Category: News in Brief

South Asia Regional Environmental Security Forum begins in Kurumba

The South Asia Regional Environmental Security Forum – held by US Pacific Command in partnership with Maldives National Defence Force – began today at Kurumba resort.

The event – which will continue until Thursday (June 5) – is the fourth of its kind, aiming to develop awareness and partnerships in environmental security throughout the Asia Pacific region.

Representative from both the Maldives government and around the globe will gather to promote regional cooperation on the topics of water security, waste management, resource protection, and energy.

The event will include a tour of nearby Thulusdhoo Island, where attendees will be shown examples of coastal erosion and waste management issues in the Maldives.

“The results of the event will assist participating groups to enhance existing environmental security documents and procedures and develop new ones to adapt to and mitigate climate change,” explained a US embassy press release today.

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39-year-old arrested in Raa atoll for alleged exploitation of a minor

Police have arrested a 39-year-old Male in Raa atoll on suspicions of sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl.

The man, from Alifushi Island, was detained yesterday (May 31) and will be remanded in custody for 15 days, police have revealed.

A growing number of child abuse cases have been reported to police in recent weeks, with the Human Rights Commission calling for greater awareness raising and legal protection for children.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Gender has explained that cultural and jurisdictional issues were to blame for the failure to compile a legally mandated registry of child abusers.

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Belgian resort worker still missing at sea

Attempts by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) to locate a Belgian national, missing since Friday, have as yet been unsuccessful.

Olivier Louis Albert Lieux, a 35-year-old Assistant Food and Beverages Manager at Four Seasons Resort Kuda Huraa, went missing after his dinghy capsized while reef fishing near Paradise Island resort, reports local media.

He is reported by the MNDF to have been last seen wearing a dark-blue t-shirt and white shorts.

After a large wave overturned the vessel, Lieux’s colleagues swam to shore only to realise he was not with them on their arrival, reported media.

The MNDF has said its search will continue from both the sea and the air.

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President Yameen pledges additional MVR1 million for national football team

After gifting MVR1 million to the national team for making it to the Asian Football Federation (AFC) Challenge Cup’s semi finals, President Abdulla Yameen has promised an additional million to the team.

Speaking to news agency Haveeru, Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Maleeh Jamal said the additional million is to recognise the good reputation the football team has brought to the Maldives and to encourage the team to more success.

The money is to be handed over this week. It is not clear if the money will be distributed from the state budget.

The Maldives lost the semi-final against the Philippines last week. Prior to the match, Yameen had promised one million rufiyaa if the national team won the Challenge Cup.

Palestine were the eventual winners, beating the Philippines on Friday (May 30).

Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim has also gifted MVR 500,000 to the team.

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High Court acquits former MP Adil of sexual abuse charges

The High Court has acquitted former MP Hassan Adil of sexual abuse charges on Wednesday (May 28).

The Prosecutor General’s office charged the former MP for Maradhoo constituency with sexually abusing a 13 year old in 2011 – an offense that carries a 10 – 14 year jail term.

But the Criminal Court acquitted Adil in March 2012 citing lack of evidence. The trials were conducted behind closed doors to protect the families involved.

Two of the three judges on the High Court bench upheld the Criminal Court’s ruling, but Judge Abbas Shareef in a dissenting opinion said there was enough evidence to convict Adil.

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JP MP Ilham attacked with a pavement brick

Jumhooree Party’s (JP) deputy leader and MP for Dhangethi constituency Ilham Ahmed was attacked on Friday morning with a pavement brick, the party has said.

Ilham, also the President of the Football Association of Maldives, was reportedly attacked shortly after he had left JP leader Gasim Ibrahim’s residence in the early hours of the morning.

The police said no arrests have been made in the case yet.

In a statement condemning the attack, JP said Ilham had suffered various injuries and had to receive medical care.

The attack comes at a time when the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives is dismissing political appointees belonging to the JP after it dissolved a coalition agreement with the JP, the statement noted.

The JP urged the government to investigate the matter immediately and called on the government to ensure a safe environment for MPs.

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Immigration department to suspend services for tax evaders

The Department of Immigration and Emigration will suspend services for companies who fail to pay taxes starting on June 1.

The office will suspend issuing quotas to bring in expatriate workers, employment approvals for expatriate workers, business visas, and refund of security deposits for expatriate workers if a company or individual has pending payments, said a press release by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) on Thursday.

These measures will only be taken if the company or individuals fail to pay MIRA on repeated warnings, or if the party refuses to make payments or if the party is wanted for tax evasion.

The measures will be dropped as soon as the required payments are made, MIRA said.

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MDP and PPM colluded in Speaker vote, says JP

The Jumhooree Party (JP) has suggested collusion between the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in Wednesday’s secret ballot to elect a Speaker and Deputy Speaker for the People’s Majlis.

JP leader and MP Gasim Ibrahim narrowly lost the Speaker position to PPM MP Abdulla Maseeh. But MDP’s ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik won the position of deputy Speaker against PPM’s Abdul Raheem Abdulla.

The JP also condemned the PPM’s unilateral decision to end a coalition agreement made between the two parties in November’s presidential election.

The PPM had announced the dissolution claiming Gasim’s decision to run as Speaker breached the agreement.

But JP has pointed out that the agreement does not address the issue of Majlis Speakership and said Gasim’s exercising his right as an MP must not impact the agreement.

The party has also accused PPM of being irresponsible, claiming the PPM failed to hold discussions on the dispute over the Speaker, failure to appoint JP nominees to political positions as per the agreement, and failure to officially inform JP of the dissolution of the agreement.

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Six men tie up security guard, rob Huraa Council office

Six masked men bound and gagged a security guard at the Kaafu Atoll Huraa Island Council Office and stole an unspecified amount of money from the office on Friday morning.

Council President Easa Ahmed told local news agency Haveeru the robbers stole a safe and documents from the office. The safe contained the salaries of all the council’s employees for the month of May.

The incident was reported to the police at 3:15 am on Friday.

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