Tag: maldives news

Cargo boat capsizes with 12 onboard

A cargo boat en route from Malé to the Filitheyo resort in Faafu atoll capsized 15 miles off the coast of Alif Dhaal Dhiggurah in the early hours of Friday following a collision at sea.

According to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), a coastguard squadron was dispatched to rescue the crew upon receiving reports of the accident at 4:48am.

Eight men, two women and two minors were onboard when the 60-foot “3 A 28” resort supply dhoni (traditional Maldivian vessel) went under. All 12 were found by the coastguard on a lifeboat dingy and had escaped without injury.

Police meanwhile launched a search yesterday for the second boat, which allegedly sped away after the collision. The ‘Kumeri’ dhoni was found docked at the Hulhumale’ harbour.

The crew and captain were however released by the police after questioning. Newspaper Haveeru today reported a crew member of the Kumeri dhoni as saying that the crew saw 3 A 28 speeding away after the accident and were unaware that it had capsized.

The fishing boat from Faafu Magoodhoo was en route to Hulhumalé to buy ice, he said.

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Indian doctors treat over 900 patients in nationwide medical camp

Some 931 patients have been treated so far in a ‘medical camp’ conducted across the country by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) in collaboration with the Indian military.

According to the MNDF, three teams of specialist doctors from the Indian military visited islands in three areas of the country under the military’s northern, central, and southern commands. Having commenced on January 27, the medical camp is due to conclude tomorrow.
The team of doctors included specialists in skin diseases, surgery, ENT, and children’s illnesses as well as gynaecologists, ophthalmologists, and dentists.
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Second round of voting in council elections scheduled for February 15

A second round of voting in the local council elections will take place in four islands on February 15, the Elections Commission (EC) has announced.

Speaking at a press conference held yesterday to announce official results of the January 18 polls, EC President Fuwad Thowfeek said a second round was needed in four island council races where candidates in fifth place were tied with the same number of votes.

Run-of elections will take place in Haa Alif Muraidhoo, Baa Fehendhoo, Raa Maakurath and Gaaf Alif Kodey.

Thowfeek also revealed that the EC has annulled the results of the Noonu Miladhoo island council election after it emerged that disappearing ink might have been used.

Following an investigation by the National Complaints Bureau, the EC decided that the issue could have affected the outcome of the vote, Thowfeek said.

In addition to Miladhoo, voting for the Gaaf Alif Villigili constituency atoll council seats has also been scheduled for February 15.

The Villigili poll was delayed by the EC to afford a candidate adequate time to campaign after his disqualification by the commission was overturned by the Supreme Court.

The candidate in question had however withdrawn his candidacy following the EC’s decision to delay the poll.

On the second round of voting, EC member Ali Mohamed Manik told the press that ballot boxes will be placed in the islands and Male’.

Manik added that the commission had not made a decision concerning voters in the constituencies registered to vote elsewhere in the country.

However, the EC cannot allow re-registration for the second round, Manik said.

Victory for MDP amidst low turnout

EC President Thowfeek also revealed that the turnout on January 18 was 64.5 percent, down from the 70 percent turnout in the first local council elections that took place in February 2011.

Of 240,220 eligible voters, 154,942 voters cast their ballots, Thowfeek noted.

While turnout in some islands exceeded 80 percent, participation in some constituencies of the capital was as low as 30 percent.

A total of 2,463 candidates contested in the January 18 polls for 1,100 seats – 951 island council seats, 132 atoll council seats, and 17 city council seats.

Thowfeek noted that 72 female councillors were elected in the second local council elections, which accounted for six percent of the winning candidates.

According to the official results, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won the most number of seats.

The main opposition party fielded 901 candidates and won 458 seats, including eight out of 11 seats in the Male’ City Council and all six seats of the Addu City Council. The two cities together account for 40 percent of the voting population.

The MDP also performed well in other population hubs such as Kulhudhufushi in the north and Fuvahmulah in the south.

