The Maldives Hajj pilgrims will be headed by Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari this year.
The Ministry said that Dr Bari would depart for Saudi Arabia on November 9. Dr Bari also travelled with the pilgrims last year.
Eight groups are taking 1402 pilgrims to Mecca this year, compared to 1142 last year.
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(0)Malaysian news agency Bernama reports that an agreement has been signed between the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM) and the Maldives Islamic Bank to develop Shariah-compliant banking services in the country.
The agreement binds both parties to co-develop Islamic finance in Maldives through extensive study of Maldives’ legal and banking framework “to create a harmonious environment for the growth of Islamic finance”, Bernama reported.
The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has issued a license to the Maldives Islamic Bank, making it the country’s first Islamic bank. Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a subsidiary of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) hold 70 percent stake in the bank and the remainder will be held by the government of Maldives.
Sharia prohibits the payment or acceptance of interest fees for loans of money. In the case of a mortgage, a Sharia-compliant bank may instead buy a property for the customer and then sell it back to them at a profit.
Shariah-compliant assets reached about $400 billion worldwide in 2009.
(1)Dislikes(0)President Nasheed will fly to Singapore on Saturday to meet the Singaporean government and discuss Maldivian business being conducted in the country.
The President’s office did not disclose details of what be discussed during the visit, Haveeru reported.
Singapore is popular financial hub for large Maldivian businesses, including the State Trading Organisation (STO) and the Maldives National Shipping Limited (MNSL).
(1)Dislikes(0)Two people were admitted to intensive care after a motorcycle and a car collided near Hakatha Petrol Shed and the swimming tracks on Saturday morning.
Haveeru reported that the boy was unconscious and bleeding when he was placed in a private car to be taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), while injuries to the girl were “unclear”.
She was taken to the hospital in the taxi involved in the accident.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have arrested seven men after confiscating two cases of liquor in a Maafannu house.
Haveeru reported that police blocked nearby roads and raided Maafaanu Georgia on Thursday evening, discovering 24 bottles of alcohol.
A Bangaladeshi man was questioned last week after a large stash of alcohol was discovered on a boat anchored in Male’, Haveeru added.
(2)Dislikes(0)The Maldives has been elected the Asia-region representative at an international UN meeting of countries seeking the prevention of torture.
Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed said that torture prevention was a “priority issue” for the government.
“Because of the Maldives’ recent history, it is right and proper that we should take a leadership role at
international level to ensure that this, one of the worst forms of human rights violations, is confronted and eventually eliminated,” he stated. “There is now no place for torture in the Maldives; and there should be no place for it anywhere in the world.”
The Meeting of States Parties to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) will take place at the United Nations in Geneva on 28 October 2010.
The OPCAT, which came into force in 2006, has 55 States Parties and establishes a network of national bodies, in each State Party, called “National Preventative Mechanisms” (NPMs), mandated to prevent all forms of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in prisons and other places of detention. The NPMs do so by conducting unannounced visits to places of detention, making the findings public and submitting reports and recommendations to relevant government and international authorities. The NPMs also conducts training sessions for prison and police personnel to ensure that they comply with tough international standards designed to prevent the ill-treatment of detainees.
In the Maldives, the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) acts as the NPM.
(3)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has said statistical data on matters such as employment are required in the Maldives, and that all this information should be made available to the public.
Speaking on the launch of the third Maldives Millenium Development Goal report, and the Maldives Statistical Yearbook 2010, Nasheed said that important information had been kept confidential in the past, while the current Constitution guaranteed the right to information.
(3)Dislikes(0)(2)Dislikes(1)A man jailed for contempt of court for refusing to take the oath has been released after he changed his mind.
The Criminal Court sentenced Abdulla Shahid Mohamed of Maafannu Muthaafushi, a witness in an ongoing case, to four months on October 4 after he refused to swear before God prior to his evidence.
He changed his mind on Sunday, two weeks after being sentenced, and sent a letter of apology to the Court. Having accepted the apology, the court suspended his sentence yesterday, reports Haveeru.
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