Updated | Rwanda’s
last king spent the vast majority of his life in exile, hoping for the
opportunity to return and rule the Central African country should his
would-be subjects choose to reinstate him.
But Sunday, King Kigeli V died in the United States at the age of 80 never having fulfilled his dream. His website said that the “heir to the royal throne of Rwanda” would be announced in due course.
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Kigeli’s expulsion from Rwanda in 1961—when the country abandoned its
monarchy—forms part of a history of ethnic tension and violence, which
ultimately culminated in the 1994 genocide. Over the course of three
months, extremists from the majority Hutu ethnicity killed more than 800,000 members of the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus.
King Kigeli V of Rwanda is pictured posing in Washington's
Union Station in a photo dated May 3, 1994. The Rwandan monarch died in
exile Sunday, according to his website.
CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images
Born Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa in 1936 in the-then Belgian colonial
mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, Kigeli ascended to the throne in July 1959. He
was the last in a line of Tutsi monarchs to have ruled Rwanda, and his
ascent followed the suspicious death of his half-brother.
Kigeli took the throne at a time of rising ethnic tension between
Hutus and Tutsis and faced opposition from the Belgian colonial
administration in the country. The tension eventually culminated in a
coup led by a Hutu, Dominique Mbonyumutwa, in 1961. Mbonyumutwa took
over as president and Rwanda was proclaimed a republic in 1962, with
Kigeli—along with tens of thousands of Tutsis—being driven into exile.
Rwanda suffered three decades of ethnic tension and violence
following independence, eventually culminating in the genocide. Hutu
extremists launched a campaign of killings after then Rwandan President
Juvénal Habyarimana—a Hutu—was assassinated. The identity of
Habyarimana’s killers has never been independently established. Hutu extremists blamed the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a Tutsi-led organization that included current Rwandan President Paul Kagame, while Kagame said the assassination was a staged stunt by Hutu militants to provide a pretext for the genocide.
After moving between several East African countries, the U.S. granted
Kigeli political asylum in 1992. The monarch founded the King Kigeli V
Foundation, working with Rwandan refugees in the U.S. A 2013 profile in the Washingtonian magazine found that the king led a basic life in Virginia, living in subsidized housing and was receiving government benefits.
Kigeli expressed a desire to return to Rwanda on several occasions and said in a 2007 BBC interview
that he had discussed the matter with Kagame. The RPF said it would
welcome Kigeli back to Rwanda, but that he would be a private citizen
and no longer a monarch.
Kigeli insisted that the decision be put to a public vote. “The
Rwandese people may or may not want me. But in order to return home, I
need to know if they still want me to be their king,” he told the BBC.
A small opposition group in Rwanda, the Democratic Green Party of
Rwanda, led a campaign to have Kigeli brought back to the country. The
party’s leader, Frank Habineza, said in May that Kigeli should be “allowed to play a role in unity and reconciliation of the Rwandan people.”
Following his death, the party has called for the king’s body to be repatriated to Rwanda and given a state funeral.
Better connectivity across Ethiopia as new destinations are launched
Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed the launch of two new domestic destinations, Dembi Dolo and Kebri Dahar.
The flights will be operated initially three times a week on Sunday,
Tuesday and Friday and use a Bombardier Q400NG aircraft for the
services.
Information at hand suggests that Ethiopian presently operates a network
of 19 domestic destinations but has plans in place to raise this number
to overall 26 in coming years to ensure better connectivity across the
sprawling country by air.
Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO of the airline, when making the
announcement said, ‘Air transport being an essential public service,
Ethiopian Airlines has been discharging its national obligation of
providing critical air connectivity options and thereby catalyzing the
nation’s Growth and Transformation endeavor. Moreover, with the opening
of new universities parallel to the expansion of Industry zones across
the country, the service will enable academicians, investors and others
to enjoy prompt connectivity options to and from the points. This move
will also give tourists the means to enjoy hassle free movement to and
from more than 94 Ethiopian destinations globally’.
Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called
Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa
with seven distinct business divisions: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional
Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo;
Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering
Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian Airlines registered an
average growth of 25% in the past seven years.
Better connectivity across Ethiopia as new destinations are launched
Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed the launch of two new domestic destinations, Dembi Dolo and Kebri Dahar.
