Pilgrims from the Democratic Republic of the Congo will not be issued visas by Saudi Arabia amid fears Ebola could spread during next month’s Hajj pilgrimage.DPeople from sub-Saharan Africa make up about 10 percent of the more than two million annual pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca.
A statement from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: The granting of arrivals visas for people entering from DRC has been stopped, to conserve the well-being of pilgrims.
The suspension comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo’s eastern North Kivu and Ituri provinces a public health emergency of international concern.
However, despite this, WHO has said no countries should place restrictions on travel or trade because of Ebola and it has called on governments not to panic in response to the decision by Riyadh.
Around three percent of Congo’s population is Muslim, while people from sub-Saharan Africa make up about 10 percent of the more than two million annual pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca.
In 2014, Saudi Arabia cancelled more than 7,000 visas for pilgrims from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia during the last Ebola outbreak, which claimed the lives of more than 11,000 people.
The epidemic has killed over 1,700 people since it emerged last October, according to the health ministry in Congo.
Tourism Observer
Tourism, Travel, Hospitality, Conservation: News,Stories And Experiences From Allover The World
Showing posts with label Guinea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guinea. Show all posts
Saturday, 3 August 2019
Monday, 29 April 2019
PAKISTAN: US Slaps Pakistan With Sanctions Over Refusal To Take Back Its Citizen Deportees
The US has imposed sanctions on Pakistan after Islamabad refused to take back its citizen deportees and visa over-stayers from America, warning that it may withhold visas of Pakistanis beginning from its senior officials.
The State Department on Friday said that consular operations in Pakistan remain unchanged as of now but as a result of such a sanction mentioned in a Federal Register notification dated April 22, the US may withhold visas of Pakistanis beginning with its senior officials.
Pakistan is the latest to join the list of 10 nations that have been imposed with sanctions under a US law according to which countries refusing to take back deportees and visa over-stayers will be denied American visas.
Notably eight of these countries have been slapped with such visa sanctions under the Trump administration. Two of them, Ghana and Pakistan have been included in the list this year.
The other countries include Guyana in 2001, the Gambia in 2016, Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, and Sierra Leone in 2017, Burma and Laos in 2018.
Under Section 243 (d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State is required to discontinue granting immigration or non-immigrant visas to a nation upon receiving notice from the Homeland Security Secretary that the country has denied or is unreasonably delaying accepting a citizen, subject, national or resident of that country.
The State Department tried to downplay the impact of the sanctions on Pakistan.
Consular operations in Pakistan remain unchanged, a State Department Spokesperson told PTI when asked about the federal register notification.
This is a bilateral issue of ongoing discussion between the US and Pakistani governments and we are not going to get into the specifics at this time, the spokesperson said.
Former Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, feels that this will make things difficult for Pakistanis.
This measure will create hardship for Pakistanis who want or need to travel to the US and could have been avoided if Pakistani authorities had not ignored American requests to respect their legal requirements for deportation,Haqqani told PTI, days after the federal register notification.
He said that Pakistan's refusal to accept its citizens deported from the US is not new.
Pakistan's refusal to accept every Pakistani citizen deported from the US is not new. It seems that the US is no longer willing to overlook a wide range of official Pakistani behaviour. Bonhomie has been replaced by sanctions and restrictions based on Islamabad's policy decisions, Haqqani said.
Tourism Observer
The State Department on Friday said that consular operations in Pakistan remain unchanged as of now but as a result of such a sanction mentioned in a Federal Register notification dated April 22, the US may withhold visas of Pakistanis beginning with its senior officials.
Pakistan is the latest to join the list of 10 nations that have been imposed with sanctions under a US law according to which countries refusing to take back deportees and visa over-stayers will be denied American visas.
Notably eight of these countries have been slapped with such visa sanctions under the Trump administration. Two of them, Ghana and Pakistan have been included in the list this year.
The other countries include Guyana in 2001, the Gambia in 2016, Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, and Sierra Leone in 2017, Burma and Laos in 2018.
