KAA faces contempt of court charges, AGAIN
KAA FACES CONTEMPT OF COURT PROCEEDINGS No stranger to legal controversy, last in the full spotlight of the public when being part of the willful destruction of residences and properties on disputed land, for which the owners of the respective properties claimed to have titles but which KAA insisted was their land, KAA has again […]
President Kibaki appoints Chairs of tourism parastatals
PRESIDENT KIBAKI APPOINTS NEW CHAIRS OF TOURISM PARASTATALS Killian Lugwe, best known in Kampala for heading the team which transformed the former Nile Hotel International into the Kampala Serena Hotel before being posted back to Nairobi at the end of 2010, where after a spell as General Manager of the Nairobi Serena Hotel he now […]
Combined WHO and Ministry of Health team confirm Ebola outbreak in Uganda
EBOLA OUTBREAK CONFIRMED IN UGANDA A joint team of Ministry of Health and World Health Organization officials has yesterday officially confirmed in Kampala that an outbreak of Ebola has in recent days killed 14 people in the western district of Kibaale, some 200 KM from Ugandas capital city. Samples were tested at Ugandas Virus Research […]
Congo fighting prompts Clinton visit to Kampala
CLINTON SET TO ARRIVE IN UGANDA TO DISCUSS CONGO FIGHTING Us Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is due to arrive in Uganda this coming Tuesday for discussions with President Museveni on the renewed crisis in Eastern Congo, where intense fighting has once again displaced tens of thousands of innocent people as sections of the former […]
Annual migration arrives in the Masai Mara, exposing media reports on ‘sabotage’ by Tanzania as utter lies
MIGRATION ARRIVES IN THE MASAI MARA IN FULL NUMBERS Recent reports in sections of the East African media, alleging deliberate attempts by TANAPA and SENAPA to keep the annual migration of wildebeest into the Masai Mara, have not only been denied strenuously by Tanzanian officials but by the look of it lack all merit or […]
Routes Africa 2013 set for Uganda
ROUTES AFRICA 2013 COMES TO THE PEARL OF AFRICA Routes Africa, which just celebrated their most successful meeting ever in terms of African and global participation, will move to Uganda, the Pearl of Africa for next year, dates in July 2013 due to be announced soon. The just concluded 2012 conference was held earlier in […]
Qatar Airways adds Kilimanjaro, seeks to recruit airport personnel for growing African network
QATAR AIRWAYS SPREADS WINGS IN AFRICA WITH DESTINATIONS AND RECRUITMENTS Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania was the 18th African destination Qatar Airways is now flying to and the 118th international destination overall, as the worlds 5 star airline only recently once again so confirmed by Skytrax annual airline award announcements continues to expand into the […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands – Third edition July 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 […]
‘Normal Service will resume next week’
Dear Friends and regular Readers of my blog, for reasons beyond my control I had to take a break from my daily news broadcasts but regular postings should resume by mid or end next week. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Wolfgang
Is Tanzania’s Coelacanth Marine National Park at Mwambani damned for destruction?
CHINA READY TO FINANCE NEW MWAMBANI PORT INSIDE COELACANTH MARINE PARK Emerging information that China has reportedly stepped up to finance the construction of a new port at Mwambani, instead of rehabilitating and enlarging the existing and grossly underutilized Tanga port, have shaken Tanzanias conservation fraternity afresh. This has happened only days after learning that […]
Seychelles elected to chair Vanilla Island cooperation
SEYCHELLES ELECTED TO CHAIR VANILLA ISLAND COOPERATION Seychelles tourism minister Alain St. Anges tireless efforts in past years, and more so over the past few months when at least one member of the Indian Ocean island cooperation, misguided by one individual it should be stressed, wanted to ditch the partnership and break away, were rewarded […]
US slaps Kenya with fresh travel prohibition orders
US PLAYS MORE POWER GAMES WITH FRESH ANTI TRAVEL DIRECTIVES AGAINST KENYA After sustained pressure to lift the travel ban for US Embassy and associated organizations staff to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa last week, which had caused outrage within Kenyan government circles over both content and the devious manner in which the prohibition […]
Rwanda passes migratory birds protection bill
RWANDAS PARLIAMENT PASSES BIRD PROTECTION BILL The often mentioned fact here that Rwanda indeed has conversation engrained in its political fabric was once again confirmed when it became known that late last week did parliament pass a special bill, authorizing governments ratifying the relevant global agreement to protect migratory bird species. In fact it was […]
South Sudan – One year old today but enthusiasm has given way to the stark realities of independent life
ONE YEAR AND COUNTING FROM EUPHORIA TO SURVIVAL MODE A year ago the friends and supporters of South Sudan from around the world gathered in Juba to celebrate the South Sudanese flag being hoisted for the first time, when the ambitions for statehood by the Southern people finally became reality and a new country was […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Second edition July 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 […]
Bahr el Jebel Safaris open up South Sudan’s amazing wildlife to the world
BAHR EL JEBEL SAFARIS PUTS SOUTH SUDAN MIGRATION UP TO THE 2 MILLION MARK Already featured in National Geographics series The Great Migrations as one of the greatest wildlife spectacles remaining on the globe, the migration of the White Eared Kobs, the Tiang Antelopes and the Mongalla Gazelles remains a mystery to most, as even […]
