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National badminton tournament 2009

The national badminton tournament for 2009 has come to an end with Mohamed Ajfaan Rasheed taking out the men’s first division title for the fourth year running.

Moosa Nashid and Nashih Sharafudheen won the men’s doubles while Neela Ahmed and Nejeeba Aishath won the women’s doubles.

The mixed doubles were taken out by Mohamed Ajfaan Rasheed and Neela Ahmed.

Ali Amir, the president of the badminton association, handed out all the trophies. Haveeru reported that as a gesture of support for the atoll teams, all playing equipment was gifted to them by the badminton association.

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Rock thrown into Holiday Inn head office

The glass door of the Holiday Inn head office in Male’ was smashed yesterday, reports Haveeru.

A police media official said the glass door of the office at the Maarana building in Ameenee Magu was smashed and the investigation was ongoing.

Brett Wilson, general manager of Holiday Inn Male’, said a rock was thrown into the head office between 6am and 7am yesterday.

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New licence required to export fish to Europe

All organisations involved in the export of fish to Europe must carry a special licence from next month.

The Maldives Seafood Processing and Export Association said that from next year they will only accept fish from vessels carrying this license.

Haveeru reports that the Fisheries Ministry will issue licenses for free until the end of December. After that licences be issued at a price depending on the length of the vessel.

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3rd division match to be replayed

A football game between the Police and MNDF clubs in the national 3rd  division will be replayed due to referee error.

MNDF won the match 1-0 on 14 December. However referee Ahmed Ameez was found to be in the wrong when he ordered the retaking of a penalty that was put away by the Police Club. Even after the second attempt was put away he judged it to be a foul and gave MNDF club a free kick.

According to Haveeru, the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) issued a statement saying that according to FIFA laws the match must be replayed, and said action would be taken against Ameez.

There has been no date scheduled for the replay, while the three points awarded to the MNDF have now been removed.

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More mistakes found in Qur’an translation

Minister of State for Islamic Affairs, Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, claimed that the government’s translation of the Holy Qur’an contains more mistakes.

Miadhu reported that mistakes were found when the President’s Office first published the translation in 2008, including mixed volumes and verses. More errors were discovered during the corrections, it reported.

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Gratuity scheme to generate income for marine park

Luxury resort Diva Maldives has introduced a voluntary gratuity scheme to encourage guests to contribute to the whale shark conservation.

The resort is located in the Maldives’ first regulated Marine Protected Area (MPA), Fenmaadhiguran, which is home to a globally significant number of whale sharks. The resort claims that the income from the gratuity scheme will allow improved business, education and employment opportunities for the local community.

The 42 kilometre MPA was opened in July after lobbying by the conservation charity Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme. The charity claims the MPA will protect important species and habitats in the area from overfishing, unregulated tourism and pollution.

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Man dies in serious accident

A man who was involved in a serious road accident on the Addoo link road yesterday morning has died from his injuries.

The 43 year old man was driving a car which was involved in a head on collision with a motorcycle heading in the opposite direction. He died while being treated in the Hithadhoo hospital.

The two motorcyclists, aged 19 and 21, were flung into the ocean. They are now being treated for their injuries.

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Customs cage budgie smuggler

A man who tried to smuggle almost 40 live birds and more than 100 eggs into the Maldives has had his cargo seized by customs.

Customs discovered the birds after searching the Maldivian national’s luggage at Male’ International Airport, after he arrived from Bangkok on 20 December. In total there were 109 eggs and 39 birds, nine of them dead, customs officers said.

The birds are now in possession of the Agricultural Ministry’s plant and quarantine unit, which confirmed that most of the birds were canaries and budgerigars.

The birds and eggs were being readied for transportation to Thilafushi to be euthanised, the unit said.

Ali Rilwaan, head of environmental NGO Bluepeace, said the procedure for a situation like this was to determine the birds’ species and ascertain if they were wild.

“Normally these kind of birds are kept as pets, and if there are no health risks I see no reason for the birds to be killed this way,” Rilwaan said.

“For generations, Maldivians have kept birds as pets, and since the introduction of species such canaries and budgies as pets over the last ten years there has been less exploitation of local species,” Rilwaan continued.

Since the spread of bird flu the importing of pet species has been banned, however chicks and ducklings are still brought into the country in large numbers.

According to the plant and quarantine unit, there are no plans to find new homes for the birds and they will be destroyed.

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Parliamentary committee recommends private media subsidies

The parliamentary committee reviewing the mid-term budget for 2010 has voted to recommend an amendment to include Rf6 million in subsidies for private media.

The proposed amendment was made by the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) to recommend the inclusion of subsidies for private broadcasters and daily newspapers in the budget in the committee report.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Gemanafushi MP Ilham Ahmed of the DRP said the designated amount might not be ideal but was adequate under present economic circumstances.

Ilham said he had “no doubt” the budget will be passed with the amendment when the committee presents its report to parliament this week.

“I believe it will pass with a large majority,” he said. “I don’t think independent members would want to see private media embalmed and buried in its infancy.”

Ilham accused MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of opposing the subsidies as “the present government does not want to develop private media”.

He added broadcasters and newspapers critical of the administration faced pressure and restrictions from the government.

At the committee meeting, said Ilham, MDP MP Ahmed Hamza proposed an amendment to give Rf1 to private media.

The MP for Bilendhoo told Minivan News today he did not believe private media should be given government subsidies while small businesses and fishermen were facing serious difficulties in paying back loans.

“Most of the private media are well off,” he said, adding he proposed the Rf1 as annual subsidies as a “symbolic” gesture because the chairman of the committee, Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim, asked for a vote on the issue without determining an amount.

But, said Hamza, he was speaking in his individual capacity at the meeting and as the main parties have agreed in principle to the subsidy, he expected the amendment to be passed.

Last week, the Maldives Journalist Association sent a letter to parliament calling for the allocation of subsidies to the media in next year’s budget.

The association urged MPs to authorise the subsidies in the same principle as it was given to political parties.

Ilham said the Rf6 million decide upon by the committee was 50 per cent of the assistance given to political parties.

The committee decided the subsidies will be granted to television and radio stations as well as daily newspapers, but not to online news outlets or weekly magazines.

Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, president of the MJA and editor of daily newspaper Haveeru, said he welcomed the committee’s decision.

While Ilham said the committee has not worked out the details of the subsidy, Hiriga said he anticipated that distribution could be a problem.

At a time when private media was operating under serious financial difficulties, the subsidy will be of valuable assistance, he said.

“Initially I think this is a good amount, especially with the government facing budget constraints,” he said.

But, with the overhead cost of operating a newspaper or television station upwards of Rf1 million, the subsidy was “proportionately small”.

“But at such a difficult time, even a small assistance will help cover costs such as rent,” he said.

Hiriga said he did not think a profitable media outlet with economies of scale was possible given the small market in the Maldives.

“Especially with the high cost of rent and electricity, I don’t think a full-fledged operation is possible without subsidies,” he said.

Several daily newspapers were operating at a loss with just “one or two staff”, he said, as a result of not being able to pay for enough journalists.

The MJA president said he expected the budget to be passed with the amendment as it was not a partisan issue and he believed all MPs understood the importance of the media. “So I think it will get enough support and it will be passed.”

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