A 4 year-old girl and her mother were injured in a ferry accident this morning, reports police.
Police reported that the ferry collided with a cargo dhoni that was entering Male’ harbor.
The girl and her mother wre taken to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital for treatment and now have been discharged, according to police.
Police reported that the two boats were also damaged during the incident.
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(0)Three children from Hulhudhufaaru in Raa Atoll have been lost in a canoe, reports police.
Police reported that the three kids went out to the ocean on a canoe yesterday and there was as yet no sign of them.
There were 14 year-old boy and two nine year-old boys aboard the canoe when it left, according to police.
Police and Maldives National Defence Force are searching the area for the missing children.
(0)Dislikes(0)The first shipment of a US$3.9 million security assistance package has been delivered to the Maldives by representatives from the United States Pacific Command.
The equipment and training in intended to train and equip the Maldives National Defence Force Special Forces Unit.
Announcing the arrival of the package, the US observed that defence cooperation between the US and the Maldives had increased markedly since 2008.
“Both nations share national security interests in countering violent extremism, narcotics trafficking, piracy and other maritime crime,” read a statement from the US Embassy in Colombo.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has sent a letter to the President criticising Education Minister Dr Mustafa Luthfy for introducing co-education.
The Education Ministry has argued that all schools apart from four are already co-educational.
In the letter, the Ministry claimed that Maldivian educational policies were intended “to repel students away from the creed of Islam.”
Miadhu reported that 40 parents and guardians of students protested outside the President’s residence over the weekend.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Tourism Ministry and the Maldives Island Revenue Authority (MIRA) have asked resorts to pay over Rf1.3 billion (US$101 million) in unpaid resort rents and Rf5.8 million (US$458,000) in tourism taxes.
Most of the money – Rf1 billion – is owed by island unidentified by the Ministry, leased for resort development, reports Haveeru. The newspaper claimed the island was Hudhufushi in Lhaviyani atoll.
Speaking to Haveeru, Deputy Tourism Minister Ismail Yasir said the government has failed twice in court to terminate the agreement with the resort developer.
“Discussions are underway with the Attorney General’s Office for the further procedures in procuring the money,” Yasir told Haveeru.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Hay Festival may stimulate the creation of a new Dhivehi word for Folklore, after Abdulla Sodiq and Habeeba Hussain Habeeb came together with Badru Naseer to prepare for their live event, which will take place on the outdoor stage on Friday 15 October.
The trio realised that there was no Dhivehi word for ‘folklore’, and discussed the creation of a new term to reclaim and draw together Maldivian stories from long ago.
‘Vehi Vaahaka’ was suggested, however, whether this will take remains open to debate and the
conversation will continue during their festival event on Aarah.
Meanwhile the Dhivehi Raivaru event line up has been revealed, with three young voices taking to the stage on Saturday 16 October, as part of Hay Festival Maldives’ celebration of Maldivian culture.
Hussain Mubarik from Laamu Atoll, Fathimath Shiuna from Male’ and Dunya Abdul Rahmaan, currently studying at Hiriyaa School Male’, will sing to the festival audience in what promises to be a unique event.
The workshop programme on the final day of the festival has also been announced, and is dedicated to the next generation of artists and thinkers.
Workshops for schools and faculties will take place, so that students can learn from experts about a wide variety of subjects, all with the sole aim of encouraging and inspiring participation.
Through the festival, children and young people will have the world of writing, journalism, art, music and science at their fingertips.
The workshop and talks programme includes: Horticulturist and television presenter Monty Don gardening with students on Soneva Gili, environmental expert Mark Lynas brainstorming on climate change and freelance journalist Anita Sethi on blogging and the internet.
Science correspondent at The Guardian, Alok Jha, will look at writing comment pieces, interview techniques and the importance of research. Internationally acclaimed novelist Ian McEwan will revisit the start of his creative writing career, while Sabina Manik, the established artist and poet, will lead a session on poetry.
United Artists of Maldives will bring an Introduction to Visual Art into classrooms and students will discover the versatility of items usually cast into the rubbish bin with Maldivian Youth Climate Network, whilst also learning about the vital need to reduce waste in our everyday lives.
