 7+ percent in 2012 and a preliminary forecast of 3 percent in 2013 will be supported by a further 6 MW of power becoming available, as the connection to the two new wind power stations which were constructed in recent weeks, […]
Happy New Year 2013
I wish all my readers a very Happy, Healthy and indeed a Prosperous New Year 2013 Thank you for all your support over the months, for your feedback and very positive comments and for the many contributions and tip offs received throughout the year.
Parts of Kenya hit by torrential rains
TORRENTIAL RAINSTORMS HIT PARTS OF KENYA Reports are streaming in from Kenya’s capital Nairobi, confirmed by emergency services passing on information on flooding in the city to motorists via Twitter, that large sections are suffering extensive flooding. Key roundabouts into the city centre, like at traffic hot spot Nyayo Stadium, are under water, sections of […]
How Kenya’s Leopard Beach Resort and Spa added new spots …
A FULLY BOOKED ‘CHUI’ – BEST CHRISTMAS EVER For many East Africans traditionally the Christmas holiday means going to the coast, taking time out, getting sand between the toes and the feet into the warm clear waters of the Indian Ocean, but for those lucky to get their booking confirmed at the recently re-opened Leopard […]
Tanzania drops CITES application
TANZANIA WITHDRAWS CITES APPLICATION TO SELL IVORY In what can only be described as a surprise move are news breaking that Tanzania’s government has withdrawn the application to CITES for the approval of the sale of 100 tons of legal ivory, which was due to be discussed and decided at the forthcoming COP in Bangkok, […]
Serengeti sees boost in wild dog numbers after fresh release
WILD DOG PACK GETS CHRISTMAS RELEASE INTO SERENGETI Visitors to the world famous Serengeti National Park can now hope to see more of the rare and elusive wild dogs, aka painted or hunting dogs, after another group of 11 captured in the Loliondo area adjoining the park a few months ago were finally released inside […]
Dubai commences trial runs on new Emirates A380 terminal
GOOD NEWS FROM EMIRATES AS NEW A380 TERMINAL MOVES TO TRIAL RUNS ‘I bring good tidings this Christmas’ did a regular source start the conversation yesterday evening, when wishing me a Merry Christmas. ‘Our new A380 terminal in Dubai is now being tested and we learned that two trials were done successfully. This is the […]
Seychelles cross 200.000 visitor threshold this Christmas
SEYCHELLES SET TO WELCOME VISITOR NUMBER 200.000 It is a befitting Christmas present for the Creole island paradise of the Seychelles that the 200.000th visitor to the archipelago is expected any time from now, a major event to be suitable celebrated at the Mahe International Airport in the presence of senior tourism and aviation officials. […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fourth edition December 2012
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 breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’ or […]
Seychelles Tourism launches Carnival theme song for February festival
WITH 6 WEEKS TO GO SEYCHELLES UNVEILS NEXT CARNIVAL SONG The Ministry of Tourism and Culture in the Seychelles has announced the launch of the theme song for the 3rd Annual ‘Carnaval de Carnivals’ after a hotly contested competition produced the top ten entries from artists across the archipelago. The 10 winning songs have […]
Seychelles seeks seat on UNWTO Executive Committee
SEYCHELLES SEEK UNWTO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP The UNWTO has formally advised member countries of Seychelles’ intent to seek a seat on the UNWTO Executive Committee, representing the African region. The election will be held during the 55th Regional Commission Meeting alongside the 20th Annual General Meeting jointly hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe next year. Seychelles […]
Rwanda’s Kitabi College awards Advanced Diplomas to 15 students
KITABI COLLEGE GRADUATES 15 IN CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT 15 students were on Friday awarded Advanced Diplomas in their respective courses in conservation and environmental studies at the Kitabi College of Conservation and Environmental Management in the presence of Ms. Rica Rwigamba, Head of the Tourism and Conservation Department of the Rwanda Development Board, under which auspices […]
Second Dar es Salaam hotel told to close as onslaught continues
MINISTER OUT OF CONTROL SAY HOSPITALITY SOURCES AS SECOND HOTEL ORDERED SHUT Sources from Dar es Salaam have on condition of strict anonymity for fear of the almost inevitable vengeful repercussions sent information, that a second hotel at the ocean front, the Giraffe Oceanview Hotel, has been given closure orders yesterday too. Dr. Terezya Huvisa […]
Leopard Beach fully booked with a third of the business from Eastern Africa
THE NEW ‘CHUI’ HOSTS NAIROBI TRAVEL AGENTS FLOWN IN BY SAFARILINK Soon after the official re-opening of the Leopard Beach Resort and Spa on the 12th December did trade partner Safarilink fly a group of 25 Nairobi based travel agents to the Ukunda airfield, where they were met by the resort’s vehicles and taken to […]
Dar es Salaam Double Tree by Hilton told to close
DOUBLE TREE DAR ES SALAAM ORDERED CLOSED – VENDETTA SUGGESTED Information was received from a regular source in Dar es Salaam, that the Double Tree Dar es Salaam was closed down by order of a government minister, who also reportedly on the spot revoked the environmental certificate over allegations of uncontrolled discharge of affluent into […]
