A man has been arrested for using a Male’ mosque’s microphone to recite the call to prayer at 11am, rather than the mandated midday prayer time.
A witness told Haveeru that the man continued repeating the call to prayer as he was handcuffed and escorted away by police.
“He was looking upwards to the sky and yelling, ‘God is great’,” the witness told Haveeru.
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(0)The Indian government has announced the export of 32,094 tonnes of wheat flour to Maldives in 2011-2012, under the bilateral trade pact between the two countries.
India has banned the export of wheat and wheat products to most countries, but allows limited shipments for diplomatic reasons.
The Maldives imports nearly all its food, apart from local staples such as tuna.
(0)Dislikes(0)Three staff from the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service (DPRS) have been summoned to the President’s Office for questioning amid an investigation launched this week into the disappearance of files concerning bones found at the former Gaamaadhoo prison site.
Copies of the documents stored with police also went missing, but were found after several days of searching. The original kept with the DRPS is still missing, the Home Ministry has said, expressing concern that the investigation maybe have been tampered with.
Haveeru reported today that the three staff summoned were secretarial, and included two women and a man.
President Mohamed Nasheed announced on October 10 last year that DNA tests in Thailand had revealed that human bones discovered on the island a year before matched the age and estimated period of death of Abdulla Anees, Vaavu Keyodhoo Bashigasdhosuge, an inmate officially declared missing in the 1980s.
A senior source in the President’s Office told Minivan News that following the President’s announcement, police had been asked to investigate the disappearance of Abdulla Anees in light of the discovery of the bones.
“People want to see justice for what happened,” the source said. “Human remains were discovered and there is a strong reason to believe that something bad happened. However it looks like the investigation has been compromised.”
Amin Faisal, Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad and Mohamed Shafeeq were this week tasked by the President with investigating the case of the missing files, “as this disappearance points to a deliberate attempt to hide evidence to obstruct an ongoing investigation.
(0)Dislikes(0)The tourism industry has recorded a 10 percent increase in bed nights for the first three months of 2011 compared with 2010, a total of 1,852,564.
However while the majority of nights were spent at resort properties – 1,724,799 – this represented only a seven percent increase on 2010. In comparison, nights at hotels increased 25.5 percent (to 60,784) and safari vessels by 33.9 percent.
Guest houses remained a small segment of the tourism market with 7855 nights, although this represented a 25.5 percent increase on the same period last year. Guest houses continued to record very low occupancy rates of around 17 percent.
Occupancy rates for resorts increased three and a half percent on 2010 to 92.8 percent from January to March 2011, and were exceptionally strong in February – only two percent of the country’s resort rooms were empty during this month. Hotel occupancy increase 6.5 percent on last year.
Overall, occupancy rates across the tourism industry varied only marginally on 2010, dropping 0.1 percent.
Average duration of stay for the first three months of 2011 also showed little variation on the same period last year, continuing a slight downward trend of 0.1 percent to 7.5 days per visitor.
(0)Dislikes(0)Minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) Deputy Leader Ahmed Nazim agreed to sell Shaviyani Kabalifaru, which was leased for development as a resort in 2005, for main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali to raise money for a loan of over Rf2 million (US$155,600) owed to the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thasmeen’s lawyer said at yesterday’s final hearing of Nazim’s lawsuit at the Civil Court.
According to local media reports, Shaheem Ahmed, Thasmeen’s lawyer, denied that an agreement was made between the pair to pay back the loan in a month, claiming that to date Nazim has failed to find a buyer for Kabalifaru as agreed upon in November 2008.
Shaheem also denied Nazim’s claim that the loan was taken to pay back Thasmeen’s debts at the Bank of Maldives.
However Nazim’s lawyer, Mohamed Saleem, disputed both claims, demanding documentation to prove that Thasmeen gave power of attorney to Nazim to sell the resort.
Judge Hathif Hilmy adjourned the hearing after informing the parties that a judgment would be given at the next court date.
Deputy Speaker Nazim is suing Majority Leader Thasmeen to recover Rf1.92 million (US$149,400) allegedly unpaid from a loan worth Rf2.55 million (US$200,000) along with Rf100,000 (US$7,782) incurred as lawyer’s fees.
(0)Dislikes(0)Cabinet has decided to reclaim and develop 10 islands in various lagoons in Male’ atoll, in an effort to cater to interest from investors and developers for tourist facilities near Male.
“Cabinet members also noted that the opportunities available to reclaim and develop islands using environmentally friendly technologies,” the President’s office observed in a statement.
The 10 islands consist of 5-10 hectares each in Male’ atoll, although the final size and shape of the islands will be left to investors.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Criminal Court has extended the detention of MDP MP for Maradhoo Hassan Adil a second time following his arrest for allegations of child abuse on April 4.
The Court extended Adil’s detention by 15 days for the second time, after police and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) launched a joint investigation into the case.
Adil was formerly a member of the opposition-aligned Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), before jumping to the ruling MDP in September last year.
MDP Chairperson Mariya Ahmed Didi has previously told Minivan News that if Adhil was found guilty “then of course the party should [take action]. The party does not condone such acts. But we should only speculate after the court has come to a verdict.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives is expected to be among eight nations taking part in an inaugural club football tournament scheduled for later this year under the auspices of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
This season’s Maldivian champions will be invited along with their counterparts in Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Afghanistan to face off in a competition taking place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between September 1 and September 15. These teams are expected to be joined by the top two sides from the national leagues of India and Bangladesh.
According to India-based newspaper, the Calcutta Telegraph, local governing body the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has claimed to have agreed to the scheduled dates for the tournament, yet added that the actual details of the competition are still to be decided.
(0)Dislikes(0)Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP and Deputy Leader, Ali Waheed, has reportedly met with President Mohamed Nasheed in Male’ over fears of growing gang violence across the country.
According to Haveeru, the meeting with Nasheed occurred yesterday at his official residence on the behest of Ali Waheed in an attempt to raise concerns over violence linked to gangs. No official confirmation of the exact outcome of the talks has been given as yet.
However, upon departing from the president’s Muleeage residence, Ali Waheed told the newspaper that the discussion had been focused on perceived increases in gang violence.
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