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Everyone is always looking for that perfect island getaway and most travelers are seeking a destination that offers sun and fun, excellent food and nightlife options, and opportunities for some self-care and pampering. If these are things that motivate your travel decisions, then look no further than the Seychelles. If you are willing to go a […]
The post 3 Reasons Why the Seychelles Should Be on Your Travel Bucket List appeared first on Ebony.
Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.
Irvin Hicks was a career Foreign Service Officer who rose from a communications clerk position to serve three times as a U.S. ambassador. Hicks served in the Department of State during the nascent years of African Independence from European colonial rule. Hicks was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Seychelles by President Ronald Reagan. He served as Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in the capital city of Victoria from 1985 to 1987. In 1992 President George H.W. Bush nominated Hicks to be Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the Security Council in the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador. He was later appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary by President Bill Clinton to Ethiopia. Hicks was Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa from 1994 to 1996.
Irvin Hicks was born March 16, 1938, in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1961 he took a job as a clerk typist at the Department of the Army in Washington, D.C. He left this position in 1962 to join the Department of State where he would serve as a career Foreign Service Officer (FSO). After training for the position of communications clerk he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Libreville, Gabon. While in Libreville he also held the position of accounts assistant until 1964. Later the same year he returned to the United States for training in the State Departments’ Foreign Service Institute, which included language training in French.
After Foreign Service training Hicks was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, Mali. He served in various capacities including accounts assistant, budget and fiscal specialist, post management assistant and administrative support officer. In 1968 he took leave from the Department and served until 1969 as budget director for the Community Development Agency in New York.
After his brief absence he returned to the Department in 1969 as an administrative support officer. From 1970 to 1973, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Bangui, Central
Speakers Urge the Council to Establish an International Commission of Inquiry to Investigate Systemic Racism in Law Enforcement in the United States
The Human Right Council this afternoon began an urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests.
It heard calls from speakers for the Council to establish an international commission of inquiry to investigate systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States.
E. Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on racism, via video message, on behalf of other mandate holders, urged the Council to create an international commission of inquiry with the necessary authority to investigate systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States.
The Council will next meet on Thursday, 18 June at 10 a.m. to conclude the urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests.
Statement by the President of the Human Rights Council
ELISABETH TICHY-FISSLBERGER, President of the Human Rights Council, recalled that on Friday, 12 June 2020, she had received a letter from Burkina Faso on behalf of the African Group containing the formal request to hold this urgent debate on \"the current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality against people of African descent and violence against peaceful protests\".
guest column:Miriam Tose Majome THIS is the second in a three-part series about the hijacking of an Air India Boeing 707 flying from Harare to New Dehli India on November 26, 1981. The plane flew into a coup attempt in the Seychelles executed by a group of South African and ex-Rhodesian mercenaries fronted by British former soldier Mike Hoare (Mad Mike). The aeroplane had 65 passengers, the majority of whom were Zimbabweans. One of them was my father Kenneth Rambakupetwa Majome who was travelling as part of a group of senior government officials which included former late Ambassador Angeline Makwavarara and late businesswoman Kiki Divaris to a conference on women entrepreneurs in New Dehli. The plane was stopping