SOUTH AFRICA: Photo Of Orphaned Baby Rhino Near Dead Mum Irritates People

In the early hours of Sunday 20th May a gunshot was heard in the Skukuza section of the Kruger National Park, leading to the discovery of an injured White Rhino calf clinging to the slaughtered body of his female White Rhino mum.

Poachers had brutally hacked off both of Mum’s horns and, as the calf’s instinct to protect her and stay as close as possible kicked in, had lashed out with their machetes, seriously injuring the calf’s back and his right foot.

Rhino calves are born without a horn so he wasn’t of interest to the poachers.

Veterinarian Peter Buss stabilised the calf before he was transported to Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary who were poised to receive the calf.

This brave little fighter was hydrated on arrival, he had drunk from his mother that morning prior to her being killed. He weighed just 80 kilograms – a White Rhino at birth weighs between 40-60 Kilograms, he was not very old at all.

His wounds included a cut to the toe nail, splitting the nail down to the nail bed, and a 4-inch machete gash to his back, slicing through his cartilage, dangerously close to his spine.

His wounds were cleaned and bandaged and his deep back wound stitched up.

This brave little Rhino was given the regal name Arthur, meaning noble and courageous, and fitting for his fighting survivors spirit.

Arthur is on the road to recovery, he has made friends at the sanctuary with fellow Rhino orphan Summer, Looney – trainee puppy with the K9 Unit – and is a firm favourite with his care givers.

In the wild a Rhino calf will stay with his mum for 3 years, learning how to be a Rhino and how to interact with fellow Rhinos.

Arthur’s mother was snatched from him at an early age, Arthur still calls out for his Mum, a sound that breaks the heart of his human caregivers.

A picture of an injured white rhino calf lying next to the slaughtered body of his mum went viral on social media on Friday.

Many heartbroken and speechless Twitter users shared the picture.

The mother was reportedly shot and killed by poachers for her double horns, in the South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

The one-month-old baby rhino was spared because he was too young to have horns. He was, however, attacked with machetes.

According to the South Lakes Safari Zoo’s website: Poachers had brutally hacked off both of mum’s horns and, as the calf’s instinct to protect her and stay as close as possible kicked in, had lashed out with their machetes, seriously injuring the calf’s back and his right foot.

Rhino calves are born without a horn so he wasn’t of interest to the poachers.

The baby rhino refused to leave his mother’s side after she was killed. He was taken to a nearby rhino orphanage called the Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary and was named Arthur, for his bravery and courage.

Arthur’s story went viral after South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton recently pledged their support to raise money for his rehabilitation and care.

The zoo’s website stated: The Rhino’s wounds included a cut to the toe nail, splitting the nail down to the nail bed, and a four-inch machete gash to his back, slicing through his cartilage, dangerously close to his spine.

His wounds were cleaned and bandaged and his deep back wound stitched up.

Online users were furious when the pictures started doing the rounds.

Tweep @adamtafazoli posted: “We have so much to learn when it comes to respecting this planet! How can people still do this? #sad #savetheplanet.”

While Twitter user @StvnNgm reached out to Disney and posted: “There’s need for greater awareness on the barbarism of poaching and its threat to the extinction of so many animal species. Hey @DisneyStudios the Lion King was a classic, but it’d be ingenious if you could create a “G” rated spin-off to highlight the vileness of these ghastly acts.”

@tiachocgirl urged world leaders to “come together” to protect rhinos and elephants from harm. She tweeted: “There needs to be thousands of rangers, to have any chance of protecting rhinos and elephants from being poached. Why can’t the worlds countries come together and do this?”
Many called the attack “shameless” and “inhumane”.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF): “Very few rhinos survive outside national parks due to persistent poaching and habitat loss over many decades.”

In Africa, the southern white rhinos are near threatened.

After more than a century of protection and management, 19,600 – 21,000 animals exist in protected areas and private game reserves. There are only three northern white rhino individuals left on earth - all of them in captivity.

The South Lakes Safari Zoo has a page dedicated to Arthur. According to an article on the page: Arthur still calls out for his Mum, a sound that breaks the heart of his human caregivers.

Arthur will be emotionally scarred for a long time, long after his physical wounds have healed.

He has a long road to full recovery ahead but with your support and help he, and other orphans like him, will get there!


Tourism Observer

BOTSWANA: Poachers Kill Close To 100 Elephants For Ivory

Gaborone, Botswana: Ninety elephant carcasses have been discovered in Botswana with their tusks hacked off, a charity said on Tuesday, in what is believed to be one of Africa's worst mass poaching sprees.

Most of the animals killed were large bulls carrying heavy tusks, Elephants Without Borders said.

The grim discovery was made over several weeks during an aerial survey by Elephants Without Borders and Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

We started flying the survey on July 10, and we have counted 90 elephant carcasses since the survey commenced, Mike Chase, the charity director, said.

Each day we are counting dead elephants, he added.

The animals were shot with heavy calibre rifles at watering spots near a popular wildlife sanctuary in the Okavango Delta.

The scale of elephant poaching is by far the largest I have seen or read about in Africa to date, Chase said.

The poaching coincided with the disarming earlier this year of Botswana's rangers, according to Chase.

The number of African elephants has fallen by around 111,000 to 415,000 in the past decade, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The killing continues at a dizzying pace of about 30,000 elephants a year to meet demand for ivory in Asia, where tusks sell for around $1,000 (Dh3,673) a kilo.

Chase said elephants in Zambia and Angola, north of Botswana, have been poached to the verge of local extinction, and poachers have now turned to Botswana.

Botswana Tourism Minister Tshekedi Khama confirmed that dozens of elephants had been poached, but gave no further details.

The government was not immediately available to comment on rangers being apparently disarmed earlier this year.

Botswana previously had a zero-tolerance approach to poaching, with a shoot-to-kill policy against poachers.

Poachers have also targeted rhino, said Chase, after six white rhino carcasses were found in recent months.


Tourism Observer

ANGOLA: Train Collision Leaves At Least 17 Dead

Lunda, Capital Of Angola
At least 17 people were killed and 12 injured in Angola on Tuesday when two trains crashed head-on in the country's southwest, according to the office of the region's governor.

The accident happened in the early hours near Munhino in Namibe province when a train run by the state rail operator smashed into a stationary maintenance train that was being operated by Chinese engineers.

The accident claimed at least 17 lives including the two drivers, one Angolan and one Chinese, as well as injuring 12, said the governor's office in a statement.

An investigation into the incident which appeared to have been caused by human error has now been launched, it added.

An on-duty railway employee was warned by the Chinese maintenance crew but could not prevent the departure of the train, loaded with granite, from Lubango station, said a local official who declined to be named.

When he realised his mistake, it was too late to avoid a disaster.

The incident is the second since the beginning of the year on the 260-kilometre line between Lubango and Mocamedes.

A train derailed in February but no fatalities were reported.


Tourism Observer

MOROCCO: Yummy Street Food To Try Out In Marrakech

Snail Soup In Marrakech
In every city of Morocco, day and night, visitors can find all kinds of street food, from sandwiches and pastries to freshly squeezed juice and more unusual affairs. Marrakech is no exception.

Snail Soup: Very popular in Marrakech, snails can be found everywhere in the Jemma el Fna square.

This flavorsome broth is supposed to have restorative and digestive benefits. This is almost reason enough to try.

If that weren’t tempting enough, however, these distinctive chocolate brown snails are tender with a delicious savory taste.

They are served in a broth bursting with flavors and spices.

Orange juice: Morocco’s oranges are famous worldwide, so it’s no surprise that you can find some of the best orange juice on the streets of Marrakech.

They are sourced from the countless orange trees in the city’s limitless alleys and courtyards.

You can get a full glass of this refreshing, tangy juice, perfect for recovering after a long day’s exploring in the sun. It’s a must while in the wide Jemma El Fna square to keep you going while you keep wandering.

B’stilla: Originating from Fes, but also plentiful on the streets of Marrakech, b’stilla is a special pie with layers of paper-thin pastry.

It is traditionally stuffed with pigeon meat, almonds, eggs, and lots of fresh spices. Nowadays, you can also find this pastry stuffed with fillings such as chicken or fish.

Often eaten as a starter, b’stilla offers a combination of sweet and salty, crisp texture as well as doughy.

For a taste of authentic Morocco, be sure to pick up one or two of these little pastries from a street seller.

