200,000 pages of secret US military files concerning the war in Afghanistan have been released by the whistleblowing site Wikileaks, and simultaneously published online by the UK Guardian, US New York Times and German Der Speigel.
The news organisations have been examining the documents for weeks, after receiving them from Wikileaks which is headed by Australian Julian Assange.
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(0)Luxury Maldives resort Coco Palm Bodu Hithi will host the filming of the prestigious Miss France 2011 beauty
pageant in November 2010.
The 38 contestants from various regions and overseas territories of France will sample various aspects of Maldivian culture during their visit, the resort said in a statement.
The Miss France contest has been held since 1920 and is considered to be one of the biggest TV events in France, the statement claimed.
“The tremendous coverage that Maldives as a destination will receive throughout France and central Europe is bound to give a significant boost to the whole nation as well as the Coco Collection,” the resort said.
The Coco Collection is the luxury division of Sunland Hotels, a Maldivian owned company.
(0)Dislikes(0)The first Asean Day of Dengue Fever will be held on 15 June 2011, after a decision by Asean health ministers at a two-day meeting in Singapore.
“We will mark this day by urging the public to be aware of dengue fever and get them to be more cautious to prevent the disease,” says Malaysian health minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
The number of official dengue cases in Malaysia this year to 21 July was 26,927 with 91 deaths, surpassing the 88-death record for the whole of last year.
The number of dengue patients in Thailand increased by 60 per cent last year. The Philippines and Indonesia also saw an increase in serious outbreaks of the disease in the same period.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has nominated Supreme Court Judge Uz Ahmed Faiz Hussain as Chief Justice, for approval by parliament.
The President made the nomination in accordance with Article 147 and Article 297 (a) of the Constitution, the President’s Office said.
Article 147 states that there shall be a Chief Justice of the Maldives and the President shall appoint the Chief Justice after consulting with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and confirmation of the appointee by the People’s Majlis. Earlier, the President consulted with the JSC on the matter of nominating a Chief Justice.
Article 297 (a) states that within two years of the commencement of the Constitution, appointments to post shall be finalized in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
Uz Ahmed Faiz Hussain has also served as a Judge at the Civil Court and the High Court.
The President urged Speaker Abdulla Shahid to expedite the process of confirming the President’s nomination as the Chief Justice of the Maldives.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives may be growing with the rising waters, say a team of six scientists studying the sediments and growth of Maldivian islands.
“We take climate change very seriously,” says Paul Kench, a geologist from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. “But in order to correctly predict the real consequences for the atolls, we first have to understand how they will actually respond to rising sea levels in the future.”
The Maldives attained their current form about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, according to the scientists’ research. Even natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami, which killed at least 82 people in the Maldives, do not destroy the islands, Kench claims. On the contrary, the Indian Ocean tsunami even added new sediments. “We’ve measured up to 30 centimeters of growth in some places,” he says.
(0)Dislikes(0)New housing projects would begin in Thinadhoo and Kolamaafushi on Monday, President Nasheed announced during his weekly radio address. Similar projects would soon be launched in four other islands including Kulhudhuffushi, Manadhoo, Naifaru, and Feydhoo on Addu atoll.
The government was “extremely pleased” that housing projects could start outside the capital, he said. A road project would begin in Kulhudhuffushi, and several harbour projects would also be started on Monday. Road projects in Thinadhoo, Addu atoll, Fuahmulah and Laamu atoll would also begin soon.
On the Independence Day, the New National Museum, the Velaanaage complex, a new building for the Defence Ministry, and a new building for the Police would be officially opened.
President Nasheed paid tribute to former President Nasir (1968-1978) for his efforts to secure full independence for the country from Britain. The Maldives was a British protectorate from 1887 until 25 July 1965.
Maldives gained full independence on 26 July 1965.
(0)Dislikes(0)“We have this 19th century idea of the ocean; we still have this idea that the ocean can absorb the punishment that we dish out,” says award-winning Australian writer Tim Winton. “We think we can just keep putting a few hooks in and we’ll pull something out.”
“People have begun to understand that the great fish like tuna and the marlins and the swordfish are in massive decline … but people don’t realise that sharks are among that cohort. In fact, sharks are really more threatened than whales or dolphins,” he says.
“I’m asking people to be conscious of the kind of footprint that we leave… It’d be a sad thing to bequeath to our children an empty, acidic ocean.”
(0)Dislikes(0)80% of young Zimbabwean men will be circumcised in a plan by Population Services International and the Zimbabwe government to cut the incidence of AIDS in the country.
The intention is to operate on 1.2 million men using a ‘conveyor belt’ system that performs 10 operations an hour.
(0)Dislikes(0)The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned the mistreatment of minors arrested by police in their ongoing special operation to curb unrest and violence in the capital.
A press release issued by the party yesterday states that the party received numerous complaints from parents and members of the public alleging that the boys taken into custody were not fed for over 12 hours, blindfolded and beaten, and had their hair forcibly shaved off.
The statement expresses concern that the unlawful actions of “elements within the police” could undermine growing public support and approval won by the Maldives Police Service for its successes in combating crime and drug abuse.
The party called on the Police Integrity Commission to investigate the complaints and take “immediate action” against the police officers accused of custodial beatings.
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