Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom visits Egypt to take part in the 22nd Scholar’s Meeting.
The meeting will be held from 22 to 25 February.
More than 90 delegates from Islamic countries will take part in the meeting.
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(0)Vice President Mohamed Waheed is on an official visit to India. He arrived in the neighbouring country on 18 February.
This follows close visits by Indian Chief of Army Staff, General Deepak Kapoor, and MP Rahul Gandhi to the Maldives, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed by the Maldives and India.
On 19 February at a meeting held at the official residence of the Indian Vice President Hamid Mohamed Ansari, Dr Waheed thanked India “for its support in introducing democracy in the Maldives.”
Vice President Ansari assured Vice President Waheed of the continued support from India to the Maldives in the areas of social and economic development.
Dr Waheed then met with President of India Pratibha Patil on 20 February. At a meeting at the official residency, the vice president said providing education and job opportunities for Maldivian youth was “important to prevent them from the scourge of drugs,” and asked that Indian institutions assist in providing more higher education opportunities for Maldivian youth.
The vice president then met with Indian External Affairs Minister Shri S. M. Krishna. Dr Waheed asked for assistance in preventing drugs being trafficked from India into the Maldives and providing rehabilitation treatment for addicts.
Dr Waheed also met with Indian Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Prithviraj Chavan. They spoke of the issue of climate change.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Science Society (MSS) held a stargazing event at Lale International School on Thursday night, in conjunction with Astronomers Without Borders.
The event was presented by British mathematician Thomas Goodey, a Cambridge university graduate, who visited the Maldives recently to study the solar eclipse on Jan 15.
Goodey gave a history of astronomy and explained that the Maldives was an excellent place for stargazing. The Maldives Open Source Society (MOSS) also introduced astronomy software called ‘Stellarium’ which allows users to learn the sky and locate different celestial objects.
While the outdoor stargazing session was cancelled due to bad weather, the MSS said it would hold the session again so students could see celestial bodies for themselves.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has claimed that dealing with past human rights violations is one of the most difficult issues currently confronted by the government.
In a letter to the new Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, the president said the Maldives has recently emerged from a long period in which human rights “were routinely violated and in which many people, including members of the new Government, were tortured.”
“Thankfully, the country has been able to turn its back on such times and is now busy establishing itself as a modern liberal democracy with a full separation of powers and strong human rights safeguards,” the president wrote.
“One of the challenges facing the new Government as we look to consolidate democracy, rule of law and human rights is how to come to terms with the difficult episodes in our past without jeopardising our future.
“Dealing with the issue of torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is without doubt one of the more difficult issues we are confronted with, especially in our small closely-knit community. Our favoured approach is to avoid retribution and instead to recognise, come to terms with, and learn from such tragic episodes as a means of ensuring that the memory of the victims is honoured and that we avoid repeating the same mistakes.”
Bokova she is the first woman to hold the post since the foundation of UNESCO in 1945.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Nasheed has urged all political parties of the Maldives to opt for dialogue on national issues, during his weekly radio address, and spoke of the country’s economy.
The president said the government will be able to begin a number of new development projects within the next few months, provided with proper frameworks and funds.
He stressed the importance of passing the proposed taxation bill, and urged newly elected leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, to work on passing the bill.
The President spoke of the budget deficit and the need to to ensure a fast recovery from the economic downturn.
The taxation bill, along with the loans agreed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), should give the country a budget surpluss by 2012, he said.
Before concluding his address, the president noted the significant increase in the number of tourists arriving in the Maldives this January. With 67,478 tourists arriving in the month, it became the highest number of tourists arriving in the month of January in the last five years.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has opened the bidding process for Herathera Island Resort, a 456 bed property in Addu atoll.
The MTDC recently paid US$3.5 million to end a long-running court dispute with former management Yacht Tours, after the company stopped paying rent claiming the MTDC had failed to fulfil a contractual obligation to build a channel between the resort and the adjoining island of Hulhudhoo.
The MTDC said it was searching for an “experienced and capable party”, with a minimum of five years experience running a luxury hotel of over 300 beds.
It also said the successful bidder would be required to pay a US$7-10 million non-refundable deposit “to ensure the company is capable of managing the resort.”
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has met with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to review the economic recovery programme yesterday afternoon at the president’s office.
Members of the IMF mission were reportedly “very pleased” with the government’s fiscal and monetary policies. They “hailed” the government’s efforts to keep the budget deficit under control without printing extra money.
The President thanked the IMF for their continued support for the economic recovery of the country. IMF Executive Board approved a loan of USD 92.5 million last December to assist the economic recovery programme.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Employment Tribunal Regulation was published in the Government Gazette yesterday.
The Employment Tribunal Regulation states procedures of revising and adjudicating employment matters, and other matters to do with the functioning of the Employment Tribunal under the Employment Act.
The Employment Tribunal aims to examine and adjudicate legal matters which might arise in the workplace between employers and employees, as well as other matters ascribed to the Tribunal, in an expeditious and simple manner.
The Tribunal has full authority to review and adjudicate employment matters as it deems fit in observance of the Employment Act.
(0)Dislikes(0)The President appointed Uz Adam Mohamed Abdulla as a member of the Judicial Service Commission yesterday. He was elected by other judges of the High Court to serve as a Judicial Service Commission member.
There was a special ceremony at the President’s Office yesterday, where President Nasheed presented Uz Adam the letter of appointment for his new position.
President Nasheed urged Uz Adam to fulfill the member’s responsibilities in establishing justice.
Uz Adam said he would try his best to fulfill the responsibilities and to strengthen the work of the Judicial Service Commission within the boundaries of law.
Uz Adam took the oath of office before the Supreme Court Judge Abdulla Areef.
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