The ruling ‘Progressive Coalition’ – composed of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) – fielded 934 candidates and won 456 seats.

The PPM took 277 seats, followed by the JP with 123 seats and the MDA with 56 seats.

Of the 543 independent candidates, 133 were elected. The Adhaalath Party meanwhile fielded 83 candidates and secured 45 seats.

The religious conservative party campaigned independently of the government coalition as it was not an official coalition partner with a formal agreement.

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party meanwhile fielded two candidates and won one council seat.

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Direct flights between Malé and Delhi being discussed

The Maldives deputy tourism minister has told Indian media that direct flights between Malé and Delhi will begin soon.

“The national carrier Island Aviation will be shortly operating chartered flights from here to our country. This is being done to provide direct flight service from here to Maldives to attract more tourists,” Hussain Lirar was reported as telling India’s Business Standard.

During a recent state visit to India, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen was said to have discussed the importance of introducing direct air links with Indian leaders.

The Maldives High Commissioner to India Mohamed Nasser, was also reported to have said that a road show would soon be launched in India to showcase future developments in the Maldives largest industry. Chinese arrivals account for around 25 percent of the current market share, compared with India’s 3.3 percent.

Similar roadshows were produced in China in 2012, following the explosion in Chinese tourist arrivals over the past five years.

The head of the Maldives national airline has told local media of plans to introduce direct flight between Malé and Indian capital New Delhi.

Abdul Haris, managing director of Island Aviation, told Haveeru that discussions were ongoing between Maldivian airline and an Indian aviation company. He said that feasibility studies – examining the likely profitability of the route – were underway.

Links between the Indian and Maldivian governments have of late experienced an improvement after rising tensions during the previous administration of Dr Mohamed Waheed.

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Majlis committee recommends changes to tourism taxes and resort lease extensions

A People’s Majlis committee has recommended revising the Maldives Tourism Act and tax legislation in order to realise President Abdulla Yameen’s revenue raising measures as proposed in the 2014 state budget.

The committee has recommended collecting resort lease extension fees upfront over a two-year period, reintroducing the discontinued US$8 bed tax until November 30, and hiking Tourism Goods and Services Tax [T-GST] from 8 to 12 percent from November 1.

Further recommendations include increasing the airport departure charge from US$18 to US$25, and levying a 6 percent tax on telecommunications.

The revisions will be debated at an extraordinary parliamentary sitting scheduled for February 3.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa has said the party will not support the revisions, claiming they amounted to an estimated 40 percent tax on the tourism industry.

“This will be a huge burden on the tourism industry. Instead of over taxing our most productive sector, the government needs to raise revenue through other sources,” he said.

MVR3.4 billion needed

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad said the revisions are not sufficient to raise the expected MVR 3.4 billion (US$224 million). The amount accounts for 18 percent of the MVR17.95 billion budget passed for this year.

The government had initially proposed collecting resort lease extension fees all at once within this year, collecting bed tax for 12 months, and raising T-GST in July.

The parliament committee revised the government’s proposals after a meeting with the Maldives Association of Tourism Industries (MATI) in which the organisation opposed continuation of the bed tax alongside an increase in T-GST.

According to the Maldives Tourism Act, bed tax must be abolished within three years of the introduction of T-GST. Bed tax was discontinued on December 31, 2012.

Committee Chair and Jumhooree Party Leader MP Gasim Ibrahim said if the new revision was passed, the bed tax and T-GST hike would only overlap in the month of November.

“This is because we may not be able to collect bed tax for January,” he said.

MATI Secretary General Ahmed Nazeer has also questioned the practicality of collecting resort lease extensions in a lump sum.

Speaking at the subcommittee on Tuesday, Nazeer said that only 17 out of the more than one hundred resorts had paid lease extension fees upfront when given the opportunity to do so under President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

He pointed out that Nasheed’s policy had been invalidated through the courts at the time. Moreover, resort owners had amended their lease agreements to pay lease extension fees in installments during Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s administration, and revising agreements for a third time may present legal challenges, he said.

