Visa hurdles for East Africans get higher still for entry to the US
GETTING US VISAS JUST GOT YET MORE DIFFICULT ‘Do you know what life in the USA is like’ may be the next question added to the already complex catalogue of ‘grilling’ applicants for a Visa to the United States have to answer, as yet more hurdles are placed in their way to travel to America. […]
Weekly roundup of news from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean region, Second edition July 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 Second edition July 2011 East […]
South Sudan news update – New money for new country
NEW MONEY FOR NEW COUNTRY Next Monday will see the launch of the South Sudan Pound – yes, not the hoped for South Sudan Shilling as was anticipated in East African circles – which will become the legal tender for the new Republic of South Sudan just as soon as the new notes and coins […]
Zanzibar tourism update – Sauti Za Busara: Final call for artists on 31st July
FINAL CALL FOR SAUTI ZA BUSARA PARTICIPANTS Artists intending to participate in the 2012 edition of East Africa’ most significant and most widely recognized music and art festival, Zanzibar’s Sauti Za Busara, need to hurry up to send in their applications as the 31st July deadline now looms large. Taking place between February 08th to […]
Uganda remembers – A year on since 7 / 11
A YEAR ON – 7 / 11 REMEMBERED July 11th 2010 was to be a day of great excitement in Kampala with venues all over the city preparing to show the FIFA World Cup Final live, and as early as 5 p.m. sports lovers from all over the city started to get ready to join […]
South Sudan aviation news update – Flights to and from Juba in great demand from all over East Africa
JUBA FLIGHTS IN GREAT DEMAND With the restrictions placed on the 08th and 09th of July on commercial flights to and from Juba now lifted, airlines are back on the route in full swing, if not more. Jetlink, in the run up to the Independence Day on 09th of July, went from 2 to 3 […]
Seychelles tourism news update – New ‘green’ masterplan in final consultative stages
TOURISM ‘GREEN MASTERPLAN’ NOW ENTERING CONSULTATIVE STAGES Information was received from Mahe over the weekend, that the new ‘green’ tourism masterplan, which is presently being developed, will go into the public consultative stages with a major public forum planned on the 18th of July at the International Conference Centre. While a great deal of work […]
Kenya aviation news update – KQ and KALPA sign agreement
KENYA AIRWAYS AND KALPA AGREE ON NEW TERMS The Kenya Airline Pilots Association has according to a well placed airline source in Nairobi signed a collective bargaining agreement with ‘The Pride of Africa’ earlier today, ending a period of uncertainty for the airline and its passengers of what could have been turning into industrial action. […]
Rwanda aviation news update – Kanombe International Airport gets new fuel trucks
KIGALI’S KANOMBE AIRPORT GETS NEW FUELING TRUCKS Three new state of the art Mercedes Benz fueling trucks were launched yesterday at the Kanombe International Airport in Kigali, replacing the old equipment with two 36.000 litre vehicles and one of 18.000 litre capacity. This will now be enough to refuel several aircraft at once, including long […]
The Republic of South Sudan – Independent at last
THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN – INDEPENDENT AT LAST Following the sequence of events yesterday, and tweeting it to the world, was playing living witness to a very rare event, the birth of a new nation, as the Republic of South Sudan was finally launched. For many in the crowd of what can only […]
Rwanda conservation news – RDB – Tourism and Conservation launches new birding routes
RWANDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD LAUNCHES NEW ‘BIRD ROUTES’ RDB – Tourism and Conservation in conjunction with the Rwanda Birding Association has launched three new routes for tourists visiting the East of the country. John Gara, the Chief Executive of the Rwanda Development Board was at hand for the launch, as was Ms. Rica Rwigamba, Head of […]
Seychelles news update – UNESCO application for Mission Lodge gets boost
MISSION LODGE BID FOR UNESCO RECOGNITION GATHERS PACE The pending application for World Heritage Status for the ‘Mission Lodge’ on the island of Mahe / Seychelles has gathered added information to strengthen the case when more ‘digs’ unearthed more evidence of human population around the area, which if granted UNESCO WHS status will be the […]
Seychelles conservation news – President Michel asks for ‘sustainability’ from fellow world leaders
PRESIDENT MICHEL ASKS WORLD TO ‘GO SUSTAINABLE’ Ahead of the June 2012 Rio de Janeiro UN Conference on Sustainable Development has the Seychelles President James Michel asked the rest of the world to embrace sustainability in their economic activities, so as to preserve the planet for future generations. A two day meeting at the Le […]
Kenya aviation news update – Speed up airport expansion, PS tells KAA and contractors
SPEED UP AIRPORT WORK Under pressure by air operators, in particular the national airline Kenya Airways, and faced with a growing list of airlines wanting to fly into Nairobi, were it not for capacity constraints, the government finally made its stand known on the ongoing expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The Permanent Secretary in […]
Uganda hospitality news updates – People on the move
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE The Sheraton Kampala Hotel is wishing good bye to Jawaid Akhtar, who was at the helm of the hotel for the last almost 6 years and is leaving many friends behind in Kampala as he prepares to take up another General Manager’s position within the Sheraton family. New in town is […]
Stop Press / Breaking aviation news UPDATE – Hewa Bora B727 crashes on landing in Kisangani
KISANGANI AIR CRASH KILLS SCORES NEWS UPDATE At least 53 occupants of the stricken B 727 which crashed short of the runway while on the final approach into Kisangani airport were reported to have died, while sources from Goma, also Eastern Congo, claim that over 40 passengers appear to have survived the crash. The aged […]