over briefly to refuel at Seychelles Mahe island’s Pointe Larue International Airport when it flew into a gunfight between the mercenaries and the Seychelles army. The mercenaries under the command of Hoare had seized the airport after their concealed weapons had been discovered when they tried to sneak in disguised as a team of rugby players. Albert Rene was the President of Seychelles after seizing power from James Mancham in 1977 in a coup a year after the country became independent from Britain. Four years later, he found himself facing a similar political fight for survival. Hoare, now retired from his mercenary exploits of the 60s in the Congo, was living in Durban, South Africa, had accepted the contract to spearhead the coup. He had recruited approximately 44 white men from crack units of the former Rhodesian forces and the elite South African Recce Commandos. Most of the former Rhodesians had served in the Special Air Service, the Selous Scouts and the Rhodesian Light Infantry. All in all it was a bunch of gritty ex-military men with combat experience in Africa. Five hours after it left Harare, the Air India 707 carrying my father swung low towards the runway at Point Larue International Airport. It went down straight in the path of one of two army trucks which had suddenly appeared on the runway. Its occupants oblivious to the approaching aeroplane in the din of exploding gunfire charged wildly at a group of mercenaries in a ground hold out. The aeroplane made contact with the tarmac just as the vehicle occupants noticed it ploughing headlong at them. They abandoned the truck with lightning speed and scurried for cover just as the huge aeroplane’s right wing tore straight into it, tearing it to bits in a deafening collision and spraying a spectacular shower of sparks engulfing the plane. This was the first time the passengers knew that something was not right. The earsplitting sound, the spectacular fireworks and skidding sent a hushed wave of terror throughout the plane. People looked at each other agape but silently in the grip of terror. The nerves which usually precede the hard contact of solid rubber wheels on tarmac were still alive. The plane taxied swiftly to a halt with the passengers still in shocked silence. Its halt was greeted with the ferocious sound of reignited gunfire each side spu
Seychelles will allow South Africans to visit the archipelago of idyllic islands once again.
There are now more than over 400,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.
According to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa, the breakdown remains fluid as countries confirm cases as and when. As of May 13, every African country had recorded an infection, the last being Lesotho.
We shall keep updating this list largely sourced from the John Hopkins University tallies, Africa CDC and from official government data.
SUGGESTED READING: Africa’s COVID-19 deaths pass 100,000 mark
Major African stats: June 30 at 7:00 GMT:
Confirmed cases = 418,211
Active cases = 209,623
Recoveries = 198,182
Number of deaths = 10,406
Countries in alphabetical order
Algeria – 13,272
Angola – 291
Benin – 1,199
Botswana – 227
Burkina Faso – 962
Burundi – 170
Cameroon – 12,592
Cape Verde – 1,267
Central African Republic – 3,745
Chad – 866
Comoros – 303
Congo-Brazzaville – 1,382
DR Congo – 7,122
Djibouti – 4,704
Egypt – 69,814
Equatorial Guinea – 2,001
Eritrea – 203
Eswatini – 840
Ethiopia – 5,846
Gabon – 5,513
(The) Gambia – 49
Ghana – 18,134
Guinea – 5,404
Guinea-Bissau – 1,654
Ivory Coast – 9,702
Kenya – 6,673
Lesotho – 35
Liberia – 804
Libya – 874
Madagascar – 2,303
Malawi – 1,265
Mali – 2,202
Mauritania – 4,472
Mauritius – 341
Morocco – 12,636
Mozambique – 903
Namibia – 285
Niger – 1,075
Nigeria- 26,484
Rwanda – 1,042
Sao Tome and Principe – 715
Senegal – 6,925
Seychelles – 81
Sierra Leone – 1,498
Somalia – 2,924
South Africa – 159,333
South Sudan – 2,021
Sudan – 9,573
Tanzania – 509
Togo – 661
Tunisia – 1,175
Uganda – 893
Zambia – 1,632
Zimbabwe – 605
SUGGESTED READING: rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Africa II
[Seychelles News Agency] A South African national who helped set up a pottery centre in Seychelles in the 1970s has written a book about her days on the island nation.
Press Release - COSAFA's continued evolution as a leader in the development of football on and off the pitch in the Southern African region has resulted in the organisation signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Spain's LaLiga, ensuring a steady stream of activities in the coming years that will benefit the growth of the game.
There are now more than over 500,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.