Harira: This traditional Moroccan soup can be found all year round, but is particularly popular during Ramadan and is often one of the first things eaten to break the fast.

This flavorsome golden colored soup is rich with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, and some noodles, and sometimes even contains meat.

You can find this being served in little cups or bowls on the street. It is a popular option sure to please even the fussiest eaters.

Sheep heads: Although many people may be a little repulsed by this at first, try to be open minded and sample something which is very popular delicacy on the streets of Marrakech.

Try a mixed plate of offal, tongue, head scrapings, and a bit of the rest of the sheep.

The whole head costs a little bit more, but makes quite a meal. Not a roadside snack you’d find in Western countries, in Marrakech you’ll find more than one stall offering this delicacy.

Unusual yet delicious, sheep’s head is a definite recommendation for the more adventurous foodie.

Ma’qooda: Little deep-fried potato balls, these are the perfect, carby, moreish snacks for a quick hit of energy.

Almost anything can be added to these potato balls; a popular option is spicy harissa sauce for an extra kick, or even a fried egg.

This delicious combination is then stuffed into a sandwich and squashed together. This popular and very filling snack is easy to find, and incredibly cheap.

Chebakia: Chebakia is a Moroccan sesame cookie, molded into a flower-like shape, fried, and coated with masses of syrup or honey.

Extremely sweet and extremely addictive, these delicious sugary delights are a must-try.

It’s a favorite during Ramadan and households often hand make buckets full of these treats. Buying some from the streets is recommended – the factory-made versions simply don’t compare.


Tourism Observer

MOROCCO: Marrakesh One Of World’s Best Cities For Street Food,Enjoy Snail Soup

Marrakesh is no doubt a global must-see city for its delicacies, glamorous restaurants and culture.

You can confirmthe reputation, ranking the town among the world’s top 23 cities for street food.

If Asian cities namely Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, and Beijing are renowned for their busy and buzzy streets day and night, Jemaa el-Fna square in Marrakesh becomes a huge open restaurant at dusk, immensely popular with locals as well as with foreign tourists.

Foreign travelers who do not resist the inviting smells filling the square after creative cooks set up their stalls at sunset.

Smells of food fill the streets of Moroccan cities, and nowhere is the quality or diversity greater than in Marrakesh, comments Anna Koblanck who labels Marrakesh as the street food capital of Morocco, offering everything from camel spleen kebabs to deep-fried sesame cookies.”

In the evenings, the city gathers among snake charmers and musicians at the Jemaa el-Fnaa square to taste the incredible spread of Moroccan delicacies that are on offer from the street stalls.

You’ll find everything from freshly squeezed fruit juices to snail soup and sheep heads. It’s a full-on feast for all the senses, and not particularly pricey.

Though Marrakech stands out as Morocco’s main cuisine destination, Koblanck also talks about the good food tradition and culture in other Moroccan cities where the quality or diversity is not to be ignored.

A favorite Moroccan street snack is the Meloui, a kind of pancake made of folded pastry that you buy hot off the stove.

Find in the market in Fes that was made with a spicy onion-based filling that was simply divine.

It’s a very heartwarming bite, a sort of comfort street food. You see these sold everywhere in Morocco, often in the food markets.

There are two things you can be sure of when it comes to your taste buds in Morocco:

1. You'll drink enough sugary mint tea to send your dentist into a spin.

2. After a couple of days, you'll be sick to your back teeth of tagine ,if you have any left.

What's a hapless and hungry traveler to do?

As most locals will tell you, the best Moroccan food is found at home, not in restaurants.

Unless you can wrangle an invite to a local's home, your best bet is to dive into the maze-like medinas and head to the food souks.

Vendors gather in guild-like fashion, so you'll find honey sellers in one area and a row of butchers down another alleyway.

The best cities for street food include Fez, head toward the Achabine area, Marrakech in Djemaa el-Fna and surrounding streets and Essaouira near the port end of Place Moulay Hassan.

A lot of visitors miss out on street food because they go back to their hotel between 6 and 8 p.m. for dinner, says guide Gail Leonard, who runs food tours of Fez, the culinary capital of Morocco.

This is when Moroccans promenade and snack, before dinner at home at around 10 p.m.

It's also the time when you get to connect with Moroccans, because that's when they're out eating.

Street food is also popular for breakfast and lunch and draws on Morocco's mix of Berber, Arab and European cultures.

Best of all, it's fresh, filling and yours for a few dirhams.

1. Bread

Crusty bread (khobz) baked in communal wood-fired ovens is a Moroccan staple.

The souks also serve an array of pan-fried, waistline-busting loaves.

Particularly good is beghrir (spongy bread, a bit like crumpets), harsha (buttery bread made of fine semolina) and rghaif (flaky, layered flat bread).

Topped with honey or goat cheese, they make a good snack while you're out exploring. Expect to pay from MAD 2-10 ($0.24-1.18), depending on the topping.

2. Bessara

A bowl of hearty fava bean soup, mopped up with the ubiquitous khobz, is a popular workers' breakfast and costs just MAD 5 ($0.59).

Hole-in-the-wall eateries also dish it up for lunch with a glug of lemon-infused olive oil and a sprinkle of cumin and chili.

The soup is made with loads of garlic, about a kilogram per large vat and the stallholder will simply shut up shop once he's sold out.

The Atlas Mountains: Morocco's hidden travel gem

3. Crumbed liver

Moroccan's are big on nose-to-tail eating.

You can chow down on cow udders, tongues, tripe, even feet.

Too adventurous? There's the Moroccan version of a wienerschnitzel: smooth and buttery calves' livers, crumbed and fried.

Food in souks is sold by weight and a decent portion costs around MAD 10 ($1.18). The vendor will chop it up and serve it in a sandwich or with a handful of fries.

4. Steamed sheep head

This delicacy is usually eaten for breakfast after a home slaughter during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice).

In the souk, sheep heads are steamed for about five hours and ready by lunchtime.

They're sold as a half (MAD 15/$1.77) or whole head (MAD 30/$3.55), with or without eyes, although the brains are sold separately at another stall, says Gail.

To eat a head, wait for the vendor to scrape off the fur. Then sprinkle it with cumin, salt and chili, and scrape out the tender cheek meat and tongue.

Sea, souks and surfs in Morocco

5. Spicy sardines
Anthony Bourdain explores the souk in Tangier, Morocco, where he discovers the strange and the colorful.

Morocco is the world's largest exporter of sardines, making the little fish a street food staple.

Sardines are stuffed with a spicy chermoula paste made of tomato, coriander, chili, garlic, paprika, cumin, olive oil and lemon juice.

They're coated in a light batter, fried until crisp and often served with a fried green chili. Again, they're sold by weight, but MAD 15 ($1.77) will buy you a tasty sandwich.

6. Aubergine fritters

Vegetarians can happily scoff their way through the souks, too, with plenty of fresh, organic produce for sale.

Sliced aubergine dipped in sweet smoked paprika batter then deep-fried go for MAD 1 apiece ($0.12).

The silky, smoky slices are served with spicy lubia (white haricot beans stewed in tomatoes, cumin, paprika, garlic and ginger) or fresh salad.

7. Brochettes

Follow the billowing clouds of smoke and you'll find mini-chicken kebabs cooking over charcoal.

The meat is rubbed with salt and spices, such as paprika and cumin. Spiced ground lamb or beef (kefta) is formed around a skewer and grilled.

Brochettes are served with khobz, harissa (red pepper sauce), red onion, cumin and salt and cost around MAD 20-30 ($2.36-3.55).

8. Snail soup

Stalls selling steaming vats of snail soup are popular across the country. A bowl costs between MAD 5-10 ($0.59-1.18).

First you pluck the snails from their shells with a toothpick before slurping the soup.

The snails have an earthy flavor, a bit like shitake mushrooms, says Gail.

Flavored with a concoction of around 15 different spices, Moroccans believe the broth is good for digestion and fever, so some drink it without snails.

9. Stuffed camel spleen

For an alternative take on sausage, how about tehal (stuffed camel spleen)?

Stuffed with ground beef, lamb or camel meat, olives, spices and a little bit of hump fat, the spleen is sent off to be baked in a communal bread oven.

It's sliced, griddled and served up in a sandwich (MAD 15/$1.77). The texture is soft and creamy, like liver, and tastes gamey.

Or you can pop into Café Clock in Fez for one of their famous camel burgers served with fries and salad (MAD 95/$11.23); 7 Derb el Magana, Talaa Kbira.

