Category: News in Brief

Housing units from Gaza fund to be completed by end of January: Red Crescent

The Maldives Red Crescent has revealed that the housing units built in Gaza using the money collected in the Maldives through the Gaza fund will be completed by the end of January, reports local media.

CNM reported that the houses built by the Red Crescent are to home 100 families, and that they are being built near the rubble of houses destroyed during last year’s conflict with Israel.

US$1.9 million was collected from the Maldives for the Gaza fund through donation boxes set out across the islands as well as the proceeds of a media telethon.

CNM also reported that the funds have allowed for the purchase of medicine from Jordan, which has been handed over to Jordan’s Haashimee Charitable Association to be transferred to Gaza.

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MTCC to purchase US$36 million dredger

The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has revealed plans to purchase a US$36 million land reclamation dredger, reports local media.

According to Vnews, the purchase of the dredger would make it the biggest and most expensive to be operated locally in the Maldives.

MTCC CEO Ibrahim Abdul Razzaq told Vnews that the dredger is a ‘hopper suction dredger’, which would be capable of reclaiming one hectare in just two days.

“This is an investment to ease the land reclamation projects done in the Maldives,” said Ibrahim. “We are currently talking with Holland’s IHC Company regarding the purchase, the dredger will be designed to be suitable for Maldives.”

Source: Vnews

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MMA announces shortlisted proposals for new rufiyya note designs

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has announced the shortlisted candidates in a competition to design the new Maldivian currency notes.

Proposal for the new notes to be released on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Maldivian independence were evaluated by an advisory committee of 13 members comprising of representatives from various technical fields including history, art, language, and economics.

The shortlisted candidates will present their proposal to the advisory committee on January 17, with the three best presentations given the opportunity to design the six notes to go into general circulation and the memorial note for 50 years of independence.

The MMA board of directors will make the final decision on which designs will be printed after considering the evaluation of the advisory committee.

After initially inviting designs for notes in September, the MMA extended the November 30 deadline for one month after concluding that the 60 submitted designs were all unsuitable for bank notes.

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Hulhumalé reclamation to cost US$22 million less than expected, says Tourism Minister

The second phase of the Hulhumalé land reclamation project will cost US$ 22 million less than expected and will now amount to US$50 million, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb has said.

Speaking to Haveeru, Adeeb said the cost of the project had been reduced after President Abdulla Yameen held direct discussions with the dredging companies. Land reclamation began last night (January 10).

“Reclaiming the land and the revetments will now be completed at US$50 million after ceaseless effort by President Yameen. He held many discussions with the current contractor Belgium Dredging International to bring the price down,” said Adeeb.

Adeeb said Yameen had secured the US$30 million loan from Bank of Ceylon to finance the project.

Hulhumalé phase one reclamation saw 188 hectares of land reclaimed to house a population of 60,000, while the second phase aims to house 100,000 residents.

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MWSC Managing Director dismissed

Malé Water and Sewerage Company’s (MWSC) board has dismissed Managing Director Ahmed Umar from his post, reports local media.

Speaking to Haveeru, Chairman of the Privatisation Board Mohamed Nizaar said that the board decided to terminate Umar and said an individual to replace Umar has been suggested to the government.

Haveeru reported that Umar was appointed to the post of the Public Company by President Abdulla Yameen on a Jumhooree Party slot in the coalition government.

MWSC and its management were severely criticised for lack of response after the capital’s 130,000 residents were left without running water for nine days following a fire at the MWSC desalination plant in December.

After a government request for assistance, India, China, and Bangladesh airlifted bottled water, while both India and China sent in ships equipped with desalination plants to produce water for the capital.

Normal operations resumed at the Malé water plant on December 13.

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Police tow 111 illegally parked vehicles in one day

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has towed 111 illegally parked vehicles on Saturday (January 11).

A police media official told Minivan News that the 111 vehicles towed included 56 two wheeled vehicles and 55 four wheeled vehicles.

