Author: Minivan News

Indian sailing expedition departs from Mumbai to Malé

Thirty-six sailors from regiments of the Indian Army currently at the College of Military Engineering (CME) have begun a sailing expedition from Mumbai to Malé and back, reports indianexpress.com.

Commandant of CME Lieutenant General USP Sinha said ventures such as this would “instill a spirit of adventure among young officers.”

The expedition will cover a total of 3,000 nautical miles (5,000 km), travelling from Mumbai to Colombo then Malé and back to Mumbai.

Leader of the expedition, Major Karunakaran of the CME said cruising non-stop on the Arabian Sea without any technological devices “called out to the adventurers in all of us.”

The sailors will set out on Yacth Trishna, a 36-foot Swan Class of 1970 vintage, which did an around the world trip in 1986.

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Burned house was Henveiru Vaavelaaveli, say police

Residential property Henveiru Vaavelaaveli in Male’ was destroyed in a fire yesterday.

Police reported that the fire was controlled at 2:30pm yesterday afternoon by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF).

Three men were injured during the incident and everything inside the house except some dresses were completely destroyed.

MNDF is now investigating the cause of the blaze.

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Health Minister says government-owned corporations are a good step for health sector

Minister of Health and Family Dr Aminath Jameel has said there will be no loss to the government if health employees have to work under corporations, reports Haveeru.

The government is planning on managing Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), regional hospitals and health centres, under 100 percent government-owned corporations.

The minister said employees will be protected under the Employment Act and Pension Law.

Dr Aminath said employees would not lose their rights and the Health Ministry would regulate the corporations under its regulatory mechanism.

She added that the health sector framework would be amended and salaries are expected to increase.

The minister added that bringing health services closer to the people under corporations would solve the current problems the health sector is facing.

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Man injured in accident on Addu link road taken to India

A man injured during the accident on Addu Link road has been taken to India for medical treatment, reports Haveeru, after he was brought to Male’ yesterday.

The news paper reported that the man’s condition was now stable, but he had injured his chest very seriously.

No one was arrested during the accident and police are now investigating the case.

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Parliament accepts Decentralisation Bill

Parliament has unanimously accepted the Decentralisation Bill in yesterday’s sitting, reports Miadhu.

MPs voted to send the bill to be reviewed by an eleven-member committee, which was proposed by DRP MP Mohamed Mujthaz.

The committee members includes Rozaina Adam, Mohamed Mujaathaz, Abdulraheem Abdulla, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, Ahmed Sameer, Rugiyya Mohamed, Gasim Ibrahim, Hassan Adhil and Ibrahim Riza.

The Majlis also approved the drug bill. Some MPs said they did not want to establish an independent Drug Court, and the Vice President should be included in the National Drug Council.

The bill has been sent to Social Affairs Committee for further deliberation and revision.

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Nominations for MIRA open at President’s Office

Nominations for the Board of Directors for the newly formed Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) and its Commissioner General and Deputy Commissioner General of Taxation will open today at the President’s Office.

Applications for nomination will be open until 5 April 2010.

According to Article 4(d) of the Tax Administration Act, the Board of Directors of MIRA will comprise of seven members. Both the members of the board and the Commissioner General and Deputy Commissioner General of Taxation will be appointed by President Mohamed Nasheed and must be approved by the People’s Majlis.

Nomination forms are available at the President’s Office or through their website.

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Vice President meets with Saudi Fund and IBD

As part of his ongoing visit to Saudi Arabia, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed met with Deputy Chairman of Saudi Fund for Development Dr Yusuf Al-Bassam on 21 March.

Dr Waheed briefed Dr Al-Bassam on the upcoming Donor Conference and asked for the participation of the Saudi Fund.

Dr Al-Bassam assured the vice president of the assistance of the Saudi Fund and added the Fund would also assist the government in its tsunami housing projects.

Dr Waheed met with the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani at the IDB headquarters yesterday.

He then met with senior officials of the IBD Group to discuss the Donor Conference and the introduction of Islamic banking in the Maldives.

The IBD assured their participation in the Donor Conference and said they were willing to work with the government in realising its key development areas.

Vice President Waheed also visited Mecca and performed Umra.

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Minivan News is on Facebook!

Minivan News has launched on Facebook, the world’s most popular social networking website.

The Facebook page is automatically updated with links to Minivan News stories as they are published. By clicking ‘Become a fan’ on the page, readers can stay ahead of the news throughout the day and as it breaks.

We have also set up a discussion board for readers to post suggestions for improvement to the site, or content they would like to see.

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Boy arrested with 53 packets of suspected drugs

Police have arrested a boy under the age of 18 for carrying 53 packets of suspected narcotics in Fuvamula.

Police received information that a person was trying to carry drugs from Addu to Fuvamulah and raided the harbor area, arresting the boy at 3:00pm.

Fuvamulah police station and the drug enforcement unit are now investigating the case.

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