The flights will be operated initially three times a week on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday and use a Bombardier Q400NG aircraft for the services. Information at hand suggests that Ethiopian presently operates a network of 19 domestic destinations but has plans in place to raise this number to overall 26 in coming years to ensure better connectivity across the sprawling country by air.
Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO of the airline, when making the announcement said, ‘Air transport being an essential public service, Ethiopian Airlines has been discharging its national obligation of providing critical air connectivity options and thereby catalyzing the nation’s Growth and Transformation endeavor. Moreover, with the opening of new universities parallel to the expansion of Industry zones across the country, the service will enable academicians, investors and others to enjoy prompt connectivity options to and from the points. This move will also give tourists the means to enjoy hassle free movement to and from more than 94 Ethiopian destinations globally’.
Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven distinct business divisions: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian Airlines registered an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.
Better connectivity across Ethiopia as new destinations are launched
Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed the launch of two new domestic destinations, Dembi Dolo and Kebri Dahar.
The flights will be operated initially three times a week on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday and use a Bombardier Q400NG aircraft for the services. Information at hand suggests that Ethiopian presently operates a network of 19 domestic destinations but has plans in place to raise this number to overall 26 in coming years to ensure better connectivity across the sprawling country by air.
Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO of the airline, when making the announcement said, ‘Air transport being an essential public service, Ethiopian Airlines has been discharging its national obligation of providing critical air connectivity options and thereby catalyzing the nation’s Growth and Transformation endeavor. Moreover, with the opening of new universities parallel to the expansion of Industry zones across the country, the service will enable academicians, investors and others to enjoy prompt connectivity options to and from the points. This move will also give tourists the means to enjoy hassle free movement to and from more than 94 Ethiopian destinations globally’.
Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven distinct business divisions: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian Airlines registered an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.
Better connectivity across Ethiopia as new destinations are launched
Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed the launch of two new domestic destinations, Dembi Dolo and Kebri Dahar.
The flights will be operated initially three times a week on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday and use a Bombardier Q400NG aircraft for the services. Information at hand suggests that Ethiopian presently operates a network of 19 domestic destinations but has plans in place to raise this number to overall 26 in coming years to ensure better connectivity across the sprawling country by air.
Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO of the airline, when making the announcement said, ‘Air transport being an essential public service, Ethiopian Airlines has been discharging its national obligation of providing critical air connectivity options and thereby catalyzing the nation’s Growth and Transformation endeavor. Moreover, with the opening of new universities parallel to the expansion of Industry zones across the country, the service will enable academicians, investors and others to enjoy prompt connectivity options to and from the points. This move will also give tourists the means to enjoy hassle free movement to and from more than 94 Ethiopian destinations globally’.
Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven distinct business divisions: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian Airlines registered an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.
For first-time visitors to Lamu, an ancient town on Kenya’s
coastal strip, it must appear like a trip back in time. There are, apart
from the County Commissioner’s official vehicle and a TukTuk ambulance,
no cars on the island, just the same as it was during my own first
visit in the late 1970s.
Therefore, thankfully, when walking, one does not need to dodge crazy
matatus or even crazier boda bodas although perhaps one does have to
look out for the traditional “mkokotenis” or push carts and of course
the over 3,200 donkeys, which roam the beach and town freely unless they
are loaded with goods and merchandise to carry, earning their living.
Lamu, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001, has its origins traced
back to the late 14th century and was one of the very few such centers
inhabited ever since without interruption.
Tourism, alongside fishing, are the two mainstream economic
activities on the island, although the craft of building dhows is still
practiced, today more relying on repairs of existing vessels than
creating news ones from scratch. Other woodcraft is also evident, as
seen in the richly ornamented doors of houses that are artfully carved
and inlaid, or the chests, chairs, and Lamu beds which have found their
way across the globe.
Lamu though is not a “regular” resort town, and mass tourism is
definitely not welcomed here. Individual travelers are warmly welcomed
to spend a few days, or even weeks or months on the island, as long as
they are respectful of local customs. Bare feet are ok, probably driving
every shoe salesman mad, but that is the way it is here. Wrapping a
“kikoy” [sarong] around oneself is also ok – the locals do it, the
expats do it, and tourists may also do it, as long as they learn to tie a
good knot and not lose the cloth after a few steps. Formal in Lamu
means wearing a “kanzu” [a light-colored floor length tunic] which the
island has in common with central Uganda where Buganda menfolk wear it
on weekends, even to church and to official functions.