Under Section 243 (d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State is required to discontinue granting immigration or non-immigrant visas to a nation upon receiving notice from the Homeland Security Secretary that the country has denied or is unreasonably delaying accepting a citizen, subject, national or resident of that country.
The State Department tried to downplay the impact of the sanctions on Pakistan.
Consular operations in Pakistan remain unchanged, a State Department Spokesperson told PTI when asked about the federal register notification.
This is a bilateral issue of ongoing discussion between the US and Pakistani governments and we are not going to get into the specifics at this time, the spokesperson said.
Former Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, feels that this will make things difficult for Pakistanis.
This measure will create hardship for Pakistanis who want or need to travel to the US and could have been avoided if Pakistani authorities had not ignored American requests to respect their legal requirements for deportation,Haqqani told PTI, days after the federal register notification.
He said that Pakistan's refusal to accept its citizens deported from the US is not new.
Pakistan's refusal to accept every Pakistani citizen deported from the US is not new. It seems that the US is no longer willing to overlook a wide range of official Pakistani behaviour. Bonhomie has been replaced by sanctions and restrictions based on Islamabad's policy decisions, Haqqani said.
Tourism Observer
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Airlines Jets To 98 More Destinations
“With the addition of these stations, Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline group would have increased its service from Addis Ababa to 98 different international cities located across the world,” Mrs Atnafu stated in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Wednesday.
Ethiopian Airlines envisages reaching 120 international destinations worldwide by the year 2025.
According to the statement, Mr. Tewolde Gebre Mariam, Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines said: “Africa’s share of the Global Aviation is the smallest which is only around three per cent and as the largest airline group in the continent.
“We are highly concerned on the low base of air connectivity in the continent and we are setting record expansion to enable Africans enjoy safe, reliable and economical air connectivity both within the continent and between the continent and the rest of the world.”
He said looking beyond the current economic slowdown especially in the oil export dependent economies of Africa, the Airlines firmly believed that the continent would become the magnet for foreign direct investment, trade and tourism, which were the engines of air travel growth and in turn efficient air connectivity also drives socio economic development.
He said in 2016, new flights to Moroni (Comoros), WindHoek (Namibia) and Newark (United States) were launched, as well as three cities in Ethiopia: Hawassa, Kebridahar and Dembidolo.
Wednesday, 11 January 2017
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia Airlines To Fly To Guinea, Conakry
Ethiopian Airlines will in February start flights from Addis Ababa to Conakry, serving the Guinean capital initially five times a week.
As announced in November last year will Ethiopian return to Conakry after some absence and use a Boeing B787 for the flights which will launch on the 01st of next month.
From Conakry will Ethiopian be able to offer onward flights into the region through ASKY, a partner airline which is part owned by Ethiopian and assisted with management support.
Meanwhile a major ICAO Training Workshop be held in conjunction with Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Africa from the 11th to 13th of April this year.
Also part of the three day event is an Aviation Symposium for which representatives of leading airlines are expected in the Ethiopian capital.
As announced in November last year will Ethiopian return to Conakry after some absence and use a Boeing B787 for the flights which will launch on the 01st of next month.
From Conakry will Ethiopian be able to offer onward flights into the region through ASKY, a partner airline which is part owned by Ethiopian and assisted with management support.
Meanwhile a major ICAO Training Workshop be held in conjunction with Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Africa from the 11th to 13th of April this year.
Also part of the three day event is an Aviation Symposium for which representatives of leading airlines are expected in the Ethiopian capital.
Thursday, 22 September 2016
Miss World 2016, Africa Is Represented
Miss World 2016, the 66th edition of the Miss World pageant, will take place in Washington D.C. on December 20th. The outgoing queen Mireia Lalaguna of Spain will crown her successor at the end of the event.
Delegates of about one hundred countries and autonomous territories will compete for the title. The contestants will compete in various Challenger events, like Top Model, Talent, Multimedia, Sports, Beauty With a Purpose and a new challenge event called Resort Wear.
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