‘Beyond the Victoria Falls’ – a new book by Gill Staden
GILL STADEN’S NEW BOOK ‘BEYOND THE VICTORIA FALLS’ NOW AVAILABLE (Comes Highly Recommended) My friend Gill Staden, well known by my own readers for the regular content featured here from ‘The Livingstone Weekly’, has outdone herself, when she had her first ‘big book’ titled ‘Beyond the Victoria Falls’ published the […]
Rwanda conservation news update – Nyungwe road upgrading causes environmentalists concerns
NEW NYUNGWE FOREST ROAD ANGERS ENVIRONMENTALITS It was learned overnight that a section of new road through the Nyungwe Forest National Park has caused added concerns amongst environmentalists and conservationists, as a result of the contractors’ alleged work practices of cutting trees and shrubs and covering slopes along the route with soil. The construction, described […]
Uganda news update – Powercuts persist as opposition leader mocks the public
OPPOSITION MOCKS THE COUNTRY AS DARKNESS CONTINUES The so called ‘leader’ of the opposition, a misleader more likely by any standards, has yesterday mocked Ugandans suffering from renewed day and night long power-cuts and sweeping rationing of electricity by insisting that members of parliament should not ‘yield to blackmail’ while accusing the government to be […]
Southern Sudan news update – New constitution passed in the nick of time
NEW CONSTITUTION PASSED ‘JUST IN TIME’ As tomorrow, 09th of July is coming ever closer in the Southern Sudan, parliament in Juba finally, in a near overnight session, passed the required Constitution, governing the new country for the next four years from the day of Independence, before a new, broadly agreed upon constitution is developed […]
Rwanda breaking aviation news – RwandAir’s first of two NG B737-800’s now on production line
RWANDAIR’S FIRST NGB737-800 NOW ON PRODUCTION LINE (Picture courtesy of RwandAir) The first of two ordered Boeing 737-800’s, due to join the RwandAir fleet in a couple of weeks, is now on the production line in Seattle, where the hull arrived yesterday from Kansas City. The aircraft according to the […]
South Sudan aviation news updates – Juba Airport to close for Independence day
JUBA AIRPORT CLOSED FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY Information was finally confirmed that on Saturday 09th of July NO flights will be allowed into the airport in Juba although it appears that no NOTAM has been formally issued, still in the domain of the ‘united’ Sudan civil aviation body in Khartoum until independence finally arrives in the […]
Mauritius aviation breaking news – Shanghai is the latest Air Mauritius destination
AIR MAURITIUS LAUNCHES CHINA FLIGHTS Shanghai is the latest destination for Air Mauritius after the destination was launched earlier in the week. The inaugural flight, there is for the time being a once a week flight to Shanghai via Kuala Lumpur before going nonstop by early 2012, left SSR International Airport (Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam) with […]
Kenya aviation news update – Gulf Air returns to Nairobi
GULF AIR RETURNS TO NAIROBI After an absence of nearly 6 years has Gulf Air now returned to Nairobi, offering an initial 4 flights per week between Bahrain and Kenya. Industry observers attribute this decision to the generally promising market conditions in Kenya in particular, a sharp departure from the company’s assessment 6 years ago, […]
Uganda tourism news update – UWA doubles park entrance fees for Ugandans and East Africans
UGANDANS TO PAY DOUBLE FOR PARK ENTRIES Effective 01st of July did the Uganda Wildlife Authority raise entrance fees for Ugandan and East African citizens from previously 5.000 Uganda Shillings to now 10.000 Uganda Shillings, doubling the cost for wananchi to enter the 10 national parks. This puts a visit to the protected areas […]
Uganda news update – Economy faces new problems over power outages, interest rate rise and fuel cost increase
UGANDANS WAKE UP TO MORE ECONOMIC BAD NEWS The announcement yesterday about continuing power outages, following a payment dispute over unpaid subsidies by government to independent electricity generating companies, was followed by more bad news overnight. The Bank of Uganda, in order to bring inflation under control, has set the interbank lending rates to now […]
Kenya aviation news – Yemenia reduces Nairobi flights to ONE only
YEMENIA REDUCES NAIROBI FLIGHT It was confirmed overnight that Yemenia has cut its regular services from Sana to Nairobi to one only, as a result of less travel demand and an almost total disappearance of transit passengers, afraid to be stuck in Yemen should the situation deteriorate, making it impossible for onward flights to operates […]
Kenya aviation news – Direct flights to the US could double tourist arrivals
DIRECT FLIGHTS WILL DOUBLE US TOURIST ARRIVALS The Minister of Tourism Hon. Najib Balala has expressed his hope that a fresh round of bilateral talks on direct flights between Kenya and the United States would eventually result in such flights being launched, following the failed attempt by Delta in past years to connect the US […]
Tanzania aviation breaking news – Precision expects new B737-300, to launch flights to the Comoros
PRECISION AIR EXPECTS NEW B737-300 Tanzania’s premier airline, and following the demise of Air Tanzania THE flag carrier of the country, is due to take delivery of a leased B737-300 aircraft in less than two weeks time, according to a regular aviation source in Dar es Salaam. The aircraft, offering a dual class configuration, will […]
Zanzibar news update – Kempinski seeks approvals for UNESCO protected ‘stone town’ site
KEMPINSKI TO PUSH AHEAD WITH ZANZIBAR STONE TOWN PLANS It was learned overnight from a source in Dar es Salaam that Kempinski Hotels, probably to make up for the recent loss of a management contract for their resort on Zanzibar, is continuing to seek exemptions and approvals for a 5 star hotel in the middle […]