Lamu is the closest Africa probably has to what Bali used to be in
the 60s and 70s before big tourism there turned everything, what then
attracted those in the know of that island, on its head.
Traveling inside Africa, visa requirement still a problem
Africans traveling within the
continent are required to fill multiple cross border documents with visa
issuance coming a nuisance and hindrance to business development,
tourism and investments between the African people.
Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian tycoon and
the richest man in this continent is among key personalities facing
traveling hiccups when moving from one country to another in search for
investment opportunities.
In his recent discussions with Nigerian
media, Dangote has advised African leaders to give incentives to
investors and make intra-Africa travel easy. He told the Nigeria media
outlets that, despite the size of his group and investments on the
continent, he needs 38 visas to travel across Africa.
“You have to know somebody who is big in
that country to call somebody. They are giving you visas as if it is a
favor”, Dangote said.
“Somebody like me, despite the size of
our group, I need 38 visas to move around Africa. Yes, I have heard that
they are going to do the (African) passport, but you can see that there
is still a little bit of resistance from other African leaders”, he
noted.
Dangote, Africa’s richest man, uses many
public platforms to urge African leaders to make it easier for Africans
to travel around their own continent. He said he needed 38 visas to
travel across Africa. And it was not always straightforward to get them,
he said.
“You go to a country that is looking for
investment, that particular country will give you a runaround just to
get a visa,” he said.
During their Fourth Annual Africa Hotel
Expansion Summit and Hospitality Round Table in the Tanzanian commercial
city of Dar es Salaam last month, hotel and hospitality industry
executives noted that Africa needs to establish intra-Africa travel
packages to attract tourists within the continent.
“Africa needs to encourage intra-Africa
travel programs that would attract more people to travel from one
country to another country within the continent”, said Amaechi Ndili,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Lionstone Group and Golden
Tulip West Africa Hospitality Group in Nigeria.
“We need to stimulate intra-Africa
tourism and business travel while governments across the continent take
serious steps and policies to create more open skies for Africans”,
Ndili noted.
South Africans often complain about the
hoops they have to jump through to get visas for other African states,
but in fact, their country is part of the problem. According to the
African Development Bank, 75 percent of the most visa-friendly countries
in Africa are in East Africa.
In Southern Africa, the visa-friendly
nations are Mauritius, Madagascar, Zambia and Mozambique. West Africa
fares better with six countries regarded as visa-friendly. Nigeria is
not among them.
Facing development set-backs, high unemployment rates and poor security, Africa remains low in terms of global tourism index.
In the context of tourism competitiveness
in Africa, most countries in the continent are still lacking
competitive tools to support growth and competition in tourism at global
market levels, despite the continent’s rich and untapped natural
resources.
The hotel executives further noted that
more than 80 percent of Africans don’t know tourist attractive sites
available in their own countries compared to Europe, America and other
continents where the citizens outnumber foreign tourists.
Nigeria is the leading country in Africa
to generate outbound tourists to other countries within the continent,
mostly to other West African states, East and Southern Africa.
Dangote’s comments were made at the right
time when tourism and travel executives are set to meet in Rwanda’s
capital city of Kigali next month to discuss the future of African
tourism and the way forward.
Bearing a theme of “Destination Africa:
The Future of African Tourism”, the the African Travel Association 41st
Congress will be held in Kigali from November 14 to 18, bringing
delegates from Africa, United States, Europe and other parts of the
world.
Availability of low-cost airlines a key trend for adventure tourism market growth
2016 global adventure tourism market research says availability
of low-cost airlines will be a key trend for market growth which saw
56.51% tourist traveling by flights, an increment from the 54% in 2014.
Further, adventure tourism involves more traveling to reach a point
from where the adventure activities start. For instance, adventure
tourists need different modes of transportation because activities such
as mountain climbing, caving, hiking, and skydiving are organized far
away from the main city.
Due to the increasing influx of international tourists, many new
budget-friendly airlines are being launched to cater to the increasing
transportation needs.