10. Desserts

Super sweet pastries and biscuits are big in Morocco, especially during Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

Each evening, they celebrate breaking their fast with succulent dates, pastries and savory harira (lentil and tomato soup).

Some of the most irresistible (and calorific) goodies include briwat (deep fried filo pastry triangles stuffed with almonds) and shebakia (flower-shaped, fried sesame cookies).

Both are dipped in honey and go for around MAD 1-3 each ($0.12-0.35).

Plan-It Fez offers a half-day souk tasting trail in the ancient Fez medina for MAD 960 ($113) per person.



Tourism Observer

INDIA: Nigerian Woman Arrested With Cocaine Hidden Inside Her Private Parts, Kolkata Is Big Corridor For Banned Drugs

A Nigerian woman has been nabbed with some cocaine hidden right inside her private parts in far away India. The Nigerian woman, who was identified as David Blessing, was arrested in India.

The woman who concealed LSD blots and cocaine in her private parts, was arrested by the Kolkata unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Monday evening.

David Blessing, a 30-year-old lady, was intercepted the moment she landed in Kolkata from Mumbai at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at around 9.20 PM.

NCB Kolkata Zonal Head Dilip Kumar Srivastava said, we had prior information about the lady and accordingly planned our arrest operation. Last night our officers got a lead that she was arriving from Mumbai-Kolkata Jet Airways flight. We rushed there and intercepted her.

During the search, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) lady officers found only 20 LSD blots from her bag.

But later she took out 12 grams of Cocaine from her private parts. She was having pain in her lower abdomen and revealed that more contraband substances were concealed inside her honeypot.

We immediately rushed her to a nearby hospital where her trans-honeypotl USG report confirmed the hunch.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Blessing was staying in Mumbai for the last two years on business visa and the consignment seized from her possession was meant for a person in Kolkata.

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has a few more leads and we will interrogate her once she will be released from the hospital.

It seems that she is a part of international drug racket, Srivastava said.

Of late, Kolkata seems to have become a major hub/corridor for banned drugs with over 60 arrests made this year itself. A large quantity of banned drugs has also been seized and destroyed.

Recently, five Chinese national were arrested from Kolkata station for carrying 200 kilos of ‘Amphetamine’, popularly known as the ‘dead drug’, worth Rs 40 crore.

This was for the first time when Chinese nationals were arrested in Kolkata with such a large quantity banned drugs.

On April 17, son of a well-known restaurateur and celebrity chef, along with a son of a Kolkata-based industrialist, was arrested in connection with international drug racket by the Kolkata NCB.

A large quantity of psychotropic substances, including Ecstacy, LSD blots and Psilocybin mushroom also known as ‘magic mushrooms’, were seized from their possession.

That was the first time that ‘magic mushrooms’, usually available in Mexico, South America, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia, were seized from Kolkata.

Our major concern is that the youths and school students are fast getting addicted to these substances in the city and we have to stop this,

Srivastava said.


Tourism Observer

MOROCCO: Brazilian Cocaine Trafficker Arrested In Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport

Authorities at Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport arrested a Brazilian national on Saturday for his alleged involvement in cocaine trafficking.

The 36-year old suspect arrived in Casablanca onboard a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil and was heading to Paris, France, said a statement by the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).

The alleged smuggler was carrying 65 capsules containing 525 grams of cocaine, the statement added.

Officers suspected the individual was carrying other capsules of cocaine in his stomach. The police took him to Ibn Rochd University hospital’s emergency services in Casablanca for medical examination.

The suspect will be held in custody for further investigation.


Tourism Observer

CAPE VERDE: Stray Dogs Threatening Tourism In Cape Verde Islands

The number of stray dogs in Cape Verde, especially in rural areas, is so high that it is putting an end to the families’ savings, warned the country’s director general of agriculture, poultry and livestock.

Jose Teixeira spoke during a meeting of Health, Agriculture and Environment delegates that took place t in the Old City, on the Cape Verdean island of Santiago, in which he conveyed the authorities’ concerns about the high number of stray dogs in the archipelago.

Particularly in some islands, and among the most rural populations, the presence of these animals has translated into high losses, taking into account that attacks on cattle, especially goats, are becoming more frequent.

Every day we have farmers who complain that two or three goats have been attacked by stray dogs, Jose Teixeira said, acknowledging the extent of a problem that has already led authorities to come up with a plan that is still awaiting funding.

The response to the problem of stray dogs in Cape Verde, more than 10,000, according to the authorities’ estimates should be the capture of the animals, whose priority will be given to those who reach the lands of the farmers most harmed by the presence of these animals.

According to Jose Teixeira, the slaughter will respect the law and will only happen if the animals are not adopted in the meantime.

The plan of the authorities to solve this problem also includes castrations to avoid the proliferation of animals, awareness of the population against the abandonment of canines and campaigns to promote the animals.

The Director General of Agriculture and Livestock of Cape Verde has specified that the islands of Fogo, Maio, Santa Cruz and Boavista are the ones that cause the most worries and where the attacks of the dogs were more frequent, with the consequent damages for the farmers.

Meanwhile, A doctor thought to have embezzled £400,000 of NHS cash before fleeing the UK has been found dead with his partner in an apparent murder suicide.

Titus Bradley, 42, left Hastings a year ago shortly before a large quantity of money was found to be missing from the accounts of four GP practices he ran.

His body was found with that of his Hungarian girlfriend in the Divin’ Art guest house in Cape Verde on 15 April.

Sussex Police confirmed it had been investigating the theft of NHS funds.

In a statement, the force said it was contacted by NHS Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group in May last year about the possible inappropriate use of funds at the Cornwallis Plaza surgery.

A subsequent investigation had established a substantial sum of money had been taken.

The force said inquiries had been made to trace two former employees at the group in connection with its investigation.

It confirmed receiving reports the couple have been found dead but await formal confirmation of this from the Portuguese authorities via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The bodies of Dr Bradley and Noemi Gairgay, 28, were found two days after they had checked in to the guest house on the island of Santo Antao, off the west coast of Africa.

Dr Bradley, who is originally from the Llanelli area in Wales, is believed to have shot his girlfriend before taking his own life.

Helder Bentub, co-manager of the guest house said it was understood the couple had been arguing in the restaurant and their room.

Three minutes later, clack clack with the gun and I called the police, the manager said.

The police go in the room and see the two people dead in the toilet, he said.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said: Our staff are assisting the family of a British man following his death in Cape Verde and are in contact with the local authorities.


Tourism Observer

SENEGAL: Spanish Tourists Ambushed, Robbed And Raped In Senegal

Bandits attacked a group of Spanish tourists in Senegal’s restive region of Casamance and raped two women before making off with thousands of euros in cash, a Senegalese army colonel said on Friday.

The attack occurred on Thursday near the small town of Diouloulou in the southern Casamance region, one of the poorest in Senegal though popular with tourists for its tropical forests and sandy beaches.

The Spanish group was travelling in a hired vehicle with a Senegalese driver. An armed band stopped and hijacked their car, then seized over 4,000 euros ($4,971.20) in cash and raped two women on the roadside before fleeing, according to the colonel, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It’s four Spanish tourists. There is one man and three women driven by a Senegalese driver. They were abducted, raped and then released by an armed group on the Diouloulou-Kataba axis, near the village of Karonge.

It’s four Spanish tourists. There is one man and three women driven by a Senegalese driver. They were abducted, raped and then released by an armed group on the Diouloulou-Kataba axis, near the village of Karongé.

The Senegalese army deployed in the area to find the attackers.

The Spanish Embassy in Senegal confirmed that four tourists were assaulted in Casamance but did not comment on the rape report.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry said it was offering consular assistance to a group of Spanish nationals in Senegal.

It was the second violent incident in Casamance this year, raising concerns that worsening security there might damage one of Senegal’s main tourist attractions.

Earlier this month, unidentified gunmen in Casamance attacked a group of civilians searching for firewood, killing 14 and wounding several others.

The motives for the shooting remain unknown, and the army has since been deployed into the area to investigate.

Meanwhile, Senegal’s criminal court sentenced 13 people to prison for attempting to establish a homegrown cell modelled after Boko Haram in the West Africa country.

One of those jailed by the Dakar court on Thursday was Makhtar Diokhane, described as the ringleader of the group. He was handed a 20-year prison term.

The court was very heavy handed in sentencing our client and we are going to appeal, Diokane’s lawyer Alassane Cisse said.

