Reports of a bundle that looked like a baby sent police to the Artificial Beach yesterday.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police took the reports very seriously and went to the Artificial Beach, near the Tsunami Memorial to look at the bundle.
They unwrapped it to find it was a frozen fish.
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(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has been described as ‘Best International Politician‘ in a series of Green Awards published by the Independent, a left-leaning UK newspaper.
“In a catastrophic year for the climate crisis, were there any heroes?” the newspaper says, in reference to the Copenhagen talks.
“A handful of politicians will be remembered for trying to do the right thing… The most inspiring leader was Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives. ‘We are on the world’s front line,’ he says. And, in a sense, its only hope.'”
The newspaper praised Nasheed’s pledge to make the Maldives carbon-neutral by 2020, and his warnings “that we all have to make this transition – and fast.”
In receiving the Independent’s green award for politics, Nasheed joins the ranks of best supermarket (Marks&Spencer), best product (LED light bulb), and best UK village (Coleshill).
The President’s Spokesman Mohamed Zuhair said the award “is very welcome. The President is delighted.”
He said the award was a reflection on the whole country and came at a time when the President had been accused “of running a one man show.”
Zuhair disagreed that the President’s massive international popularity was not mirrored locally.
“There is huge respect [in the Maldives] for his efforts in combating beach erosion, building embankments and visiting vulnerable islands,”
Moreover, Zuhair said, the award promoted “positive public perception” of the Maldives that would “translate to more visitors.”
“It helps that the Indpendent is published in our largest tourism market, the UK,” Zuhair said.
(0)Dislikes(0)New Moroccan Ambassador to the Maldives, Larbi Moukhariq, presented his credentials to President Mohamed Nasheed at the President’s Office yesterday afternoon.
President Nasheed and Ambassador Moukhariq discussed ways of strengthening bilateral relations between the countries and on expanding areas of cooperation, such as tourism, commerce, education and climate change, including renewable energies.
President Nasheed noted the strong historic relations between the two countries and said they were good development partners.
Ambassador Moukhariq assured the president of his country’s commitment to further strengthen relations with the Maldives.
Ambassador Moukhariq is also ambassador to India, and dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps.
(0)Dislikes(0)Government offices have been asked by the President’s office to propose any services that could result in the public paying fees or charges.
The President’s Office asked that any information regarding the matters proposed should not be made public until the Cabinet has made its final decision on the matter.
All government offices were also instructed all government offices to execute the Cabinet’s decision on the matter once the decision has been made.
The directive state that any information regarding the matters proposed the Cabinet should not be made public before the Cabinet issues a final decision on the matter.
The directive issued by the President’s Office also instruct all government departments to execute the decisions of the Cabinet once the President’s Office informs the relevant ministries of the decision.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Indian government has donated a helicopter to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), reports Haveeru.
The helicopter will be officially handed to the MNDF at a ceremony on Wednesday.
Indian Defence Minister AK Anthony visited the Maldives in August, and after his visit the Indian High Commission said the Indian government would provide a helicopter and assistance to establish a 25-bed military hospital in Malé.
The helicopter has been re-painted with a Maldivian flag and a sign reading MNDF.
(0)Dislikes(0)Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed attended a function in GDh Thinadhoo to mark the anniversary of MM Pre-School, one of the oldest pre-schools of Thinadhoo.
Dr Waheed said pre-school education plays an important role in the development of children’s minds, and the future will be based on children’s education.
He mentioned the importance of maternal health and education, for the proper nurturing of children and added all pre-school teachers should be well qualified.
Dr Waheed said the government is trying to establish a pre-school in every island, as education for young kids needs special attention.
Vice President Waheed was on a tour of South Havadhu Atoll which began on 15 April. He is now back in Malé.
(0)Dislikes(0)A Sri Lankan man is being held by police for charges of fraud connected with the recently postponed Boney M concert.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed the Sri Lankan national has been in police custody since Thursday and will be taken to court later this evening.
