Catholic Archdioce of Owerri, Bishop Moses Chikwe.
The Auxiliary Bishop of Owerri Archdiocese, Mose Chikwe,
and some other kidnapped victims have been rescued without
ransom.
Spokesman of the police in Imo, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed this
on Friday.
He said the rescue is sequel to a sting operation by men of the
Imo State Police Command.
The Bishop was abducted on Sunday night, along with his driver,
at the World Bank area of Owerri, the Imo State capital.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
His kidnap drew condemnation from the Christian Association of
Nigeria, which described it as the height of wickedness.
On Thursday, women under the aegis of the Owerri
Archdiocesan Catholic Women organization also called for the state
government and security operatives to help secure the Bishop’s
release.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2021/01/02/kidnapped-catholic-bishop-rescued-in-imo/
Britain on Friday became the latest country to abolish the
so-called “tampon tax,” eliminating sales taxes on women’s sanitary
products.
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
The move was widely praised by women’s rights advocates as well
as proponents of the country’s departure from the European
Union.
![image](/2020/10/NWLRland.jpg")
Treasury chief Rishi Sunak had committed to ending the widely
unpopular tax on tampons and sanitary pads in his budget in March
but the change could only take effect Friday after Britain had
finally left the economic orbit of the European Union.
Under EU law, nations cannot reduce the rate of value-added tax
on menstrual products below 5% as they are deemed to be luxury
items and not essentials. Ireland is the only EU country that does
not charge a levy on sanitary products as its zero tax rate was in
place before the EU set its floor.
“Sanitary products are essential, so it’s right that we do not
charge VAT,” said Sunak. “We have already rolled out free sanitary
products in schools, colleges and hospitals and this commitment
takes us another step closer to making them available and
affordable for all women.”
Britain officially left the bloc’s vast single market for
people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time on Thursday,
giving it greater scope to set its own laws. A new U.K.-EU trade
deal will bring new restrictions and red tape, but for British
Brexit supporters, it means reclaiming national independence from
the EU and its rules. They pointed to the abolition of the tampon
tax as an early positive change from Brexit.
Britain’s treasury has previously estimated the move will save
the average woman nearly 40 pounds ($55) over her lifetime,
“It’s been a long road to reach this point, but at last, the
sexist tax that saw sanitary products classed as nonessential,
luxury items can be consigned to the history books,” said Felicia
Willow, chief of the Fawcett Society, a women’s rights charity.
Many other countries have also eliminated the tampon tax,
including Australia, Canada and India. In the United States,
several states including New York and Florida have also nixed the
tax.
[Associated Press]