Fourteen people, including two of Diokhane’s wives, were acquitted.

About 30 Senegalese were put on trial in April for their suspected involvement in the cell after some spent time in Nigeria with the armed group Boko Haram.

Attacks involving Boko Haram have displaced more than 1.8 million Nigerians in the country’s predominantly agricultural northeast over the last 10 years. An estimated 20,000 people have been killed.

Twenty-nine other suspects, three of them women, were accused of criminal conspiracy related to financing an armed group, money-laundering, and acts of terrorism.

The public prosecutor had requested life sentences for 11 of the accused, and a 30-year prison term for Alioune Ndao a popular imam from the town of Kaolack in central Senegal who was accused of acting as a coordinator. He received a suspended one-month sentence.

Most were arrested in 2015 in Senegal. Prosecutors said was their plan was to foment violence in neighbouring countries as well.

Senegal has so far escaped the al-Qaeda-linked insurgency that has destabilised neighbouring Mali along with attacks on other West African nations including Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

But Dakar has stepped up security outside hotels and publics buildings.


Tourism Observer

NAMIBIA: Germany Returns Skulls Of Massacred Namibians

In what historians call the first genocide of the 20th century, soldiers of German Kaiser Wilhelm slaughtered some 65,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama tribespeople in a 1904-08 campaign after a revolt against land seizures by German colonists.

At Wednesday’s ceremony, a Namibian delegation received the skulls and bones from German Foreign Ministry representatives.

They will be taken to the Namibian capital Windhoek on Aug. 31 where rituals will be carried out.

Today, we want to do what should have been done many years ago to give back to their descendents the remains of people who became victims of the first genocide of the 20th century, said Petra Bosse-Huber, a German Protestant bishop.

Namibian Education Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa said last week that the government would create a group to decide whether to bury or display the repatriated skulls that had been kept in German museums.

Germany has acknowledged moral responsibility for the killings but to avoid compensation claims, has avoided making an official apology for the massacres.

Esther Utjiua Muinjangue, chairwoman of the Ovaherero Genocide Foundation, said the handover ceremony would have been the perfect opportunity for Germany to officially apologise.

Is that asking too much? I don’t think so, she saidin Berlin earlier this week.

Ignored for decades, Germany’s colonial history is drawing increasing attention. A couple of years ago, the German Historical Museum curated a big exhibition on the subject.

Germany, which lost all its colonial territories after World War One, was the third biggest colonial power after Britain and France, which lost theirs after World War Two.

During its 1904-08 campaign in what was then German South West Africa, the German Reich sent reinforcements to put down an uprising by tribes people over their expulsion from their land and recruitment into forced labour.

The Hereros had killed 123 German traders, settlers and soldiers.

In addition to the slaughter, thousands of Hereros were driven into the desert and died of thirst and starvation, and the rest were sent to concentration camps.

Legal representatives for the Herero and Nama people have brought a lawsuit against Germany in New York over genocide and property seizure carried out by German colonists.

The German government has entered negotiations with the Namibian government over possible reparations for the genocide but the lawsuit argues that Germany violated international law on the rights of indigenous peoples.


Tourism Observer

CAPE VERDE: The African Islands That Many Worldwide Want To Discover

Cape Verde has seen the biggest surge in Google searches worldwide over 12 years

As a holiday destination, Cape Verde has plenty to recommend it.

It’s a year-round sun spot with alluring beaches, volcanic hiking routes, and a lively music scene, not to mention direct flights from the UK at under six hours, and no time difference, so no jet lag to contend with.

These draws would appear to be common knowledge. Indeed, it seems that just about everyone is searching for it online.

According to the Global Travel Search Index, which ranks the holiday destinations that have shown the greatest increase in Google search interest over the past 12 years, Cape Verde takes the top spot, with a spike of more than 3,000 per cent since 2004.

Earlier this year the islands were named the second most searched-for spot on Earth for Britons, sandwiched between the perennial city break favourites of Barcelona and Amsterdam.

Not that all those searches are translating into visits. The latest stats on tourism reveal that the Atlantic archipelago covering around 1,500 square miles, only welcomed 644,000 tourists in 2016.

By comparison Tenerife, covering 785 square miles, had 5.7 million tourists that year.

True Luxury Travel, which assembled the Global Travel Search Index, found that Cape Verde had the biggest increase in Google searches since 2004 worldwide, looking at 2017 alone, it came in second, after Barcelona.

To accurately assess rises and falls in annual searches, Google Trends issues various geographical locations with a score based on the overall volume in searches, taking into account how many people have been using Google over time.

In 2004, Cape Verde’s score was 23, but by 2016, it was 713 – a 3,000 per cent rise. It was followed by the United Arab Emirates - a 681 per cent spike over 12 years, the Philippines - a 276 per cent rise, Pakistan - a 162 per cent rise and Nigeria - a 145 per cent rise.

Which destinations saw the biggest drop in Google searches?

Libya saw the most dramatic dip in search interest for holidays there - an 88.8 per cent drop over 12 years, for obvious reasons, having descended into civil war six years ago.

The Foreign Office continues to advise against all travel there, and Tripoli’s International Airport has been closed since 2014.

After Libya it was Tunisia - a 88.1 per cent drop, Paraguay - down 86 per cent, Somalia - a 85.9 per cent drop and Iraq - a 88.5 per cent fall.

Have visitor numbers in Cape Verde actually been climbing?

Yes, just not quite so dramatically. Cape Verde welcomed 644,000 tourists in 2016, a 13.6 per cent rise from the previous year.

Henry Morley, Founder of True Luxury Travel, says: A key reason for the increase in search volume for Cape Verde is due to much greater accessibility to the islands.

Recent years have seen greater availability of direct flights from the UK which will have brought the country to the forefront of people’s minds as a potential holiday destination.

Airports have been opening on all Cape Verde’s inhabited islands, the newest international hub being Cesária Évora Airport in late 2009.

Morley added: We found similar patterns with other destinations, with greater flight accessibility to south-east Asia and India from the UK making these once far-flung locations easier to visit.

Oman and Cambodia are two destinations which have experienced a huge influx in recent years and we have seen that reflected in a surge in recent bookings.

A visitor to Sal in Cape Verde this year, predicts its popularity will continue to increase. Its main selling points are that it’s a six-hour direct flight from the UK, with little or no time difference, and better guaranteed year round sunshine than the Canaries.

But it’s much cheaper and closer than the Caribbean.

Sal does have its disadvantages. It can be very windy for extended parts of the year, though this makes it a big kite-surfing destination, it’s very arid and doesn’t have a great deal in the way of culture or cuisine.

It also traditionally attracts an older demographic but I think this will change, with resorts and clubs opening that make it a cheaper alternative for those that flock to in the likes of Mykonos, Marbella and Ibiza.

Some regions are dry and arid, others lush and mountainous.

A visitor to cape Verde five years ago says flights were all full because one of only two planes serving the islands had broken down.

There was very little to do on the main tourist islands, Sal and Boa Vista, apart from park yourself on the beach and maybe try some watersports.

He was taken on a minibus tour of the highlights of Sal, including a fly ridden rock arch and cave, a down-at-heel fish market and a desert mirage.

Still, the islands do what they on the tin, he concludes, singling out Sao Vicente for music, Santao Antao for food, and Santiago for hiking.

If you want clear blue skies, a burst of intense winter heat, perfect white sand and tepid ocean, they’re all great in Cape Verde.

How can you get to cape verde?

Thomson Airways flies to the island of Sal from Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Gatwick and Manchester and to its neighbour Boa Vista from Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester.

Thomson Cook Airlines follows suit, touching down on Sal from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham, and on Boa Vista from Birmingham. Each of these services takes six hours or thereabouts.

Portugal’s national carrier TAP is a further option, serving Sal and Boa Vista, plus sibling islands Santiago and Sao Vicente from Lisbon. It offers UK connections to London City, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester.

The fastest growing tourist destinations in terms of visitor numbers:

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Sierra Leone tops the list.

The little West African nation welcomed 310 per cent more overseas arrivals in 2016, compared with the previous year, a steep rise that was no doubt helped by the country being declared Ebola-free in November 2015.

Just 24,000 people visited Sierra Leone in 2015; but UNWTO last reported estimated numbers of 74,400 for 2016. This is a recent spike.

In terms of the Global Travel Index’s 12 year data, however, Seirra Leone doesn’t even feature in the top 25 countries with the most dramatic rise in online interest.