The Mega International Music Fiesta, which was scheduled to take place at the Galolhu National Stadium in Malé on 14 April, was being organised by Pro Maldives Inc Ltd (also known as Pro Models) in partnership with Sri Lankan company ‘Rokomaestro Inc USA’.
The event was cancelled at the last minute and managing director of Pro Models Mohamed Nizam told media although they had not received any pressure or complaints, the show had to be postponed and there would be a full refund for people who had already bought tickets.
Tickets were sold at Rf 250 and 500 (US$19.5 and US$39).
Minivan News was unable to find a website, business registration or contact details for any company called ‘Rokomaestro Inc USA’ in Sri Lanka.
A ‘completely new show’
The original show would have starred disco legends Boney M and featured British reggae legends Aswad and North American rapper Bubba Sparxxx.
The Maldives Entertainment Company Ltd, backed by the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports, has now taken over planning and executing the event, which will be held on 26 April in Dharubaaruge.
Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, said the concert was postponed because “the agency in charge of delivering the stars here had some technical difficulties.”
He said Boney M cancelled the show because of these “technical difficulties”. Zuhair said Pro Models then “appealed to the government for help” and the government agreed because they felt it would be “good for the country.”
He added refunds were being given for those who bought the original tickets.
Minister for Human Resources, Youth and Sports, Hassan Lateef, said the original show was “a flop” because the companies in charge of organising the event “couldn’t bring [Boney M] down to the Maldives.”
“There was not enough communication with Boney M management,” Lateef said, “so [Boney M] cancelled.”
He said he had no suspicion that the previous organisers were playing a scam on ticket buyers, and added it was “a lack of trust” on the part of Boney M management that stopped the show from taking place on its original date.
Lateef said because tickets had been sold and the public had the expectation of seeing the show, “the government intervened” and Boney M’s appearance has been confirmed for 26 April.
He added the agreement is being sent to Boney M management for signing today.
“A lot of things were not arranged properly,” he said, noting that advanced payments were not made and the event organisers had trouble in getting the members to the Maldives.
Lateef said the ministry had not received any complaints about the Boney M concert and added, “I have received calls from government officials… a lot of people have made bookings.”
He acknowledged “it’s not good for the government to host a show,” but assured the government has no intention of hosting other events in the future. “Because of how things went, we had to intervene,” he said.
Lateef also noted this is “a totally new show”, distinct from the original ‘International Fiesta’, and new tickets are required.
“I heard the [original] tickets have been refunded,” he said, and advised people to buy tickets for the new show “as soon as possible” as there is limited seating in the new venue.
The new show, which will feature an original member of Boney M, will feature a local band, but he said the local artists have still not been selected.
(0)Dislikes(0)Hithaadhoo in Baa Atoll has completely run out of water, claims Island councilor Amir Abdul Latheef.
He said he has been getting complaints since yesterday morning that all houses on the island had no water.
”We informed the utilities company that we have no water on the island,” Amir said, ”they told us that they would send water as soon as possible.”
Amir said the islanders were using ground water from the island, a practice banned by the Health Ministry twelve years ago because of the toxicity.
”Only a few wealthy men use mineral water but the majority of people cannot afford to buy water everyday,” he said. ”There are 1227 people on the island,” Amir noted.
He said he had never witnessed a situation similar to this in his whole life. ”[The last time] it rained was eight months ago,” he said,”the situation on the island is now much worse.”
He said the island office was trying to prevent infants from having to use the impure ground water.
”It rains occasionally but that much is not usable as the roofs are dusty and such small amount of rain does not even clean the roofs,” he said.
Amir said people of the island were now in danger of becoming sick with fevers and diseases due to drinking impure water.
State Minister for Health Abdul Baary Abdulla said there were many diseases that could potentially result from the use of contaminated water, including diarrhoea, stomach ailments and skin diseases.
Amir had recently complained several times that the island would completely run out of water during the weekend if the government does not provide it for them urgently.
