The accident took place in Abu Sifin church in the Imbaba neighborhood, according to the ministry.
“Four of those injured are in unstable conditions,” the ministry said in a statement, adding it had sent 37 ambulances to the scene.
The fire started from an air conditioner on the second floor of the church building because of an electrical fault, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a separate statement.
The offering known as I&M BRISK allows I&M Bank customers to access real-time withdrawals, deposits, and funds transfers at any I&M Bank branch in Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania using their existing account. In time, the same service will be extended to Uganda and Mauritius where the I&M Group has a presence.
The BRISK solution offers convenience to its customers who have cross-border regional import or export transactions and to those who travel frequently for business within the region.
I&M Bank Rwanda CEO, Robin Bairstow said the Bank launched this service to cement its dedication to improving regional banking in the Eastern Africa region.
“We aspire to be Eastern Africa’s leading partner for growth and to achieve that, we need to provide our customers with the convenience they need to transact across the region. The key pillars our transformation strategy are driving business growth, building a resilient organization and at the same time optimizing the operating model to drive customer satisfaction. It is in this regard that we are launching this service that we passionately worked on with our customers at top of mind,” said Bairstow.
I&M Bank has placed digitisation at the core of its corporate strategy and has invested in advanced data analytics to inform data driven decision making in development of its financial solutions. I&M BRISK is an addition to the Bank’s robust digital offerings and will support the Bank’s business growth initiatives by ensuring that the Bank simplifies banking for its customers across the Eastern Africa region.
{{About I&M Bank Rwanda Plc}}
Incorporated in 1963, I&M Bank (Rwanda) Plc is the oldest Bank in Rwanda. It is today one of the leading players in the industry with a strong footprint across the country.
I&M Bank Rwanda offers the full range of personal, business, institutional and corporate banking products throughout its locations. The Bank has been listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange since March 2017.
The Bank is also a subsidiary of I&M Group PLC, a leading regional financial services group in Eastern Africa with a presence in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda as well as a joint venture in Mauritius. I&M Group has a long history in banking and has established a wide network of correspondent banks across the globe and enjoys a strong relationship with leading international Development Financial Institutions.
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Rukundo Mucyo, the Western Region Political and Education Officer (RPCEO), said that the 13 bales of used clothes locally known as caguwa, were being smuggled in a vehicle, Benz RAE 589A/RL2226, which was intercepted at about 4am, by the Revenue Protection Unit (RPU) in Murindi Village, Ruganda Cell, Kamembe Sector.
The driver of the truck identified as Amran Nzeyimana, 52, was also arrested.
The 410 pieces of kitenge garments, he added, were seized from the house of one Damascene Ndagijimana, 25, also arrested, in Gihundwe Sector.
“The RPU had information that the vehicle Benz RAE 589A/RL2226 from Rusizi en route to the City of Kigali driven by Nzeyimana, was carrying bales of second-hand clothes smuggled from Democratic Republic of Congo.
In response to the information, a checkpoint was mounted in Murindi where the vehicle was intercepted carrying 13 bales,” CIP Rukundo said.
In another foiled smuggling, he added, residents provided information that Ndagijimana had sneaked into Rwanda quantities of Kitenge garments from DRC to his home in Mutara village, where Police recovered 410 pieces and took him into custody.
CIP Rukundo thanked residents, who shared information that led to successful operations.
He warned of increased operations facilitated by strong cooperation with the public.
In article 199 of the East African Community Management Act, which is also applicable in Rwanda, smuggled goods and automobile used in smuggling, are auctioned.
{{Tax fraud}}
A taxpayer, who commits fraud, is also subject to an administrative fine of one hundred percent (100%) of the evaded tax and a likely imprisonment of between six months and two years.
In light of this development, BK has unveiled a new flagship product called BK Arena Prepaid Card that will allow the unbanked youth to easily load money onto a prepaid wallet that can be used like any other bank card. To make the BK Arena card easier to acquire, BK accounts will not be a prerequisite to own a card.
The prepaid card will enable holders to have special benefits at BK Arena including discounts on tickets, foods and beverages inside BK Arena. They will also participate in raffle draws and benefit from periodic promos among others.
The card which costs Rwf5000 will be loaded in Rwandan Francs but the customer has options to make payments for any currency both domestically and internationally.
The BK Arena Prepaid Card can be loaded through Internet Banking, BK branches, MTN Wallet. In the near future, the lender also seeks to enable customers to load the card using BK-agents, BKApp (Mobile Banking) as well as USSD/ mobiserve.
It is available at any BK Branch and BK Arena. The card which is valid for thirty-six (36) months or 3 years is given to an adult customer having a valid National ID or Passport.
Among others, the BK Arena Prepaid Card has numerous features and benefits. For instance, it does not require one to have a bank account and identifies customers using their national ID or Passport.
