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Chania
....has the port code and IATA code CHQ, which gives us the neat formula, "GCHQ" (Government Communications Headquarters) where "G" is an abbreviation.
Coming after a controversial marketing drive, Peter Kosminsky’s new series The Undeclared War harbours warnings and an all-star cast, as Dan
LIE
is the IATA code for Libenge Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The airport is situated in the far north of the country, close to the tri-border with the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo.
A mass accident occured in May 1948 when a passenger aircraft en route to Libenge from Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) flew into a tornado and was downed by a gust of wind, causing 31 fatalities. At the time, this was the worst aviation disaster ever suffered in the Congo. This accident pales, however, in comparison with the 1996 African Air/Moscow Airlines disaster at Kinshasa-N'Dolo Airport. On that occasion, 237 fatalities were caused when an Antonov-32B plane overran the runway and the airport during an attempted takeoff, crashing in a market square. In 2011, 77 lives were lost when a Boeing 727 operated by Hewa Bora Airways crashed on landing at Kisangani Airport.
The Congolese politician Léon Kengo wa Dondo was born in Libenge in 1935. Kengo was Prime Minister under President Mobuto when the country was named Zaire and later became President of the Senate of Congo, serving until April 2019. He was widely recognised as an advocate for free markets and globalisation. Last year, mysterious reports surfaced alleging that Kengo wa Dondo had been "kidnapped" by his own family and was being de facto "imprisoned" in Brussels. A week ago, however, it was reported that the Joseph Olenghankoy had spoken to him in relation to the 2016 New Year's Eve agreement, which concerns power-sharing modalities as a means to resolve political and constitutional crises within the DRC. In 1979, Kengo, who was then Attorney-General, prosecuted the popular Congolese musician, Franco for obscenity on the basis of the lyrics to his song, Jacky. After serving 1 month in prison, Franco subsequently released another song, Tailleur, poking fun at the Attorney-General. Franco died in 1989 but this incident remains one for which Franco's fans and supporters hold a grudge against Kengo wa Dondo and which is still invoked against him to this day.
[Kinshasa to Libenge, via StreetMap]
"TOM"
is the unlocode for Timbuktu—Fr. Tombouctou—a city in Mali located on the southern edge of the Sahara, about 8 miles (13 km) north of the Niger River.
Tombouctou was historically important as a trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route and as a centre of Islamic culture (c. 1400–1600). The city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988. In 2012, in response to armed conflict in the region, Timbuktu was added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger.
Travellers to Tombouctou often choose to travel by road from Bamako (BKO), the capital of Mali.
BOLO: Tommy; Tomorrow; Tombola; Tomboy; Lobotomy; Tomb; Tombstone; Tomcat; Tomogram; Tomato; Atom; and Stoma. 🎟🧠🪦🐈🍅⚛️🇲🇱👀
Disambiguation: TOM is the ICAO code for TUI Airways.
SPR
is the unlocode for San Pedro, Belize.
Those of you who follow closely will know that our little network of anagrammers spends about one hour every weekday taking in the sights and sounds of beautiful Belize. And San Pedro is right up there among our places of chief interest.
San Pedro Town lies on the southern part of the island of Ambergris Caye, to the north of the Gulf of Honduras. Ambergris Caye—and San Pedro, in particular—is said to have been the inspiration behind Madonna's hit song La Isla Bonita. The original inhabitants of the island were mostly Mexican and, to this day, Spanish is one of the primary languages spoken, although the official language of Belize is English which is also in common use on the island, along with Kriol and Kitchen Spanish.
The town is known for its annual El Gran Carnaval de San Pedro, which is similar to Mardi Gras.
San Pedro Port lies southwest of the town on the Chetumal Channel. SPR is also the IATA Code for John Greif II Airport, which lies to the northeast of the town, on the Caribbean Sea.
Ambergris Caye hit the UK headlines last year when a Canadian Socialite, Jasmin Hartin—who was married to the son of Billionaire Conservative Party Donor, Lord Ashcroft—confessed to accidentally shooting a Belizean police officer, Superintendent Henry Jemmott, on the island. The case—which has apparently cost her custody of her children—remains shrouded in mystery as she awaits trial but has taken a series of surprising twists, including a claim that Ms Hartin was a gang member who had taken out a contract on the life of police chief, Chester Williams and an interview in which she offers the observation that her husband would benefit from her remaining in jail.