The Hay Festival Maldives aims to celebrate the archipelago both as a global treasure and as a rich and diverse heritage drawing on two thousand years of poetry, music and art.
Facing the urgent environmental challenge of climate change, and armed with the power of pluralist democracy, Festival organisers describe the event as “a great opportunity to talk and play together for these four days and to revel in the astonishing wealth of culture that complements the world’s most beautiful and vulnerable islands.”
Residents’ Day Passes
Friday 15 October – 50 Rf
Saturday 16 October – 100 Rf
Tickets include all events on Aarah and return transport from Male. The residents’ box office is located at Olympus. Tickets can be bought in person at the box office between 1pm and 10pm, or by phone on 991 1429.
Non-Residents’ Day Passes
Friday 15 October – $50 USD
Saturday 16 October – $100 USD
Tickets include all events on Aarah and return transport from participating resorts. Non-residents can book online at www.hayfestival.com or by phone on +44 (0)1497 822 629.
All tickets will also be available at the Celebration Launch at the Artificial Beach on Thursday 14 October. Please note the Celebration Launch is a non-ticketed, free event.
Minivan News is a media partner of the Hay Festival Maldives.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Indian Ocean is India’s soft underbelly, President Mohamed Nasheed has told Indian media.
Sify News reported that the Maldivian President sought to allay concerns here that Maldives could be used as a route to attack India although he acknowledged that some nationals of his country were getting terror training in Pakistan and some other countries.
“Terrorism issue is apolitical. We have to get a good grip on it,” Nasheed said in an interview while talking about the menace which is a cause of concern for the region and beyond.
“Security issues in Indian Ocean have lately been getting more and more serious…I mean we see the Mumbai attack also as an Indian ocean issue,” he said.
Noting that “India’s soft belly is through Indian Ocean” and no government in Delhi would be comfortable with it being exposed, he said Maldives and India are undertaking coordinated patrolling of the maritime areas.
“We have an understanding with India in patrolling… it is happening,” he said, adding India had also lent a helicopter for aerial surveillance of the Indian Ocean region.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has accepted the credentials of the new Bangladeshi High Commissioner accredited to the Maldives, Rear Admiral Abu Saeed Mohamed Abdul Awal.
Nasheed noted that the Maldives and Bangladesh enjoyed close friendly relations and that continued cooperation had enhanced these ties over the years. He said the Maldives valued Bangladesh’s friendship and was committed to forge even closer relations in the years ahead.
The High Commissioner assured the President of Bangladesh’s continued cooperation with the Maldives during his tenure. He also commended President Nasheed’s efforts to highlight the seriousness of climate change.
Rear Admiral Abu Saeed replaces Professor Selina Muhsin, an outspoken opponent of human trafficking and the exploitation of foreign labour.
(0)Dislikes(0)Parliament today voted to proceed with a bill submitted by the government on jails and parole.
The bill was sent to the home affairs committee with unanimous consent of all MPs in attendance.
Presenting the legislation to the floor on Monday, Mahibadhoo MP Ruggiya Mohamed of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said that a law governing prisons and the care of prisoners was essential to improve the condition of jails in the country.
The bill specifies rules for the management of jails and procedures for incarceration, rehabilitation and parole as well as rights and benefits due to inmates.
During the debate over the past two sittings, MPs expressed concern that convicts were loose in society due to the failure to enforce sentences.
Several MPs highlighted the need to segregate inmates based on the severity of their crimes and stop the inflow of illegal drugs.
In September 2003, the custodial death of 19-year-old Evan Naseem and the subsequent inmate uprising that resulted in the death of three inmates sparked unprecedented civil unrest in the capital Male’, widely believed to have been the catalyst for for democratic reform.
More recently, violent confrontations between the inmate population and the stand-by Emergency Support Group (ESG) led to riots in October 2009 and April 2010, resulting in costly damages to the country’s main jail.
While inmates petitioned President Mohamed Nasheed over deteriorating conditions in Maafushi jail in July 2009, allegations of torture and abuse surfaced after each of the riots were suppressed by force.
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