Next on UNWTO’s list of fastest growing destinations was Nepal, which saw a 39.7 per cent uptick of visitors than the previous year, almost neck-and-neck with Iceland, which saw a 39 per cent spike.

Iceland was voted the 17th best country in the world by readers in the Telegraph Travel Awards 2017, up four spots from its position in the 2016 rankings.


Tourism Observer

UGANDA: Man-eating Crocodile Captured At Lake Victoria

The Minister for Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Ephraim Kamuntu; Director of Conservation, Mr. John Makombo; and Mr. Stephen Masaba, Director of Tourism and Business Development, together with the Problem Animal Capture Team from the Uganda Wildlife Authority flagged off the relocation for a man-eating crocodile to Murchison falls National Park.

Residents of a tiny hamlet on the shores of Lake Victoria can now breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now.

This after the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) on the night of Tuesday, August 28, captured one of the crocodiles which has reportedly been tormenting residents at Kamwango landing site in Namayingo district as they go about their daily chores to fetch water.

Prof. Kamuntu said that this is a continuing effort of saving communities from deadly crocodiles which so far has 124 being captured.

He observed that coexistence of humans and wildlife is possible, and measures will be put in place to strengthen this coexistence.

He pointed out that some of the interventions include putting in place water pipes and construction of cages.

He encouraged the private sector to invest in crocodile farming.

Traversing 3 East African countries, Lake Victoria is the largest tropical lake in the world, covering 68,000 sq. km.

It is a source of livelihood within the region and of strategic importance as the source of the river Nile.


Tourism Observer

NIGERIA: Idanre Hill With Healing Water. Avoid Talking In Forbidden Places

Idanre Hill is a perfect display of nature. At a distance, a first time visitor could be deceived that the hill is easy to climb. But, getting closer would reveal its true landscape.

The hill is one of the ancient hills in the world and is listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Year in year out, tourists from all over the world flood Idanre to have a fill of the wonder hill.

Located in a serene environment with adorable topography, Idanre Hill has both spiritual and tourist values.

The Idanre Hill, or Oke Idanre is located in Idanre town in Ondo State of southwestern Nigeria.

The hill of Idanre is one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Nigeria. It includes such cultural sites as Owa's Palace, Shrines, Old Court, Belfry, Agbooogun footprint, thunder water - Omi Apaara and burial mounds and grounds.

It resides 3000 ft above sea level and houses a unique ecosystem upon which the cultural landscape has integrated.

On getting to the entrance of the hill you will see a great tree at the entrance of the ancient city of Idanre called the IRAYE TREE, then you can now get prepared to take the steps to the great city beyond the hills of Idanre.

Idanre Hills is located on a Precambrian igneous batholith that is about 500 Million years old, and is cut by several large fracture that form deep valleys within the rocks.

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 8, 2007 in the Cultural category.

Amietophrynus perreti, or the Perret's toad, is only known from a single locality at the Idanre Hill.

The five sites where forest elephants are found in southern Nigeria are the Omo Forests in Ogun State, the Okomu National Park in Edo State, the Cross River National Park in Cross River State, the Idanre Forests and Osse River Park in Ondo State and the Andoni Island in Rivers State. Nigerian Conservation Foundation.

The ancient settlement of Idanre has existed on the hill since antiquity, however Western civilization was introduced to the ancient city when a team of missionaries led by Rev. Gilbert Carter arrived in the year 1894.

The missionaries built the first primary school in the year 1896 of which the clay building still stands strong till this day. In the year 1906, a law court was established which includes an ancient prison where the convicts spend their jail term.

Both values made the hill to serve as a reliable source of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to Ondo State Government. A good sum of money is realized daily as tourists tourist pay before being allowed to enter into the groove.

As a result, government has preserved the hill and turned it to an adorable place attractive and interesting for tourists. Besides, its spiritual and mythological values make it a must visit even for traditionalists.

Idanre, a community in Ondo Central Senatorial District has become popular as a result of the hill. The hill is synonymous with the town as the name Idanre, may not be complete without adding the hill. The hill is located in the outskirt of the town.

A few kilometres to the centre of the town, one would marvel at the aesthetics, architecture and thoroughness employed by nature in the assemblage of hills of various shapes and sizes at Idanre. It is called Oke Idanre by the locals.

The natural splendor of the hill and its topographical position are such that make the hill increasingly glamorous. Likewise the myths and powers of the hill fascinate spiritualists and traditionalists to it almost on daily basis.

However, not only traditional religion worshipers visit the hill, Christian spiritualists, especially prophets visit the hill to receive guidance and to observe spiritual exercise needed for the growth of their ministries and work.

A stream located on the hill known as Arun Water is the delight of the spiritualists who claim that the water has therapeutic effects allegedly curing all forms of ailments.

According to Mr. Oluwaseun Ayobami, a devotee of the Idanre Hill who explained its history: The hill consists of high plain with spectacular valleys interspersed with height of about 3,000 feet above sea level.

He said the hill is about 800 years old and reached by about 640 steps with five resting points on the way: It is a breathtaking landscape that also provides a window to the town’s colorful history. The evergreen landscape surrounding the hills provides fellowship with nature’s best.

The peacefulness that pervades the atmosphere, the blossoming civilization that existed on the hills, the rigors of climbing and a refreshing swim in Arun River, all make the Idanre Hill a wonderful place to visit.

Arun River is crystal clear and one can see crabs and a few other aquatic animals inside it, while the more adventurous can also dare the Agboogun footprints, widely believed to enlarge or contract to accommodate every foot.

On the Idanre hill are Agboogun footprints, which its devotees described as work of nature as they conveniently enlarge on contract to accommodate every foot.

The footprints are as old as the hill itself and accommodate all forms of human feet of different sizes.

The chief priest of the hill who claimed to be the head of the Ogboni fraternity in the state, Chief Oluawo, said the hill provided refuge for the people during wars: Our people lived on the hill before they relocated to the present town.

This was the place where the first set of settlers lived. It was a place where our forefathers lived before they relocated to the present Idanre. In this place we experienced peace. That is where you can still see some of the buildings our people lived while here.

The corpse of Iya Aye, that is, the woman who was instrumental to the formation of Ogboni was buried in this place. That is why this hill is a sacred place for every traditionalist across the world.

Many people come from within and outside the country to pay homage to the burial ground of the woman, while others come to acquire spiritual power through our mother because her spirit still works wonders.

Top politicians have been here before, but I cannot mention their names. We gave them power and many of them are doing well. This is not an ordinary place but a place where people get power aside the fact that it is also a place to catch fun for tourists from all over the world.

A devotee, Olowo Iyanda explaines: Oke Idanre consists of high plain with spectacular valleys. Its physical attributes include Owa’s Palace, shrines, old court, belfry and Agboogun footprints.

It also has diverse and variegated eco-systems of flora and fauna. Oke Idanre contains very important biophysical and landform features whose interaction with the physical features created an enduring cultural landscape within the setting.

Idanre Hill is one of the most awesome and beautiful natural landscapes in Ondo State and Nigeria. Added to its beauty, which fires human curiosity is the fact that the entire people of Idanre lived on these boulders for almost a millennium.

Since emigration down hill in 1923, the topography, vegetation as well as the fauna and floral life have remained undistributed. There is the Ogun festival, which is partly celebrated on top of the hills during October and Ije festival, which spreads over seven days.

Apart from the festivals, which make the site a living tradition, the flora and fauna of the hills are also unique.

There is a special species of tailless animal called hyrax that live on the rocks. But because of hunting, they are becoming extinct.

There are special monkeys sported near the hill. The hill also plays host to a group of scientists and field researchers.

The site is home to a group of bats and the people hold a unique festival of bats every year. The hill is being used by filmmakers as location for many of their films.

A tourist guide explains that the state government has contributed tremendously to the improvement of the hill. He said assisted in enlisting the hill as a World Heritage site: The hill has some guiding principles for anyone prepared to get to its top.

One of the principles is that those coming from the top must not meet those going up. There are certain places where tourists, especially those who are not indigenes of Idanre town should not talk.

To avoid talking in forbidden places, the guide ensured that leaves are put on the mouths of tourists. To ensure that those coming from the top did not meet those going up, different routes were taken by tourists.

The people of Idanre were living on the hill in the time immemorial. That was responsible for the various objects on the hill including grinding stones and household materials. They have, however, become antiquities.

