Kenya conservation news update – Still more fences for yet more parks
NOW TSAVO WEST ON FENCE LIST TOO No sooner had plans been disclosed by KWS to fence off Mt. Kenya National Park and the Marsabit National Park did calls emerge from district administrators along the crucial Tsavo West park boundaries that they too want an electric fence to be put up, to prevent elephant from leaving the park […]
Zanzibar news update – Sauti Za Busara deadlines looming
SAUTI ZA BUSARA DEADLINES LOOM The most important and most widely recognized East African cultural and performing arts festival held annual in Zanzibar, Sauti Za Busara, has reminded artists wishing to participate in the 2012 event, due to be held between February 08th and 12th next year, that they must apply for selection by latest 31st of […]
South Sudan breaking news – A month to go and counting
A MONTH TO GO AND COUNTING Today the long awaited Independence Day for the new Republic of South Sudan is a month away as the countdown and preparations across the South Sudan continue with increased determination, considering events of recent days and weeks. The alleged war criminals and perpetrators of genocide in Khartoum, showing their […]
Uganda budget shock for hotels – ‘Workshop and Seminar tourism’ budget cut by a third
WORKSHOP TOURISM GETS HAMMERED The annual budget reading yesterday provided a level of shock to the local hospitality industry, when the new Minister for Finance announced a cross the board cut in government budgets and funding for ‘workshop tourism’. Hon. Maria Kiwanuka, in her first action as minister – she took over from her predecessor […]
Kenya conservation breaking news – Highway Authority targets Nairobi National Park
NEW HIGHWAY PLANS SHOCK KENYAN CONSERVATIONISTS No sooner had plans been revealed that the Kenya Highways Authority had designs to build a road across the Nakuru National Park, one of the most visited parks in all of Kenya, did fresh news break that the same governmental body had targeted the Nairobi National Park too for […]
Seychelles aviation breaking news – Amb. Loustau-Lalanne’s mandate extended at ‘HM’
AIR SEYCHELLES RESTRUCTURING TO CONTINUE Information has just reached from Victoria / Seychelles, that the ongoing restructuring of the national airline Air Seychelles will continue uninterrupted as President Michel yesterday extended the initial three months term of the Acting Executive Chairman, Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne by the same period of time. The airline is presently recruiting […]
Seychelles tourism news update – STB appoints new Tourism Ambassador for Zambia
ZAMBIA FINALLY ALSO GETS SEYCHELLES TOURISM AMBASSADOR The Seychelles Tourist Board has just announced the appointment of Mr. Jamil Din Butt as their first tourism ambassador in Zambia, aimed at ‘spreading the gospel’ about the unique beauty and unspoiled nature the Seychelles has to offer to visitors. Africa has seen one of the fastest growth rates […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – Kenya Airways joins UNEP’s CN-Net initiative
KENYA AIRWAYS JOINS UNEP’S CN-NET The Kenyan national airline, aka as The Pride of Africa, already ‘green’ by global standards with their carbon offset programme at home and by complying with the EU’s directives too, has just gone a significant step further in helping to make the future of air travel more sustainable. The airline […]
Tanzania aviation news update – Arusha Municipal airfield to open for regional flights
USE OF ARUSHA MUNICIPAL AIRFIELD TO OPEN FOR REGIONAL FLIGHTS The aviation fraternity across the East African Community member states have welcomed a ministerial statement made during the just concluded Karibu Tourism Trade Fair in Arusha, aka the Safari Capital of East Africa, that the municipal airfield will soon become available for nonstop flights arriving from […]
Uganda news update – UWA commission of enquiry in new doldrums
UWA COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY IN DOLDRUMS The chairman of the ongoing Commission of Enquiry into the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s World Bank funded PAMSU programme has reportedly ‘halted’ any further work of the commission, citing a ‘break in and evidence tampering’ as the reason for his decision. According to reliable sources from the Ministry of Tourism retired […]
African aviation news update – AFRAA continues to oppose EU blacklist
