Tag: maldives

Asian chef contest to return to Male’ in 2011: report

The Hotel Asia Maldives International Culinary Challenge will return to Male’ in 2011 to bring together award winning chefs from across Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Mauritius and the Phillipines to find unique Asian flavours and recipes.

Miadhu reported that the event, which is scheduled to take place in the capital between 14 July and 16 July, 2011, is now in its seventh year and will be overseen by chef Alan Palmer, who is also a member of the World Association of Chefs Society (WACS). The report added that some 400 chefs are hoped to attend next year’s challenge.

About 300 chefs were in attendance for the 2010 Hotel Asia Maldives International Culinary Challenge event that saw an international panel of judges come to Male’ to oversee 13 different competition categories relation to cuisine.

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Three men stabbed in cafe, two motorcycles burnt

A group of men attacked three men inside a coffee shop in Mahchangolhi last night.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that the three men were injured and were admitted to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

”One of them was stabbed in the back and his condition is serious, the other two were stablised after medical treatment and have now have been discharged,” said Shiyam. ”They were attacked while they were inside a cafe.”

He said that the coffee shop had requested police not to reveal its identity ”as the case has no connection with the coffee shop.”

He noted that police have been continuing special operations to curb gang violence and crime in Male’.

”But now we are not conducting operations at the level we did during the holidays,” he added.

Also last night, two motorbikes parked in two different areas of Male’ were burned in an apparent arson attack.

Police said that one motorbike parked in Buruzumagu was found burned at 3:10am last night.

Police officers patrolling the streets saw the motorbike on fire and doused it with water, and the motorbike was not severely damaged.

Another motorbike parked near Galolhu cemetery was found burnt last night at 4:00am, police said.

Police said that one ‘Pulsar’ motorcycle and two ‘Wave’ motorcycles were severely damaged in the incident.

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Island Aviation braces for GMR handover earnings hit: report

Last week’s handover of Male’ International Airport to infrastructure giant GMR could cost airline group Island Aviation Services (IAS) as much as Rf90m in a one-off annual loss based on the company’s own estimates, according to news reports.

As of November 24, 2010, a number of operations handled by IAS such as international cargo, ground handling and domestic passenger services were taken over by GMR as part of a long-term expansion programme it has undertaken at the transport hub.

Speaking to Haveeru, IAS Managing Director ‘Bandu’ Ibrahim Saleem said that the loss of the operations was expected by the group to be initially substantial to overall operations.

“Some claim that it would be a very small amount. But it is not. Despite the fact that several employees are leaving us we are still determined to take the company forward. But at this point we need to make some sacrifices,” he told the newspaper.

“We do not want to complain about the change in this situation. I thank all those who instructed the employees. All the employees who are leaving us today are faithful to the nation and are dedicated.”

Saleem claimed that the financial impact of handing over the operations to GMR was expected to be felt next year as a one-off hit to the group’s earnings.

In looking to IAS’ future though, the company’s Managing Director was optimistic that proposals it has submitted to the government in relation to Kaadehdhoo Airport reflected potentially lucrative new avenues for the company to explore, according to the report.

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Gayoom sends letter to British PM alleging intimidation by Maldivian government

Former President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has sent a letter to UK Prime Minister David Cameron appealing for pressure to be placed on President Mohamed Nasheed following “the escalation of attempts to harass and intimidate me and my family.”

In the letter, dated October 17 and obtained by Minivan News, Gayoom states that “Since I stepped down from presidential office in November 2008, the present government has, under various guises and by unlawfully utilising the powers at the government’s disposal, attempted to incarcerate me on false accusations of murder, rights violations and corruption.”

Gayoom explained to the British Prime Minister that the strategy deployed by the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party during the presidential election campaign – which was actively supported by the Cameron’s party, the UK Conservatives – “was based predominately on attempting to smear my reputation, spreading disinformation, and baselessly accusing me of corruption and misappropriation of State funds.”

“All such allegations of corruption, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds and property are basedless and completely untrue, as are those of torture, repression, and unlawful detention during my presidency,” Gayoom wrote.

“Nearly two years after the MDP government assumed presidency, Nasheed and his government have failed to uncover a single shred of evidence to substantiate any of these allegations,” Gayoom added.

The latest episode, he wrote, involved “unsubstantiated allegations by an elderly man by the name of Ahmed Shafeeq that I had, during my tenure as President, ordered the murder of 111 dissidents.”

