Category: News in Brief

Indian artists to join Maldivian cultural camp

A host of Indian artists are expected to take part in an international arts camp being held in Addu Atoll from 9 March till 22 March – the first event of its kind said to be held in the country, according to the United Artists of Maldives (UAM).

Speaking to Haveeru, the UAM confirmed that Chaman Sharma, Sadhana Sangar, Gurdheep Singh Dhiman, Saurabh Narang and Hemali Bhutta will be taking part in next month’s art event that is hoped can become an annual fixture for the country and help boost the overall profile of a national cultural identity.

UAM has claimed that it hopes to try and promote Maldivian art at both a local and international level by planning to host the camp at various islands around the Maldives in the future, as well as sending its own members to cultural events in other countries.

“This will be a kind of exchange. After we do the camp here, some of the participants from Maldives will go to India and then do a camp there,” Ahmed Naeem, UAM member and Exhibition and Project Officer at the National Art Gallery told Haveeru. “We [UAM] have mainly three things which we are concentrating on; to promote artists and their work, to create awareness among the public about visual art and to foster a good understanding between neighbouring countries and their culture.”

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Child protection conference ongoing at Bandos

The Ministry of Health’s Department of Gender and Family is hosting the National Conference on Working Together for the Protection of Children, over two days at Bandos Island Resort and Spa.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day conference yesterday, President Mohamed Nasheed expressed concern over rising incidences of sexual, physical and psychological violence against children in the Maldives.

Visits to islands and report from government departments, UN Agencies and NGOs revealed “a bleak picture of violence against children,” Nasheed said.

He emphasised the benefits of providing immediate assistance directly to children at risk, over spending money to set up systems and infrastructure to work for the protection of children.

Also speaking at the opening of the conference yesterday, UNICEF representative Bertrand Mendis noted a shift in societal attitudes towards cases of child abuse, and that more civil society organisations were being formed and that the media was reporting more on cases of violence against children.

He also referred to a survey conducted in the Maldives in 2008, showing that 26 percent of children have been psychologically abused and 14 percent of children physically abused. Eight percent of children have been abused by the teachers.

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Former senior US officials admit Iraqi WMD source was unreliable

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has lashed out at the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Pentagon’s Defence Intelliegence Agency, for failing to inform him that a key source behind the decision to go to war in Iraq was unreliable.

Iraqi defector Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, known as ‘Curveball’ to his western handlers, has admitted fabricating evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, al-Janabi said he saw the fabricated evidence as a chance to get rid of Saddam Hussein.

“I wanted to get rid of him and now I had this chance,” he said. “I had the chance to fabricate something to topple the regime. I and my sons are proud of that.”

“Saddam did not (allow) freedom in our land. There are no other political parties. You have to believe what Saddam says, and do what Saddam wants. And I don’t accept that. I have to do something for my country. So I did this and I am satisfied, because there is no dictator in Iraq any more.”

Powell told British media this week that it had been known for several years that al-Janabi was unreliable.

“The question should be put to the CIA and the DIA as to why this wasn’t known before the false information was put into the NIE sent to Congress, the president’s state of the union address and my February 5 presentation to the UN,” he said.

Former Head of the CIA, George Tenet, put out a statement on his website acknowledging that “the handling of this matter is certainly a textbook case of how not to deal with defector provided material. But the latest reporting of the subject repeats and amplifies a great deal of misinformation.”

Tenet claims he only became aware of al-Janabi two years after the invasion, and by then it was “too late to do a damn thing about it.”

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Government opens office in Addu

President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday inaugurated the government’s South Province Office in Addu City.

During the ceremony to open the office, which will be the government’s administrative and representative office in the atoll, Nasheed said that the government expected to complete all development projects already planned for the city by the end of its term.

He also said the government would seek to increase the GDP of the new city from Rf 2 billion (US$135 million) to Rf 4 billion (US$270 million).

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Maldives to host Asian football tournament qualifiers

The Maldives is to begin hosting qualifying matches for the AFC challenge Cup 2012 football tournament as of next month that will see teams from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Macau and Cambodia compete in the country for a spot in the 2015 Asian Cup.

Ali Azim, president of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) told Haveeru that the country had been chosen to host the group C matches between itself, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the victor of a playoff contested between Macau and Cambodia.

The paper reported that the Maldives has previously hosted similar qualifying matches back in 2009, ahead of the 2010 challenge cup.

However, the country finished in second place behind Turkmenistan during qualifying; losing out to Bangladesh, which qualified to the tournament as the group runner up with the highest goal difference.

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ACC calls for developers to re-submit Thilafushi bids

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has called on the Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL) to cease reclamation work on Thilafushi lagoon and call on developers to re-submit bids for the project after ruling earlier this week that there was potential for corruption within the current deal, Haveeru has reported.

According to the paper, ACC Deputy Commissioner Muaviz Rasheed yesterday called on the TCL to comply with its orders and halt work being conducted as part of a contract signed with Heavy Load Maldives, a business linked to Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) member ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and his family.

Heavy Load was awarded the US$21 million project on September 30 last year, and inaugurated the project on February 4.

However, despite the calls from the ACC for a cessation to work on the project, Haveeru said that the government-owned TCL was continuing to work on the reclamation project until it had finalized matters the company said it had with the ACC’s order.

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Oil price spike raises cost of ice

Ice blocks have risen Rf 50 per tonne on the back of rising diesel prices, Koodoo Fisheries has announced.

The move comes after the State Trading Organisation (STO) increased the price of diesel by Rf 0.55 to Rf 11 a litre. Ice blocks will now sell for Rf 650 a tonne.

Ready access to ice is vital for Maldivian fishermen to preserve their catches and obtain a premium price in key international markets, such as the UK.

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UK man released after bomb scare questioning

Police have released a 60 year old British man who sparked a bomb scare on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight yesterday.

The man had been misunderstood by cabin crew after alerting them to a “disturbance in the plane”, police said.

“It was a case of miscommunication between the elderly British passenger and the airline crew,” Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told AFP.

The flight from Colombo to London was temporarily grounded and passengers evacuated while the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) searched through passengers luggage, before giving the all clear for the flight to depart.

No other flights were disrupted, airport authorities stated.

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Malaysia arrests 96 Muslims in Valentines Day crackdown

Malaysian authorities have arrested 96 Muslims in a Valentines Day crackdown on “vice activities”, reports Agence France-Presse.

The couples were detained for ‘khalwat’, or ‘close proximity’ to someone of the opposite sex other than their spouse, after religious authorities warned against the potential for immoral acts during Valentine’s Day.

Religious enforcement authorities in Kuala Lumpur conducted raids across public parks and budget hotels, as well as central Selangor state, on the lookout for teenagers renting rooms on an hourly basis.

Those arrested face up to two years in jail and a fine if convicted in an Islamic court.

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