Parliament’s secretariat reported that parliament had cancelled Monday’s sitting on the grounds the 77-member chamber had no work to do, reports local media.
“There is nothing to schedule today,” an official told local media, suggesting that parliament would reconvene on Tuesday.
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(0)Dredging equipment to reclaim land needed to expand the main runway at Gan International Airport in Addu City is expected to arrive at the site today to begin work, local media has reported.
A dredger brought to the country to begin the work was now in the process of being transported to the airport site in Gan despite previous “difficulties” in moving the equipment, according to Sun Online.
Shahid Ali, Managing Director of the Addu International Airport (AIA) company overseeing the project, told local media that contractors would bring the dredger in between Gan and Vilingili. He said the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) was expected to provide approval for the process today.
President Dr Mohamed Waheed is then expected to officially inaugurate the dredging work this evening, according to Sun Online.
AIA contracted Dubai-based Gulf Cobla to undertake the dredging and reclamation component of developing Gan International Airport earlier this year.
Meanwhile, a UK-based company called Lagan has previously won the main contract to develop the airport, with AIA outsourcing the additional dredging work required to be completed before the main runway expansion can begin.
AIA is itself a joint venture formed by the Gan Airport Company Ltd (GACL), Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) and the STO.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Dr Mohamed Waheed has returned to Male’ today after an official visit to Palestine, where he chaired the 4th International Islamic Conference of Bait Al Maqdis.
Dr Waheed used his visit to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on extending relations between the two nations, while also visiting key local sites such as Birzeit University.
Speaking at the university on Wednesday (June 5), President Waheed discussed a number of issues such as climate change and its impact on development in the Maldives.
He also talked to students concerning consolidating democratic change in the Maldives, according to the President’s Office website.
Whilst chairing the Islamic conference during his visit, President Waheed pledged the Maldives’ continued support to finding a two-state solution to ensure peace between Palestine and Israel.
He also reiterated the Maldives’ position backing the establishment of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital from lands occupied in the 1967 war.
Ahead of the conference, Dr Waheed was presented with the ‘Star of Palestine’ by President Mahmoud Abbas on June 4 in recognition of his efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries, the President’s Office website has said.
(0)Dislikes(0)Over 700 policemen have been issued permission slips to grow their beards, local media has reported.
710 police officers requested permission to grow their beards following the amended dress code published in the government gazette on May 30, 2013.
Although the rules regarding beard growth were not specified in the gazette, police “urgently” amended the regulations to allow beard growth up to two centimeters.
Police officers issued permission slips will be required to photograph themselves after seven days.
“After that they will be granted permission to grow their beards,” a police spokesperson told local media.
Bearded police will then be issued an identity card, however the recipients will not be allowed to make any alterations to their beards while the card is valid.
Uniform regulations for Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers were also amended June 1 to allow military personnel to grow beards up to two centimeters.
Soldiers who chose to grow their beards must also obtain permission and are required to take a vacation until their beards are fully grown, MNDF Spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem told local media.
Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim previously told local media that the decision was made after requests from MNDF officers, on the grounds of religion and human rights.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Waheed has requested parliament approve structural changes that would reshuffle educational institutions, reports local media.
The government proposal would move the National Institute of Education (NIE) under the Ministry of Education as well as transfer the Education and Vocational Training Center for Children (ETCC) to the Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights.
Waheed’s cabinet established the NIE on December 24, 2012, however it did not begin to function until May 20, according to local media.
The Education Development Centre and the Centre for Continuing Education, previously under the Education Ministry, were abolished and their mandates transferred to the NIE in 2012.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Dr Mohamed Waheed been presented with Palestine’s highest honour during an official visit to the country, where he is acting as chair of the 4th International Islamic Conference of Bait Al Maqdis.
Dr Waheed was presented with the ‘Star of Palestine’ by President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday (June 4) in recognition of his efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries, according to the President’s Office website.
President Abbas was himself presented during their meeting with the “Nishan Izzuddeen” – one of the Maldives highest honours.
Two-state solution
Speaking at the Islamic conference today, President Waheed spoke of the Maldives’ continued support for finding a two-state solution to ensure peace between Palestine and Israel.
He also spoke on the Maldives’ backing for the establishment of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital from lands occupied in the 1967 war.
Dr Waheed’s speech was also critical of Israel’s policy of building settlements in occupied territories and the potential impacts it could have on the ongoing peace process, while also playing up what he believed was the global importance of Bait Al Maqdis.
“Bait Al Maqdis is not only important to Islam. It is an important sight for other great monotheistic faiths of the world. The Maldives supports the efforts being made to preserve the Islamic and Christian character of Al-Quds Sharif,” he said.
The full transcript of his speech can be read here.
Tourism potential
President Waheed also pledged to provide his Palestinian counterpart with technical assistance in the fields of tourism, based on the Maldives’ experiences of operating high-end island resorts.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former President of 30 years, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.
“His visit to Delhi is part of India’s outreach to all sections of Maldivian polity. It may be recollected that former President, Nasheed, has visited India twice and President Waheed was in India in May last year,” said Indian government sources, according to the Times of India (TOI).
“He discussed issues relating to the current situation in Maldives and bilateral relations with India. He said that he looked forward to India’s continued assistance,” an official told TOI.
“As someone who was instrumental in bringing about democracy to the Maldives, former President Gayoom felt that it was his legacy and that democracy should take firm roots in Maldives and there should be understanding amongst all political parties in this regard,” the official added.
Sacked Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel, who was one of the main opponents of Indian infrastructure giant GMR’s development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), was recently announced the running mate of Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).
(0)Dislikes(0)The president of Maldives arrived for an “official” visit to “Palestine” on Tuesday without planning a stopover in Israel, underlining the loss of one of Israel’s few friends in the Muslim world, writes Raphael Ahren for the Times of Israel.
President Mohammed Waheed Hassan’s four-day visit includes trips to Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah, where he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and laid a wreath at the grave of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Tuesday. He is not scheduled to meet any Israeli officials.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Paul Hirschson said that Israel has been kept informed of the visit and coordinated with the Maldivians for security needs. “We’re perfectly happy for them to have an active relationship with the Palestinians,” he said.
The Republic of Maldives, a tiny island nation southwest of Sri Lanka, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, yet until two years ago bilateral ties were growing increasingly cordial.
In February 2012, the government in Malé was deposed in what observers called a political coup. Mohamed Nasheed — the country’s first democratically elected president, known for his pro-Israel stance — was ousted and replaced by Islamist hardliners around Waheed Hassan.
(0)Dislikes(0)Registration for the seventh annual Dhiraagu Maldives Road Race is to close on Sunday (June 9), with participants and NGOs being encouraged to use the event as a platform for fund raising.
The race, which will see participants running a single lap of the outskirts of Male’, is scheduled to start at 4:00pm on June 28 from the Raalhugandu area in the capital.
Organisers have said that runners will also compete for cash prizes during this years event, which is once again dedicated to raising awareness about child abuse prevention.
Other awards will be presented to the most successful school teams on the day, while special accolades will also be given for the fastest participants aged 45 and over.
An estimated 2,500 participants took part in last year’s race.
Participants can either register in person by submitting their registration form at Dhiraagu customer front offices or online at the event’s official website.
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