It is issued instantly at any BK-Branch or at the BK-Arena and can be loaded free of charges at any BK-branch, on IB, or through mobile money wallet.
With the card, Payments on POS and online are, Free PIN selection and PIN change are free.
It serves different purposes where the holder can use the card on a tap & go POS and other devices accepting card payments.
A holder can access free instant SMS and email notification for every transaction
Apart from being safer than cash (chip and PIN & OTP for online transaction), the BK Arena Prepaid Card helps customers to get better management of their funds and control spending.
The card is acceptable worldwide on ATM, POS and online, provides access to over 3,000 POS merchants in Rwanda, access to over 200 ATMs in Rwanda and high limits at the ATM, POS and online.
Asian elephants, the continent’s largest land animal, are under top-level protection in China and constitute an important part of Yunnan’s rainforest ecosystem.
According to the Yunnan provincial forestry and grassland bureau, the number of Asian elephants in the province increased from 293 in 2018 to about 360 by 2021.
The “baby boom” of the giant mammal demonstrates the success of China’s arduous protection efforts and the country’s progress in conserving ecological biodiversity, especially when the population of this species is showing a declining trend globally.
{{Human-elephant harmony}}
“Strengthened protection and fewer human impacts are important reasons behind the high fertility rate,” said Chen Mingyong, professor at the School of Ecology and Environmental Science of Yunnan University.
During these years, the province has explored multiple ways to reduce the encounters between humans and elephants and to keep the animals away from farmers’ crops.
Food stores, dubbed “elephant canteens,” have been established in many locations across Yunnan, providing the animals with attractive and nutritious meals. In 2022, the province’s Pu’er City has set up around 467 hectares of food stores in areas where Asian elephants are found.
“The food stores have both lowered human-elephant encounters and enriched elephants’ food resources,” said Guo Xianming, director of the scientific research institute with the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan.
According to the investigation results provided by Chen, the Asian elephant’s “food menu” has expanded from nearly 100 to 240 types, and most of them are crops such as corn, rice, and sugar cane, which are planted on a large scale and within easy reach of the elephants.
Ever since 2021, the provincial government of Yunnan has invested a total of 100 million yuan (about 14.83 million U.S. dollars) in strengthening monitoring and early warning systems, habitat restoration, and safety precautions to improve the harmonious co-existence of humans and elephants.
In 2010, Yunnan became the first provincial-level region in China to introduce commercial insurance for damage caused by wildlife, which covered the whole province by 2014.
Wang Chuan, a villager in Pu’er, witnessed growth in elephant numbers and indicated that they are now more frequently spotted in his village than before.
“Of course it’s annoying to see our crops destroyed by the elephants, but villagers always put up with those naughty animals instead of dispersing them by force,” said Wang.
Over the years, the compensation level for elephant-caused damage has been rising. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), some 297 million yuan was paid in the province to cover the losses caused by wildlife, mainly Asian elephants.
Major infrastructure development in the region also intentionally heeded the activities of Asian elephants.
In the construction of the China-Laos Railway, routes were redesigned to avoid the habitats of elephants and some parts of the railway were built into bridges and tunnels to provide passage for the migratory giants.
{{Conservation efforts}}
Elephant inspectors play an important role in the detection of the baby boom. Diao Faxing, 47, has been working as one of the 10 local inspectors for six years in Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County of Pu’er.
“The number of elephants multiplied in recent years,” said Diao. “There are a total of 43 wild elephants in Jiangcheng, and four calves were born this year.”
During an inspection tour at the end of July, Diao noticed a female elephant left behind by the herd and stopped eating.
Diao and his colleagues reported the incident immediately and were relieved when seeing the elephant recover and catch up with the rest of the herd.
“It may be stressful to have more elephants to care for, but every newborn is a sign of achievement of our protection,” said Diao. “They are like new family members and I named all of them.”
As the frequent visit of elephants in the county requires inspectors to synchronize their daily schedule with elephant movements, they have to get up at five in the morning and work till midnight.
Apart from the efforts of inspectors, scientific researchers also carry out various studies, including the analysis of the suitability of elephant habitats and conservation of biological diversity, to enhance the knowledge and protection of Asian elephants.
Bao Mingwei, an elephant doctor at the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna, and his research team have successfully bred nine calves by studying the method of human-assisted breeding, which has aided the population increase of Asian elephants in China.
“The elephant rescue and protection efforts helped population increase and the baby boom happened as there are more female elephants at childbearing age,” said Guo.
Also on the agenda is the establishment of a national park for Asian elephants. National and local authorities will coordinate efforts in the integration and optimization of the existing habitat range and build a unified protection and management system.
“Based on the established mechanism of Asian elephant conservation, the national park will be critical for conserving tropical rainforests and long-term conservation of nature and ecology,” said Chen Fei, director of the Asian elephant research center under the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
“We will work to guarantee the balance among the expansion of elephant population, human safety, and property safety in the park,” he added.