Confirmed cases = 508,114
Active cases = 251,103
Recoveries = 245,033
Number of deaths = 11,978
Algeria – 16,879
Angola – 386
Botswana – 314
Burkina Faso – 1,003
Burundi – 191
Cameroon – 14,916
Cape Verde – 1,499
Central African Republic – 4,071
Chad – 873
Comoros – 311
Congo-Brazzaville – 1,557
DR Congo – 7,432
Djibouti – 4,878
Egypt – 77,279
Equatorial Guinea – 3,071
Eritrea – 215
Eswatini – 1,056
Gabon – 5,743
(The) Gambia – 61
Ghana – 21,968
Guinea – 5,636
Guinea-Bissau – 1,790
Ivory Coast – 11,194
Kenya – 8,250
Lesotho – 91
Liberia – 917
Libya – 1,182
Madagascar – 3,472
Malawi – 1,818
Mali – 2,348
Mauritania – 5,024
Mauritius – 342
Morocco – 14,730
Mozambique – 1,040
Namibia – 593
Niger – 1,094
Nigeria- 29,789
Rwanda – 1,172
Sao Tome and Principe – 724
Senegal – 7,547
Sierra Leone – 1,572
Somalia – 3,015
South Africa – 215,855
Sudan – 9,997
Togo – 689
Tunisia – 1,205
Uganda – 977
Zambia – 1,895
Zimbabwe – 787
Seychellesis an archipelagic nation with over 160 islands, located northeast of Madagascar. It is one of the most religious countries in the world with about 90 percent of its people being Catholics. Nonetheless, many citizens are extremely superstitious. In fact, the island nation's culture is steeped in mysteries and stories that are usually passed on...
The post Interesting superstitions people in Seychelles swear by appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
[Seychelles News Agency] Farmers in Seychelles marketing their products as organic will need to be certified under new legislation being worked on by the National Biosecurity Agency, a top official said.
[Seychelles News Agency] The World Bank has approved a $15 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support Seychelles' response to the economic and social fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With December around the corner, many South Africans who have planned trips outside the country’s borders are seeking clarification around what happens when they return.
LGBT+ people existed freely in Africa before colonialism brought discrimination to the continent
The discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex in Africa has resulted in many of us being stripped of our dignity, with limited access to sexual and reproductive health services.
But a study published January of this year analysing regional enforceable treaties, from the \"African Charter on Human and People's Rights\" adopted in 1981 to \"Agenda 2063; The Africa We Want\", found none of them explicitly forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
Not specifically stating that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression is forbidden allows more room for the fostering hate against LGBT+ people.
In April 2015 the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights gave a South African NGO called the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) observer status, the first openly LGBT+ organisation to be granted this.
When African states, allies and human rights defenders choose to be silent over the fact that we are denied protection from discrimination, our access to fundamental services like decent sanitation and hygiene, healthcare, and subsequently our right to dignity and life, are limited.
There are now more than over 550,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.
Major African stats: July 11 at 7:00 GMT:
Confirmed cases = 559,446
Active cases = 274,851
Recoveries = 271,826
Number of deaths = 12,769
Algeria – 18,242
Angola – 458
Benin – 1,285
Burkina Faso – 1,020
Cape Verde – 1,591
Central African Republic – 4,259
Chad – 874
Comoros – 314
Congo-Brazzaville – 2,028
DR Congo – 7,905
Djibouti – 4,968
Egypt – 80,235
Eritrea – 232
Eswatini – 1,257
Ethiopia – 7,120
Gabon – 5,942
(The) Gambia – 64
Ghana – 23,834
Guinea – 5,969
Guinea-Bissau – 1,842
Ivory Coast – 12,052
Kenya – 9,448
Lesotho – 184
Liberia – 963
Libya – 1,342
Madagascar – 4,143
Malawi – 2,069
Mali – 2,404
Mauritania – 5,203
Morocco – 15,328
Mozambique – 1,111
Namibia – 668
Niger – 1,099
Nigeria- 31,323
Rwanda – 1,252
Sao Tome and Principe – 727
Senegal – 7,882
Seychelles – 100
Sierra Leone – 1,613
Somalia – 3,038
South Africa – 250,687
Sudan – 10,204
Togo – 710
Tunisia – 1,240
Uganda – 1,006
Zimbabwe – 942
There are now more than over 100,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.
