Category: News in Brief

Deputy Speaker denies dodging court summons

Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim denied allegations made at parliament this week by coalition partner Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs that the minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) MP had dodged Criminal Court summons eight times to date.

The Dhiggaru MP in March 2010 pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud the former Ministry of Atolls Development.

Appearing on Villa TV last night, Nazim explained that summons might have been cancelled on occasion when he went out of the county, but insisted that he had informed the court before overseas trips.

Nazim claimed that he had been advised by ruling party MPs as well as former Home Minister Mohamed Shihab to stay out of the country, adding that he was not hesitant to face the charges at court.

“I will face [the trial],” he said. “I will face it and prove to the public that I am innocent.”

The Deputy Speaker also claimed that while four hearings have taken place in his case, MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem, who faces similar charges of corruption during his time as director of finance at the Atolls Ministry, has yet to be summoned to court.

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Low number of submissions means “high chance” of scholarships for Maldivian students, says UK High Commission

The British High Commission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives has announced that applications for the Chevening Scholarship Scheme for 2011-2012 will close this Saturday April 30.

The High Commission expressed surprise at the fewer number of applications submitted this year from the Maldives compared with last year.

“Although disappointing for us, this is great news for prospective Maldivian students – those who apply in the next few days stand a higher chance than normal of being granted a fully-funded scholarship,” the High Commission said in a statement.

The Chevening Scholarship Scheme – which is the UK’s most prestigious scholarship scheme for foreign students – is opened to graduates in the early- to mid-stages of their professional or academic career in the government/private sector or at a non-governmental organisation. The emphasis is on study at the postgraduate level.

Applicants could be considering study in any field relevant to one or more of the UK government’s strategic international priorities, which can be accessed at www.fco.gov.uk. However, particular priority will be given to applicants who will work to promote good governance or benefit socio-economic or environmental development in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Candidates should have some work or academic experience relating to their field of study as well as an offer from a UK higher education institution for the academic year 2011/2012. Preference will be given to those who have attained, or have demonstrated, the potential to attain, a position of responsibility and influence within their field in Sri Lanka or the Maldives.

The applications, available only online, can be accessed at http://www.britishcouncil.lk/chevening

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ACFJ offering scholarships in multimedia journalism

The Asia Center for Journalism (ACFJ) in the Philippines is offering a one-year program and 10 scholarships for journalists to undertake cross platform multimedia journalistic projects.

The work combines both theoretical and practical approaches with lectures and discussions as well as hands-on exercises and projects, the ACFJ said in a statement.

Admission is limited to 15 students. Scholarship grants are available to Asian journalists on a competitive basis.

Prospective students must have at least one full year of work experience as a photojournalist, photo-editor, photographer or journalist.

Application forms and scholarship details can be downloaded from the resources section of http://acfj.ateneo.edu/

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Customs sets new import export duty rate of Rf14.10 to the dollar

The Maldives Customs Service has increased the import export duty rate to Rf14.10 to the dollar, starting from May.

Principal Collector of Customs, Mohamed Aswan, said the rate was in fluctuation and would be revised every month, in collaboration with the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

The government recently floated the rufiya within a 20 percent band of the pegged rate of Rf 12.85.

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Education Ministry hits back at Sheikh Ilyas

The Education Ministry has strongly condemned Sheikh Ilyas Hussein for claiming that senior officials at the ministry “do not accept Islamic principles.”

A strongly-worded statement issued by the ministry on Monday notes that Ilyas’ remarks at an Adhaalath Party religious sermon on April 22 was “unacceptable,” defamatory and disrespectful to the dignity of education sector officials.

“The whole philosophy of education in the Maldives is built upon Islamic principles,” it reads.

The ministry was moreover “extremely concerned” that a political party was spreading falsehoods about the education sector that could “unsettle the public.”

The Education Ministry has come into conflict with the religious conservative Adhaalath Party during the ongoing process of revising the national curriculum for the first time since 1984, notably after a now-retracted decision by the curriculum revision steering committee to make Islam and Dhivehi optional subjects for A’ Level students.

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Parliament approves Inaz as Finance Minister

Parliament today approved President Mohamed Nasheed’s appointment of Ahmed Inaz as Finance Minister with 68 votes in favour and two against.

Presenting the committee evaluation report, Mathiveri MP Hussein Mohamed said that the committee found that Inaz was qualified for the post and a majority voted to recommend consenting to his appointment.

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Ali Waheed argued that Inaz’s youth and perceived inexperienced should not be held against him while People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla praised Inaz as capable and qualified.

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Ayada resort targets autumn opening for Maldives debut

The Aydeniz group, a Turkish development company, is set to launch its first resort development in the Maldives later this year with the opening of the 112-villa Ayada Maldives property in Gaaf Alif Atoll.

A spokesperson for the company told Minivan News that the resort is scheduled to open in the autumn and would be an entirely new tourist property operated by a recently formed local subsidiary of the Aydeniz Group.

According to the resort operator, Ayada Maldives will consist of 62 seafront villas and 50 water villas spread over a 150,000 square meter island that will also aim to offer both reef and pool swimming, water sports opportunities, spa treatments , a “health bar” and a selection of restaurants providing  international cuisine.

Along with its tourist properties, the Aydeniz Group has operations in areas such as agriculture, engineering and construction that includes bridge and road building projects in the Maldives, Turkey, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.

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Over 5,400 convicted in past nine years

The Criminal Court convicted 5,435 people during the past nine years, including over 2,500 people sentenced to jail in the past four years alone, reports Haveeru.

According to statistics from the Criminal Court, 864 people were sentenced to jail in 2009 followed by 522 in 2010.

Meanwhile as of this week, police have requested 3,669 court orders to extend detention of suspects so far this year, 2,814 of which were granted.

From 2001 to 2010, some 2,950 persons were banished while 798 were sentenced to house arrest.

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Maldivian students in Malaysia host futsal tournament

Maldivian students in Malaysia will hold an annual futsal tournament, the Krolickz Raajje Cup, in Malaysia at the Subang Grand Sports Planet, Sunway.

The one day event this Saturday April 30 begins at 9am in the morning until 8pm that evening. 21 teams will take part in the event, with many players travelling to Malaysia from Male’.

The event is sponsored by Krolickz, a Malaysia based education consultant agency, which represents a number of colleges and universities in Malaysia. Other sponsors include Malaysian university Segi University College and several Maldivian companies, including Happy Market Traders, Airplus Travel and Tours, Net Solutions and one Malaysian university Segi University College.

Futsal is an indoor game similar to five-a-side football, played with a smaller ball with less bounce that a conventional football.

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