The global adventure tourism market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR
of 45.99% during the period 2016-2020. According to the adventure
tourism market report, increased preference for adventure over other
tourism activities will be a key driver for market growth. In 2015, the
adventure tourism industry generated revenue of $7.88 trillion.
However, the definition of tourism is changing rapidly. The beachside
vacation or regular sight-seeing holidays are losing its market to
adventurous activities such as skydiving, surfing, rock or mountain
climbing, caving, and deep-sea diving that involve high risk.
The international adventure tourism market is likely to grow at a
fast pace during the forecast period and is anticipated to post a CAGR
of more than 46% by 2020. Much of the segment’s growth can be attributed
to the increased popularity of international holiday destinations among
global tourists.
Countries such as France, Germany, Spain, and Iceland are the most
preferred adventure tourism destinations for the international tourists.
The rise in the number of adventure sports in these countries is
resulting in higher tourist arrivals, which is spurring the growth
prospects for the overall market.
Europe dominated the adventure tourism market and accounted for more
than 40% of the total market share. Some of the most popular adventure
sports that attract tourists in the region include paragliding, kite
surfing, and hiking on mountains and glaciers.
The market growth in the region is also driven by some of the
emerging destinations in countries like Albania and Serbia, which have
posted double-digit growth rates. The healthy growth of adventure
tourism markets of Hungary, Romania, Latvia, and Armenia will result in
the high growth of the European adventure tourism market, which will
post a high CAGR of around 46% during the forecast period.
The following companies are the key players in the global adventure
tourism market: Austin Adventures, Explore Worldwide, G Adventures, and
Mountain Travel Sobek. Other prominent vendors in the market are:
Boundless Journeys, Butterfield & Robinson, Classic Journeys,
Geographic Expeditions, Intrepid Travels, Kensington Tours, Mantis
Extreme, and Wilderness Travels.
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Today, Rwandan President Paul Kagame launched the world’s first
national drone delivery service during a ceremony in the country’s
centrally located Muhanga District.
Starting today, the Rwandan government will begin using drones to
make up to 150 on-demand, emergency deliveries per day of life-saving
blood to 21 transfusing facilities located in the western half of the
country.
The drones and delivery service are built and operated by Zipline, a
California-based robotics company. While Rwanda’s drone delivery service
will initially focus on blood, an international partnership between
UPS®, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Zipline will help the country
quickly expand the types of medicines and lifesaving vaccines that can
be delivered.
“Drones are very useful, both commercially and for improving services
in the health sector. We are happy to be launching this innovative
technology and to continue working with partners to develop it further,”
said Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The Global Problem
Throughout the developing world, access to lifesaving and critical
health products is hampered by what is known as the last-mile problem:
the inability to deliver needed medicine from a city to rural or remote
locations due to lack of adequate transportation, communication and
supply chain infrastructure.
In Rwanda, postpartum hemorrhaging is the leading cause of death for
pregnant women. Blood requires storage and transport at safe
temperatures and spoils quickly. Because there are many different blood
products and no way to accurately project future needs, many transfusion
clinics do not keep all the blood they may need in stock.
During Rwanda’s lengthy rainy season, many roads wash out becoming
impassible or non-existent. The result is that all too often someone in
need of a lifesaving transfusion cannot access the blood they need to
survive.
The Solution
Rwanda’s national drone delivery program enables blood transfusion
clinics across the Western half of the country to place emergency orders
by cell phone text message. The orders are then received by Zipline at
its distribution center located in the country’s Muhanga region where
the company maintains a fleet of 15 drones, called Zips.
Each Zip can fly up to 150 km round trip—even in wind and rain—and
carry 3.3 lbs. of blood, which is enough to save a person’s life.
Zips take off and land at the distribution centre, and make
deliveries by descending close to the ground and air dropping medicine
to a designated spot called a “mailbox” near the health centres they
serve. Zipline will make 50-150 emergency flights a day to 21
transfusion clinics across the Western Half of Rwanda and can fulfill
orders in around 30 minutes.
Rwanda plans to expand Zipline’s drone delivery service to the
Eastern half of the country in early 2017, putting almost every one of
the country’s 11 million citizens within reach of instant delivery of
lifesaving medicines.
