82-year-old Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak is dying from terminal cancer in his stomach and pancreas, according to a report by Eli Lake in The Washington Times, who quotes US and European intelligence officials.
A senior Egyptian government official has denied Mubarak is ill, describing the reports as “without any factual basis whatsoever.”
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(0)Six fibre-optic lasers with a combined 32 kilowatts of power destroyed four airborne drones (UAVs) in tests by the US Navy off the coast of California.
An electronic solid-state laser will never run out of ammunition as long as it has power, according to Mike Booen of Raytheon, the US weapons systems company developing the new technology.
There are disadvantages with lasers such as high costs, and legal restrictions under existing treaties, says former Air Force chief scientist Mark Lewis, now at the University of Maryland.
(0)Dislikes(0)High heels shorten calf muscles and make Achilles tendons thicker and stiffer, according to a report by team of researchers led by Marco Narici, Professor of the Physiology of Ageing at Manchester Metropolitan University in UK.
“Wearing high heels places the calf muscle-tendon unit in a shortened position. As muscles and tendons are highly malleable tissues, chronic use of high heels might induce structural and functional changes in the calf muscle-tendon unit,” says the report.
“So should women give up wearing high heels?” asks writer for The Journal of Experimental Biology, Kathryn Knight. “Narici doesn’t think so, but suggests that fashion addicts may want to try stretching exercises to avoid soreness when they kick off their heels at the end of the day.”
(0)Dislikes(0)A Maldivian woman, Aminath Zahida aged 30, has died in Malaysia, reports Haveeru. Her body was found at the bottom of a ventilation duct in the Desa Kiara condominium at Damansara west of Kuala Lumpur.
Suicide is suspected to be the cause of death, but police are conducting a postmortem and the Maldives High Commission will receive a report soon.
Zahida, mother of two children, arrived in Malaysia about two weeks ago to be with her husband who is studying there. He was taken to hospital after the incident, and the Maldives High Commission is monitoring the family closely, according to Haveeru.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Criminal Court’s suspension of two police lawyers on “ethical grounds” amounts to obstruction of the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption and bribery in parliament, claims Deputy Commissioner of Police Ismail Atheef.
Speaking on Television Maldives last night, Atheef explained that the two lead detectives on the case, Inspector Mohamed Riyaz and Superintendent Mohamed Jinah, appeared in court on July 9, but the letter from Chief Judge Abdullah Mohamed informing police of the suspension was received two days later.
“If someone is in contempt of the court, action has to be taken immediately according to provision five of the court regulations,” he said, adding that the detectives were not given any warning nor had their conduct in court been noted by the journalists who were present.
“So when this letter came to us, the way police interpret it is that this is an obstruction specifically of our investigation,” he claimed.
It was the first time that police officers were suspended from the Criminal Court, said Atheef.
The Deputy Commissioner insisted that the suspension was a deliberate obstruction because Riyaz and Jinah, as the two lead detectives and top police lawyers, would have had to appear at court to seek an extension for Nazim’s arrest.
A court official told Minivan News at the time that details of the suspension could not be provided to the media.
”They were suspended due to a case relating to this code of ethics. It is for more than one reason,” he said.
Obstacles
Atheef stressed that police had a good working relationship with the Criminal Court, but began facing difficulties obtaining court warrants in June 2009 when it began an investigation into alleged corruption in the former Atolls Ministry.
Appearing alongside Deputy Commissioner Atheef, the two police lead detectives on the corruption investigation highlighted procedural difficulties faced in their investigations.
The senior officers expressed concern that investigations into “high-profile corruption cases” were compromised at “a very preliminary stage”.
In some cases, Atheef said, police have heard from the public that warrants have been rejected before receiving an official response from the court.
“The suspect knows we’ve asked for a warrant and have been rejected, so he’s free to do whatever he wants,” said Atheef. “We have to appeal and try to get it again but there’s no point.”
Moreover, in the absence of a Criminal Procedures Act, the officers said, there were no “clear guidelines” on how arrests should be made.
While only the Chief Judge Abdullah Mohamed personally issued warrants at present, Jinah argued that it was neither “practical nor reasonable” for one man to bear the responsibility.
Jinah revealed that the Criminal Court gave evidence police presented to seek an arrest warrant to the defence counsel of detained MPs Abdulla Yameen and Gasim Ibrahim.
“In the criminal justice procedure, disclosure of evidence is a completely different stage,” he said. “This happened way before the threshold test to determine whether or not to prosecute.”
He added that the incident had jeopardised the police investigation.
In some cases, said Inspector Riyaz, the media and supporters of the suspect were present when police arrived on the scene after obtaining a search warrant.
Referring to the case of alleged corruption in the former Atolls Ministry, involving MPs Ahmed Nazim and Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem, Riyaz pointed out that Criminal Court was inconsistent in issuing warrants.
“In a case involving two suspects, we requested a travel ban and to check their bank statements,” he said. “But [the court] enforced a travel ban on one and allowed us to check his bank statement. And for the other, [the court] allowed us to get his bank statement but refused to enforce a travel ban.”
On the importance of detaining suspects, Jinah said stopping communication was crucial to preserve evidence.
Moreover, he added, police did not have to go the Supreme Court to confiscate a suspect’s mobile phone.
Drug bust foiled
Jinah, head of the Drug Enforcement Department (DED), said a Criminal Court official informed police last week that a warrant could not be issued for a case involving a kilogram of illegal drugs.
Distinguishing between routine and targeted enforcement, Jinah explained that expediting search warrants was crucial in the latter case.
“This is completely unacceptable,” he said. “I believe the application for the court order should at least be considered. It’s fine if they considered what was in it and said this can’t be done.”
He added that police summoned the court official who relayed the Chief Judges’ answer but he chose to remain silent.
“Now more than a kilo of drugs has gone into Male’,” he said, adding that the court later issued the warrant but “it was no use to us then.”
As investigating judges was outside the police mandate, said Jinah, police have decided to lodge a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) regarding the incident.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) has claimed the government will face “serious international pressures” if opposition People’s Alliance leader and Mulaku MP Abdulla Yameen is not released in the next seven days.
“The Qaumee Party has undertaken important efforts in the international arena towards this end,” reads a press statement the party issued today, adding that a delegation of DQP officials, including Dr Hassan Saeed and Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, were currently in the United Kingdom.
“If President Mohamed Nasheed’s government does not release the political party leaders arrested and kidnapped in violation of the laws and constitution in the next seven days, the Maldivian government will have to face serious international pressure.”
It adds that the government and President Nasheed would have to bear “full responsibility” for any possible international restrictions.
Yameen and Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim were taken into police custody after the government accused them of bribery and treason in a ‘cash-for-votes’ scandal at parliament. Several tapped phone conversations to this effect were leaked to the press shortly afterwards.
After the High Court ruled the pair would be kept under house arrest for 15 days while the case was investigated, an appeal to the Supreme Court resulted to their release early last week, on grounds of insufficient evidence.
Yesterday police complained their investigation into the allegations of parliamentary corruption were being obstructed by the judiciary, after senior police investigating the case were suspended from appearing in court.
The DQP today claimed that President Nasheed’s detention of Yameen after his repeated calls for the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung Sun Suu Ki, showed a “lack of sincerity,” and urged the government to accept international offers of mediation.
“Confused and grieving”
Meanwhile Yameen, who is currently under the ‘protection’ of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) at the Presidential retreat ‘Aarah’, spoke to Minivan News today and said his family are “confused and grieving” at his detention.
Yameen said the MNDF were treating him “very well” at Aarah, and that he had no complaints about this, however he was unable to meet with anyone and was “stranded.”
‘’I was not brought here upon my request, [the MNDF] requested I go with them, in order to cool down the situation of Male’,’’ Yameen said. “I asked them to allow me the chance to go on my own, to any island I wished. MNDF officers tried to [accommodate this], but the political appointees in the MNDF security council denied my request. When I refused to go with them, the two officers who came to take me told me that their superiors had ordered them to take me by force if I refused to come along.’’
“I do not want that protection from them, and I have told them,’’ Yameen told Minivan News, proposing that his detention was one of the actions Nasheed had recently said would be “out of the chart.”
‘’My whole family is now consumed with confusion and grief; I have a small child who is attending a pre-school,’’ he said.
President Mohamed Nasheed said in his weekend radio address that isolated political appointees would remain isolated was a reference to him, Yameen claimed.
“When I knew the MNDF planned to bring me here, I requested they bring one of my lawyers with me, to make sure that the MNDF was taking me to Aarah,’’ he said, “but they denied my request.”
Yameen said he had asked the MNDF when he would be freed, but they had replied they “did not know what to say about that.”
‘’It is unlawful and illegal to keep someone isolated, in the name of providing security, against his will,’’ Yameen alleged. “This government is a dictatorship ruling arbitrarily using the power of the fist.’’
He called on the armed forces to work within by the law and to understand that they were accountable and responsible for their actions.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has commenced a series of protests demanding the release of the opposition leader and calling the government to conclude its “unlawful acts”.
DRP MP Ahmed Nihan claimed that the government was to be blamed for the recent unrest and violence in Male’.
”They caused it so they could arrest Yameen, they created the scene that Male’ was in chaos,” said Nihan.
”It was not the real Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists who were out on the streets that day, I can recognise their faces. They were boys that belong to different areas of Male’, even the police will know them.”
Nihan said DRP protests would be “a series of peaceful gatherings” in front of DRP’s head office.
”Yameen’s arrest violates the chapter on freedom in the constitution,” he added.
Press secretary for the president’s office, Mohamed Zuhair, said Yameen requested MNDF provide him security and that he was not allowed to go to any island he wished, because they felt they were best able to protect him at Aarah.
Acting outside the law
Independent MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed said on his blog that he interpreted Nasheed’s “acting outside of the chart” as meaning “acting outside of the constitution”.
