A retired magistrate from the island of Bilehdhoo in Faafu atoll, Abdul Gani Ali, 65, was found dead on Sunday night (June 16), according to the Maldives Police Service (MPS).
The doctor who examined the deceased informed police that the retired magistrate died of natural causes and had sustained an inch-deep head wound in a fall.
Abdul Gani Ali was a long-serving magistrate at the Bilehdoo court.
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(0)Government-owned fisheries company Koodoo has been tasked with providing ferry services in Gaaf Alif and Gaaf Dhaal atolls on a temporary basis, according to local media reports.
In March 2013, the transport ministry terminated an agreement with Trinus-CAE Holdings Pvt Ltd to provide public transport in the two atolls following interruptions in the service.
The private company was contracted to provide ferry services in November 2009 under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) policy of the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government.
A nationwide transport network was one of five main pledges of the previous government.
In October 2012, the MDP-majority Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Council accused Trinus-CAE of ceasing ferry services and asked the transport ministry to cancel the agreement with the company.
The council said in a statement at the time that it was receiving a number of complaints from citizens inconvenienced by the unavailability of ferry services.
“The council believes that since the company that provides this service in the atoll has been given an uninhabited island [under the PPP programme] and continues to reap benefits from the island, the public should receive adequate services,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director at the Transport Ministry Abdulla Shakeeb told newspaper Haveeru today that ferry services will resume on Saturday (June 22) with five boats and the same ticket prices of MVR 25 for inter-atoll transport and MVR 50 between the two atolls.
Shakeeb said the government would make an announcement in the near future seeking a party to offer ferry services in the two southern atolls. He added that the ministry expected the bidding process to be completed in the next six months.
According to Sun Online, Deputy Transport Mahdhy Imad said at a ceremony held today to sign the agreement with Koodoo that the government would cover the cost of providing the service if the fisheries company was unable to do so. The government would however not provide any finances for Koodoo to commence the ferry service, he added.
(0)Dislikes(0)The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won a by-election on Saturday (June 15) for a vacant island council seat in Omadhoo in Thaa atoll.
According to provisional results from the Elections Commission (EC), MDP candidate Javid Hassan won the contest with 53 percent of the vote (161 votes) against three independent candidates.
Second placed candidate Nooh Ali received 85 votes while Mohamed Shaz came third with 52 votes. Fourth placed candidate Ahmed Hamdhoon received 3 votes.
(0)Dislikes(0)A 66-year old man was stabbed in Addu City and robbed of his mobile phone and wallet this afternoon, police have confirmed.
The incident occurred at 2:44pm today, with the wounded man later being admitted to Hithadhoo Regional Hospital.
He was later identified by police as Hassan Ali of Saifaimaage, who had previously worked for the Maldives Police Service in a civil position before retiring with honour.
The case is now under investigation.
Local media has meanwhile reported that the man received injuries to his arm and ear in the attack.
No arrests have been made in connection with the case at present.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldivian crew of the MV Asian Express cargo ship, which sank off the coast of India last week, returned safely to the country yesterday (June 15), the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has confirmed.
MNDF Spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem said today that all 18 Maldivian nationals on the ship’s 22-member crew had returned to the country “in good health”.
The MV Asian Express, a 35 year-old Lily Enterprises vessel, was travelling from Port Md Bin Qasim in Karachi to Male’ when it encountered engine trouble, reportedly after being fuelled with contaminated oil, according to Indian media reports.
In addition to engine trouble, the vessel suffered a two-to-three-metre vertical crack on its starboard side below the waterline and a failed communication system before sinking.
The ship’s owners yesterday told local media that they had decided to sell the 35 year-old ship just before the incident occurred.
“We decided to sell the boat not because of its condition, but due to its small size and high maintenance cost. An Indian living in Dubai has offered to buy it,” Ahmed Saleem, shipping manager of Apollo Holdings, was quoted as saying in Haveeru.
After its crew had been rescued, the vessel sank with its cargo of 4000 tons of cement and 2400 tons of sand.
The MV Asian Express was carrying aggregate imported from Pakistan, after a shortage began impacting the Maldives’ construction industry.
Aggregate was previously imported to the Maldives from India under a special quota, however this was temporarily revoked on February 15 amid a breakdown in the country’s relationship over the government’s eviction of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and ongoing mistreatment of Indian nationals working in the country.
(0)Dislikes(0)Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed has acquired a license to broadcast a religious TV channel under the name ITV after purchasing a local company called Intone Media Private Limited, local media has reported.
Sun Online today reported that Fareed was already in the process of trying to begin broadcasting under the channel.
Fareed has been accused of defrauding the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM), an NGO which he co-founded, by the foundation’s President Ibrahim Fauzee. He was subsequently dismissed from his position as Vice President of the Religious Council of IFM.
Fareed later filed a defamation case against Fauzee seeking a payment of more than MVR 3 million (US$195,000) and a public apology within local media for three consecutive days.
(0)Dislikes(0)Internet security firm Kaspersky has ranked the Maldives 16th in a list of countries where the highest percentage of its customer base face online attacks, placing it between Ukraine and Moldova.
The Bloomberg news agency has reported that the list found 47 percent of Kaspersky’s customers in the Maldives had come under attack from cyber criminals during 2012.
Based on internet world statistics, around 34 percent of the Maldives population – an estimated 134,860 people – were online last year, the report added.
Despite ongoing concerns about the growing threat of potential cyber crime in the Maldives, Kaspersky concluded that neighbouring countries such as India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh faced even more prevalent online threats, placing them in 9th, 8th and 7th on the list respectively.
At the top of list was Russia, with Kaspersky – founded in the country – concluding that 59 percent of its customers in the nation had faced online assaults in 2012.
At the other end of the list, Spain and the US were placed at 20th and 19th place respectively.
In December last year, the Maldives Police Service (MPS) announced it had received 61 reports of suspected cyber crime in 2012 – a second consecutive annual increase in such offences since 2010.
Meanwhile, in September 2012, the MPS announced it would be forming a special Cyber Policing Department.
Police stated at the time that three units will be operating under the new department, including the cyber crime investigation unit, cyber forensics unit and cyber security unit.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Criminal Court will begin a scheduled 15-day recess tomorrow (June 16), during which no trials are expected to be conducted, according to local media.
Haveeru has reported that while the court will continue to perform administrative duties and rule on custody extensions during this period, no trials will be conducted except for emergency cases.
(0)Dislikes(0)Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has warned that any establishment of a base by the United States in the Maldives could change the complexion of the sub-continent region by aligning it more with India, reports the Daily Mirror.
The Defence Secretary pointed out that it was essential to further strengthen the existing cordial relationships with powerful nations such as China and Russia, which have permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council and could influence any international action on Sri Lanka more significantly than other nations.
“Issues between India and Pakistan, and the issues between India and China are particularly sensitive in this regard. With the rise of China as a world economic leader, there is a widespread belief that India feels insecure and is seeking to align itself with the other powers that seem similarly threatened by China’s ascendancy,” he added.
Mr Rajapaksa said although the likelihood of events such as the Arab Spring transpiring in Sri Lanka is minimal as a result of it being a democratic nation with an extremely popular political leadership that enjoys a very large electoral majority, the possible trend needs to be monitored.
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