AFRAA CONTINUES TO OPPOSE EU’S BLACKLIST Information was received from aviation sources in Nairobi that the African Airline Association has stepped up their opposition against the EU’s aviation blacklist, which they claim now covers over a quarter of all African countries and airlines. AFRAA in particular cited the safety record of LAM Mozambique, which has since […]
Uganda news update – Opposition MP’s ‘walk FROM work’
OPPOSITION MP’s ‘WALK FROM WORK’ The shameful behaviour of sections of the opposition continued yesterday when they staged a ‘walk FROM work’ protests as they left the chambers during President Museveni’s State of the Nation address. This unprecedented behaviour, reminding this correspondent of recent events in the Seychelles where the losing opposition vowed to stay away […]
Uganda breaking conservation news – New rhino baby girl born at Ziwa
BREAKING NEWS / STOP PRESS NEW RHINO BORN AT ZIWA Information was received in the early hours of today by the Executive Director of the Rhino Fund Uganda that overnight a fourth Southern White rhino was born and the good news went better when it was established that the little baby is actually a female, […]
Weekly roundup of news from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean region, First edition June 2011
My dear readers, the original version of this post contains many pictures which when using the copy/paste mode to transfer my Word documents on to the blog disappear as WordPress has seemingly still not caught on to making life easy. Posting the pictures individually again is cumbersome and takes hours I do not have, so […]
Kenya tourism breaking news – More funding for tourism marketing on the cards
KENYA TOURISM SET TO GET RECORD FUNDING FOR 2011/12 Information obtained through leading tourism sources in Nairobi speaks of a substantial increase in funding for tourism marketing up to 1.4 billion Kenya Shillings for the next financial year, news which were greeted with delight by the industry. While 2010 ended as the ‘best year ever’ […]
Uganda news update – State of the Nation address by President Museveni due today, budget reading for Thursday
IT IS ‘STATE OF THE NATION’ ADDRESS TODAY President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni will today address the nation as he delivers his ‘State of the Nation’ speech to parliament, now that his government has been sworn in and commenced work. This will be followed on Thursday by the reading of the national budget by the new Minister for […]
In memoriam Stephane Frantz di Rippel
IN MEMORIAM STEPHANE FRANTZ DI RIPPEL Ivorian security authorities, now under a new and legitimate government, have yesterday confirmed that the remains of the General Manager of the Novotel in Abidjan have been found, bringing an anxious period of several weeks of waiting by his family, friends, colleagues and staff to a gruesome end. Stephane was abducted by […]
Rwanda aviation news update – RwandAir completes financing for NG 737’s
RWANDAIR GETS LOAN NOD FROM EX-IM BANK IN US News from Kigali overnight confirm that RwandAir has secured a financing approval for their two brand new B737-800’s which are due for delivery in a few months time, through the American Ex-Im Bank, with fund disbursal to take effect via the PTA Bank, also known as the […]
Tanzania aviation news update – British Airways offers 44 USD fare to London
ITS USD 44 FROM DAR TO LONDON When readers will set their incredulous eyes on this article the special introductory offer by British Airways for a limited number of seats from Dar es Salaam to London will have passed, as it is only valid from June 06th until June 09th inclusive, end of business day. […]
Uganda tourism budget news – Same Old, Same Old
WILL THE NEW BUDGET CHANGE THINGS FOR UGANDA TOURISM Tourism stakeholders are not holding their breath and neither does the Uganda Tourist Board, when asked about the forthcoming annual budget speech soon expected to be read to the newly constituted parliament. Ministers are being sworn in today at State House Entebbe, making the appointments by […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – Government to ‘defend’ their KQ shareholding
KENYA GOVERNMENT TO ‘DEFEND’ THEIR STAKE IN KENYA AIRWAYS Information was received from usually well informed circles in Nairobi that the government will during the upcoming additional share issue by Kenya’s national airline be defending their 23 percent shareholding in the publicly listed and traded company and underwrite their share options in full. Kenya Airways was privatized […]
Tanzania aviation news update – Is Kenya Airways set for Kilimanjaro flights?
