VEO News

No less than 10 environmental activists belonging to a group called Mother Nature have been jailed for plotting against the government and insulting the king. Three of them, including Spanish co-founder, Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, were sentenced to eight years in jail and fined $2,500 while seven others were handed six-year terms. Their offence being their campaign against environmentally destructive projects and the documentation of waste run-off into Phnom Penh’s Tonle Sap River, near the royal palace... https://lnkd.in/g5w9hVHM

Security is tight in Kenya’s capital Nairobi as young activists remain unrelenting in their push for more protests despite Government’s withdrawal of the finance bill. Members of the protest movement, which has no official leaders and largely organises via social media, have rejected appeals from President William Ruto for dialogue, even after he abandoned proposed tax hikes. But most of the protesters including an activist in Nairobi, Ojango Omondi are now demanding that Ruto step down... https://lnkd.in/guUBvNJB

President Ranil Wickremesinghe says Sri Lanka is on the path to economic recovery after its debt restructuring process which would allow it save $5 billion in interest owed to bilateral creditors. Addressing parliament, Wickremesinghe said the cash-strapped country signed deals with China and other creditor nations to restructure about $10 billion in bilateral debt last week following 15 months of negotiations. The agreements brought Sri Lanka closer to the end of a debt restructuring process that began in September 2022 after its foreign exchange reserves hit their lowest levels and forced the island nation to default on its foreign debt for the first time... https://lnkd.in/gFUnVxv2

A bill proposing the creation of Etiti state in the southeast region passed its first reading in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, July 2. The bill, sponsored by Hon. Amobi Ogah and four other representatives, seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to establish a new state carved out of the existing Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. If approved, Etiti would become Nigeria’s 37th state, with its capital located at Lokpanta... https://lnkd.in/giJDy6bu

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) in May 2024, increased to about ₦937 per litre in the Northern part of the country. According to the report titled ‘Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch (May 2024)’, consumers in Jigawa State paid the the highest price of ₦937.50 for petrol. The report further said the average price paid for petrol was ₦769.62, indicating a 223.21 per cent increase compared to the value recorded in May 2023 (N238.11)... https://lnkd.in/g37-ebBx

The U.S. National Hurricane Center has predicted that Hurricane Beryl remains an extremely dangerous major hurricane as it left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean after it made landfall yesterday. The storm, which was updated to a Category 5 status, ripped doors off their frames, shattered windows and upended roofs off people’s homes, scattering debris from Grenada up to St Lucia. Although no casualties have been recorded, the US National Hurricane Center urged residents to protect their lives... https://lnkd.in/gyRzWZ9P

Former Dutch intelligence chief, Dick Schoof is set to be sworn in as Prime Minister at the head of a coalition government promising to implement the Netherlands’ strictest ever asylum and immigration policy. The 67-year-old independent candidate succeeds Mark Rutte, who is set to become the next secretary-general of NATO after 14 years in office in The Hague... https://lnkd.in/geTW2b_a

Ex US President, Donald Trump’s lawyers have asked for his conviction in his hush money criminal case to be overturned and his sentencing this month delayed. In May, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records and will be sentenced on 11 July. But his lawyers are premising their appeal to the New York judge on yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that granted the former president immunity from prosecution for official actions he took while in office... https://lnkd.in/gKexrUhy

The Concerned Rivers Citizens (CRC) has announced the expulsion of some members suspected to be loyalists of former governor Nyesom Wike. The group’s President, Jackson Thomas, and Secretary-General, Kelvin Eguono, stated that these individuals were expelled for selfish and malicious activities, including alleged blackmail of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The CRC emphasized its non-partisan stance, stating they are not loyal to either Wike or Fubara, but rather committed to promoting good governance and accountability in Rivers State... https://lnkd.in/g36ZqYJs

President Bola Tinubu has approved a new withholding tax policy, replacing the 1977 system. Announced by Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, the policy aims to alleviate burdens on farmers and SMEs. Key changes include exempting small businesses from withholding tax compliance, reducing rates for low-profit margin businesses, and providing exemptions for producers, especially farmers... https://lnkd.in/g-YaQKDs