Home Ministry has drafted a Juvenile Justice Bill to prevent juvenile crimes, to address the way the judicial system handles minors who have committed crimes.
Deputy Director General at the Ministry Mohamed Waheed said the bill would handle the arrest of children, and procedures for such cases outside the judiciary.
The bill is currently in English, and is to be translated into Dhivehi before being sent to parliament.
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(0)A City Garden restaurant cashier has been banished for six months by the Civil Court for taking Rf500 from a customer’s cash card, reports Haveeru.
Customers in the Maldives routinely give their pin number to the waiter along with their card.
The Civil Court ruled that Hassan Azhar should be banished on the basis of confession and documents, after he received the card from a waiter and used it to withdraw Rf500 without the customer’s consent.
This is the first time such a case has been prosecuted, Haveeru noted.
(1)Dislikes(0)Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed Mujthaz proposed an amendment to the Decentralisation Act yesterday to set December 31, 2010 as the deadline for local council elections.
On Sunday, the Elections Commission (EC) announced that local council elections will take place on February 5, 2010 after taking the upcoming school holidays as well as the Hajj Eid festivities into consideration.
The deadline in the Decentralisation Act had elapsed on October 13 while the complementary Local Council Elections Act, ratified on July 29, gave a 122 period for the elections.
Presenting the bill, Mujthaz said that as administrative constituencies were listed by the government after the amendment was proposed, he was willing to withdraw it at a latter stage.
The amendment bill also proposes considering administrative constituencies as listed in the appendix of the Decentralisation Act.
Meanwhile, an amendment to the Act proposed by the government to set the criteria for city status for populations with 10,000 was narrowly rejected at yesterday’s sitting.
While 34 MPs voted in favour of the proposal, 35 voted against and one abstained.
(1)Dislikes(0)Soneva Gili is to sell private residences to foreign investors, the first time foreigners have been permitted to buy private residences in the Maldives, according to premium property magazine Countrylife.
The 14 water bungalows on Lankanfushi Island are expected to attract up to US$7 million each.
Each of the four-bedroom houses will be built from renewable and natural materials and will include an over-water pool, sauna, gym and staff quarters for butlers.
The properties will be sold over a 50 year leasehold with an option to extend to 90 years, with a guaranteed gross rental yield of up to five percent for buys who subscribe to resort’s rental programme.
(1)Dislikes(0)Can a nation that considers itself 100 percent Muslim also be a democracy without risking its Islamic identity and ideals, asks Vishal Arora in the Huffington Post.
That’s what this tiny island nation off the southern coast of India is trying to do. Two years after the country embraced democracy, a literary festival imported from the West shows the promise -and peril – of that experiment.
Every year, an estimated 700,000 tourists flock to this postcard-perfect chain of about 1,100 islands. Before they can hit the beach, however, they must complete a customs form that includes a list of “prohibited and restricted” imports, including “materials contrary to Islam,” “idols for worship,” pork products and alcohol.
The restrictions are lingering vestiges of the 30-year rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a conservative authoritarian who yielded power in the country’s first democratic elections in 2008.
Yet even with the change in government, there’s been little desire for a change in policy on religious restrictions.
(1)Dislikes(0)A billionaire from Kuwait has expressed interest in buying the Maldives presidential yacht ‘Arumaazu’, following the Gulfcraft International Boat Show held over the weekend.
Haveeru reported that the billionaire went to see the yacht, which is anchored at the Presidential Retreat of Aarah, and remarked that while it was a beautiful yacht “it needs some repairs.”
The US$4.7 million yacht was acquired and used by the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, but has been left to fall into a state of disrepair given the country’s current financial depredations.
Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MNCCI) Deputy President Ismail Asif told Haveeru that “special parties” and investors had expressed interest in the yacht.
“We are just facilitating the interested parties to see the yacht. The government will carry out the process of selling it. It is not put on auction. The government has not informed the selling price. The price will be negotiable,” Asif told Haveeru.
(0)Dislikes(0)Minivan News is pleased to announce that readers with Apple iPhones can now follow news and views in the Maldives with our very own iPhone application.
Designed and programmed by avid Minivan reader and app developer Martin Barr of AppIT, the ‘Minivan Lite’ iPhone application allows easy, on-the-run access to all categories covered by Minivan News, as well as comments.
Please post thoughts and suggestions for future versions of the app, in the comment form below.
Minivan Lite can be downloaded for free via the in-phone Apps Store, and is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.2 or later.
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(0)Dislikes(0)The Coastguard have discovered a body part they believe may belong to one of the three children missing Hulhudhufaaru in Raa Atoll, reports Haveeru.
Coastguard Deputy Director Mohamed Saleem told Haveeru the body part was found eight miles off Hulhudhufaaru and delivered to police. It will be examined by the police and Health Ministry, he said.
13 year-old Ahmed Junaid, nine year-old sibling Ibrahim Sadin and nine year-old Ali Ashraf, have been missing since Saturday evening. An capsised canoe believed to have belonged to the children was discovered on Tuesday.
The Coastguard has appealed to vessels travelling in the area to be alert for any sign of the missing children.
(0)Dislikes(0)Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN Iruthisham Adam has presented her credentials as the Maldives representative to World Trade Organisation (WTO).
During a meeting with Director General of the WTO Pascal Lamy, Iruthisham highlighted the impending
graduation of the Maldives from the list of Less Developed Countries (LDC), and requested to host a workshop assessing the impact of the graduation on the Maldivian economy.
The Maldives is due to graduate to a middle income country on 1 January 2011.
The Director General welcomed the Ambassador on her appointment and reiterated his
commitment to work with the Ambassador and the Government of Maldives, especially in the
process of graduation from the LDC status.
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