According to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa, the breakdown remains fluid as countries confirm cases as and when.
As of May 13, every African country had recorded an infection, the last being Lesotho.
Major African stats: May 29 at 7:00 GMT:
\t
\t\tConfirmed cases = 129.452
\t\tNumber of deaths = 3,792
\t\tRecoveries = 53,400
\t\tActive cases = 72,260
\t\tAlgeria – 8,997
\t\tAngola – 74
\t\tBenin – 210
\t\tBotswana – 35
\t\tBurkina Faso – 847
\t\tBurundi – 42
\t\tCameroon – 5,436
\t\tCape Verde – 390
\t\tCentral African Republic – 755
\t\tChad – 726
\t\tComoros – 87
\t\tCongo-Brazzaville – 571
\t\tDR Congo – 2,660
\t\tDjibouti – 2,914
\t\tEgypt – 20,793
\t\tEquatorial Guinea – 1,043
\t\tEritrea – 39
\t\tEswatini – 279
\t\tEthiopia – 831
\t\tGabon – 2,431
\t\t(The) Gambia – 25
\t\tGhana – 7,303
\t\tGuinea – 3,553
\t\tGuinea-Bissau – 1,195
\t\tIvory Coast – 2,641
\t\tKenya – 1,618
\t\tLesotho – 2
\t\tLiberia – 269
\t\tLibya – 105
\t\tMadagascar – 656
\t\tMalawi – 203
\t\tMali – 1,194
\t\tMauritania – 346
\t\tMauritius – 334
\t\tMorocco – 7,643
\t\tMozambique – 233
\t\tNamibia – 22
\t\tNiger – 955
\t\tNigeria – 8,915
\t\tRwanda – 349
\t\tSao Tome and Principe – 458
\t\tSenegal – 3,348
\t\tSeychelles – 11
\t\tSierra Leone – 812
\t\tSomalia – 1,828
\t\tSouth Africa – 27,403
\t\tSouth Sudan – 994
\t\tSudan – 4,346
\t\tTanzania – 509
\t\tTogo – 422
\t\tTunisia – 1,068
\t\tUganda – 317
\t\tZambia – 1,057
\t\tZimbabwe – 149
As the Seychelles prepares to open borders on October 1, the island’s Vallée de Mai on the island of Praslin has won a 2020 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award.
[Seychelles News Agency] A Seychellois women's national football team that performs well at the international level and a player going professional are what the first elected woman on the executive committee of the Seychelles Football Federation envisions for the future.
There are now more than over 60,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.
Lesotho is the country holding out as of May 12.
SUGGESTED READING: Africa’s COVID-19 deaths pass 1,000 mark
Major African stats: May 12 at 7:00 GMT:
\t\tConfirmed cases = 66,319
\t\tNumber of deaths = 2,344
\t\tRecoveries = 23,143
\t\tInfected countries = 53
\t\tVirus-free countries = 1 (Lesotho)
\t\tAlgeria – 5,891
\t\tAngola – 45
\t\tBenin – 319
\t\tBotswana – 24
\t\tBurkina Faso – 760
\t\tBurundi – 15
\t\tCameroon – 2,689
\t\tCape Verde – 260
\t\tCentral African Republic – 143
\t\tChad – 322
\t\tComoros – 11
\t\tCongo-Brazzaville – 333
\t\tDR Congo – 1,024
\t\tDjibouti – 1,227
\t\tEgypt – 9,746
\t\tEquatorial Guinea – 439
\t\tEswatini – 175
\t\tEthiopia – 250
\t\tGabon – 802
\t\t(The) Gambia – 22
\t\tGhana – 4,700
\t\tGuinea – 2,146
\t\tGuinea-Bissau – 761
\t\tIvory Coast – 1,730
\t\tKenya – 700
\t\tLesotho – 0
\t\tLiberia – 211
\t\tLibya – 64
\t\tMadagascar – 186
\t\tMalawi – 57
\t\tMali – 712
\t\tMauritania – 8
\t\tMauritius – 332
\t\tMorocco – 6,281
\t\tMozambique – 103
\t\tNamibia – 16
\t\tNiger – 832
\t\tNigeria- 4,641
\t\tRwanda – 285
\t\tSao Tome and Principe – 208
\t\tSenegal – 1,886
\t\tSierra Leone – 338
\t\tSomalia – 1,089
\t\tSouth Africa – 10,652
\t\tSouth Sudan – 156
\t\tSudan – 1,526
\t\tTogo – 181
\t\tTunisia – 1,032
\t\tUganda – 121
\t\tZambia – 267
\t\tZimbabwe – 36
[Seychelles News Agency] Seychelles' newly elected leader, Wavel Ramkawalan, was sworn in as the country's fifth president in a ceremony at State House in the country's capital on Monday.