(1)Dislikes(0)Staff at the Shangri-La Villingili Resort are on strike after four workers were dismissed for allegedly playing on a PlayStation in a vacant villa.
A person familiar with the matter told Minivan News that the four men, who were ‘villa hosts’ at the luxury resort in Addu Atoll, took their PlayStation to a vacant guest room during their lunch break, “double locked the door and put up a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign.”
“The staff usually do not get a break during lunch time if the occupation of the island is high, but that day they got a break,” the source said, claiming the dismissal was “against the handbook of the resort.”
The source said the four men were dismissed after they were caught by security manager Jack David and Duty Manager Mohamed Ashraf. In response, 157 staff at the resort went on a four-day strike demanding their colleagues be reinstated.
The men were discovered when the house keeping manager found the room double locked and reported it to the duty manager, “as nobody was supposed to be inside,” the source said.
”The security manager and duty manager attended the place to see who was inside,” he said.
He claimed the security manager went to the back door of the villa just as one of the men inside opened it to see if anyone was outside.
”The security manager thought he was attempting to flee,” the source said.
”He pushed the man, saying ‘You do not know my background, I worked at the military for five years, your life is short now,’ and he fell to the ground and was hurt,” the source alleged.
The security manager “then ordered everyone to stay still until they finished investigating.”
He said that after taking pictures of the scene Ashraf told them the investigation was finished but did not allow them to leave.
”The of them the wanted to leave the room and go,” he said, “but security did not allow them to leave, and it because heated.”
He alleged that when one of them walked toward the door security pushed him back by neck.
”After shouting at each other for a while they managed to leave the room,” the source said.
Resort management gathered a council committee which included seven staff from the resort.
”The committee requested management to act according to the resort’s handbook,” he said, ”which stated that the four men should be given a ‘Category C’ punishment – a written warning – while security management should be given ‘Category D’ punishment – dismissal.”
The source said the management wanted to give the same punishment to four staff and the security manager, “but everyone was against it, so we told the management that all the staff were against the decision,” he said.
”The next day the manager gathered us and said that he and the general manager had discussed the issue and decided to dismiss all five of them.”
He said that upon hearing the news staff across various sections of the resort were unhappy and petitioned management asking for the case to be reopened a dealt with according to the handbook.”
Bulk dismissal
”When we gave the petition to the manager he told us that everyone who had participated in the petition could also consider themselves dismissed and should leave the island immediately,” the source said.
”So all 65 of us gathered near the administration block demanding he take back the order and reinstate the jobs of the four dismissed villa hosts.”
He claimed the Shangri-La management refused to hold further discussion over the issue, and repeated that they were all dismissed and were to leave immediately.
”Police arrived that night and told us to leave the island within 10 minutes or they would use force,” he said, ”so we left on the resort’s ferry to Feydhoo in Seenu Atoll with the police.”
Police reportedly told the workers they could continue the strike on Feydhoo “in accordance with the law.”
”We are now in Feydhu continuing our strike and we now we have 157 Maldivian staff from Shangri-La with us,” he said.
”We will not stop until management decides to give us a written document reinstating the jobs of the four villa hosts.”
Vice President of the Tourism Employment Association of Maldives (TEAM) Mauroof Zakir said the association “fully supports” the strike.
”The International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) are also supporting the event,” Zakir said, adding that he was now at Feydhoo with the strikers taking part in the event.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that police arrived at the island upon request of the resort management.
Shiyam said the management claimed the situation was threatening to escalate into a brawl and requested police remove the staff from the island.
Shangri-La’s Director for Communication Leslie Garcia said investigation of the case was ongoing and she was unable to provide more information.
Deputy Minister of the Labour Relations Authority Aiminath Shifaya meanwhile said that the ministry was trying to resolve the issue peacefully by negotiating with management and employees.
Shifaya said two representatives of the ministry were now present on Feydhoo.
”We hope that the issue would be solved by tomorrow,” she said. ”Both sides are co-operating with us.”
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