“In a book authored by this Shafeeq, which was ceremoniously released [on October 10] by Mohamed Nasheed himself, it is accused that I also ordered the man’s arrest and supposed torture in prison. In a country of just over 300,000, it is safe to assume that even one ‘missing person’ would not go unnoticed, let alone 111.”

Gayoom expressed concern to the British PM that Nasheed would attempt to have him arrested “despite my innocence”, and despite praise from election observers at the “smooth handover of power” and assurances of safety and privileges in the Constitution.

Instead, the former President claimed Nasheed’s government had “escalated its attempts to harass me” in the run up to the local council elections, despite his retirement from politics earlier in 2010.

“After the government’s defeat in last year’s parliamentary elections, the popularity ratings of the ruling MDP have fallen further in recent months as a result of the government’s failure to deliver on its campaign promises and its lack of respect for the law.”

“On the other hand,” Gayoom told the British PM, “I continue to enjoy the strong support, love and affection of the people, and have been voted by the public as ‘Personality of the Year’ in both years since stepping down from the presidency.”

Gayoom went on to state that Nasheed had not provided him with adequate security and that “for almost two years now, I have not been able to go to the mosque to perform my prayers on Fridays. My movement remains severely restricted.”

He appealed to the Prime Minister to “urge Nasheed to respect the country’s Constitution and governing laws, and ensure that the march towards modern democracy I set in motion in 2004 is not impeded in any way.”

Minivan News attempted to determine the veracity of the (unsigned) letter with Spokesperson for the Former President, Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, but had not received a response at time of press.

However, the UK High Commission in Colombo confirmed that the letter from the Former President was received in London, and a reply issued.

“The UK government follows events in Maldives closely. We believe that effective cross-party dialogue is essential to overcome the key challenges facing Maldives. We have expressed this view to both the government and the opposition,” the High Commission stated.

Press Secretary for President Mohamed Nasheed, Mohamed Zuhair, had not responded at time of press.

Download the full letter (English)
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Maldives “tied acceptance of prisoners” to American help with IMF assistance

Secret US diplomatic cables obtained by Wikileaks reveal that the Maldives agreed to resettle detainees from Guantanamo Bay in return for American help with obtaining assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to the New York Times.

The paper reports that the cache of correspondence made public by Wikileaks reveals that “American diplomats went looking for countries that were not only willing to take in former prisoners but also could be trusted to keep them under close watch.

“In a global bazaar of sorts, the American officials sweet-talked and haggled with their foreign counterparts in an effort to resettle the detainees who had been cleared for release but could not be repatriated for fear of mistreatment.

It reveals that while the Bush Administration offered the South Pacific nation Kiribati an “incentive package” of US$3 million to take 17 Chinese Muslim detainees, “the Maldives tied acceptance of prisoners to American help in obtaining International Monetary Fund assistance.”

The EU observer meanwhile reported that Washington’s special envoy on Guantanamo resettlements, Daniel Fried, told ”politicians in the Maldives that other states had received US$25,000 to US$85,000 per detainee to cover temporary living expenses and other costs” and that ”the Maldives could expect something toward the upper end of the range.”

In December last year, President Mohamed Nasheed announced that the Maldives had offered to resettle two detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

“If a Muslim does not have a place to live in freedom, we will help in whatever way we can. We don’t want anyone to suffer any harm,” Nasheed then said. “We know that the Maldives, in helping just three people from Guantanamo Bay, does not mean that either the Maldives or the world would be free of inhumane treatment,” he said. “However this jail, Guantanamo jail, is very symbolic.”

Nasheed said at the time that as a result of resettling the detainees “the country will get a good name, honour and prestige. We will be noted as people who help in whatever capacity we can to help solve others’ problems.”

The decision was met with fierce opposition from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party-People’s Alliance coalition in parliament, which conducted national security committee hearings on the subject.

Foreign minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed told Minivan News at the time that “the United States has not come with a bag full of money and said: ‘here’s your reward for doing this’, but because we work with the US on this and other issues, they will try to help us where we need help.”

He added that the decision was not made on a ”quid pro quo basis”.

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Average Maldivian citizen has 4.7 years of education, finds UN Human Development Report

Education in the Maldives is generally behind regional neighbours such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, despite an 18 percent increase in the average number of years spent at school between 1990 and 2010.

The average Maldivian citizen had 4.7 years of schooling in 2010, compared with 3.9 years in 2005, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP’s) 2010 Human Development Report. This was almost a third of the country’s ‘expected level of schooling’ of 12.4 years.

Despite the recent improvement, the Maldives remains behind Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in terms of average schooling, which were ranked at 4.8 and 8.2 years respectively. UK and US students spend on average 9.5 and 12.4 years of their lives in education by comparison, according to the report’s findings.