Meanwhile, MATI board member Solah Shihab has said resort owners might not have the cash at hand to pay lease extension fees upfront.

The government has also recommended revising import duties and leasing an additional 12 islands for resort development to raise money, though these measures have not yet been discussed.

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‘Help Syria Through Winter’ campaign raises over MVR600k

A fund raising campaign dubbed ‘Help Syria Through Winter’ conducted by local NGO ‘Help’ has raised MVR605,907 (US$39,294) in three weeks.

According to Sun Online, a delegation from the NGO recently departed for Istanbul, Turkey to deliver the funds, which are to be used to purchase four ambulances.

Fund raising activities that took place across the Maldives included selling T-shirts and placement of fund boxes as well as religious workshops and sermons.

The fund raising efforts were led by NGO Salaf preacher, Sheikh Adam Shameem Ibrahim.

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Vice President departs on official visit to Qatar and Kuwait

Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed departed on an official visit to Qatar and Kuwait last night.

Speaking to reporters prior to his departure, Dr Jameel said the main purpose of the trip was to strengthen ties with Arab Islamic nations.

He added that the government was seeking investments from Arab countries in healthcare and housing as well as assistance for development projects.

Discussions would also take place about establishing an Islamic university in the Maldives, he said.

“In addition to this, we will also talk with these countries about providing budget support to the Maldives,” he said.

The vice president was accompanied on the trip by Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed and President’s Office Minister Abdulla Ameen.

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High Court overturns life sentence for drug possession

The life sentence handed down to Hussein Mohamed Sobah of Raa Atoll for drug possession was today overturned at the High Court.

In January 2013, Sobah was given the sentence after the Criminal Court found him guilty of possessing 2.5k of illegal drugs.

The High Court ruling today stated that Sobah had appealed the ruling, basing his argument on four main points. The High Court, however, had only referred to fact that police had failed to obtain a warrant – or the permission of the owner – before searching the premises of Golden Alloy Pvt Ltd [where the drugs were discovered].

The High Court said that when the judges panel presiding over the case looked into the matter, it noticed that Sobah had highlighted this issue during the Criminal Court hearings.

The court stated that the only situation in which the police can enter a house without the consent of the owner or with a court warrant was in a situation where a person’s life was at risk, requiring police to take immediate action.

The ruling said that the evidence collected inside the premises of Golden Alloy Pvt Ltd could not be considered as admissible, and that the constitution of the Maldives stated that the court should dismiss any evidence collected unlawfully.

In June 2011, police arrested Sobah with another man on suspicion that they were in possession of illegal narcotics, during a special operation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Department (DED).

At the time the then-DED Superintendent Mohamed Jinah said that the police were able to seize the drugs before they had been circulated across the country, and that this was a great success for the police and government.

The street value of these drugs was estimated by the police to be approximately MVR1.7 million (US$110,000) .

The two men were arrested near the UN building in the Galolhu district on Malé following intelligence reports. Police stated that the drugs were imported with the assistance of a cargo vessel.

“The vessel drops these things into the sea into an area determined by them,’’ the police at the time. “They went to the location on a dingy and picked it up and brought it to Malé.’’

The second man arrested with Sobah was also tried at the Criminal Court, though the court ruled  there was not enough evidence to prove guilt.

The Criminal Court’s ruling on Sobah stated that the fingerprint comparison report for the drugs discovered inside the office matched with the left hand, middle finger, of Sobah.

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51-year-old sentenced to ten years for child sex abuse

Ungoofaaru Magistrate Court in Raa Atoll has sentenced a 51-year-old man to 10 years after the court found him guilty of sexually abusing a boy multiple times.

The police have issued a statement today following the sentence, identifying the man as Moosa Mohamed Manik, 51, of Bahaaree Gulshan House in Maduvvari Island, Raa Atoll.

According to the statement, he was found guilty of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.

The police said that Ungoofaaru Magistrate Court sentenced him under the special provisions on perpetrators of child sex abuse.

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