Day: March 27, 2011

Maldives marks Earth Hour

Many shops along Male’s main street of Majeedee Magu, as well as houses and even television stations turned the power off for an hour last night to mark Earth Hour.

At the Bangladesh independence day celebrations held yesterday at Dharubaaruge, attended by President Mohamed Nasheed, the lights were ceremoniously dimmed then restored.

The international event, organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was first held in Sydney in 2007 when 2.2 million residents turned off the electricity. Power utilities estimated that electricity consumption dropped 10 percent.

Earth Hour 2011 took place across the world at 8:30pm-9:30pm local time.

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Islamic Ministry says alms payments up during 2010

The Islamic Ministry has claimed that the number of Maldivians paying alms has raised “dramatically” due to its own efforts in raising awareness of the religious rite.

The claims were made as the “Nisab”, defined as the minimum amount of income that should be earned before people are required to donate 2.5 per cent of their savings and revenue, rose 14.2 per cent to Rf8,573.95 based on the ministry’s guidance, according to Haveeru.

This guidance is formed around calculations made by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) based on factors such as comparing market prices for gold and silver.

The paper reported that by December of last year, Rf36,000,478.05 in alms was paid by 2,225 people. The figure was up from the Rf 27,412,507.83 collected over the same period in 2009.

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Child Abuse Prevention Society to hold workshops for parents

Local NGO, the Child Abuse Prevention Society (CAPS), will lead a series of educational workshops and camps for parents on the prevention of child abuse in the Maldives in conjunction with the Juvenile Justice Unit, Society for Women against Drugs, and Maldives Police Service.

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed launched the programme at a function held at Aarah on Saturday afternoon, expressing concern over the prevalence of child abuse in the Maldives.

Noting that legal framework, although basic, to stop child abuse was in place, he underscored that a positive relationships within the family and between parents and children were as important as legal system to prevent all forms of violence against children.

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Zaki resigns from MDP Disciplinary Committee

Current President of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, who is also the chair of the party’s Disciplinary Commitee, has resgined following the upcoming elections to appoint members to the party including the party’s president and vice president.

MDP’s official website said that Zaki had sent a letter to the Chairperson of MDP, Mariya Ahmed Didi, saying that his resignation was to ensure the MDP elections were conducted “free and fair.”

In the letter Zaki requested Mariya appoint Home Minister Hassan Afeef as the chair of the committee to deal with complaints concerning the elections until the elections were over.

Afeef is currently a member of MDP’s Disciplinary committee.

Zaki is running for the presidency of the party during the elections, challenging former Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi who is also running for the same post.

Recently a voice clip of a conversation between Zaki and a person named Anandhu, purportedly in the UK, was leaked to the local media, concerning negotiations for the delivery of T-Shirts for the MDP ahead of the Presidential election.

The General Elections Act article number 70 states that “products or money” given by foreigners shall not be used by a Presidential Candidate or any person on behalf of a Presidential Candidate, and article 70[a] states that ”Products or money given by foreigners, foreign parties or foreign administrations shall not be used.”

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