Author: Minivan News

Swedish death metal band Opeth comes to Maldives

Swedish heavy metal band Opeth will perform live in the Maldives on February 7 at Dharubaaruge in capital Male as part of its Asian tour.

Opeth agreed to play in the Maldives after Maldivian heavy metal band Nothnegal contacted its manager Northern Music Company.

The band previously played in India, however the Asian tour will take Opeth to new audiences in China, Taiwan and South Korea, said managing director Andrew Farrow.

In its lengthy compositions Opeth fuses progressive, folk, blues, classical and jazz elements with black metal and death metal. The band has released ten studio albums, three live DVDs, three live albums, and two box sets.

The current lineup includes Mikael Åkerfeldt (lead vocals, guitars), Martin Mendez (bass guitar), Martin “Axe” Axenrot (drums, percussion), Fredrik Åkesson (guitars, backing vocals) and Joakim Svalberg (keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals, percussion.

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President ratifies Pre-school Administration Act

President Mohamed Nasheed has ratified legislation on pre-school administration passed by parliament on December 21 in its final session of 2011.

“The Pre-School Administration Bill states the policies regarding the expansion and growth of pre-school education in the country, with the State’s full involvement, as well as the contribution of City Councils and Island Councils, private corporations and organisations, and private individuals,” reads a statement by the President’s Office.

The legislation also stipulates that the government should “encourage and facilitate” the institution of pre-schools in all inhabited islands of the country.

The Act specifies procedures for establishing a pre-school system to enroll children four to six years old.

Under the new law, parents would have the option of enrolling children aged two and a half years in pre-school programmes.

The law also states that children must be provided equal opportunity through the pre-schools and instructed in Islamic studies.

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Two injured in fire incident at sea

An engine caught on fire on a boat en route to Kulhudhufushi from Male’ at about 5pm today, injuring two passengers.

Local media outlets reports that the fire broke out aboard the ‘Raalhu’ vessel near Aarah in Male’ atoll. There were reportedly 175 passengers on board at the time.

According to the Maldives National Defence Force, an 80 year-old man broke his leg while a woman suffered minor burns.

The fire was put out at about 6.21pm and the boat was towed into the Male’ harbour around 6.30pm.

All passengers were evacuated and brought back to Male’ at 6.15pm.

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Man sentenced twice for same offence sues for Rf10 million in damages

A man sentenced by two different courts for the same offence has sued for damages in excess of Rf10 million, reports Haveeru.

Ali Shareef, of Laamu Gan Iruvai, was first sentenced by the island magistrate court for participating in an unlawful assembly in 2004 and fined Rf75.

However in 2007, Shareef was brought before the Criminal Court in Male’ on the same charge and sentenced to four months imprisonment.

Shareef served 61 days of the sentence in jail. The High Court has since overturned the Criminal Court verdict, which prompted Shareef to sue for Rf10.8 million in compensation for unlawful detention.

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Police suspect arson in Thimarafushi fire

Police have revealed that they suspect arson in a fire that broke out in a private residence in the island of Thimarafushi in Thaa atoll last night.

Sun Online reports a police media official as saying there was evidence of an attempted break-in before the incident occurred.

The fire was put out an hour later but had caused extensive damage to furniture and equipment in the house. No one was injured in the incident as the house was newly-built and uninhabited.

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Former Post Limited MD faces corruption charges

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has requested the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) to prosecute former Managing Director of the Maldives Post Limited (MPL), Mahudy Imad, for alleged abuse of authority.

In a press statement today, the ACC said it forwarded the case to the PGO on December 28 after completing an investigation into a complaint accusing Mahudy of using his influence to send an employee overseas for a law degree.

The complainant had alleged that funds were not allocated in the MPL budget for the course and that other employees were not invited to apply for it.

In its inquiry, the ACC found that Mahudy had abuse his authority to secure the course for the employee, who had reportedly been working at MPL as an administrative staff for less than a year before leaving to Malaysia for the course.

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Cabinet decides to sign UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime

The Cabinet decided yesterday to accede to the United Nation’s ‘Convention against Transnational Organised Crime’ at its weekly meeting on Tuesday.

The decision followed deliberations on a paper presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Crimes classified in the convention include terrorism, illegal migration, drug-related crimes, money-laundering, corruption and human trafficking.

“Each State Party shall Endeavour to ensure that any discretionary legal powers under its domestic law, relating to the prosecution of persons for offences covered by this Convention are exercised to maximise the effectiveness of law enforcement measures in respect of those offences and with due regard to the need to deter the commission of such offences,” the convention states.

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DJA and JSC continues formation of Drugs Court

The Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) has requested President Office to provide an office complex to establish the Drug Court, while the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) continues the work of appointing court judges.

DJA Director Ahmed Majid told Minivan News today that DJA is responsible for all the “administrative and financial responsibilities of the Judiciary” and therefore continuing the work to establish the Drug Court’s office and staff.

“We have sent a letter to the President’s Office yesterday requesting them to provide a building to establish the court. We are looking to employ around 30 administrators as well”, Majid said.

Meanwhile, JSC Spokesperson Zaheen Hassan said that the commission members decided yesterday to solicit five judges – which is minimum number of Judges required to be appointed, according to article 39 of Drug Act which came into effect on December 31.

However, he noted that the law allows JSC to increase the number of judges on the bench. “We will open applications for judges very soon,” he added.

The Criminal and Juvenile Courts have meanwhile suspended all drug cases while they await the formation of a Drugs Court over the next 60 days as stipulated. Article 33(b) states that the courts should not hear or accept drug-related cases during that period.

After that two month period, the Criminal and Juvenile Court have 30 days to transfer those cases determined to fall under the jurisdiction of the Drugs Court.

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