SEYCHELLES REALITY

At the end of April, with unusually little fanfare considering that the global travel media were on the Seychelles’ for the 2015 edition of the carnival, did a second Airbus A320 join the Air Seychelles fleet. In December had the airline launched new destinations, Dar es Salaam with two flights a week and also Antananarivo and Mumbai, all reached with their first such aircraft besides the already regular three flights a week from Mahe to Mauritius. As reported here at the time and then again more recently, was Air Seychelles eying to increase the number of flights from Mahe to Mumbai, Mauritius and Antananarivo. The added, fourth flight to Mumbai, is already on line now as is the fourth flight to Mauritius while a third flight will be added to the Madagassy capital on the 03rd of July. The additional regional flights are not only aiming to bring more traffic into the Seychelles but to generate more transit traffic in Mahe to for instance Mumbai and from early July ...

It was already dark when the float of the Carnaval International de Victoria ended today. A record number of dignitaries and international VIPs joined a large number of journalists and participants from all over the world, to gether with half of the nation in Victoria. Minister of Tourism Alain St.Ange acted relieved when he was leading the parade that started 90 minutes late. According to a reliable eTN source, the Seychelles government was alerted by a foreign embassy minutes before the beginnig of the parade about an attempt to destabilize the government. Unconfirmed rumors mentioned a planned assassination attempt, possibly by a foreign terror group. Seychelles security forces descreetly and immediately got an upper hand of the situation. As a precaution some VIPs, diplomats, and foreign dignitaries were moved from the VIP stage to a different secure location to watch the parade. Seychelles President James Michel was not seen attending the event. The parade...

When you envision Seychelles you think of pristine white sandy beaches which you can dig your toes in ,the cool ocean breeze caressing your face, an azure blue Ocean and leafy green palm trees to shield you from the sun. Basically you envision paradise, not crime. Nation F.M sports anchor Sean Cardovillis fell prey to robbers in his home country Seychelles who pinched belongings including his passport  when he went to see him mother in hospital. The crime took place at a hospital parking lot. Sean took to Facebook to narrate the unfortunate incidence; What an awful day! Not only is my Mum in a very bad way, but somebody broke into our car AT THE HOSPITAL PARKING here in Seychelles and stole my rucksack with my passport, air ticket, laptop, studio head phones, portable charger amongst other valuables. I don't know where to start.. been to the police but chances of getting anything back are zero. http://www.ghafla.co.ke/news/t...

Declan Brennan  20/04/2015 | 17:46 A Cork based student who sexually assaulted a woman after climbing into her bed while she was asleep has received a prison sentence of six years with two suspended. The victim awoke to find Trevor Andre (27) straddling her and trying to put his penis into her mouth. She punched and then squeezed his testicles and shouted at him to get out. Andre of Pembroke Woods, Passage West, Co Cork had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to attempted rape and sexual assault of the woman at a house in Cork on June 8, 2013. At the end of a trial a jury of four women and eight men convicted him of the charges. Mr Justice Tony Hunt suspended the last two years of the sentence on condition that he remain under the supervision of the Probation Services for two years after his release. Andre, a native of Seychelles, told gardaí after his arrest that he accepted she may not have been fully awake and ...

The Seychelles is planning a cap on annual visitor numbers to maintain the destination’s sustainability. Speaking at the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Global Summit, Seychelles minister of tourism and culture Alain St Ange said work was already underway to come up with a final sum. He said it was being introduced as a way of safeguarding the future of the island which has seen growing numbers of tourists visit the island. St Ange said: “We don’t want to demean the value of the Seychelles. We’re reaching 250,000 people, six times the number of people who live there. “We need to be very careful so a cap will be introduced.” He added a ban had already been placed on the building of large hotel developments with just locally run small properties now granted permission to start operations. PEAK Adventure Travel chief executive Darrell Wade said the industry needs to take the issue of sustainable travel more seriously as it is only going to become more ...

 Police arrest five suspects, search yacht after recovering Sh6m drugs Anti-narcotics police were yesterday searching a luxury yacht at the Mombasa Port for drugs after it was linked to two kilogrammes of heroin found in a vehicle in Kilifi. The ship was detained in Kilifi on Friday. The Seychellois pilot of the yacht named Iris Baby and four Kenyan suspects were also detained at the port, where the boat was towed to on Sunday. Reports show the two kilogrammes of heroin have a street value Sh6 million. Mombasa Police Commander Robert Kitur told journalists that five men, a Seychellois and the four Kenyans, were under investigation over heroin found in the car in Kilifi town. He said they were arrested on the strength of intelligence gathered from local residents. ''The car which police had trailed following a tipoff from members of the public was found with the drugs, which were (drugs) expected to be taken on board the yacht, which was anchored at the Kilifi Boat Yard...

Sri Lankan government suspends General Manager of Bank Of Ceylon Apr 06, Colombo: The government of Sri Lanka has suspended with immediate effect, the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) General Manager D.M. Gunasekera. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the BoC General Manager was suspended for many reasons which include the allegation of misuse of power and corruptions. The Bank of Ceylon in 2011 has reportedly opened up a branch in Seychelles without permission from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. According to reports, the Central Bank was probing the reasons why a BoC branch was set up in the Seychelles when there were only about 64 Sri Lankans living in Seychelles. http://www.colombopage.com