Seven UN peacekeepers from Togo deployed in central Mali were killed and three others seriously injured on Wednesday by an improvised explosive device, the UN mission said in a social media post.
The mission, known by the acronym Minusma, said the explosion had hit a logistics convoy travelling through the Bandiagara area as it journeyed along the roughly four-hour, 190-kilometre route from Douentza to Sevare in the centre of the country.
The UN "strongly condemns this heinous attack", spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
He also urged officials in Mali "to spare no efforts in identifying the perpetrators of the attack so they can be brought to justice".
The spokesman later said the injured peacekeepers were "stable" and receiving treatment, and that two of them were being relocated to Senegal.
A damaged armoured personnel carrier is being retrieved from the site of the attack and the results of a "post-blast investigation" would be published, he added.
Armed attacks by extremists and others are common across large parts of Mali, despite a heavy presence of international troops. Minusma has sent about 15,000 uniformed personnel to try to contain the violence.
The mission is made up of troops from Bangladesh, Egypt, Senegal and several other countries.
With more than 250 fatalities since it was launched in 2013, Minusma is the world’s most dangerous UN peacekeeping mission and perhaps the most heavily armed.
Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad have been ravaged by a prolonged insurgency carried out by militants linked to ISIS and Al Qaeda that has killed thousands and displaced about two million across the arid Sahel belt.
Militants killed at least 31 people in central Mali on Friday when they fired on a bus ferrying people to a local market, authorities said.
The UN Security Council was set to discuss its operation in Mali later on Wednesday.
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