The palace the Onidanre of Idanre used while the people were living on the hill is still on the hill and tourists pay homage to the palace as a mark of respect for the custodian of the norms, values and culture of the people.

Certain rituals take place on the hill. This is done during the Ogun and some other traditional festivals. The hill is also worshiped during the festivals.

Administration of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko uplifted the status of the hill by committing huge resources to its development.

The administration of Mimiko facilitated the enlistment of the hill on the World Heritage Site by UNESCO, adding that the hill has brought a lot of recognition to the state and the country at large.

Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Yemi Olowolabi, who is also an indigene expressed the readiness of the present administration to develop the hill to an international standard to serve as means of generating income.

He said the Rotimi Akeredolu administration would develop all tourist centres.

Idanre Hill is our pride and our heritage in Ondo State. We shall therefore develop it to international standard and ensure its elevation.


Tourism Observer

NIGERIA: Pythons Are Sacred, Whoever Kills One Will Be Enveloped By Problems

All over Enugwu Ukwu and beyond, pythons are like beautiful brides. They must not be hurt or killed. In fact, it is a taboo to do harm to pythons there.

The town is culturally buoyant, even as it has embraced modernity in all ramifications.

All over Enugwu Ukwu and beyond, pythons are like beautiful brides. They must not be hurt or killed. In fact, it is a taboo to do harm to pythons there. There are dire consequences for hurting the creature.

Pa Francis Anisiobi, from Urunnebo village is a traditional doctor and chief priest of the Ngene deity, which owns the pythons.

Explaining why pythons are not killed in Enugwu Ukwu, the chief priest said: Our forefathers came into the world and saw that pythons were not killed in this area because the pythons belonged to the shrine. And whoever killed it would be enveloped by problems.

Whoever kills a python in Umunri as a whole will be required to do certain things to free himself from the disastrous consequences of the act.

First, some native doctors will be consulted for divination, and he will be told what to do. He will organise burial rites for the python and bury it at Ajoagwa Arusi.

The burial rites include bringing goat and chicken that will be taken to the shrine. After that, if the person is having problems, they will stop.

What sort of problems could someone who kills a python have?

If he is a businessman, his business will start dwindling. He is a driver, he will continue to have accidents; he will not die but continue to battle difficulties.

There is nothing that the person does that will progress. So, if he is conscious enough to make appropriate consultation, the cause of his misfortune will be revealed to him.

He will go to the shrine with two native doctors for divination and he will be told what to do so that he can make progress.

But where he refuses to do what he was asked to do, he will remain in problems. It could be that if the person has a child, that child will die.

It can affect many children. Maybe at that point, the person will do the needful. Organising burial rites for a python does not stop the offender from going to church or to belong to any society.

It has been there since time immemorial, from the time of our forefathers. It is not a recent development.

Does it mean that the reptiles are harmless?

It does not bite. It can even go and lie with children so that it can experience some heat. Some people will take it out with bare hands, telling it that the children are afraid.

If it comes into a house, you just gently take it out. During the rainy season, it usually looks for a warm place. It could enter the kitchen if it is open. It does not bite.

I have not seen or heard about anybody bitten by a python in my village. It does bite anybody in Umunri as a whole. Even if you step on it, it would jump up and continue moving.

Anisiobi said that it does not matter if the offender is a stranger; the consequences are same.

The person will experience problems. That is why we tell non-indigenes on time that we do not kill pythons. There was someone who unknowingly killed a python while working in his farm.

He saw a snake and killed it and brought it out majestically. He was from Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. He experienced serious problems. He spent all he got from his farm that year to free himself.

If he had not done that he would have continually been in trouble. Ironically, when he killed the python, he rushed out of the bush in excitement, saying that he had killed big meat.

We told him it was an abomination; we do not kill pythons in our place. Problems started manifesting in his life immediately. So, he did the needful and was liberated. He is still living with us till today.

Explaining that it does not mean that they worship pythons, the former policeman said: We do not worship pythons.

We plead for blessings from God through the shrine that owns the pythons. God created it and created everything in the world. We came into the world and discovered from our forefathers that they did not kill pythons.

We also have a big river or lake mmiri arusi, mmiri ngenenebaka. There are more than 30 crocodiles there. There is nothing lacking there.

Children go there to swim and they were usually warned that they would have problems if the swam there. A particular boy was always going there to swim; he would abscond from Nimo Boys Secondary School and take kids to go and swim there.

Despite series of warnings, he did not listen. One fateful day, I was in the shrine that I feed and I warned them to go away. Others obeyed and dressed up but he did not. He entered the river and stood up there. And he died. Water did not enter his mouth but he was dead.

The children that went there to swim with him were detained at the police station in Abagana. Some swimmers went into the lake and brought him out. His stomach was flat because water did not enter into mouth.

It was like he stuck there. There is a signboard warning people not to swim in the lake. Fishing is also not allowed there.

The remains were brought to the front of the Urunnebo hall. He was buried by the side of the river. It happened two years ago. He was popularly known as Okocha because he was light complexioned.

He was less than 18, very popular. Such victims do not get burial rites. He died in vain; he died for obstinacy, because he was warned.

The lake is beside the shrine. Ezu ngene Urunneboaka warned from the time of our ancestors that it would not tolerate any fishing there because, when you do, you disturb the spirits resident there.

If anybody wants to do rituals, you do it. The crocodiles and the rest of them would come out and make merry. After the sacrifice, progress would be made. But he cannot go without the chief priest.

Whatever anyone that goes fishing there sees, he would take it. It means he went there secretly. The person would be assailed by sicknesses. The person would deteriorate in all forms.

That is why people don’t go fishing there. Communities have things they forbid. In Ogbunike, for instance, they don’t kill the tortoise. If you go there, you would tortoises moving about because they don’t kill them.

If you come to our shrine, the first thing you see is God the creator.

Thereafter, you begin to call upon the things kept on earth. Christians don’t disturb us. On Sundays, you tell your children to go to church to listen to the word of God. But tradition remains profound. We work together with Christians or people who go to church.

If there is anything happening in the church, we cooperate. If there are levies in the church, you make sure that you are up-to-date in payments. Give Jesus what belongs to him and Caesar his due.

It is all channeled to one God because He created everything in the world. If those things were not useful to him, he would not have created them. There is so much power in the world; only God knows all. Those sent down from heaven are receiving power from God. Power is in the river.

We, traditionalists, obey nso ana. Our motto is, live and let live. Whatever you would not want anyone to do to you, do not do to another.

We don’t marry our relations. We forbid so many things such as involvement in bad or ungodly things. We belong to many societies that confer different titles so as obey nso ana. God created the heavens and the earth and we obey all so as to live long.

Igwebuike Alloysius Okeke from Akiyi village in Enugu Ukwu, said: Pythons, in my place, belong to the deity. Anybody who kills a python in my village will have to organise a burial ceremony for it just like it is done for human beings.

The only difference is that people will not gather to mourn as in the case of a human being.

After the burial of the python, the land will have to be cleansed by appeasing the deity.

Certain items will be presented before the deity for the appeasement. That is how it is done in my village. Coming to the issue of Ngwu, it came to Akiyi from Awkuzu, because its kindred are from there. It is not everybody that eats its head, unless it calls you.

Before then, it gave a sign and, on investigation, it would be discovered that it has invited one to be one of its relations. And when you come, all the necessary requirements would be spelt out for you.

After that, you would provide all of them, including some animals, which would be sacrificed before the Ngwu.

After the sacrifice, you would eat the meat and thereafter, you become its relation because it is assumed you have dined and wined with it.

On why the people don’t kill pythons, Okeke said: The way I understand it is that the python belongs to the deity and should not be killed. It enters peoples’ houses and compounds but it does not destroy anything.

Even if it bites you, there is no problem. That is why we have decided to follow our forebears to keep the tradition.

If anybody kills the python without letting people know what he or she has done, it would not take long before the person begins to have a series of problems and that is why anybody who kills it would always tell others what has happened.

For example, if such a person is in a vehicle that is involved in an accident, only the person would sustain injuries; others would be saved.

The person could also be cultivating land and accidentally injure himself with the hoe or cutlass, and such wounds would never heal until investigation reveals that such a person killed a python sometime in the past without telling anybody.

Sometimes, people, including the person that killed the python would cry like when somebody dies. The people that cry are just people that are around and who understand what the culture says regarding killing a python.

Then they would get a carton, put the python inside it and bury it before other rites would be carried out.

