Category: News in Brief

Coco Palm Resorts to host Miss France 2011

The Coco Palm Bodu Hithi resort in the Maldives will host the filming of the Miss France 2011 pageant from November 11-18.

In a statement, the resort said that the 33 contestants from across France will compete for the title by participating in a range of activities at the resort, including traditional Maldivian cooking, filming a music video, water sports, and ‘exploring the natural beauty of the Maldives’. The final event, a ‘crowning ceremony’ will be held in Caen in Normandy on December 4.

The annual contest is one of the most-watched broadcast events on French television, and “is sure to
provide tremendous publicity for Coco Palm Resorts and the Maldives a destination,” the resort said.

The Coco Palm Bodu Hithi resort is part of the the luxury division of Sunland Hotels, a local Maldivian-owned company.

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First charter flight from Mumbai brings 107 tourists to Addu

An inaugural charter flight from Mumbai, India to Seenu Atoll Gan arrived in the country on Sunday with 107 tourists, reports Haveeru.

The Kingfisher charter flight was organised by Indian travel agency Make My Trip in collaboration with the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).

The tourists were greeted upon arrival by Home Minister Mohamed Shihab, Indian Ambassador B M Muley and senior officials of MTDC and Gan Airport Company in a backdrop of traditional boduberu music.

While over a 1,000 Indian tourists have booked holidays at the Herethera resort, according to MTDC, the Kingfisher charter flights will operate bi-weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The travel agency meanwhile revealed that their goal was to bring over 6,000 Indian tourists to the Maldives – Indians currently account for just three percent of visitors to the country.

Previous charter flights from Italy and Germany introduced after the opening of Herethera in 2007 were short-lived and cancelled prematurely.

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Hinmafushi prison to be changed to a rehab

The state home minister Ahmed Adil have said that ”Asseyri” prison in Hinmafushi would be changed to a rehabilitation centre, reports Haveeru.

Haveeru reported that the rehabilitation centre would be opened by next year according to Adhil.

Next year February the centre would start delivering its services to those in need, according to Haveeru.

The Home ministry is currently working on ways to raise fund that is needed to re-built the prison as a rehabilitation centre.

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Reformed delinquents released back to families

A number of reformed juvenile offenders at the Children’s Correction Training Centre in Feydhoo Finolhu have been released back to their families, reports Haveeru.

Juvenile Justice Unit Director General Hamid Yousuf from the Home Ministry explained that about 25 children aged 13 to 17 successfully completed reformatory programmes while an additional four children were expected to take two more weeks.

The centre is now preparing to receive a new batch of juvenile offenders, he said.

The programme includes academic courses, art classes, instruction in craftsmanship as well as entertainment and sports activities.

Funds have been earmarked in next year’s budget for a new juvenile detention centre, said Hamid, as juvenile offenders currently had to be kept in jail with adults after sentencing.

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BML director’s board constituted at AGM

A 10-member director’s board for the Bank of Maldives was constituted at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday night, reports SunFM.

Three members were elected to represent public shareholders while seven were appointed by the government.

Of four candidates contesting for the three public representatives, former State Trading Organisation CEO Ahmed Mohamed won the highest number of votes, followed by Mohamed Abdul Sattar, Manchangoalhi Tulip, and former director at the Finance Ministry Ibrahim Mohamed, Noonu Holhudhoo Nelam.

While current Chairman Adam Ibrahim, Maafanu Asrafeege, retains his post, the other government appointees include Aishath Noordeen, Maafanu Thaagidhoshuge, Jaisham Ibrahim, Manchangoalhi Anuma, Assad Ali, Maafanu Vaarevila, Azban Fahmy, Maafanu Finivaage, Hassan Muzny, Galolhu Atha, and Nuha Mohamed Riza, Henveiru Meerubahuruge.

Despite the government’s claim that a provision in the bank’s code of governance that excludes the government from voting to elect members violated the Companies Act, the Chairman overruled the objection, insisting that BML’s articles of association were in order and that minority shareholders had to be protected.

Local daily Haveeru meanwhile reports that concerns of disgruntled shareholders were not addressed at the meeting, frustrating many of the 340 in attendance.

While the bank recorded profits of Rf49 million (US$3.8 million) last year the director’s board decided not to issue dividends based on BML’s financial straits.

BML profits in 2009 fell by Rf220 million (US$17.1) from the previous year.

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Cargo bombs from Yemen designed to explode midair, says UK government

Bombs in printer cartridges shipped from Yemen to Chicago were designed to explode in midair, according to the UK government.

The packages were discovered in a UPS plane at East Midlands Airport on October 29 and were addressed to Jewish synagogues in Chicago.

The packages contained printer cartridges filled with the explosives pentaerythritol tetranitrate and lead azide, along with an electrical circuit linked to a mobile telephone trigger mechanism. Both devices were described as “extremely professional” by intelligence officials.

Yemeni authorities have meanwhile asked FedEx and UPS to close their offices in Yemen, and today arrested a female medical student in connection with the incident.

The UK press reported that the devices were discovered newspaper reported that the devices were discovered after a tip-off by Saudi Arabian intelligence sources.

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‘Celebrants’ are the victims here, not the Swiss: Guardian

“Thousands of couples across Europe and the US who have married or renewed vows in Asian ceremonies must now be wondering what was really said as rings were passed and kisses were exchanged,” writes William Sutcliffe in the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

“However pleasant the officiators may have seemed, however sincere the tone of the ceremony appeared, it is clear now that literally anything could have been passed off as a blessing or a chant. Of course, this should always have been clear, but such is the determination to believe in some vague ideal of Eastern mysticism that most people who buy into these ceremonies presumably dismiss any legitimate scepticism as somehow “Western” and inappropriate.

“All hotels are reliant on a theatre of deference and respect. In expensive hotels in poor countries, where cocktails are served by waiters whose daily wage is less than the price of one of the drinks they serve, the gulf between what the staff think of the guests and how they are obliged to behave is likely to be at its largest. Only rarely does the fourth wall in this drama ever come down. This video is a truly spectacular example.”

Read more

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Travel study finds Maldives “most expensive” island destination

The Maldives has been identified as one of the world’s “most expensive” island hotel destinations, with an average room rate of US$539 per night.

The study by Hawaii-based tourism consultancy Hospitality Advisors compared resort islands in its home territory to those all over the world, covering 38,000 properties and nearly five million rooms.

The highest-ranking Hawaiian destination, Maui – averaging US$331 for a double room – was only topped in terms traveller experience polls (and prices) by the Maldives, which despite an average occupancy of 62.6 percent still managed to register the highest revenue per room.

The study noted the rising popularity of the Maldives as a travel destination for Asian tourists.

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Maldives Judge elected to UN Torture Prevention post

Maldives Judge Aisha Shujune Mohamed has been appointed to the elected to the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture.

The Foreign Ministry said that 36 out of 55 countries in the Subcommittee voted for the appointment of Judge Shujune UN office in Geneva, one of the first individuals from an Asian nation to be elected to the committee.

Judge Shujune is one of the founder members of the Maldives Detainee Network, now the ‘Maldives Democracy Network’.

The 20 member UN subcommittee works with governments to prevent torture and makes unannounced visits to prisons and detention centres to ensure detainees are not being mistreated.

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