Author: Minivan News

Dhuvafaru accident victim passes away in India

A 20 year-old man injured in a road accident in Raa Atoll Dhuvafaru died while undergoing treatment in Trivandrum, India on Monday.

According to police, Ali Shabeen, Raa Kandholudhoo Fehikokaage, was in the back of a motorcycle when it collided with a pickup on November 17.

The collision threw Shabeen into the air and he crashed into the wall of a nearby mosque, sustaining serious head injuries and a broken arm.

While the man driving the motorcycle was bruised in the accident, the pickup driver escaped unharmed.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Missing crew member found dead in Hulhumale’ lagoon

A crew member who went missing on Tuesday night from a Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) vessel docked at the West-side harbour of Hulhumale’ was found dead yesterday in the lagoon.

Police revealed that the 24 year-old Maldivian man was reported missing at about 2.15pm on Wednesday morning.

The body was discovered by divers from the Marine Police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) at about 12pm yesterday.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

ADK to offer mammography and digital x-ray services

Private hospital ADK in Male’ introduced mammography and digital x-ray services for the first time in the country, reports Haveeru.

The service was launched by former employee and Male’ MP Ahmed ‘X-ray’ Athif at a ceremony at the hospital yesterday.

According to CEO Ahmed Nashid, the new equipment cost about Rf10 million (US$778,210) and a foreign specialist has been brought in to operate the machines

While the hospital will charge a Rf600 fee for the service, it will be offered for free to the first 25 customers as part of an inaugural promotion.

Speaking at the ceremony, Managing Director Ahmed Afaal said that the use of digital x-rays will reduce the impact on the environment caused by the chemicals used to produce the films.

Statistics show an upward trend in the incidence of breast cancer in the Maldives.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives tops list for global tax payment ease, claims report

The Maldives has topped of the easiest countries in which to pay tax as a result of a narrower stream of revenue focused on tourism and hotels, claims a new report by analysts PricewaterhouseCoopers

The 2011 Paying Taxes study, jointly compiled with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), found that the more simplified tax revenues of a smaller, hospitality-focused global economy like the Maldives have generally allowed for more effective means of raising government revenue.

PWC accepted that tourism and hospitality are sectors not included among the Doing Business indicators set out by both the IFC and World Bank as part of the basis for the report.

These indicators, which relate particularly to manufacturing economies, are devised to try and rank regulation and red tape that impact taxation and business process.

The report’s authors suggested that the findings are not a measure of the fiscal health of national economies or the provision of public services that may be supported by their tax revenue. However, the inclusion of the Maldives among the nations found to be the easiest to pay tax reflected the importance of keeping systems as “simple and clear” as possible to ensure quick and easy transactions, the authors claimed.

“Compliance with tax laws is important to keep the system working for all and to support the programmes and services that improve lives,” the report stated.

After the Maldives; Qatar, Hong Kong, China and Singapore filled out the report’s top five nations in terms of ease of tax payments. Ukraine, the Central African Republic and Belarus were labelled the three most difficult economies in which to deal with tax payments by the report, which ranked the countries 181st, 182nd and 183rd respectively.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives awarded “World’s most romantic destination” at World Travel Awards

The Maldives has been designated the “World’s Most Romantic Destination” in the World Travel Awards for the second time, beating other nominees including New York, Paris, Tuscany and Venice.

The destination also won ‘leading cruise destination’ and ‘honeymoon destination’ for the Indian Ocean category.

The World Travel Awards also listed the Maldives as the Leading Cruise Destination and Honeymoon Destination in the Indian Ocean, a regional category where it also scooped the Leading Beach and Leading Island destination gongs.

A number of international resort groups operating in the country were also awarded during the evening, with Adaaran picking up an accolade in competition for the World’s Leading Water Villa title.

Companies Banyan Tree and Six Senses also walked away with awards in the areas of World’s Leading Corporate Social Responsibly programme and Leading Luxury Resort Brand respectively.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

EC publishes voter registry for council elections

The Elections Commission (EC) has published the list of eligible voters for the upcoming local council elections on February 5, 2011.

The commission announced yesterday that complaint forms regarding registry issues will now be available from its website and office as well as island and atoll offices.

Following a verification process, an updated list will be published in the government gazette at a later date.

Meanwhile, candidates have been invited to lodge applications starting 9am tomorrow to 4pm on December 8.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Taliban true to Islamic Ideology, claims Pakistani Tourism Minister

Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Tourism has said that the Taliban truly represent Islamic ideology, resulting in their vilification by the United States of America, according to local media reports in the country.

Maulana Attaur Rehman was reported by the Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn to have made the claims at a public gathering in the country this week, claiming terrorism cannot be defeated unless the US and the world gave respect and equal rights to “the muslims”.

Rehman is a member of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam political party, the newspaper adds.

“Ulema and Taliban are the true followers of Islamic ideology and America is the biggest terrorist of the world, which is creating hatred against them,” said Rehman.

“It is a misconception that ulema and Taliban are against coexistence of people with different religions, in fact it is America which is against the interfaith harmony to maintain its hegemony on the world,” he added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

RAF man says Gan reunion the inspiration for Addu Atoll hospital fund

A recent return to Gan for one former member of Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) has reportedly been the inspiration for a fund aiming to strengthen medical facilities on the island.

Richard Houlston, from Devon in the UK, spent a year of his RAF service in Addu Atoll between 1969 and 1970, where he worked to maintain transmission equipment to support a nearby British airbase operated from Gan, reports the Express & Echo newspaper, published in Exeter in the UK.

Speaking to the newspaper, Houlston said that the Gan Scholarship Fund, which hopes to raise about £10,000 (Rf202,664) to provide training and equipment in order to try and boost medical facilities in the area, was formed after a visit to the island by 28 airmen the island earlier this year.

After being greeted and looked after by the people of Addu Atoll during a visit, which also included time for a spot of diving, Houlston said the airmen were concerned by the standards of healthcare available to local people.

“There is a hospital on the island of Hithadhoo, where I was working, but it struggles to give anything more than a basic service,” he told the paper. “The closest proper hospital is in India, over 1,000 miles away.”
At present, Houlston said £1,600 (Rf32,000) has been raised for the fund.

The RAF were based at Gan from the early 1950s to the mid 1970s.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Group attacks ‘Scoop’ with smoke bomb

A group of people attacked well known restaurant ‘Scoop’ in Chandhanee Magu with a smoke bomb on Monday evening.

The police forensic team attended the restaurant and took the remains of the smoke bomb for investigation.

A person from the restaurant told Minivan News that the group came and threw the smoke bomb and ran away.

”There were lots of customers inside the place when they attacked,” he said. ”They were all forced to move out from the place as the whole place was covered with smoke.”

He said he did not see the attackers as they “were quick” and the attack was “a shock”.

”It was a handmade bomb of foil and some other materials,” he said.

Police Sub Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the police attended the scene and took the remains of the material.

”It is too early to say it was a deliberate attack,” he added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)