Yes, it could be buried in a coffin. A person who wants to accord full respect to it would buy a small coffin and bury it because, at the end of the day, it is all about burial.

Okeke further said: Other necessary rituals after the burial include the fact that the priest in charge of the python could demand a fowl or a goat to be slaughtered.

Whatever their demand, it would be provided so that the sacrifice would be complete. Even if you are a visitor in this village, as long as you keep to the rules guiding us here, the python will not harm you in any way.

Well, you know that all over the world, religion is supposed to be a personal choice. But here you find Christians wishing that tradition be abolished, so that everybody will follow Christianity. But so far so good, there has been no clash.

Christians are worshiping their God while the traditionalists are equally doing their own thing.

There is no problem between the two at all in this village.


Tourism Observer

NETHERLANDS: Places You May Try Out To Enjoy Dinner In Amsterdam

The Dutch have a long history of turning old buildings into something else. Think of the Kruisherenkerk (church) in Maastricht that is now a hotel.

Or the old tram depot in Amsterdam that’s now the Foodhallen.

So it’s no surprise that there are some weird and wonderful places to eat dinner in Amsterdam and its environs. Here are places to explore next time you feel like dinner with a difference:

Revolving office block: Moon When the old Shell building across the IJ River was transformed into the A’DAM Tower, restaurant Moon was one of the first new inhabitants to open. Any why? Because of the spectacular view diners are treated to from 360 degrees of revolving glass.

Given that the restaurant is on the 19th floor, and the full rotation takes 90 minutes, just about long enough for a proper meal, it’s definitely a dining experience worth saving up for.

And the food isn’t bad either: Chefs Jaimie van Heije and Tommy den Hartog have dreamt up a fine dining menu that presents classic dishes remixed with international flavours. Dinner will set you back a pretty penny, but you’re paying for the view as much as the meal.

An island fortress: Pampus Forteiland Pampus is only accessible by boat, which is logical given that it’s a tiny island in the middle of the IJmeer that was built between 1887 and 1895 to defend Amsterdam against invaders.

While it’s no longer being used as a defence fort, the building itself remains largely unchanged save for what goes on inside it. Nowadays, you can take tours, attend festivals, and even get married there.

But more importantly, you can reserve the Zomerlicht (summer light) experience during the warm months or the Winterlicht (winter light) experience during the cold months, both of which are culinary adventures in their own right.

Either way, you’ll board an atmospheric boat in IJburg, and the rest of your evening will be taken care of for you expect seasonal, local Dutch produce in a magical setting.

A moving train: Dinner Train Doing what it says on the tin, the Dinner Train is a restaurant housed in a train that runs from Amsterdam Centraal via Haarlem and Leiden to The Hague, and then back again via Gouda and Woerden.

The entire experience takes around three hours, including a four course dinner with wine.

Although the food isn’t incredible, the kitchen does a decent job given the train’s obvious limitations, and freely flowing wine is certainly a plus.

Whatever the time of year, you’ll look out over Holland’s fields and villages, although I’d imagine that it’s particularly spectacular in spring when the flowers are in full bloom between Haarlem and Leiden.

A television studio on stilts: REM Eiland From the waters of the Houthavens, TV Nordzee broadcast to thousands of Dutch viewers for just a few months back in 1964.

When the TV station was shut down by the government, the broadcasting station essentially a platform built on stilts fell into disuse until it was reborn as a restaurant several years ago.

Nowadays, you can eat a modern European menu of meat, fish and vegetarian options while gazing out over the industrial terrain of the Houthavens which is itself now being revived as a gentrified area to live and work.

The terrace on the top deck is particularly sought after on sunny days, so long as you have a head for heights.

Water pumping station: Café-Restaurant Amsterdam When a city is four metres below sea level, water management is of paramount importance.

So it’s no surprise that since the 1900s, the Westerpark area has had its own water pumping machine, water tower and engine room.

While these have evolved in the intervening years, the disused engine room was converted into a café and restaurant in 1996.

Unfortunately it seems they couldn’t think of a more creative name for it, but at least you know what you’re getting with Café-Restaurant Amsterdam.

Nowadays, they serve a simple but well executed menu of sandwiches at lunchtime and classics like steak-frites or mussels at dinnertime. It’s also known for its child-friendliness.

An island: Vuurtoreneiland Yup, another island that’s what happens when a city is built on water. This time, a lighthouse island originally built over three centuries ago and holding various functions since then.

Now, you can take a boat from the Veemkade to the island just off Durgerdam for a Dutch fine dining experience that varies according to season.

In summer, you eat in a giant greenhouse from which you can see the nature around you and hopefully the sunset.

In winter, you eat in the converted fort think open hearth fireplaces, romantic candles and sheepskin rugs.

As the island has no electricity or running water, food is cooked using old-school wood and fire, while cutlery and glasses aren’t changed between courses to save on water usage.

The menu has a clear local, seasonal message that’s heavy in vegetables and sustainable protein throughout its six courses. An intimate dining experience that’s well worth the waiting list.

The ground floor of a multi-storey car park: Waterkant Underneath a multi-storey carpark, Waterkant is now the place to be on sunny days in Amsterdam thanks to its expansive terrace stretching along the Singelgracht, the canal between Nassaukade and Marnixstraat, not to be confused with the Singel itself.

Waterkant’s menu has much to offer in the realm of snacks and beers, but the focus of the main meals is Surinamese.

Be sure to try one of their roti rolls a filled flatbread, gado-gado which are vegetables with peanut sauce, or bakkeljauw a salt cod – preferably washed down a Parbo beer.

A greenhouse: De Kas Housed in an enormous greenhouse and surrounded by plentiful gardens in the Frankendael Park is restaurant De Kas – a long-loved favourite in Amsterdam.

The chefs pluck much of their menu from the greenhouse and gardens themselves, and what isn’t grown in their own backyard comes from nearby farms. So this dining experience is about as local as you can get.

Dishes are small but you’ll eat five or six of them at dinnertime, and they change daily depending on what’s available. Expect Mediterranean flavours, impeccable service, and beautiful surroundings.

A ferry: Pont 13 Anyone who’s spent even just a day in Amsterdam will have noticed the public ferries that trek back and forth across the IJ River at various points.

While most of these are for pedestrians and two-wheelers only, there are a couple of small car ferries – and what happens when one of these reaches the end of its ferrying life?

It gets turned into a restaurant, naturally! Pont 13, just down the pier from REM Eiland, was one such ferry that’s now permanently moored for its guests.

The dinner menu is simple, featuring a selection of antipasti to start, simple grilled fish and meal for main, and a few signature desserts don’t miss the cheesecake!. It’s also an excellent option for group dining and large events.

Housed on an industrial railway bridge from the 1920s that rotated to let boats pass through the Westerdok, Wolf Atelier may no longer move physically but it certainly buzzes with atmosphere.

Chef Michael Wolf’s innovative cuisine has earned him a great reputation among the city’s gastronomes, and diners can choose from fixed chef’s menus as well as a la carte dishes.

In fact, the bridge saw a few iterations of restaurants before its current version, but Amsterdammers are hoping this one’s here to stay.


Tourism Observer

CONSERVATION: Illegal Trade In Indian Star Tortoises Has Skyrocketed.

They’re pretty. They’re harmless. And they won’t give you salmonella, unlike the once popular pet, the red-eared slider turtle. Indian star tortoises are now the stars of the pet trade.

They used to be a species conservationists didn’t worry about. Occasionally one would show up at a Hindu temple as an object of worship, they still do—the god Vishnu is believed to have been reincarnated as a tortoise, but there just wasn’t much of a market for them.

Now, reptile experts and the broader conservation community are worried. The illegal trade in Indian star tortoises has skyrocketed.

Back in 2004, one estimate figured about 10,000 to 20,000 were being taken illegally from the wild over the tortoises’ entire range, which encompasses India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

But in just a single rural village center in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, middlemen collected at least 55,000 Indian star tortoises poached from nearby smaller settlements in 2014, according to a recent study in the journal Nature Conservation by the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.

Not only that, but the booming trade in Indian star tortoises is also likely contributing to the decline in even rarer species—the radiated tortoise and the ploughshare tortoise, of which there are fewer than 200 adults left in the wild.

What we found was pretty horrific, said Aniruddha Mookerjee, of the London-Based nonprofit World Animal Protection and one of the study’s authors. The numbers are adding up to something quite staggering.

