Author: Minivan News

Maldives to ban import of goods containing ozone depleting substances

The Maldives will ban the import of goods containing ozone depleting substances, including environmentally harmful hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), reports local media.

Environment Minister Mariyam Shakeela signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maldives Customs Service Commissioner General Mohamed Aswan today (July 18) to facilitate the implementation of the “Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer”.

Shakeela noted that imports of air conditioning, freezers, minibars and water coolers containing HCFC would soon be banned.

“We are now getting ready for that. But such moves aren’t possible without the assistance of institutions such as customs,” she said.

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Former Attorney General Aishath Bisam appointed as Special Advisor to the President

Former Attorney General Aishath Bisam was appointed as Special Advisor to the President by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik  (July 18), reports local media.

Bisam is filling the Special Advisor post formerly held by Dr Hassan Saeed, who announced he would resign from the position after deciding to become running mate of Jumhoree Party (JP) Presidential Candidate and resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim.

Waheed’s earlier appointment of Bisam as Attorney General and Azima Shukoor as Gender Minister were recently narrowly rejected by parliament, which is required to give a majority vote of confidence in each minister appointed to the executive.

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Maldivian suspect arrested over US$122,000 Male’ hotel theft

Police have arrested a Maldivian national in connection with the theft of over US$100,000 from a safe at the Relax Inn Hotel in Male’ yesterday (July 16) .

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that a case had been filed yesterday over the missing money, with investigations continuing into the matter.

Haneef said that officers were currently working on trying to reclaim the funds taken form the hotel, reported in local media to amount to US$122,000.

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President Waheed obstructing decentralisation, failing to deliver pledged concessions: LGA

Local Government Authority (LGA) Vice President Sujau Hussain has claimed that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s government has failed to extend any of the concessions previously pledged and is obstructing decentralisation, reports local media.

Waheed promised atoll and city councils 50 percent of the leases from atoll stores as well as 50 percent of the leases given under ‘varuvaa’ (islands given to individuals for caretaking) to increase the income of councils.

“While Waheed claims he wants to implement decentralisation, the only thing he does is to further obstruct those activities which the councils are already in a position to carry out,” Hussain said during a conference held to mark two years of decentralisation.

Waheed noted in February that the government had used a “major amount of income from the public accounts”, so he would arrange for next year’s government budget to address the issue and recover the funds, according to local media.

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American Centre to host lecture on importance of public museums

The American Center will be hosting a public lecture by US expert speaker Karen Lee on the topic ‘Museums Matter: Staff, Visitors and Exhibitions in the 21st Century’ on Saturday, July 20 2013 from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in the National Art Gallery.

According to a statement from the centre, Lee has a long and distinguished professional history as part of the world renowned Smithsonian community and is currently the curator of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History – a Smithsonian Institute.

Te lecture will be free and open to all interested parties.

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Privatisation body to require criminal record checks for public company board appointees

Candidates appointed as directors on the boards of public limited companies in the Maldives will now face a mandatory criminal record check, according to local media.

Privatisation and Co-privatisation Board President Mohamed Amjad told Sun Online that any candidates appointed to the board of a public limited company will be required in future to submit their attested qualifications and a police report disclosing any criminal convictions they may have.

Amjad was quoted in local media as saying that the new review process would apply to all appointments made to boards of such companies in the future, with candidates also being checked to see if they have any pending debts owed to the courts.

The privatisation board has said it will also look to identify if a candidate also had relatives working for the same company.

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President Waheed returns from Saudi Arabia visit

President Dr Mohamed Waheed today returned to Male’ after departing on an official visit to Saudi Arabia last week.

During his visit, Dr Waheed held meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to discuss bilateral relations between the Maldives and their respective nations, according to the President’s Office.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad confirmed that President Waheed had also performed an Umra pilgrimage whilst in Saudi Arabia.

The president’s visit followed reports that his predecessor, former President Mohamed Nasheed, last week had his own request to perform Umra rejected by Saudi authorities.

However, local media reported yesterday (July 14) that Nasheed had now been granted a visa, allowing him to conduct an Umra pilgrimage.

Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid and former Attorney General Ahmed Ali Sawad have also been granted visas, according to local media.

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Former President Nasheed granted Saudi visa for Umra pilgrimage

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has been granted a visa to visit Saudi Arabia to conduct an Umra pilgrimage, reports local media.

The Saudi Embassy in Sri Lanka requested Nasheed ‘hand over’ his passport for visa processing and the request has been forwarded to the former president’s office, said State Foreign Minister Hassan Saeed.

Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid and former Attorney General Ahmed Ali Sawad have also been granted visas, according to local media.

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Maldives, India and Sri Lanka agree to increased maritime security collaboration

The second Trilateral Cooperation on Maritime Security meeting between India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka concluded this week with an agreement for greater collaboration and information sharing among their respective naval forces in the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has said that an agreement had been reached during the meeting for Indian and Sri Lankan naval forces to assist the Maldives with search and rescue efforts, as well as dealing with issues such as marine oil pollution.

The meeting, which concluded Tuesday (July 9) was attended by Maldives Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa and India’s National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.

The first Trilateral Cooperation on Maritime Security meeting was held in the Maldives in 2011, although the MNDF has said that technical meetings have since been held in all three countries.

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