BOLO: Strategic Petroleum Reserve; Senatus Populusque Romanus; SPQR (Q[uarters]—SPR); Disproves (Dove is SPR); Misprints (Mint is SPR); Spry (SPR? Y.); Sprat (...at SPR); Sprain (A in SPR); Sprung (Gun—SPR); Osprey (Yeo—SPR); or Spring (Gin—SPR). ⛽️🏛🦅🇧🇿👀
Disambiguation: San Pedro Port, Quellon, Chile; Port of San Pedro, Argentina; Port of San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire.
"LIM"
is today's random locode. It's the UN locode for Lima, the capital of Peru, and the IATA code for Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport.
Lima is the commercial and industrial heart of Peru. It abuts the south bank of the Rímac River, inland from the major port of Callao. Nicknamed both the City of Kings and Lima La Gris (Lima the Grey), Lima is recognised as an attractive destination for tourism on account of its historic centre featuring one of the oldest catacombs in Latin America. It is also widely reputed for its restaurants and cultural must-sees, which include the MAC (Museum of Contemporary Art) and the MALI (Museo de Art de Lima).
In June 1965, then Lima-Callao International Airport was renamed the "Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez" after the Peruvian aviator Jorge Chavez Dartnell and it was opened six months later.
The airport was heavily featured in the British press in 2013, when the media became transfixed by the story of the Peru Two—two women from the UK who were arrested trying to smuggle £1.5m (11kg) worth of cocaine from Peru to Ibiza in 2013. Public opinion was bitterly divided on the subject of the women's conduct and their subsequent experience of a Peruvian jail.
One of the two, Michaella McCollum, (in)famously said later:
"I didn't really know where Peru was but I didn't think it was in South America. I'd never heard of it before. Because I was first told I was going to Barcelona and then Mallorca, I thought that Peru was going to be somewhere in Spain."
Both women were arrested at Lima Jorge Chávez airport on 6 August 2013, prosecuted and jailed in Peru for over two years. They were eventually released and each subsequently claimed to have turned her life around.
This year, the government in Lima has been looking to the US for help in tackling the production of illegal drugs in Peru and the flow of drugs from Colombia through Peru to major ports on the pacific coast like Callao (PECLL).
Peru wants to secure a deal with the United States as soon as possible to help it tackle the use of planes to smuggle cocaine at a time when
BOLO: Liminal (L.A. in Lim), Limes (Es—LIM), Lima Beans and Limo (O-LIM).
Disambiguation: slang terms such as Lime Acid (aka Live), Slime (aka La Tierra) and Lima (aka Lemon-Lime) as well as the anagrammatical terms Mali (West Africa) and Mail (ie, postal service).
"FR/SET"
...is the port code for Sète on the south coast of France, a major port city and a tourist destination famed for its sandy beaches.
Sète is supplied by a rich network of canals and celebrates its reputation as the "Venice of the Languedoc".
BOLO: Seth (H-SET); Sect and Insect (C [in] SET); Best (B-SET); Latest (L at SET); Stem (M-SET); Setup/Upset (p.u.—SET); Sets (S-SET); and Crest (CR—SET). 🤦♂️🐞🌱🌊🇫🇷👀
Disambiguation: L'est (the East), Setubal, Portugal (PT/SET) and Serra Talhada Santa Magalhaes Airport, Brazil (SET).
"My Guy"
...is a tale in 5 letters—(Take that, "Baby Shoes" Hemingway!)—of "Chicago" Gary and the elusive One Big, Golden Deal that he said would make him richer than Croesus, "just like the President of France".
More specifically, it's an anagram:
Mu—GYY
or
Gum—YY (Virginwings)
But then again:
"GUY" is the IATA code for Guymon Airport in the Oklahoma panhandle (as well as Air Antilles) and it's also the 3-digit country code for Guyana, while, MY and YM are transport codes. (MY is the old IATA code for MASAir, now branded as Malaysia Airlines. YM is an abbreviation usually signifying Yang Ming Line.)
Donald Trump repeatedly bragged that he knew illicit details of Emmanuel Macron’s sex life, a report has claimed, days after a file on the F
"Living"
...must be:
Gin—LIV (GB/LIV)
or
G in LIV
where Gin is a type of Bird and G is Bands, Geeb or Gee.
But,
"Cost of Living Crisis"
is harder. I quite like:
Foil crossings—Civit[avecchia] (IT/CVV)
Crossings from/to where? Corsica or Sardinia, I presume.
[Thought prompt—Marina Hyde today.]
