Kenya: MPs drop punitive taxes from Finance Bill over protests
Kenya’s National Assembly’s finance committee has bowed to pressure from different stakeholders and dropped several contentious clauses in the Finance Bill 2024, even as Kenyans took to the streets in Nairobi on Tuesday (18 June) morning to protest against the proposed laws.
Kenya Kwanza’s Parliamentary Group, which was chaired by President William Ruto at State House on Tuesday, comes as his emboldened deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, has been accused of inciting MPs associated with him to shoot down the Bill over its punitive proposals.
In an address to the nation, the Kimani Kuria-led committee announced the proposed changes, noting that they were informed by the inflationary pressures confronting a lot of Kenyans.
Rema’s “Calm Down” makes Afrobeats history in the US
Rema’s Calm Down cannot stop making music history – the latest accolade for the hit by the 24-year-old Nigerian star is that it is now the most-streamed Afrobeats song in the US.
It has become “the first Afrobeats song in history to earn over one billion on-demand streams in the US”, the music monitoring platform Chart Data has said on X. Last year, Chart Data described the track as the “most successful African song of all time”.
Billboard magazine music analysts attributed its success to its “melancholy slow jam with a subtle hypnotic draw”.“[It’s] the kind that gets stuck deep in the back of a listener’s mind, prompting them to return again and again.”
World Refugee Day: ECOWAS Peace Fund reaffirms unwavering commitment to humanitarian assistance
As of October 2023, there were 6,976,470 forcibly displaced by conflicts and violence and stateless persons in the ECOWAS sub-region, including 6,352,346 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 624,124 refugees and asylum-seekers.
Nigeria and Burkina Faso host the highest displaced populations, with 3,578,996 and 2,062,534 individuals, respectively.
Hajj deaths: Egypt withdraws operating licenses of 16 tourism companies
Egypt withdrew the operating licenses of 16 tourism companies and referred them to the public prosecutor, accusing them of being responsible for the deaths of Egyptian pilgrims in Mecca, a crisis unit tasked with addressing the situation said on Saturday.
Medical and security sources say at least 530 Egyptians died during this year’s hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, while the statement from the unit, formed on Thursday and headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, said 31 deaths were confirmed as a result of chronic illness.
The tourism companies that facilitated the travel of those who died did not provide them with services of any kind, including medical services, the statement said without naming the companies involved.
Brooklyn pastor ‘Bling Bishop’ sentenced to nine years for fraud and extortion
Lamor Whitehead, a flashy Brooklyn pastor nicknamed the “Bling Bishop,” was sentenced on Monday to nine years in prison after being convicted of using a parishioner’s retirement savings and trying to extort a businessman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced.
Whitehead was found guilty in March of two counts of wire fraud, as well as one count each of attempted wire fraud attempted extortion and making false statements to federal law enforcement agents. The convictions are from three separate schemes.
In addition to his prison sentence, the 45-year-old New Jersey man “was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay US$85,000 in restitution and forfeit US$95,000,” according to a news release from the US attorney’s office and court documents.
Affiliates: Azay FM 89.1 (Takoradi), Bawku FM 101.5, Bead FM 99.9 (Bimbilla), Mining City Radio 89.5 (Tarkwa), Nyatefe Radio 94.5 (Dzodze), Somuaa FM 89.9 (Gushegu), Stone City 90.7 (Ho) and Wale FM 106.9 (Walewale).
Listen online: asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn.
Follow us:
X: @asaaseradio995, @Asaase985ksi, @Asaase997tamale, @asaase1003, asaasepa1073
Instagram: asaaseradio99.5, asaase985ksi, asaase100.3, asaase99.7tamale, asaasepa107.3
LinkedIn: company/asaaseradio995. TikTok: @asaaseradio99.5
Facebook: asaase99.5, asaase985ksi, Asaase100.3, asaase99.7, AsaasePa107.3.
YouTube: AsaaseXtra.
Join the conversation. Accra: call 020 000 9951/054 888 8995, WhatsApp 020 000 0995. Kumasi: call 059 415 7985 or call/WhatsApp 020 631 5260. Tamale: call/WhatsApp/SMS 053 554 6468. Cape Coast: call/WhatsApp 059 388 2652.
#AsaaseRadio
#AsaasePa
#TheVoiceofOurLand
