Category: News in Brief

National football team captain Ashfaq awarded green passport

The government has awarded national football team captain Ali Ashfaq a green passport on Thursday (September 11), reports local media, becoming the first sportsman to receive the green passport privilege.

Defence Minister Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim presented the passport to Ashfaq at a ceremony held at the department of immigration and emigration.

Green passports are used by senior government officials above the rank of director general during official overseas visits.

In May, Ashfaq was also appointed the country’s first sports ambassador by the Maldives Olympic Committee.

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Viral fever, dengue, diarrhoea speading, warns health protection agency

Viral fever, dengue, common cold, and diarrhoea is spreading across the Maldives at an alarming rate, the health protection agency (HPA) has warned.

In a health alert issued yesterday (September 12), the agency revealed that 2,000 cases of common cold, 500 cases of diarrhoea, 800 cases of viral fever, and 500 cases of dengue fever were reported across the country during the past week.

The HPA cautioned that common cold and viral fever were highly contagious diseases and advised those affected to drink lots of liquids.

The agency also advised taking precautionary measures to prevent breeding of mosquitos during rainy weather.

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National bureau of classification’s website hacked

The website of the national bureau of classification was hacked yesterday following publication of a controversial regulation that subjects prose and poetry published in the Maldives to the bureau’s approval.

The site has, however, been fixed today. “We are here to deliver a message,” read the hacked ‘mission page of the website.

“This is our world now. The world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We exist without nationality or skin colour. You wage wars, murder, cheat, lie to us and try to make us believe it’s for our good,” read the message.

“I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. I am a hacker and this is my manifesto. Huh, right, manifesto? You may stop me, but you can’t stop us all.”

The hackers signed off as ‘Invaded by Anonymous Maldives.’

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Fisheries ministry denies granting permission for Sri Lankan vessels to cross Maldivian waters

The fisheries ministry has denied rumours that the government has granted permission for Sri Lankan vessels to cross Maldivian territorial waters without prior authorisation.

In a press statement yesterday, the ministry assured that the government would not grant any request that could “have an adverse effect on Maldivian fishermen or the fisheries industry, the country’s independence and sovereignty, or the economy.”

Sri Lanka reportedly made the request at the sixth meeting of the Maldives-Sri Lanka Joint Commission on Tuesday (September 9). A delegation including Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon, Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Dr Mohamed Shiny, Education Minister Dr Aishath Shiham, as well as senior officials from various government ministries departed to Colombo earlier this week to attend the meeting.

During an official state visit in January, President Abdulla Yameen agreed to “explore the possibility” of giving innocent passage to Sri Lankan fishing vessels through Maldivian waters under the UN Law of the Sea.

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President Yameen announces land reclamation project for Addu Feydhoo

President Abdulla Yameen announced last night that a land reclamation project would commence next year in the Feydhoo ward of Addu City.

Speaking at a ceremony held in Feydhoo to inaugurate a road construction project, President Yameen said construction of the Rahdhebai Magu “will greatly assist the island’s residents, while paving the way for further development projects in Feydhoo,” according to the President’s Office.

President Yameen was accompanied by First Lady Fathmath Ibrahim and Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb during his visit to the southernmost atoll.

A by-election for a vacant seat in the six-member Addu City Council is meanwhile scheduled to take place on September 20.

The election comes after Addu City councillor for the Feydhoo constituency, Abdulla Aswan, died of a heart attack on July 8.

All six seats of the city council were won by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party candidates in January’s local council elections.

Speaking at a meeting in Feydhoo last night, President Yameen reportedly criticised the city council over a stalled project to install lights at the Feydhoo football stadium.

The project remained stalled due to a disagreement between councillors, Yameen claimed, calling on the council to cooperate with the government’s development efforts despite political differences.

“If something else is beneficial [to the public], they don’t have to consider the ideology of a political party. They should do it the way the public wants,” he was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.

Yameen urged the people of Feydhoo to vote for ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate for the Feydhoo council seat, Ena Naseer.

The Feydhoo branch of PPM handed over membership forms of 100 new members to First Lady Fathmath Ibrahim at last night’s meeting.

The opposition MDP meanwhile selected Ali Fahmy Ahmed as its candidate to face the by-election in a primary last month.

Speaking at a press conference today, MDP MP for Addu Meedhoo, Rozaina Adam, accused President Yameen of attempting to unduly influence the upcoming by-election by launching or announcing development projects in Feydhoo.

Referring to pro-government MPs rejecting an urgent motion in parliament over power outages in Addu City, Rozaina questioned the president’s sincerity and commitment to develop the city.

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Over 70 unable to perform pilgrimage after paying dues

Families of 76 expectant pilgrims who made payments to the al-Fatuh Hajj Group protested outside the company’s offices today after they were unable to depart for Mecca.

According to local media, the group was provided a quota of 118 by the government, but charged 76 additional people.

Online news outlet CNM reported that the group agreed to reimburse the disgruntled clients within 10 days. About 25 families reportedly gathered outside the group’s offices this afternoon.

Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed declared this week that Hajj groups that accepted payments from people in excess of their quotas would be disqualified next year.

Of the 800 pilgrim quota afforded to the Maldives by Saudi Arabia, 400 were reserved by the government’s Hajj Corporation while the rest were divided amongst Hajj groups chosen after a bidding process.

The government-owned corporation charged MVR69,965 (US$4,537) per person. Performing the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime is one of the five pillars of Islam.

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The Islamic State has supporters in paradise: Washington Post

“When the medieval Arab traveler Ibn Battuta gazed upon the Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago of more than a thousand coral atolls and turquoise-blue lagoons, he thought it ‘one of the wonders of the world.’ ” writes Ishaan Tharoor for the Washington Post.

“He didn’t need much persuading to halt his voyage, and assumed the role of ‘qadi‘ — or chief religious judge — for the entire archipelago, deliberating on matters of state while enjoying the delights of the islands’ beaches and, as local lore goes, its women.

Ever since then, travelers and honeymooners have flocked to the Maldives for their own bit of paradise. The country’s myriad scattered luxury resorts now bring in hundreds of thousands of tourists every year — in 2012, the Maldives counted over a million visitors, nearly three times the country’s existing population.

But there’s trouble in paradise, also. This past weekend, some 300 people in the capital city Male — a tiny, crowded concrete island in the sea — marched down its main thoroughfare waving the black flags of the Islamic State. They chanted slogans against democracy and held banners that read “Shariah is the only solution,” among others. They ended their protest with a prayer offering support to mujahideen waging jihad around the world.”

Read more

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Immigration department fines 25 businesses for hiring illegal migrant workers

The department of immigration has reportedly fined 21 guest houses, four teashops, and 14 shops for hiring illegal migrant workers in a crackdown across the Maldives.

The immigration department discovered the undocumented expatriates in an operation conducted with assistance from the police.

A fine of MVR50,000 (US$3,242) is specified in the law for hiring illegal migrant workers.

The immigration department deported 6,400 undocumented workers between January and July this year.

A special operation to deport undocumented workers was announced on April 24, with Minister of Defence and National Security Mohamed Nazim – also in charge of the immigration department – promising “the whole Malé will be cleaned [of migrant workers]” within three weeks.

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President Yameen appoints members to ACC

President Abdulla Yameen has appointed new members to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for a five-year term.

Along with previous members Hassan Luthfee and Muaviz Rasheed – who were appointed for a second five-year term – President Yameen presented letters of appointment to Aminath Minna, Yazumeed Mohamed, and Sofwath Mohamed at a ceremony at the President’s Office yesterday.

The oath of office was administered by Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Areef. Parliament approved the president’s nominees last month.

Luthfee and Muaviz meanwhile retained their posts as chair and deputy chair, respectively.

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