Likoni Ferry suffers another incident prompting regular users to demand road bypass to be sped up
NEW FERRY MISHAP AT LIKONI LEADS TO RENEWED DEMANDS FOR ROAD BYPASS The Thursday evening incident at the Likoni ferry crossing, when one of the new ferries imported from Germany a while ago ran aground after missing the ramp, caused renewed pressure on the Kenya government to commence construction of the road bypass to the […]
Rwanda’s forest policies cited as best example for Africa to copy
WORLD FUTURE COUNCIL HAILS RWANDAS VISIONARY FOREST POLICIES After handing Rwanda their global Gold Award 2011 last year for the countrys groundbreaking forest policies, the World Future Council has just concluded a three day high powered meeting in Kigali to discuss how Africa can learn from Rwanda and copy successful methods and applications to restore […]
US Embassy in Nairobi lifts Mombasa travel ban for their staff
US EMBASSY LIFTS STAFF TRAVEL BAN TO MOMBASA Information was confirmed yesterday that the US Embassy in Nairobi has lifted the travel ban imposed on all their staff though that clearly did not affect the allegedly dozens of operatives of shadowy security organizations working the field in the war against terror at the Kenyan coast […]
Precision finally gets clearances for Lubumbashi
PRECISION AIR FINALLY GETS LUBUMBASHI CLEARANCES Reportsfrom Dar es Salaam have confirmed that Precision Air has yesterday finally made their maiden landing in Lubumbashi, after allegedly corrupt aviation officials were literally forced by their political masters in Kinshasa to sign off on giving the Tanzanian airline block clearance for their scheduled flights three times a […]
Emirates’ destination roll out continues unabated
EMIRATES SETS EYES ON YET MORE GLOBAL DESTINATIONS Dubais national airline Emirates is continuing its aggressive rollout of new destinations and has according to a regular source from the airlines Kampala office just announced three more new destinations, over and above the dozen already on the drawing board for 2012. Australia, or Down Under in […]
Serena Hotels get crowned by Africa Business Awards as the continent’s hospitality champions
AFRICA BUSINESS AWARDS CROWN SERENA HOTELS AFRICAS HOSPITALITY CHAMPIONS Now in its fifth year, the African Business Awards is the key annual event for the African Business World and is the most sought after award by Africa’s leading companies and entrepreneurs. Organized by the African Business Magazine (ABM) and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), the […]
Seychelles breaks half year arrival record
100.000 AND COUNTING The tropical Creole island paradise of the Seychelles has yesterday welcomed the 100.000th visitor in 2012, the earliest ever to reach this landmark figure and now well on course to beat the 200.000 arrival mark estimated for the current year. Received by the archipelagos Minister for Tourism Alain St. Ange and the […]
Seychelles mourns Brendan Grimshaw, Conservationist Par Excellence’
SEYCHELLES MOURNS THE PASSING OF BRENDAN GRIMSHAW, CONSERVATIONIST PAR EXCELLENCE The news that Brendan Grimshaw passed away a few days ago at the age of 87, sent the Seychelles conservation fraternity into mourning, as Brendan had become a beacon of hope for them all with the work he had carried out over the decades on […]
#RITRF2 returns to the RainForest Lodge with #JungleBoogie
RAINFOREST LODGE CHOSEN AS VENUE FOR VIDEO SHOOTS The award winning RainForest Lodge in Mabira forest, only recently mentioned here in a major feature article about Mabira, the Endangered Forest was last week the venue for a second video shoot in the space of a month, after first providing the back drop for one of […]
Sheraton Kampala Hotel – an old favourite is back with a vengeance
SHERATON KAMPALAS EXECUTIVE LOUNGE LUXURIOUS EXCLUSIVITY WITH A VIEW The revamp of the Kampala Sheraton has over the past year, since Chris Pollard took over as General Manager in June 2011, shown some remarkable results with a face lift not only covering rooms and public areas but also extending to menus and service. The introduction […]
More woes for the Selous as MoU signed for Stiegler’s Gorge dam and power plant
MORE WOES FOR THE SELOUS IN THE MAKING AS STIEGLERS GORGE POWER MOU SIGNED Within days of news breaking that the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has approved the Tanzanian governments request to carve out a 200 square kilometres part of the worlds largest game reserve to establish a Uranium mining and processing facility, did news […]
Air Seychelles takes delivery of their first new A330-200 aircraft
AIR SEYCHELLES WELCOMES THEIR FIRST NEW A330-200 AIRCRAFT Yesterday saw the arrival of the national airlines first new A 330-200 aircraft, painted in the livery of Air Seychelles and welcomed by none other than President James Alix Michel, in the presence of the Minister of Home Affairs and Transport, who is also the Chairman of […]
Uganda Civil Aviation Authority holds 36th edition of their licensing hearings
UGANDA CIVIL AVIATION LICENSING HEARING VERSION 36 When the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority’s Licensing Committee sat at the Imperial Royale Hotel in the centre of Kampala yesterday, a public event for which media and observers, aviation buffs and the public at large are invited besides the applicants, yesterday a small total of 7, there is […]
UNESCO consents to excluding Uranium mining areas from the Selous Game Reseve
UNESCO CONSENTS TO REQUEST TO TAKE MINING AREAS OUT OF THE SELOUS GAME Information was confirmed overnight that UNESCOs World Heritage Committee 36th meeting in Russias St. Petersburg has granted permission to the Tanzanian government to reduce the size of the Selous Game Reserve to exclude an area earmarked for Uranium mining. Celebrated by official […]