MP Nasheed, who has acknowledged asking MP Gasim for “cash” but denies allegations of corruption and misconduct, said he believed he might “also be isolated in this manner.”
“Whether [isolation] is constitutional, or can be done with the existing laws, is another question,” he said.
As a consequence, Nasheed warns, the system put in place by the constitution and its authority is undermined and “the rights and powers guaranteed by the constitution come to an end.”
“[This was a] purposeful violation of the constitution by an act, definitely deliberate and forewarned, carried out in [a presidency] was given after swearing to rule in accordance with the constitution,” he writes.
The constitution was drafted in light of “years of experience where all the powers of the state were concentrated in the presidency”, he continues, and prioritises separation of powers, checks and balances and protection of fundamental rights over “the convenience of the president”.
(0)Dislikes(0)The skull of a creature the size of a baboon and living in a warm forest 28-29 million years ago in western Saudi Arabia, is being described as one of the most significant fossil finds in decades “because it illuminates a critical moment in evolution when ancient primates split into two separate lineages,” reports the Guardian’s Ian Sample.
Few such fossils have been found of this period of life on earth. It has been named Saadanius hijazensis.
(0)Dislikes(0)The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), People’s Alliance (PA), Jumhoory Party (Republican Party) and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) began a series of “continual protests” on Friday night against the detention of Mulaku MP Abdulla Yameen by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
DRP MPs as well as senior officials of the minor parties addressed a large crowd of supporters outside the DRP office near the artificial beach area, calling for the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed and accusing the government of targeting political opponents.
While participants held “Free Yamin” placards, the opposition politicians vowed to continue the protests until the PA Leader was released.
Gemanafushi MP Ilham Ahmed, deputy leader of the DRP, told reporters at a press conference to announce the protests that the party considered public demonstrations a measure of last resort.
Ilham warned that Monday’s sitting of the People’s Majlis could not take place in the absence of the MP for Mulaku.
Galolhu South MP Ahmed Mahlouf meanwhile criticised police for their handling of violent protests outside PA MP Ahmed Nazim’s residence, which caused damage to private property.
A short distance from the DRP office, the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has been conducting its “continual protests” behind the Dharubaaruge convention centre as part of its “People’s Court” that was opened on Thursday.
Meanwhile, local media reports that crowds demanding the arrest of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdullah Mohamed were dispersed by police outside his residence last night.
(0)Dislikes(0)Inmates in Maafushi jail have sent a petition to President Mohamed Nasheed complaining that conditions in the prison have deteriorated to the point where few inmates can sleep.
The petition signed by 236 prisoners claimed that inmates now allocate time to sleep, one after another, on the floor without bedsheets or pillows. The petition also claimed that the inmates do not have good medical facility or a safe environment in which to live.
“Only a few inmates can sleep when it rains,’’ said the petition. ‘’The capacity of the units is for 35 men, but we note that 90-100 inmates are kept in each unit.’’
The prisoner’s petition lists benefits discontinued after the government came to power.
The list of complaints sent by the inmates includes:
The petition also claimed that the prison still contains inmates convicted for actions which are not crimes under the current constitution, such as several who participated in an anti-government riot in 2003.
On May 13, families of inmates claimed the jail was “in chaos”, with neither the inmates nor jail officers reportedly in charge.
A person familiar with Maafushi jail told Minivan News that the situation was deteriorating daily due to unfulfilled pledges the government made to inmates, and that fights between inmates and jail officers was a daily occurrence.
“Inmates in the cells are demanding fulfillment of the pledges President Mohamed Nasheed made, and the jail officers claim they do not have the budget or power they demand.”
Moreover, he said, inmates were claiming that their parents and family had voted for President Nasheed because of the pledges he made during the presidential elections.
”They claim that half of Nasheed’s votes came from inmates’ families, who voted for the pledge that they will give parole and clemency to inmates,” he said.
Shortly after the new government came to power, Special Envoy to the President Ibrahim Hussein Zaki visited the jail.
”He came and told all the inmates to think that they all were free now,” he said. ”He said that within weeks everyone will be free.”
He added that inmates were very happy about the news but “after days there was no sign of them and inmates became disheartened.”
In protest, inmates staged a hunger strike in December 2008.
”The State Minister [for Home Affairs, Ahmed Shafeeq] visited the inmates, bringing a document signed by the president and told everyone to calm down,” he said. “Then again our families, kids and spouses were happy with the news.”
In October, rioting inmates set Maafushi jail on fire, resulting in violent clashes between inmates and prison guards.
”All the inmates were divided into the damaged cells without even cleaning the place,” he said.
On April 20,inmates in Maafushi jail were badly beaten by jail officers in a prison riot on Sunday morning at around 12:15 am, after they were allegedly asked to go out to the prison yard and kneel on the ground.
A person familiar with the case told Minivan News that the riot was sparked when jail officers entered Unit 7 while everyone was sleeping.
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