“The inability to deliver life-saving medicines to the people who
need them the most causes millions of preventable deaths each year
around the world. Zipline will help solve that problem once and for
all,” said Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo. “We’ve built an instant delivery
system for the world, allowing medicine to be delivered on-demand and at
low-cost, anywhere.”
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Morocco on track to be a top 20 world tourist destination
Morocco is a “mature” tourist destination and a leading country
in Africa and the Middle East, said the country’s Tourism Minister,
Lahcen Haddad, insisting that “we are on track to achieve the Vision
2020 goals that will hoist Morocco among the top 20 tourist destinations
in the world.”
Speaking at the meeting, the minister noted that the government has
ensured since 2012, to accelerate the pace of implementation of tourism
projects in the context of Vision 2020.
According to him, the government program has maintained tourism as a
national property, fixing it with clear objectives for the period
2012-2016, especially in governance, development, and diversification of
the tourist offer of increased flow of domestic tourists and
international consolidation of sustainability in tourism, improving
competitiveness and strengthening investment and training.
“In 2013, for the first time in the history of Morocco, we have
surpassed 10 million tourists, while domestic tourism has developed
significantly, generating a turnover of 33 billion dirhams,” said
Morocco’s Tourism Minister, Lahcen Haddad, in a statement to MAP on the
sidelines of a meeting dedicated to the presentation of the tourism
sector balance sheet in Morocco under the 2012-2016 government mandate.
The balance of the tourism sector under government mandate from 2012
to 2016 is “positive” he said on Tuesday from Rabat, Morocco’s capital.
Mr. Haddad also noted on this occasion that despite the unfavorable
economic situation on the regional and world stage, the Moroccan tourism
industry managed to keep a “good level” on the international tourism
scene with a total of 10.17 million visitors recorded in 2015, against
9.3 million in 2010.
It has focused on a market diversification policy that allowed an
average annual growth of 3 percent in terms of arrivals at border posts
during 2012-2015 and achieving positive performance particularly at
German and UK markets, with respectively an average annual growth rate
of 13% and 12%.
Moreover, he added, promotional efforts to conquer new markets were
conclusive by a positive annual average growth for Brazil (+ 19%), India
(+ 8%), China (+ 15%), the Middle East (+ 9%), and North America (+
8%).
In terms of total overnight stays in tourist accommodation
establishments classified, they have also experienced an average annual
growth of 2% during the same period (2012-2015).
Furthermore, the minister welcomed the dynamic acceleration of the
pace of development of bed capacity, noting that it will continue to
bear fruit in 2016 with nearly 20,000 beds that will be added Morocco to
offer, bringing “the total additional capacity” to 250,000 new beds.
He likewise stressed that significant progress has been made in the realization of various projects of Vision 2020.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
What people in 1900 thought the year 2000 would look like
There are few things as fascinating as seeing what people in the past dreamed about the future.
"France
in the Year 2000" is one example. The series of paintings, made by
Jean-Marc Côté and other French artists in 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1910,
shows artist depictions of what life might look like in the year 2000.
The first series of images were printed and enclosed in cigarette and
cigar boxes around the time of the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris,
according to the Public Domain Review, then later turned into postcards.
Lots
of their ideas involve mechanized devices, flying, or a combination of
the two. Some, strangely, involve people interacting in a very close and
personal way with marine life. As Open Culture points out, however, there are no images of space travel.
Some
of the portraits are fantastic -- swashbucklers riding on giant
seahorses, anyone? But others are actually surprisingly accurate visions
of our current era, including farming machines, helicopters, and what
looks like a precursor to the new robot vaccum, the iRobot Roomba
vacuum:
France in the Year 2000
There is something vaguely familiar about these visions of mechanized farming, for example:
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
Perhaps this is the precursor to the motorhome?
France in the Year 2000
However, some of the other machines didn't quite come to pass:
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
The series also features a great assortment of flying machines and devices, including a helicopter:
France in the Year 2000
One drawing features an airship, which were being used at the time, but fell out of favor after the Hindenburg disaster in 1937:
France in the Year 2000
The series imagines small winged planes or devices being used by cabbies, postmen, police, firemen and hunters:
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
Here's their conception of a "war plane" and "war cars":
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
Strangely, the series also includes some fairly far-out examples of people cavorting with marine life:
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
France in the Year 2000
And finally, the "Whale bus," which really ought to be a thing by now:
