Igihe

Author: b_igi_adm1n

  • HE. Karega Presents Credentials to Mozambique President

    The High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda in Mozambique with residence in South Africa, H.E Vincent Karega, presented a letter of credence to HE. Armando Guebuza, of the Republic of Mozambique and current chairperson of Southern African Development Community (SADC).

    In his exchange with H.E President Armando Guebuza, H.E Vincent Karega reiterated October 10, the value that Rwanda gives to her relations with Mozambique, particularly because of the historical political similarities that Rwanda share with Mozambique.

    Both countries went through liberation struggles and are actively involved in bringing stability and economic development in their respective nations.

    H.E President Armando Guebuza expressed his appreciation on booming investment in Rwanda. He reiterated the need to trade and work together.

    Prior to this ceremony, The High Commissioner Vincent Karega held a lengthy discussion with Mozambique Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Henrique Banze, with whom they exchanged on progress registered in Rwanda, the revival of Joint Permanent commission between Mozambique and Rwanda and opportunities offered by the invocation of the cessation clause to Rwandan refugees.

    The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Mozambique’s continuous will to work with Rwanda and the need to multiply meetings between different key stakeholders in a view to exchange experience and information for the welfare of their respective people and the stability of both countries.

    At the end of his visit in Mozambique, the High Commissioner Vincent Karega took this opportunity to visit some of the businesses of Rwandans in Maputo (Mozambique).

    It was noted that they are well established and are contributing to both their well-being and their country through different personal projects in Rwanda.

    The High Commissioner called upon them to make a contribution to the economic development of their country.

    The Rwandan community in Mozambique pledged to make available their contribution to the Agaciro Development Fund. An announcement in that regard will soon be made public.

    The number of Rwandans living in Mozambique is estimated to be around 4,000 people from different sectors, but mostly in small scale business.

    Mozambique is currently holding the chairmanship of SADC and has got good relations with Rwanda. Both Presidents have been meeting in different international fora.

  • Smaller Business Exempted From Taxes

    Businesses earning Frw2 Million or lower in a year have been exempted from taxes. Rwanda Revenue Authority has said.

    Ben Kagarama, the Commissioner General of RRA, said at a news conference, “any business that makes Frw2 million or less will be exempted from taxation.”

    He added that other businesses making Frw2-4 million a year will pay a flat tax of Frw60,000 whereas those making Frw4-7 million will pay Frw120,000 a year.

    Also businesses that generate incomes between Frw7-10 million will pay a total of Frw210,000 while those earning Frw10-12 million will pay Frw300,000 annually.

    Rwanda Revenue Authority says the new changes come after talks with the traders and the Private Sector Federation.

    “We devised a new tax regime which is now imbedded in a new law to make it easy for the businesses to declare taxes,” says Kagarama.

    “previously, businesses making between Frw1.2M and Frw20M were were paying 4% of income..this was considered exorbitantly high. In the new adjustments business that earn Frw2M and lower, have been exempted from taxation.”

  • Smaller Business Exempted From Taxes

    Businesses earning Frw2 Million or lower in a year have been exempted from taxes. Rwanda Revenue Authority has said.

    Ben Kagarama, the Commissioner General of RRA, said at a news conference, “any business that makes Frw2 million or less will be exempted from taxation.”

    He added that other businesses making Frw2-4 million a year will pay a flat tax of Frw60,000 whereas those making Frw4-7 million will pay Frw120,000 a year.

    Also businesses that generate incomes between Frw7-10 million will pay a total of Frw210,000 while those earning Frw10-12 million will pay Frw300,000 annually.

    Rwanda Revenue Authority says the new changes come after talks with the traders and the Private Sector Federation.

    “We devised a new tax regime which is now imbedded in a new law to make it easy for the businesses to declare taxes,” says Kagarama.

    “previously, businesses making between Frw1.2M and Frw20M were were paying 4% of income..this was considered exorbitantly high. In the new adjustments business that earn Frw2M and lower, have been exempted from taxation.”

  • Pope Prays in Arabic For First Time

    Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday pronounced a blessing in Arabic at his weekly audience in front of 20,000 pilgrims on St Peter’s Square — the first time the language has been used at such an event.

    “The pope prays for all Arabic speakers. May God bless you all!” the pope said in Arabic at the audience, after a bishop read out an Arabic translation of the pope’s comments praising the results of the Second Vatican Council.

    The landmark Council, which began 50 years ago this week, is a “compass” for the Catholic Church “in the middle of the storms”, the pope said.

    As a young reformer, the then Joseph Ratzinger took part in the Council, better known as Vatican II, which revolutionised Catholic rituals.

    The Council brought together 2,250 bishops and lasted from 1962 until 1965.

    The pope has always defended the 15 “constitutions” adopted by the Council despite complaints from traditionalists in the Church over several reforms.

    Benedict will celebrate mass on St Peter’s Square on Thursday to launch a “Year of Faith” on the exact anniversary of the start of Vatican II.

  • Pope Prays in Arabic For First Time

    Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday pronounced a blessing in Arabic at his weekly audience in front of 20,000 pilgrims on St Peter’s Square — the first time the language has been used at such an event.

    “The pope prays for all Arabic speakers. May God bless you all!” the pope said in Arabic at the audience, after a bishop read out an Arabic translation of the pope’s comments praising the results of the Second Vatican Council.

    The landmark Council, which began 50 years ago this week, is a “compass” for the Catholic Church “in the middle of the storms”, the pope said.

    As a young reformer, the then Joseph Ratzinger took part in the Council, better known as Vatican II, which revolutionised Catholic rituals.

    The Council brought together 2,250 bishops and lasted from 1962 until 1965.

    The pope has always defended the 15 “constitutions” adopted by the Council despite complaints from traditionalists in the Church over several reforms.

    Benedict will celebrate mass on St Peter’s Square on Thursday to launch a “Year of Faith” on the exact anniversary of the start of Vatican II.

  • Israel Panics, Strange Drone Invades Airspace

    Israel’s civilian air traffic was halted for several minutes on Wednesday morning after an unidentified flying object was spotted inside Israeli air space, Israel’s army radio said.

    Air force jets were briefly scrambled and Israeli air space was closed, it said, without saying what caused the scare. The closure was lifted several minutes later.

    Closing Israeli air space was an “exceptional” measure which demonstrated the level of tension in Israel after the air force shot down an unidentified and unarmed drone which had entered the country’s airspace on Saturday from the Mediterranean.

    Fresh details about the weekend incident emerged on Wednesday with both army radio and the top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily saying the air force had only managed to shoot down the drone on the second attempt.

    Both reports said that the first missile fired by the F-16 jet missed the drone which was eventually brought by a Panther missile, the military’s most advanced air-to-air projectile.

    Senior air force sources quoted by Yediot played down the incident saying it was not unreasonable given the drone’s small size.

    “This is not a failure, no other army in the world with Israel’s aerial defence systems could prevent the infiltration of such aircraft.”

    The military had no immediate comment on Wednesday’s false alarm, nor did they comment on the report suggesting the F-16 had only downed the drone on a second attempt.

    At the time, the military described the operation as a “success” but did not go into details about how the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was intercepted.

    Military officials are investigating where the drone came from, with suspicions it was operated by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia.
    In July 2006, Israel shot down another unarmed drone operated by Hezbollah over the Jewish state’s territorial waters.

    A year earlier, in April 2005, another pilotless Hezbollah aircraft succeeded in overflying part of northern Israel without being downed.

  • Israel Panics, Strange Drone Invades Airspace

    Israel’s civilian air traffic was halted for several minutes on Wednesday morning after an unidentified flying object was spotted inside Israeli air space, Israel’s army radio said.

    Air force jets were briefly scrambled and Israeli air space was closed, it said, without saying what caused the scare. The closure was lifted several minutes later.

    Closing Israeli air space was an “exceptional” measure which demonstrated the level of tension in Israel after the air force shot down an unidentified and unarmed drone which had entered the country’s airspace on Saturday from the Mediterranean.

    Fresh details about the weekend incident emerged on Wednesday with both army radio and the top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily saying the air force had only managed to shoot down the drone on the second attempt.

    Both reports said that the first missile fired by the F-16 jet missed the drone which was eventually brought by a Panther missile, the military’s most advanced air-to-air projectile.

    Senior air force sources quoted by Yediot played down the incident saying it was not unreasonable given the drone’s small size.

    “This is not a failure, no other army in the world with Israel’s aerial defence systems could prevent the infiltration of such aircraft.”

    The military had no immediate comment on Wednesday’s false alarm, nor did they comment on the report suggesting the F-16 had only downed the drone on a second attempt.

    At the time, the military described the operation as a “success” but did not go into details about how the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was intercepted.

    Military officials are investigating where the drone came from, with suspicions it was operated by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia.
    In July 2006, Israel shot down another unarmed drone operated by Hezbollah over the Jewish state’s territorial waters.

    A year earlier, in April 2005, another pilotless Hezbollah aircraft succeeded in overflying part of northern Israel without being downed.

  • Amnesty International Bitter at DRC

    Amnesty International has asked Democratic Republic of Congo to put an end to the fighting in the east of the country where several local and foreign armed groups are committing abuses.

    “The DRC government must take urgent steps to stop the violence in the east of the country and hold to account all who have committed human rights abuses, the London-based watchdog said, as the DRC prepares to host a major gathering of Francophone leaders” Amnesty stated.

    Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International’s Africa Director told AFP that “Human rights abuses continue unabated and with total impunity,”
    “We are urging member states of International Organisation of Francophonie to ensure that the numerous violations of the values and principles stated in the Francophone Charter and the Bamako Declaration are condemned in the strongest possible terms,” He added.

    An Amnesty International delegation has recently returned from eastern DRC, where delegates documented cases of rape, summary killings, forced recruitment of civilians including children, looting and illegal taxation by different armed groups.

    “The organisation should use all existing mechanisms to ensure that the Congolese authorities fulfil their obligations as a member state of Francophonie.”

    Audrey says the leaders of Francophone nations are assembling in a country where there are daily reports of egregious abuses.They cannot ignore the context in which this major summit is taking place.”

    “They have a responsibility to engage with the Congolese authorities and demand action to stop the violence and hold perpetrators to account,” said Audrey Gaughran.

    Since conflict began between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group in April 2012, over 226,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in North Kivu province while about 60,000 have crossed the border to seek refuge in Uganda and Rwanda, the statement said.

    Amnesty International says it is also concerned about the increase of ethnic-related violence.

    Between May and September 2012, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Nyatura and Raia Mutomboki armed groups in Masisi territory specifically targeted civilians who belonged or who were believed to belong to certain ethnic groups.

    “Impunity for breaches of international law has become entrenched in the DRC.”

  • Amnesty International Bitter at DRC

    Amnesty International has asked Democratic Republic of Congo to put an end to the fighting in the east of the country where several local and foreign armed groups are committing abuses.

    “The DRC government must take urgent steps to stop the violence in the east of the country and hold to account all who have committed human rights abuses, the London-based watchdog said, as the DRC prepares to host a major gathering of Francophone leaders” Amnesty stated.

    Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International’s Africa Director told AFP that “Human rights abuses continue unabated and with total impunity,”
    “We are urging member states of International Organisation of Francophonie to ensure that the numerous violations of the values and principles stated in the Francophone Charter and the Bamako Declaration are condemned in the strongest possible terms,” He added.

    An Amnesty International delegation has recently returned from eastern DRC, where delegates documented cases of rape, summary killings, forced recruitment of civilians including children, looting and illegal taxation by different armed groups.

    “The organisation should use all existing mechanisms to ensure that the Congolese authorities fulfil their obligations as a member state of Francophonie.”

    Audrey says the leaders of Francophone nations are assembling in a country where there are daily reports of egregious abuses.They cannot ignore the context in which this major summit is taking place.”

    “They have a responsibility to engage with the Congolese authorities and demand action to stop the violence and hold perpetrators to account,” said Audrey Gaughran.

    Since conflict began between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group in April 2012, over 226,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in North Kivu province while about 60,000 have crossed the border to seek refuge in Uganda and Rwanda, the statement said.

    Amnesty International says it is also concerned about the increase of ethnic-related violence.

    Between May and September 2012, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Nyatura and Raia Mutomboki armed groups in Masisi territory specifically targeted civilians who belonged or who were believed to belong to certain ethnic groups.

    “Impunity for breaches of international law has become entrenched in the DRC.”

  • Campaign on Sustainable Families Launched

    The Prime Minister Dr.Habumuremyi Pierre Damien October 9, joined the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) in the launch of the Family Campaign in Ruhango.

    The 2012 Family Campaign focuses on Sustaining Families through the Promotion of Rwandan Cultural Values.

    The annual celebration aims at addressing issues affecting the Rwandan family and promotes the need to build strong families as a solid foundation to national development and stability.

    Priority issues for this year include well being of Rwandans, improving relationships among family members and promotion of child rights and positive parenting.

    The Prime Minister reminded that the family is the essential, the core for every development, including intellectual and cultural adding that it is the cornerstone for the well being.

    “Let’s stand together and fight against conflicts in family that have resulted in death for the past days, home based violence, indiscipline and lack of polite manners from children and other immoral acts” The premier urged.

    He warned against drunkenness and drugs among the things which result in most cases as source of family abuse.