Police have arrested a 19 year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting a 74 year-old elderly woman on Hithadhoo in in Seenu Atoll.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police were informed of the incident, which occurred this morning, but offered no further information.
”We are currently investigating the incident,” Shiyam said.
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(0)The Institute of Local Governance and Development, a private initiative of Bandos Island Resort owner and former Atolls Minister Mohamed Waheed Deen, was inaugurated at a ceremony at Dharubaaruge convention centre last night by Commonwealth Local Government Forum Secretary General Carl Wright.
In his keynote speech, Wright praised the former minister as “the founding father of local government in the Maldives.”
Waheed Deen spearheaded efforts to introduce local governance through elected councils before resigning as Atolls Minister in August, 2008.
At last night’s ceremony, Waheed Deen explained that his institute will support the decentralisation process and promote good governance by providing training programmes, consultation and information.
As its first order of business, the institute plans to conduct a two week course for newly-elected councillors at Bandos.
(0)Dislikes(0)Adam Ibrahim, Chairman of the Bank of Maldives (BML) board of directors, resigned from his post yesterday after two years on the job.
Local media reports that Abdulla Shiyam, Ma. Naibuge, has been proposed as a replacement. Eight members to the 11-member BML board are appointed by the government.
Asrafee Bookshop Managing Director Adam Ibrahim was appointed Chairman on August 7, 2009.
(0)Dislikes(0)New tourist statistics show there were 246,606 arrivals to the Maldives over the first three months of 2011, a figure up 12.3 percent over the same time last year on the back of strong interest from the Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe, according to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Between January and March 2011, the Asia Pacific region in particular posted significant growth in tourist numbers, which were up by 36 percent compared to the same period last year, amounting to 69,024 arrivals to the Maldives – 28 percent of the total number of visitors recorded over the quarter. China was the region’s key tourist market for the Maldives, with 52,345 recorded visitors over the first three months of the year representing an increase of 53.2 percent compared to back in 2010. Arrivals from South Asia were also up by 41 percent to reach 9,913 visitors, a figure helped primarily by increased interest from India. Indian arrivals between January and March compared to the same period last year rose by 46 percent to 6,891 people.
The total tourism figures for the South Asia region, which includes nations like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, accounted for just four percent of the total number of arrivals to the Maldives between January and March this year. Visitors from Europe, who accounted for 68.2 percent of total arrivals to the Maldives during the quarter, rose by 4.7 percent to 168,307 over the same period of time the previous year.
The statistics show that the increase was driven primarily by demand from Western European nations such as France, Austria and Belgium, as well as 27,324 visitors from Central and Eastern Europe, a figure up by 22.2 percent during the quarter when compared to 2010.
Western Europe, which accounted for 27.1 percent of the total number of visitors to the Maldives during the first three months of 2011, saw 66,755 people travelling to the Maldives over the period, up 8.8 percent from the 61,341 visitors recorded the previous year.
However, despite the overall increase in arrivals, visitor numbers from northern and Southern Europe declined over the three months by 4.1 percent and 3.3 percent respectively, particularly within key markets like the UK and Italy.
The number of travellers from the UK, which represented 11.2 percent of all tourist visitors to the Maldives between January and March this year, fell by 8.2 percent to 27,728 when compared to last year. Similarly the number of Italians travelling to the country, 14.8 percent of total visitors between Janaury and March, fell by 2.6 percent to 36,468 people over the same period of time.
In other international regions, the figures recorded that tourist arrivals from the Middle East were up by 10.5 percent to 2,428 over the quarter compared to last year, while arrivals from Africa increased by 10.1 percent amounting to 1,269 people.
Visitor numbers from the Americas increased by 18.8 percent over the three month period to 5,578, according to the figures.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday appointed Mr Ahmed As-ad as the Financial Controller at the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, with the rank of state minister.
Former Financial Controller Mohamed Ahmed has been appointed as the Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury, the President’s Office said in a statement.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has sent condolences to US President Barack Obama following violent storms that caused loss of life and destruction of property in the country’s south.
The storms affected states from Oklahoma to North Carolina and left at least 45 people dead, with 267 tornados recorded over a three day period. Two nuclear reactors were also shut down, leaving parts of the country without power.
“At this time of distress, the Government and the people of the Maldives join me in conveying our profound sympathy to you, the Government and the people of the United States of America and in conveying our condolences to the members of the bereaved families,” said President Nasheed.
(0)Dislikes(0)The government’s National Crime Prevention Committee met yesterday with the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) and the Police Integrity Commission (PIC), to discuss immediate measures required to reduce serious crime in the Maldives.
Both independent organisations highlighted the importance of a concerted effort from the whole country and the public to abate serious and violent crimes, according to a statement from the President’s Office.
(0)Dislikes(0)Dhivehi and Islam will remain mandatory subjects at A’Level despite earlier plans by the Education Ministry’s steering committee to make them optional.
Controversy over the proposal led for condemnation of former Education Ministry Dr Mustafa Luthfy by religious groups and calls for his dismissal by the opposition last year.
A’Level students typically study between four to five subjects. Some university prerequisites demand as many as 3-4 subjects, particularly for university-level science courses. Luthfy had suggested that making the subjects optional would give A’Level students greater ability to pursue careers of their choosing, and become “world citizens”.
However he was accused of undermining the cultural and religious foundations of the country by the Adhaalath Party, an MDP coalition partner that runs the Islamic Ministry.
Member of the Steering Committee Dr Naashia Mohamed told Haveeru that the committee voted in favour of the decision after reviewing the practice in other countries.
“In most Islamic countries, the Islamic studies subject is compulsory for the students. So we decided to keep the current policy, under which these two subjects are compulsory for all the students,” she told Haveeru.
Education Ministry’s decision to make Dhivehi language and Islamic studies optional at higher secondary level sparked a public controversy and condemnations by the opposition as well as the religious conservative Adaalat Party of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) coalition government.
(0)Dislikes(1)Parliament has forced President Mohamed Nasheed to ratify the Bill on Capital Islands of Administrative Divisions of the Maldives, which he initially vetoed.
However parliament returned the bill to the President with a vote 39 in favour of ratification, Haveeru reported.
The Act requires that capital islands retain their status as capitals unless a two-thirds majority of the atoll council approves a public referendum.
The issue has led to clashes between island councils and government authorities over the relocation of island capitals to suit the newly-elected island councillors.
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