Category: News in Brief

Speaker thanks media for parliament coverage

Speaker of the People’s Majlis Abdulla Shahid has thanked all media personnel involved in parliamentary new coverage during the seventeenth People’s Majlis.

He made this remark at a meeting with some of the members of the Maldives Broadcasting Commision (MBC) and Maldives Media Council (MMC) at the Majlis yesterday.

Shahid assured that with the eighteenth People’s Majis a dedicated media gallery will established to allow journalists to work from the parliament bulding.

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Defence minister denies Indian offer to build Thilafalhu dockyard

Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim has told local media that no official offer from India to build a dock yard in the Maldives has been received.

Following reports in the Indian media last week that India’s Army Chief General Bikram Singh has offered to build a dockyard worth MVR 7.7 billion (US$ 500 million) in the Maldives during his official visit, Nazim told Haveeru that the job would not be awarded to a foreign military.

Nazim did say that many offers had been received for the Uthuru Thilafalhu lagoon project, in the archipelago’s north, but that no decision had yet been made.

Reclamation work is already underway in the area. Once completed, it will serve as the Maldivian Coastguard’s primary operations base and will provide a much-needed berthing space to naval ships and ocean liners.

India’s Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, during a visit to the Maldives in February, visited the Uthuru Thilafalhu project site.

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Nasheed to give keynote speech at Islamic conference

Acting President of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed will give the keynote speech to an Islamic convention in Malaysia next month.

The former president will appear at the 3rd International Muslim Unity Convention – to be held on 11-12 June in Putrajaya – alongside former Prime Minister Najib Razak, and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed.

Malik Obama, the brother of US President Barack Obama and chairman of the Barack H. Obama Foundation, will also take part in the event.

The theme of the convention is ‘Yes to Moderation, No to extremism’, with Nasheed giving a 30 minute lecture on the subject of ‘democracy, justice and peace’.

“As in previous years, the world’s most renowned Muslim politicians, diplomats, scholars and leaders will gather to discuss and present their ideas how the Muslim world can unity to defeat extremism and present moderation as the true authentic voice of Muslims,” explains Nasheed’s personal website.

Nasheed, the Maldives first democratically elected president, was forced to resign from office following a concerted campaign by a coalition of civil and political groups who claimed to be protecting the nation from the MDP’s anti-Islamic policies.

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Addu City Council launches search for illegal expatriate workers

Addu City Council has started a major operation to locate illegal expatriate workers in the city as of yesterday (May 13).

The council has teamed up with the army, police, and immigration department to conduct a weekly operation in all the islands, according to local media Haveeru.

Mohamed Fathuhy, an official from the immigration department in Addu, said the operation was initiated due to various complaints received about the illegal immigrants in the city.

“We have received a large number of complaints from different work sites about illegal immigrants working there. So our teams will go to those sites and attain all information regarding those immigrants,” he said.

According to Haveeru, Fathuhy said that a key part of the programme will be identifying the illegal worker’s employers, and giving them the means to register their workers legally.

“We will provide extensive information and advice on legalising the immigrants. After that, if we catch the immigrants still active out of the system, we will take strict measures as per regulations,” he said.

The programme in Addu is part of a wider movement across the Maldives to address illegal expatriate workers. In March 2014 the Department of Immigration and Emigration pledged to strengthen action on employers of illegal workers, after having initiated a voluntary repatriation programme.

Deputy CEO of Immigration Abdulla Munaz stated at the time that the department was strengthening the implementation of existing regulations because the provision of employment and shelter is a major cause is rising numbers of undocumented workers in the country.

In addition to the estimated 200,000 migrant workers employed in the Maldives, the number of undocumented workers have been estimated to be as high as 44,000. Many workers live in congested labor quarters owned by locals.

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Ministry of Environment calls for submissions for photography competition

On the occasion of International Day for Biodiversity (May 22) and World Environment Day (June 5) the Ministry of Environment and Energy has made an appeal for Maldivians to participate in an online photography competition.

The themes of the photographs are: species of Maldives; ecosystems; and impacts on water security, food security, infrastructure, livelihood, ecosystems and islands

Participants should submit photographs online via the Facebook Page by June 4, 2014, 12pm local time.

The photograph with the total of most likes and shares will be considered the winner. The winner will be awarded with a prize yet to be specified.

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President ratifies sexual offences bill

President Abdulla Yameen has today ratified and gazetted the revised Sexual offences bill.

The initial draft of the bill was proposed by MP for Kulhudhufushi North constituency Mohamed Nasheed in September 2012, and was first passed by the Peoples Majlis in December 2013.

Following its passage Vice President of the Fiqh Academy Dr Mohamed Iyaz Abdul Latheef condemned the bill for its conditional recognition of marital rape as a crime, and called on MPs who voted in favour to repent.

Refusing to ratify the bill stating that version of the bill contained “some provisions that are contrary to Islamic Shariah and Islamic principles” President Yameen returned it to the parliament for reconsideration.

The revised version of the bill was passed by the Majlis last month.

These revisions include an altered article which states marital rape which takes place while there is a pending court case for dissolution of a marriage or divorce will be recognised as a crime.

It has now been amended to specify that, to be applicable, such a case should have “completed all hearings and is in the stage of reaching a verdict”.

The bill which covers a wide range of sexual offences from adultery, homosexuality, and incest to bestiality and necrophilia will come into force on 13 November 2014. The act includes a provision which require it to be revised every five years.

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Government should end discrimination between Malé City and other islands, says Malé Mayor

Male’ city Mayor Mohamed Shihab urged the government to end discrimination between Malé City and other islands of Maldives.

Commenting on the government’s policy of taking over council properties including public spaces and parks, Shihab said the only areas that would remain under the council appears to be “the four graveyards and the streets.”

“If they are going to take over lands, they should do that with all councils. In Malé a special permission from the housing ministry is required to construct buildings, but on other islands they can do anything in anyway they want,” Shihab said.

All Maldivian citizens are equal and should be treated as such, Shihab said appealing to the government to refrain from “unconstitutional” discriminations.

“But however things are, as elected representatives of the people we will always remain at their service with whatever resources we have,” he said.

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Man arrested for sexually abusing a child with disabilities

Police have arrested a man on charges of sexually abusing a 13 year old girl with disabilities.

The arrested man is a 25-year-old male – reportedly a friend of the victim’s family.

Both the victim and the arrested man are from the island of Gaafaru in Kaafu Atoll.

While confirming the arrest, police declined to provide further details on the case.

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MRDC contracted to build roads in Fonadhoo

The Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure has contracted the Maldives Road Development Corporation to build nine main roads in the island of Fonadhoo in Laamu Atoll.

The project is estimated to cost MVR47 million (US$3 million) which is funded for in the state budget.

The roads are to be built with tar, while the first phase will see the construction of pavements in all nine roads.

As per the agreement, the project is to be completed within 18 months after the work commences.

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