TOURISM

Paris, France | AFP | The board of the UN’s cultural body on Wednesday began vetting eight candidates vying to head an organisation accused of bias in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and foot-dragging on reforms. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization infuriated Israel and its staunch ally the United States by …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British short-haul carrier Monarch Airlines went bust Monday in the biggest airline failure in Britain, prompting the government to take emergency action to return home 110,000 stranded passengers. Monarch and its holidays business went into administration, with KPMG appointed to oversee the financial chaos …

Nigeria’s leading airline catering service provider, Newrest ASL Nigeria Plc, has divested its stake in its Rwandan subsidiary; ASL Rwanda Ltd. Rwanda | THE INDEPENDENT | In a Sept.22 notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the board of directors of Newrest ASL informed its shareholders and other stakeholders that …

Tafi Atome, Ghana | AFP | The villagers of Tafi Atome, in Ghana’s Volta Region, grew up listening to tales of their spiritual links to the 1,000 or so mona monkeys that inhabit the surrounding lush forest. But they have also turned that reverence into revenue, by making the cheeky primates …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | The fight against poaching must be treated as a war, Africa’s leading anti-poaching coalition said Thursday, as it called for the illicit wildlife trade to be monitored like global conflicts. Enact, an EU-funded anti-poaching analytical taskforce that includes Interpol, called for the expansion of a …

Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Nine elephants were electrocuted in a freak accident in Botswana after one of them knocked into an electricity pole and the high-voltage power line fell on them, a local official said Tuesday. The herd is believed to have broken out of the northeastern Makgadikgadi Pans Game …

THIS WEEK: Kenya Airways now to fly to US Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways, can now fly to the United States after it was granted permit to operate direct flights. The permit became effective Se 05, according to the order issued by the US Department …

Montreal, Canada | AFP | Half of the vertebrate populations in Canada are in staggering decline, despite the country’s vast outback, according to a WWF report Thursday that highlighted threats to beluga whales and caribou. The World Wildlife Fund in its Living Planet Report pointed to 451 shrinking animal populations out …

Rwanda Development Board (RDB) on Sept.01 held the annual gorilla naming ceremony at Kinigi in Musanze District, northern Rwanda. This year marks the 13th edition of the annual flagship event, locally known as Kwita Izina. It is the flagship of Rwanda’s conservation efforts and brings together conservation enthusiasts from all …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The 3rd edition of the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat organised Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki Utamaduni Festival (JAMAFEST) entered day two Sunday, with the highlight being the official opening of the culural festival by Uganda Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda. The main objective of the …