Category: News in Brief

HRCM to hold discussion meetings on human rights

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has said it has held meetings with the political parties, parliament, the government and the judiciary on human rights.

HRCM in a press statement said that the commission discussed on the challenges that are faced to establish a democratic environment in the Maldives, how to uphold the rights guranteed in the constitution and how to make everyone responsible on upholding the rights.

HRCM will hold a meeting with press and all the participants at 10:00am on Thursday.

President of HRCM Ahmed Saleem said the intention of the meeting was to try and get the government, opposition and parliament working together on human rights.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President proposes Ali Rasheed Umar as new Auditor General

President Mohamed Nasheed has proposed Ali Rasheed Umar as the new Auditor General, subject to approval by the People’s Majlis.

Umar is a Chartered Certified Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Liverpool.

He previously held the position of President of Anti-Corruption Commission as well as several other positions at the Commission including member, Assistant Officer, Assistant Director, Deputy Director and Director.

The previous Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem was dismissed after a no-confidence motion from parliament.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

25th National Quran Competition strengthens Islamic faith and understanding

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed attended the award giving ceremony of the 25th National Qur’an Competition, held on Saturday evening at Dharubaaruge.

Dr Waheed complimented the large number of parents who placed a high priority on ensuring their children were able to study the Holy Quran. He emphasised the importance of learning the proper way of reading the Quran, which, he said would strengthen Islamic faith and understanding.

The President’s awards for the students who won first place in different age categories, as well as the President’s trophies for the schools that won first place in different categories were given out at last evening’s function.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

“I don’t want to boil this down to just simply pennies”, Nasheed tells ABC Radio

The white sand atolls and coral islands might soon be buttressed with concrete as rising sea levels force the Maldivian President into drastic action, said ABC Radio presenter Monica Attard, in an interview in Sydney last week with President Mohamed Nasheed.

Protesters outside last December’s Copenhagen climate change conference, where one of the world’s smallest nations – the Maldives – went asking the worlds richer nations to curb their carbon emissions.

The result was, as we all know, a very imperfect accord.

Read the transcript

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Dhiraagu extends 3G Plus network to Fuvah Mulah

Dhiraagu has extended its 3G Plus network to Fuvah Mulah in Gnaviyani Atoll, one of the more densely populated islands in the Maldives.

The expansion gives residents of Fuvah Mulah access to high speed mobile broadband internet, the company said in a statement.

Mobile broadband, along with WiMax technology, is thought to be one of the most economical ways of connecting the scattered population of Maldives to the internet, rather than laying extensive cabling for small populations.

“We are also pleased to reveal today that the work of extending Dhiraagu 3G Plus network and Broadband service to cover more islands, is progressing rapidly,” the company said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MTDC profits drop 29 percent

Profits of the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in 2009 dropped 29 percent to Rf86 million, according a report in Haveeru.

In its annual report MTDC claimed management issues at Herathera resort were the major reason for the decline in 2009. The company received a profit of Rf46.6 million from the resort in 2008, but this fell to Rf76,458 in 2009.

MTDC also invested heavily in settling disputes with Yacht Tours Maldives, spending RF23.3 million to extricate itself from the arrangement and losing a further Rf17.3 in land rent.

The report also blamed the 2009 economic recession for MTDC’s difficulty in obtainnig bank loans to pursue investment projects.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Commenwealth media development workshop opens tomorrow

The Commonwealth will host a four-day media development workshop tomorrow at Holiday Inn, in conjunction with the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA).

The event will launch tomorrow morning at 10:00am with a speech by Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad.

The four day workshop will be led by two senior editors from Singapore. Bhagman Singh, Senior Editor, NewsHub, MediaCorp News, which owns and operates the regional satellite news network, Channel NewsAsia, will sessions on TV and radio journalism, while Jayandra Menon, Deputy Foreign Editor of The Straits Times, an English language daily, will share his skills on newspaper and online reporting.

Minivan News Editor JJ Robinson will also be present a session on Tuesday morning.

Deputy spokesperson for the Commonwealth Secretariat, Manoah Esipisu, said the workshop would “bring together two Commonwealth neighbours, Singapore and Maldives, in the sharing of expertise and experiences in media development.”

“This cross-cultural exchange will help to broaden and deepen understanding on journalism and the influence of politics and governance, culture, tradition, environment, education and technology,” Esipisu said.

“We are delighted that Mr Bhagman and Mr Menon have put their substantial experience in reporting Asia and global affairs at the disposal of their colleagues in Maldives, and look to their work in enhancing a sound tradition of media professionalism, leading to greater consistency in the accuracy, fairness and balance of news reports,” he added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

UNDP and AusAID target US$340,340 to building civil society

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and have signed an agreement to boost civil society in the Maldives.

UNDP said the aim of the project would be to strengthen civil society organisations in the hope of promoting an open and democratic society.

The ‘Support to Civil Society Development’ project will particularly target smaller and more remote organisations at a grassroots level, as well as financially support NGOs in human rights, governance, rights-base development and gender equality.

“A strong civil society can only make a democracy stronger, by promoting dialogue, good
governance and even differing points of view,” said UNDP Resident Representative Andrew
Cox, in a statement.

“This project will be an important and practical step in bringing real support and building the capacity of Maldivian NGOs,” he said, acknowledging “the important role played by civil society organisations in
advancing the democratic process.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Villa international high school to be launched next Sunday

Villa International High school to be launched on next Sunday, reports Miadhu.

Miadhu reported that all the construction and refurbishment of the new school has now been completed.

The school has all the classes air conditioned, is connected on one network and contains a student assistance centre.

Miadhu reported that the school opening was delayed because there were some other works to be done which might cause disturbance to students.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)