Cabinet will establish a National Sports Institute in the Maldives, after yesterday’s cabinet meeting.
Sports programmes are currently operated under the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sport, from the Youth and Sports Development Centre.
A separate and focused sports training and education institute could more effectively develop sports in the Maldives, cabinet heard.
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(0)Police have arrested a expatriate worker suspected of abusing a five year-old girl on Thoddu in Alif Alif Atoll, reports Haveeru.
The man was discovered hiding in the ceiling of an abandoned house on the island, escaping after he was brought before the island secretariat on Saturday and allegedly beaten.
Haveeru cited sources as saying that the man had been living on the island for three years and was employed in construction.
(0)Dislikes(0)GMR Male International Airport will be subject to a tax audit, according to reports in local newspaper Haveeru, with the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) contesting the airport service charge and oil re-export royalties paid to the government did not match expected amounts.
Commissioner General of Taxation, Yazeed Mohamed, told Haveeru that MIRA was acquiring necessary documents from the Immigration Department, Customs and the Maldives Airport Company.
“We are authorised, under the law, to procure documents and conduct tax audits. We looked into the speculations and found that there are some issues with the amounts paid,” he told Haveeru.
A GMR spokesperson meanwhile told Haveeru that both charges were calculated based on information stored in the company’s departure databases: “We’d welcome all those who like to pay a visit and check the information. We haven’t committed any act of deception,” the official was quoted as saying.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed met yesterday with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdul Aziz Al-Ammar.
Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal, Advisor on Political Affairs Mohamed Shihab and Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari also attended the meeting.
Nasheed highlighted the close brotherly relations between the Maldives and Saudi Arabia, and thanked the visiting deputy minister for Saudi Arabia’s continued development assistance to the Maldives.
Dr Al-Ammar said Saudi Arabia has a special relationship with the Maldives, and the Saudi government attached a particular importance to enhancing the relations between the Maldives and Saudi Arabia.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have begun investigating allegations of a young man sexually assaulting his aunt and an elderly man abusing an under-age girl, both in Noonu Landhoo.
Sun Online reports that the male suspect in the child abuse case was above 65 years of age while the victim was only 10 years-old.
Local daily Haveeru however reports the girl as aged 11 and mentally unstable. Moreover, the newspaper claims that three witnesses saw the abuse late afternoon yesterday.
Landhoo Councillor Mohamed Fayaz told Haveeru that the suspect had left the island by ferry before police arrived in Landhoo today.
An islander from Landhoo meanwhile told Sun Online that the suspect had previously attempted to pay an under-age girl in exchange for sexual favours and had reportedly fled to nearby Mandhoo.
In the other case, a 16 year-old boy has been accused of attempting to sexually assault his aunt today while her husband was attending dawn prayers.
According to the councillor, the boy fled the scene when his approximately 50 year-old aunt woke up to his touching and started screaming.
(0)Dislikes(0)Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) employees have submitted a petition threatening to strike if salaries are not increased by 20 percent.
Haveeru reports that over 100 staff signed the petition giving a three-day notice before beginning the peaceful strike.
While MIFCO staff had refrained from complaining before in light of the company’s financial status, the petition claims that employees’ “patience has run out after seeing the unnecessary expenditure by the company.”
Alleging corrupt or incompetent practices, the petition claims that Managing Director Ali Faiz’s refusal to import spares for the cold storage unit at Koodoo and the company’s other assets had left them “beyond repair.”
The employees allege that Faiz’s overseas trips cost MIFCO over Rf6 million (US$466,900).
(2)Dislikes(0)A man sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998 for drug trafficking and convicted for a second time to 12 years in jail for drug possession and abuse in 2009 was arrested again in February 2011, according to the Criminal Court.
Abdulla Rashad, M. Badhuru, was taken into custody on February 12 when police officers suspected from the way he was walking that he was under the influence and discovered drugs in his fist.
“The court order summoning Abdulla Rashad on charges pressed by the state was accepted at his residence. We note that he continues to attend court without any escort from the authorities,” reads the Criminal Court statement.
(0)Dislikes(0)Five prosecution witnesses defended Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed at Civil Court today from allegations of corruption during his time as Director of Male’ municipality waste management section.
The Independent MP for Kaafu Atoll Kaashidhoo stands accused by the state of abuse of power for undue gain in importing a Rf8.6 million barge from Indonesia in 2008 and making advance LC payment before the vessel arrived in the Maldives.
Newspaper Haveeru reports that former municipality employee Ali Rasheed however testified at court today that the barge was brand new apart from scraped paint that could be explained by its month-long journey to the country.
The state attorney pointed out that Rasheed had previously told the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) that the vessel was rust-coloured.
Three of the other witnesses backed Rasheed claiming that the rust was caused by insufficient sand glassing before applying paint.
All three insisted that the vessel was brand new.
Ismail Abdul Hameed meanwhile claimed that US$28,000 was left unpaid to the Indonesian company under an agreement between the parties to use the remaining amount for repairs if the vessel was not satisfactory.
Finance Ministry Director General Sami Ageel testified that the state did not suffer financial loss in the transaction.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives’ Customs Bill proposed by the government was passed today with 41 votes in favour, 23 against and two abstentions.
Originally submitted by ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Eva Abdulla, the legislation would take customs employees out of the civil service as uniformed state employees.
While a minister appointed by the President is to be in charge of customs, day-to-day functions will be overseen by a Commissioner General of Customs.
Once ratified, a Customs Integrity Commission will be instituted to exercise oversight of the border control institution.
The legislation also specifies stiff penalties and fines for attempted smuggling and import duty evasion while also authorising customs to either fine offenders between Rf10,000 (US$778) and Rf240,000 (US$18,670) or face up to two years in prison.
Also at today’s sitting, a bill proposed by minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Azeez to protect the Dhivehi language was passed with amendments after the legislation was vetoed by President Mohamed Nasheed.
Debate meanwhile continued on amendments to the Tourism Act proposed by opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahlouf to strengthen security at tourist resorts.
A code of ethics for MPs proposed by Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed and reviewed by committee was not passed after 37 MPs voted against and nine abstained.
The code was sent back to committee for further review after neither committee recommendations nor five amendments proposed on the floor garnered majority support.
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