KENYA AIRWAYS SET FOR KILIMANJARO FLIGHTS? Aviation circles in Tanzania are speculating intensely over Kenya Airways’ plans to include direct flights between their Nairobi hub and Kilimanjaro International between Moshi and Arusha, a route so far served exclusively by KQ’s Tanzanian partner airline Precision Air with ATR aircraft. These flights are operated under a full code […]
Kenya breaking news – Petrol station explosion ‘very likely an accident’
CAUSE FOR NAIROBI EXPLOSION UNKNOWN AS YET BUT ACCIDENT STRONGLY SUSPECTED Update It was overnight confirmed that the explosion at a Nairobi fuel station was indeed an accident, putting any other speculations remaining to a firm rest. Official sources, while still tight lipped, point to a fuel leak of fuel fumes which might have been […]
Seychelles news update – New currency notes due out this week
NEW BANK NOTES FOR SEYCHELLES This week will see the formal launch in Victoria by the Central Bank of Seychelles of new banknotes in the denomination of 50, 100 and 500 Rupees. The new notes will incorporate the very latest state of the art security features which can be partly seen with the ‘naked eye’ […]
Kenya conservation news – More fences for more parks
MORE FENCES FOR MORE PARKS Kenya Wildlife Services has recently announced that they have raised and secured enough funds to commence the fencing of the Mt. Kenya National Park, due to start later in the year. The cost for the project is estimated to be over 12 million US Dollars, with a tendency to rise […]
Tanzania aviation news update – Safari Plus takes to the skies
TANZANIA’S CAMP DAVID? GET REAL! Last Saturday saw finally the formal launch of the latest kid on the aviation block, Safari Plus in Dar es Salaam, a company associated with Kempinski Hotels in Tanzania, belonging to the same holding company ASB Developments as the hotels which are managed by Kempinski. The airline has acquired two Beechcraft King Air […]
Seychelles UK marketing office changes announced
NEW POSH LOCATION FOR SEYCHELLES TOURIST OFFICE IN LONDON The Seychelles Tourist Board offices have since the beginning of June relocated to Regent Street where the UK’s dream destination is assured of higher visibility and closer contact with key tourism trade partners. European Director of Marketing, Bernadette Willemin, who is based in Paris, was personally […]
Seychelles Regatta final results – And the winner is … Seychellois skipper Jeremie Beyou
SEYCHELLES REGATTA RESULTS Following a series of messages and enquiries about the final results of the Seychelles Regatta which ended last weekend at the marina of Eden Island I am reposting the final results, courtesy of main sponsors the Seychelles Tourist Board, although eTN (www.eturbonews.com) had published the particulars while I had gone ‘bush’ in […]
Kenya safari breaking news – Cheli & Peacock to honour and remember the Adamsons this summer
BACK IN HISTORY SAFARI HONOURS JOY AND GEORGE ADAMSON Cheli and Peacock Safaris will this summer offer a dedicated tour to two of their Northern Kenyan camps in commemoration of the famous Joy Adamson – of Born Free fame – when they will welcome one of her former assistants, Martin Clarke. Martin will visit ‘Joy’s Camp’ […]
Kenya tourism breaking news – UNWTO Secretary General to attend Kenya Tourism Award Ceremony
KENYA TOURISM FEDERATION TO ‘CELEBRATE WINNERS’ The famous Carnivore Restaurant’s Simba Saloon will provide a fitting setting and backdrop to the first ever Kenya Tourism Awards, due to be held on the evening of Thursday 23rd of June. The Kenya Tourism Federation, the private sector apex body for the tourism, hospitality and aviation industry, has joined […]