“Of the 54 two wheeled vehicles, 21 vehicles did not have the number plates, while 16 of the confiscated four wheeled vehicles did not have number plates,” said the official.

According to the police, all of the vehicles without a number plate would be transferred to Thilafushi Island and sold as scrap metal.

“If the vehicle owners wish the vehicles to be returned back to them, they have to present adequate documentation to prove ownership and pay all fines which are due,” said the media official. “The vehicles to be taken to Thilafushi will remain in Malé for a period of time for owners to claim them.”

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India to hold Bollywood dance show to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations with Maldives

The Indian High Commission has announced plans to hold a Bollywood-themed dance show to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations with the Maldives.

Speaking at a function held this morning, Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Rajeev Shahare said the high commission will hold an “entrance free, high quality dance show at Alimas Carnival Area on January 23”.

“In celebration of 50th anniversary of relations and Maldivian Independence, every month will include thematic activities part of a year long celebration. January will be our Bollywood month taking into account Maldivian love for Bollywood,” said Shahare.

The show is said to feature Mumbai based Bollywood dance troupe, Ferris Wheel Entertainment. The troupe consists of dancers for famous movies and makeup artists.

Meanwhile, other events for the month include a Bollywood Quiz – where the winner gets a Bollywood tour – and an art exhibition with art work created by Indian and Maldivian children called United Colors.

The events are sponsored by the State Trading Organization (STO), telecom provider Ooredoo, the State Bank of India and Indian infrastructure giant Tata Housing.

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Crime lowest in five years, claims Police Commissioner

Police Commissioner Hussein Waheed has told media that 2014 saw the fewest reported incidents of crime in five years.

18,193 cases were reported to the police last year, he explained – a drop of 1.7 percent compared with 2013.

Haveeru reported Waheed as saying that theft – the most reported offence – was considerably lower than it had been over the past five years.

However, police statistics show that while reports of theft in 2014 had dropped compared to 2012 and 2013, they were still higher than in the three preceding years. Reported theft in 2014 was 26 percent higher than in 2009.

Comparing 2014’s figures with 2009, there were increased reports of robbery (4.9 percent), drug offences (32.6 percent), and domestic violence (69 percent). Reported cases of assault dropped between 2009 and 2014 by 44 percent, while traffic accident reports fell by 18.4 percent, sexual offences by 15.7 percent, forgery and counterfeiting by 41.6 percent, and vandalism  by 42.3 percent.

Waheed also noted that two-thirds of the 3,139 drug-related cases in 2014 were reported outside of the capital, Malé, which is home to around one-third of the country’s population.

Waheed told media on Thursday that 50 Maldivians were thought to have travelled abroad for Jihad, while noting that the unresolved case of missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan had been the biggest investigation of 2014.

Source: Haveeru

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No pending charges against Azlif Rauf, says Criminal Court

The Criminal Court has confirmed that there are no pending charges against Azlif Rauf of Henveiru Hilton, hence the court has not issued an order to the Department of Immigration and Emigration to hold his passport.

Yesterday (January 9) it was reported that Azlif Rauf travelled to Turkey with six members of Malé’s Kuda Henveiru gang.

The seven also included an individual arrested over the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan, one man arrested for issuing a death threat, one man classified by the police as a dangerous criminal, and three men with criminal records, local media have reported.

Hussain Humam Ahmed, now serving a life sentence over the Afrasheem murder, named Azlif and five others in the organising of the killing in October 2012. Humam later retracted the confession claiming it had come under duress.

Officials at the Prosecutor General’s Office told Minivan News that they had pressed terrorism charges against Rauf on October 3, 2013, before withdrawing them on September 11, 2014 “for further review”. No decision has yet been made on the case.

They also stated that no decision has been made on the file sent by Maldives Police Services regarding Azlif Rauf’s potential involvement in the Afrasheem murder.

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