Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) has released details of the programme for this year’s The Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) that starts with tours across the country and ends with an awards dinner. Over 50 international trade visitors and hosted buyers are expected …
Read More »Gabon fights elephant poachers with hi-tech tracker collars
elephant Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Ever tried to put a GPS real-time tracking collar on a five-tonne animal? Well in Gabon conservationists have begun trying to use the devices on elephants; tracking and drugging the animals, before attaching the high-tech gadgets in a bid to stop poachers and ivory …
Read More »Leading ivory trade investigator Esmond Martin murdered in Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A world-renowned ivory investigator whose detailed reports contributed to the fight against elephant poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, was killed at his home in Kenya, police said Monday. Esmond Martin, 75, died after being stabbed at his house in the Nairobi suburb of Langata …
Read More »Uganda and South Africa sign pact to strengthen trade relations, tourism
Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | Trade Ministers from Uganda and South Africa have reaffirmed their commitment towards facilitating trade and investment flows between the two countries. The two ministers Amelia Kyambadde, the minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives and her counterpart Gratitude Bulelani Magwanishe, the South African Deputy Minister …
Read More »Kagame assumes AU chair, launches single Africa air market
Addis Ababa | THE INDEPENDENT | President Paul Kagame of Rwanda started his reign as African Union Chairperson on Sunday by announcing the launch of a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). “Today we launch the Single African Air Transport Market, a major step forward for transportation. We are nearly …
Read More »Mexican minister suggests legalizing marijuana in tourist spots
Mexico City, Mexico | AFP | Mexico’s tourism minister Thursday proposed legalizing recreational marijuana use in Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo, two of the country’s most popular states for tourists. Enrique de la Madrid told journalists in Mexico City it is “absurd” that Mexico, which approved the scientific and medical …
Read More »Rhino poaching dips slightly in S.Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The number of rhinos killed for their horns by poachers in South Africa dipped in 2017, but more than 1,000 were still slaughtered, the government said on Thursday. South Africa is battling a scourge of rhino poaching fuelled by insatiable demand for their horn …
Read More »Rwanda expands gorilla home
Targets more from growing population of tourism magnet Kampala, Uganda | FRANCIS BYARUHANGA | Rwanda has got a new additional habitat for its growing population of rare mountain gorillas, the Gorilla Berengei Berengei. The 27.8-hectare property (about the size of 70 standard football fields, was donated by the AWF (African …
Read More »Kenya’s Jambojet to start flights to Uganda next month
Kenya’s Jambojet to start flights to Uganda next month Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | Nairobi based budget airline Jambojet is set to expand its wings in East Africa with the launch of a double daily flight between Nairobi and Entebbe starting Feburary 14, 2018. Jambojet’s chief executive Willem Hondius made …
Read More »Land donation enlarges Rwanda’s gorilla protection zone
Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Rwanda’s gorilla protection zone has enlarged following the African Wildlife Fund move to donate 27.8 hectares of land to Rwanda Development Board (RDB). The land is to be incorporated into the 16,000 hectares’ Volcanoes National Park, located in north-western part of the country, bordering Virunga …
Read More »