Category: News in Brief

Criminal Court schedules, then cancels MP Jabir’s alcohol possession hearing

The Criminal Court has today scheduled and canceled MP Abdulla Jabir’s alcohol possession hearing.

Jabir, currently serving a one year sentence for a failure to provide urine to police for testing, was given permission by the court to leave the country for three months for medical treatment. He is currently in Malaysia and is due back on July 25.

A hearing in the case was scheduled and canceled previously on April 19, because he was receiving treatment at the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

CNM has reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs Umar Naseer has said Jabir will be brought to Maldives under police custody if he fails to return in the authorized time period.

Jabir was was arrested from a private picnic island Hondaidhoo in November 2012 on suspicion of alcohol and drug use.

He was acquitted of cannabis posession charges in February 2014.

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Orientation for new MPs session held today

An orientation session to familiarise the new intake of MPs set to be sworn in later this week was held at Traders hotel today.

Organised by the Majlis Secretariat and the UNDP, the event is to introduce newly elected MPs to the parliament’s work and procedures, reported Haveeru.

Only a third of those who won seats for the 18th Majlis are incumbents.

The Progressive Coalition – made up of the Progressive Party of Maldives, Jumhooree Party, and the Maldives Development Alliance – secured 53 out of 85 seats in the March 22 parliamentary polls.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won 26 seats while independent candidates won five seats and the religious conservative Adhaalath Party won one seat.

Three independent candidates along with MDP MP-elect for the Thimarafushi constituency, Mohamed Musthafa, have since signed for the PPM, bringing the ruling party’s numbers up to 37 and securing a two-thirds majority for the coalition.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues Thailand travel warning to Maldivians

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has alerted Maldivian citizens of the potential risks of travel to Thailand, particularly Bangkok, due to ongoing political and social unrest.

A statement released by the Ministry yesterday (May 24) explains that Maldivians should take extra care due to the Royal Thai army seizing power on May 22.

“The situation may evolve quite rapidly”, the statement warned. “Maldivian citizens are cautioned to avoid protest sites, demonstrations, and large gatherings.  Foreigners who join the anti-government protests face risk of deportation.”

“Be alert and aware of your surroundings and pay attention to local news media reports. You should allow extra time when travelling throughout the city or to/from airports.  Consider using public transportation.”

The statement goes on to advise all Maldivians travelling to Thailand to take all necessary precautions for personal safety, and purchase comprehensive travel and medical insurance.

In addition, the Ministry asks Maldivians who are in need of consular assistance while in Bangkok to contact the consulate-general of the Maldives or the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On May 20, the Royal Thai Army imposed martial law in Thailand, giving the military expanded authority to take action it deems necessary to enforce law and order.

Furthermore, the army have announced an overnight curfew during 10pm – 5am local time.

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Motorcyclist in Afghan team bus crash tests positive for opiates

The motorcyclist said to have caused yesterday’s bus crash involving the Afghan national football team has tested positive for drugs.

Police have confirmed that the driver tested positive for opiates and also that he had no license.

Police and media reports describe the accident as having been caused when the driver attempted to overtake a van travelling in front of the team’s motorcade. The van was forced to break, causing the following vehicles to hit it from behind.

Five players and two team officials suffered minor injuries in the accident. All were released from hospital yesterday evening, except for Mustafa Azadzoy who was released this morning after experiencing pain in his hip.

One police officer accompanying the motorcade broke an arm, while a female protocol officer suffered head injuries. Eight others, including two soldiers and two locals also suffered injuries.

The team have now travelled to Malé where they will prepare for their semi-final match against Palestine on Tuesday (May 27).

The site of the accident – the 14-kilometer Link Road in Addu City – is the longest paved road in the country and is a notorious accident hot spot.

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Extradited drug kingpin Shafaz brought to Malé

Convicted drug kingpin Ibrahim Shafaz Abdul Razzak – caught in Sri Lanka’s capital city Colombo on Tuesday – has now been transferred to the Maldives’ capital city Malé.

After being sentenced to an 18 year jail term, Shafa was temporarily released in February for three months to seek medical treatment in Colombo.

After his failure to return during the allocated time period which ended on May 5, Shafaz was arrested in joint operation between Maldives and Sri Lankan security personnel.

Earlier in April, Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer pledged to extradite Maldivian offenders from whichever country they were in.

“No offender should delude themselves into thinking that they can flee from the Maldives and peacefully live elsewhere. That cannot be done.”

“The first topic of discussion that I take up with leaders, Home Ministers and police leaders of every country I travel to is that in the instance there is a runaway Maldivian offender in the country, they should arrest them immediately and turn them over to the Maldivian authorities,” he said at the time.

Shafaz currently remains under police custody, but will be transferred to the Maldives Correctional Services.

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MNDF forms emergency response teams

Chief of Defence Force Major General Ahmed Shiyam has announced that the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) is setting up a paramedic contingent which will include emergency response teams.

At the closing ceremony of the ‘First Responders Training Workshop’ organised with the aid of the US government, Shiyam stated that the training contributed to strengthening the skills of emergency response teams which were comprised of both health care and defence personnel.

He further spoke of the importance of establishing a ‘sea hospital’ which can travel from island to island, citing difficulties faced in transporting patients from one island to the other in the Maldives due to the geographical settings.

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President to attend Indian prime minister’s investiture ceremony

President Abdulla Yameen has accepted new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to attend his investiture ceremony to be held in New Delhi.

In addition to President Yameen, Modi has invited all other leaders of SAARC countries to attend the ceremony which is scheduled to take place on May 26.

Yameen has made the enhancement of ties between the Maldives and India a priority since coming to office, with his first official state visit seeing him visit the Indian capital in January.

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Two-day workshop underway on ‘National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans’

A two-day workshop on ‘National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP) Revision and Development of Fifth National Report’ has started today (May 22) at Nasandura Palace Hotel.

The aim of the workshop – organised by the Ministry of Environment – is to prepare plans to comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity, which the Maldives ratified in 1993.

The workshop was inaugurated by Minister of state for Environment and Energy Hassan Shah who highlighted the economic benefits of conserving biodiversity, stressing that more work needs to be done to increase public awareness of conservation laws.

Shah also highlighted the importance of participants taking the opportunity to ensure that the national targets on biodiversity address the conservation as well as the benefit-sharing aspects of biodiversity, in addition to creating awareness and capacity building.

This workshop also aims to celebrate International Biodiversity Day, taking place today. The United Nations has proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity in order to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

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Police conclude special operation regarding Taxi regulations

Police have revealed on 21 unlicensed drivers have been fined in a month-long operation to see if taxi drivers are observing the Taxi Driving Regulations.

During the operation – between April 16 and May 18 – police also fined 13 taxis who had tinted glass on their windows.

Additionally, 49 drivers have been fined for not displaying their licenses in a manner that can be easily seen by passengers while another 29 were fined for not correctly displaying the taxi number and name of its service station on the cab itself.

One person has been fined for not having fixed the vacancy indication board on his cab.

A total of 156 persons have been fined for various offences since the regulations – unpopular with many drivers – came into effect, revealed police.

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