It’s a warning about other species we think are stable, said Peter Paul van Dijk, the director of the tortoise and freshwater turtle program at Conservation International and one of the world’s leading experts on the animals.

A change in circumstances allowed something that was never a trade to develop into a robust one, van Dijk said. The possible ripple effects in this case the easier trafficking of even rarer animals too makes the warning all the more dire.

Aside from the huge numbers, there’s another problem: The animals being poached from the wild are primarily babies and juveniles.

They’re easier to smuggle because they’re smaller and lighter. That’s good in that it means there are still adults around to replenish the population, but it’s also worrisome: Once the parents die, that could lead to population collapse.

Intensive collection for export trade means that any hatchling or juvenile will be found and removed well before it can grow up and join the adult reproducing population, van Dijk said. The existing adults will eventually die of old age, leaving the area without any tortoises at all.

The Indian star tortoise isn’t now considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the international body that sets conservation statuses for species around the world.

But it’s on its way to to being listed as vulnerable, a step below endangered, said van Dijk, who is also part of the IUCN’s turtle and tortoise specialist group that is evaluating the Indian star tortoise’s conservation status.

The tortoise is protected both in India, where it’s illegal to own or trade them commercially, and internationally.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which regulates the international wildlife trade, requires a permit to export them from their home country to ensure that their trade doesn’t harm population levels.

Despite these legal protections, which experts agree are adequate on paper, the illegal trade has skyrocketed.

It began with the Asian turtle crisis. As China opened itself up to economic trade after the Tiananmen Square massacre, Chinese demand for luxury items in particular, softshell turtle meat skyrocketed.

Supply increased with demand, and by 2009, up to three-quarters of Asia’s 90 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises were threatened, according to an IUCN estimate.

The Indian star tortoise was not part of this crisis.

But with trade routes well established from the food trade, it was only a matter of time before these routes began supplying the exotic pet trade as well—and only a matter of time before traffickers began trading Indian star tortoises to meet that demand.

We’ve been noticing this going on for at least a decade now, said Mookerjee of the growing Indian star tortoise trade. But we weren’t really sure what the size of the business was.

Still, the collection 55,000 Indian star tortoises that the researchers and their team observed in a single community was unexpected. We were just shocked at the pure volume of animals that was being shifted, said Neil D’Cruze, another of the study’s authors.

The traits that helped tortoises outlast dinosaurs their shells and slow metabolisms are now being exploited by traffickers.

Part of the reason for the increase in trade may be that Indian star tortoises are more resilient than other types of exotic pets. The traits that helped tortoises outlast dinosaurs their shells and slow metabolisms are now being exploited by traffickers.

That’s not to say that these animals don’t suffer, taped up and stuffed into suitcases, D’Cruze said. Their shells crack, they get stressed, and diseases spread quickly since they’re packed into close quarters.

Many don’t survive the smuggling process. However, criminal actors are simply building this cruelty and mortality rates into their business model and are still able to make money.

Indian star tortoises are collected from the wild by rural villagers, who then sell them to middlemen.

Then the tortoises get passed to highly organized, professional traffickers who get them out of the country and into Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and other wildlife trade hubs. That’s where they become legal.

Thailand, for example, has laws protecting native turtles and tortoises, but it has no laws against trade in nonnative species, such as the Indian star tortoise that were taken illegally in another country.

So if a trafficker can smuggle the illegally taken tortoises out of India and through Thai customs, they’re safe. And legal.

Along the way, the shipments of tortoises sometimes acquire falsified paperwork indicating that they were captive bred. That makes it easier to trade to Americans and Europeans, who are also big customers of the species, where enforcement of wildlife laws is stricter.

No one ever expected these loopholes to be exploited so blatantly, van Dijk said.

The trade in Indian star tortoises now provides cover for trade in species that are even more at risk: Madagascar’s radiated tortoise and ploughshare tortoise, both critically endangered.

The radiated tortoise has a starry pattern on its shell, very similar to the Indian star tortoise, and the ploughshare has a protective neck plate below its chin shaped like the blade of a plow.

In a shipment of baby Indian star tortoises out of Thailand, which is legal even if the tortoises themselves were poached from India, who’s going to notice one or two almost identical radiated tortoises tucked among them?

Or a tan ploughshare, of which there are fewer than 200 mature adults left in the wild? It’s not easy for an overworked, undertrained customs agent to pick the critically endangered smuggled individual from the mass of legal ones.

In a shipment of baby Indian star tortoises, who’s going to notice one or two almost identical, but critically endangered, radiated tortoises tucked among them?

The identification of these reptiles can be extremely difficult for enforcement authorities, who effectively must also be able to identify any species at any time, be they fish or fowl, D’Cruze said.

Without knowing where a species came from, even trained scientists who have dedicated themselves to understanding the different characteristics of various species can have a hard time identifying animals, he said.

This does present the perfect opportunity for criminal actors to pass protected species off as unprotected species.

In 2013, Thai customs agents caught a pair of smugglers at the airport with 300 Indian star tortoises, 21 radiated tortoises, and 54, ploughsharesan estimated 10-plus percent of the entire remaining population of ploughshares.

Mixing in similar-looking animals of different, rarer species in legal trade shipments, van Dijk said, is a trick as old as there have been animal trade regulations.


Tourism Observer

CONSERVATION: Wildlife Smugglers Nabbed And Sentenced

The smugglers wrapped the 316 radiated tortoises in tinfoil to avoid x-ray detection, flew them from Madagascar to China last February, and turned them over to an airport employee who snuck them to an apartment.

The goal of the scheme: to breed the creatures, sell the offspring, and rake in big bucks from the sales.

But things didn’t work out that way.

Police soon busted the employee, who worked for Guangzhou Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, a city in southeast China. They later arrested other members of the gang, including buyers from Beijing and Guangxi, a region in southern China that borders Vietnam.

Now a court has sentenced the leader of the operation to 11 years in prison, announced the NGO Wildlife Conservation Society, which provided guidance during the prosecution.

The airport worker cooperated with investigators and received a five-year punishment, and sentences for the other five defendants ranged from 21 months to seven years.

The gang began smuggling tortoises as early as 2014, investigators rescued an additional 130 tortoises.

Radiated tortoises, found in the forests of Madagascar, get their name from the intricate yellow star patterns that adorn their upper shells, or carapaces.

They're critically endangered, though it's unclear exactly how many remain in the wild.

Habitat loss has wiped out many of these beauties, and the ones that hang on contend with poaching for their meat and the pet trade.

Trade in radiated tortoises or their parts is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by 182 countries that regulates wildlife transactions across borders.

Through the arrest and sentencing of these smugglers, many radiated tortoises were saved—both directly through the confiscation of the animals, and by the message sent by the sentencing, said Aili Kang, director of the Asia program of the Wildlife Conservation Society, in a press release.

Here are other wildlife crime busts, convictions, and investigations around the world:

RHINO RENEGADES: Members of South Africa’s Hawks investigative unit busted three men accused of possessing nearly 120 rhino horns. The men allegedly intended to sell five of the horns to an undercover agent.

The men were released on bail, and the case was postponed until October 12. Poachers hunt rhinos to sell their horns to Vietnam and China, where they’re used in traditional medicine and viewed as a status symbol.

TIGER TRADING: A judge sentenced a tiger skin trader and two men who killed a tiger in the Amravati District in Maharashtra, a state in central India, to three years in prison each.

The poachers sold the tiger’s skin and bones, which are used in tiger wine, a potion claimed treat rheumatism and impotence.

SEAHORSE SEIZURE: French customs officers confiscated about 2,000 dead seahorses.

They were found in parcels from Guinea that were destined for Vietnam, where people sell them as souvenirs and for use in traditional medicine. An estimated 24 million seahorses are plucked from the wild and traded illegally each year.

SNAKES IN A SUITCASE: Police arrested a German man at Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport after customs officials found dozens of snakes, lizards, and other reptiles hidden in his suitcase.

Forty of the reptiles didn’t survive, and the others were taken to a reptile shelter. The man was on his way from South Africa to Germany to sell the animals at a reptile fair, according to the report.

WILDLIFE AT SEA: Law enforcement officers discovered 17 protected animals inside boxes on a cargo ship at the port of Soekarno-Hatta, in Makassar, a city in eastern Indonesia.

The police found three black eagles, two wild cats, two weasels, two otters, and six owls hidden on the ship.

They arrested two people suspected of picking up the wildlife from the port.


Tourism Observer