Category: News in Brief

UK to help fund maritime surveillance of pirates in Indian Ocean

The UK will contribute £6 million to maritime surveillance in the Indian Ocean in a bid to contain the spread of pirates in the Indian Ocean, as part of a £5.3 million counter piracy programme conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The money will also be used to increase prison capacity in Somalia and across the Indian ocean. £600,000 will also be provided to fund enhanced optical imagery equipment for the Seychelles Coastguard to allow surveillance aircraft to take high image quality video and photographs.

“This will aid the capture of the pirates and provide valuable evidence in court cases. The fuel tanks of the aircraft will also be upgraded to enable them to fly longer distances,” the UK High Commission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives said in a statement.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, said that there are currently around 820 Somali pirates “either serving sentences or awaiting trial around the world. I am pleased that the UK’s new support to counter piracy efforts in the Indian Ocean will aid the location, capture and detention of pirates across the region.”

Increased counter-piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden has led to pirates spreading outwards into the Indian Ocean. Several boatloads of lost and malnourished pirates were rescued by islanders in the Maldives last year, presenting the government with a major international legal headache.

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Maldives to provide sovereign guarantees to private sector infrastructure projects

The Maldives will issue soverign guarantees to infrastructure development projects funded by private sector, after a Cabinet meeting yesterday finalising the mechanisms to be used.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury proposed a limit of Rf 125 million (US$9.7 million) annually to support the private sector to raise funds as part of the government’s policy to increase private sector participation in national development. This would not be issued to individuals.

Cabinet decided yesterday that when a project involves expenditure not included in the budget or approved by the People’s Majlis, the President would send the project for Majlis’ consent on issuing a sovereign guarantee.

Cabinet also decided yesterday to establish a National Food and Nutrition Council, that would oversee food and nutrition policy, and approved the Maldives’ participation in the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Cabinet has

The Cabinet finalized mechanisms to issue sovereign guarantees yesterday, in accordance with the Public Finance Act, to infrastructure development projects funded by the private sector.

The paper presented at yesterday’s cabinet meeting, by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, on the matter proposed to issue Guarantees to a limit of Rf125 million annually, to help the private sector to raise funds as part of the government’s policy to increase private sector participation in national development.

However, this Guarantee will not be issued to individuals operating in the private sector.

The Cabinet agreed that, if a project involves an item included in the budget or an expense approved by the Parliament, the President would decide on issuing a Guarantee after the Minister of Finance and Treasury presents the project with recommendations.

However, the Cabinet decided that, when a project involves expenditure not included in the budget or approved by the parliament, the President would send the project for Parliamentary approval over issuance of a sovereign guarantee.

At yesterday’s meeting, the Cabinet also decided to establish a National Food and Nutrition Council.

The proposed National Food and Nutrition Council will oversee food and nutrition policy making and implementation of programmes, to ensure inclusion of all stakeholders in these processes to realize national targets for food security and nutrition.

The council, to be headed by Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, will include policy makers from the relevant authorities.

In addition, the Cabinet approved the Maldives’ participation in the International Organization for Migration (IOM), today.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to complete necessary arrangements for the Maldives’ participation in the organization.

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MDP proposes parliament dismiss Dr Afrasheem and MMA Governor

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has proposed dismissing main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and Fazeel Najeeb from his post as the Governor of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), reports SunFM.

MDP Parliamentary Group Leader “Reeko” Moosa Manik claimed that the pair had failed to carry out their held responsibilities.

The station quoted Moosa as saying that judges have been obstructed from conducting their work because of Dr Afrasheem, a day after the opposition-majority parliament declined the approval of Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad.

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Laamu Hithadhoo ‘Responsible Officer’ arrested on suspicion of arson

Responsible Officer Abdul Raheem Idris, the highest-ranking civil servant at the Laamu Hithadhoo island council, has been arrested on suspicion of arson following a recent spate of fires in the island, reports Haveeru.

According to Island Councillor Mohamed Hussein, police took Idrees into custody last Saturday after a number of palm trees were set on fire.

The Councillor explained that police evidently had reason to believe that Idrees was behind the acts of arson.

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Adhaalath urges Maldivians to provide assistance for Japan

The Adhaalath Party has called on all the Maldivians to provide assistance to Japan quake victims.

The Party said on its website that it was fully participating in the mourning for the Japanese dead, now thought to be over 18,000.

Many different community programs to raise funds for the quake victims in Japan were held in Male’ last weekend.

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Maldives ease to victory against Cambodia 4-0

The Maldives national football team kicked off its AFC Challenge Cup qualifying campaign with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Cambodia in Male’ last night.

Cheered on by enthusiastic home support, a goal in the first minute by Muhthar Naseer and a hat-trick by Captain Ali Ashfag sealed the victory, which takes Maldives top of Group C on goal difference.

In the other game in the group, 2006 Champions Tajikistan beat Central Asian neighbour Kyrgyzstan 1-0 courtesy of a late own goal.

The Maldives was chosen by the AFC to host Group C games last month. The next matches will take place on March 23 and 25 at the National Stadium in Male’.

The two teams placed top in the group will qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup in 2012.

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DRP statement condemns opposition conduct on cabinet vote

A press statement reportedly sent from from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has criticised fellow opposition politicians for voting in favour of the government at the Majlis yesterday over cabinet appointees.

Miadhu reported that the party, currently gripped by internal struggles between supporters of current leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and his predecessor and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, released a statement saying it was unhappy that four ministerial nominees were endorsed by the Majlis yesterday.

According to the statement, the endorsements came despite Thasmeen having decided to reject three of the ministerial appointments.

“We are disheartened that some of those who voted in favour of the government were those individuals who spoke from the first rows of the different podiums, different TV Channels, taking the government to account,” the DRP were reported as saying.

The statement also raised concerns that DRP politicians Ilham Ahmed and Ali Mohamed did not participate in the votes that, in certain cases, narrowly approved the new cabinet ministers.

Home Minister Hassan Afeef and Transport Minister Adhil Saleem were narrowly approved in spite of the DRP declaring that it would impose a three-line whip to reject the two nominees.

Afeef and Saleem were approved after a few independent MPs along with Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed and Republican Party MP Gasim Ibrahim sided with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – Saleem was approved with 39 votes in favour while Afeef received 37 votes from the 73 MPs present and voting.

However, MPs rejected the reappointment of Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad for a second time. Dr Sawad received 36 votes in favour and 37 against from the 73 MPs in attendance.

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“Tolerance and passive acceptance of others is not enough”: UK High Commissioner Rankin

British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, John Rankin, has said that yesterday’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination marked an “opportunity for all of us to re-commit to defending and promoting fundamental equality.”

“We live in an age of diversity, where societies grow ever more complex each day. Diversity is not a choice – it is a reality that we live; a reality that makes it imperative that the prejudice and injustice of racial discrimination is purged from society,” Rankin said.

“Tolerance and passive acceptance of others is not enough. Racial discrimination is a breeding ground for tension and mistrust that can lead to conflict – a phenomenon we have witnessed, time and again, in history. Overcoming racism will lead to the evolution of a strong, dynamic and healthy society – the foundation for sustainable peace and development in the twenty-first century.”

He added that the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reminds us of our collective responsibility for promoting and protecting this ideal.”

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