[International Consortium of Investigative Journalists] ICIJ partners investigated suspicious transactions linked to prominent politicians, arms companies, the ivory, gold and diamond trades, and more.
There are now more than over 590,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.
Major African stats: July 15 at 7:00 GMT:
Confirmed cases = 625,562
Active cases = 297,971
Recoveries = 313,828
Number of deaths = 13,763
Algeria – 20,216
Angola – 541
Benin – 1,378
Botswana – 399
Burkina Faso – 1,037
Burundi – 269
Cameroon – 15,173
Cape Verde – 1,722
Central African Republic – 4,356
Chad – 884
Comoros – 321
DR Congo – 8,135
Djibouti – 4,979
Egypt – 83,930
Eswatini – 1,434
Ethiopia – 7,969
Gabon – 6,026
Ghana – 24,988
Guinea – 6,200
Ivory Coast – 13,037
Kenya – 10,791
Lesotho – 256
Liberia – 1,024
Libya – 1,563
Madagascar – 4,867
Malawi – 2,497
Mali – 2,423
Mauritania – 5,518
Morocco – 16,097
Mozambique – 1,268
Namibia – 864
Nigeria- 33,616
Rwanda – 1,416
Sao Tome and Principe – 732
Senegal – 8,243
Sierra Leone – 1,651
Somalia – 3,076
South Africa – 298,292
South Sudan – 2,148
Sudan – 10,417
Togo – 731
Tunisia – 1,306
Uganda – 1,040
Zimbabwe – 1,064
[Seychelles News Agency] Seychelles should focus more on a sector it has control over -- fisheries -- to sustain its economy in view of the current dire economic situation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the minister for fisheries said Thursday.
Worried about the economy amidst COVID-19, young people in Seychelles say they want to see the island nation diversify away from its reliance on tourism and grow the island nation's ICT sector and agriculture production to lower its reliance on imports.
SNA spoke to several young people to get their point of view on how COVID-19 has impacted Seychelles, what changes they would like to see as well as opportunities presented.
Echoing the need to diversify the economy, Jade Jules told SNA that though the country is small, Seychelles has a lot of potential.
Angelique Popounneau, another young Seychellois, told SNA that COVID-19 has provided the country with an opportunity to test the 'working from home' concept which most organisations or people were not employing before the pandemic.
Popounneau, who is chief executive of the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT), added that whether people will see the working from home concept continue into the future, depends on the willingness of the organisations to create work environments that work for their workers.
[Council on Foreign Relations] Something of a democratic recessional is underway in sub-Sahara, with a weakening of civil society and democratic institutions. This both reflects and facilitates assaults on civilian, secular governments by domestic insurrections--as well as jihadi and criminal elements--against the backdrop of an economic slowdown and COVID-19.
[Seychelles News Agency] The presidential and legislative elections in Seychelles will take place October 22-24. Three candidates will contest the presidential elections and 75 candidates are vying for 26 seats in the National Assembly.