The overall findings compiled by UNDP painted a mixed picture for human development in the Maldives, with a comparatively high life expectancy of 72.3 contrasting with concerns over education and gender equality in the country.

For 2010, the Maldives was ranked 107 out of 160 nations under the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI), which is used to measure long-term national achievements in providing citizens with “a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of life.” The Maldives has climbed four places since 2005.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed said that failure to the current failure obtain parliamentary approval for cabinet members would not be a long term setback to the country’s development aspirations though.

“Development and democracy goals are generally accepted by all parties, but clearly there are difficulties,” he said. “I don’t believe the [cabinet controversy] will seriously affect the long-term human development objectives of this or a future government.”

Despite praising an increase in average life expectancy of six years in the last decade, Dr Waheed raised concerns over inequality across the nation’s atolls, particularly among women in terms of both education and politics.

“Women are not contesting in elections as much as we had hoped,” he said. “We hope February’s council elections will see much higher numbers [of female candidates].”

Dr Waheed claimed that in areas such as poverty reduction, the Maldives was doing “quite well”, though he added that economic recession in the last few years had been a setback to these goals.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Andrew Cox said he agreed with the Vice President’s view of the report. Cox added that the latest UNDP figures showed the Maldives’ HDI was generally above the regional average for South Asia.

Report Findings

Posting an average life expectancy rate of 72.3 years of age, the Maldives was found to be ahead of other nearby nations such as Bangladesh (66.9 years) and Thailand (69.3 years), though behind Sri Lanka (74.4 years). Western nations like the UK and the US recorded average life expectancy rates of 79.8 and 79.6 years of age respectively.

In the area of gender equality, the report used a new index system that looked at a number of specific factors such as reproductive health, the gender share of parliamentary seats and educational achievements and economic activity to identify the possible disadvantages to women in a nation.

Using this Gender Inequality Index (GII), the Maldives was ranked 58 out of 138 countries based on data supplied from 2008. By comparison, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were ranked 72 and 116 respectively under the same conditions.

In terms of education, 31 per cent of Maldivian females had obtained a secondary or higher level of education as opposed to 37 percent of Maldivian men. In addition, female participation in the labour market was found to stand at 58 percent, compared to 77 percent among males. Unemployment was 14.4 percent.

The report found that 23.5 of every 100 citizens had access to the internet.

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Three more Somalis found in second dinghy near Thinadhoo

A Maldivian fishing boat has discovered another lost dinghy with three Somalis aboard near Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

Captain of the fishing boat Mohamed Hussain told Minivan News that the dinghy was found while the group was out fishing this morning.

”Around 10:15pm this morning we found the dinghy and followed it – there were three men aboard,” said Mohamed. ”One of them was in a very serious condition an has a wound under his neck.”

Mohamed said the other two were in a good condition, as the dingy contained food and 14 barrels of diesel.

”They said someone attacked them and they were trying to flee, after the injured man was stabbed by the attackers,” he said.

Island Councilor of Thinadhoo Mohamed Zahir said that no one had officially reported the case to the island office yet.

Major Abdul Raheem said a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) vessel was on the way to the island.

”After our vessel reaches the island we will disclose more information regarding the case,” he said.

Another dingy with seven Somalis was found on Sunday near Fuvamulah. MNDF officers who searched the vessel discovered a bullet shell in the dingy.

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Hudhuranfushi unaware of alleged food poisoning incident

Director of Adhaaran company that operates Hudhuranfushi resort, Mohamed Mahdy, has said he was unaware of allegations that a tourist couples’ ‘dream holiday’ was ruined by ‘food poisoning’ in March 2008.

The Liverpool Daily Post reported that the holiday of a couple that went to Hudhuranfushi to celebrate the husband’s 50th birthday was ”ruined by food poisoning.”

The paper reported that the couple were now suing their tour operator Thomson.

It quoted the husband as saying “We were served undercooked food, as well as food that was recycled and served up two days running. The pool and the toilets were filthy. We were so excited about the holiday. But, instead of enjoying it, I spent most of our time being violently ill.”

Mrs Wears was so ill with severe diarrhea that a doctor had to be flown in from another resort to treat her, said Liverpool Daily Post.

”I am very sure that such an incident did not take place in the hotel in March,” Mahdy said. ”I really do not think that is true.”

He said that customers sometimes complained about issues, “but there was no major issue like that.”

Liverpool Daily Post reported a Thomson spokeswoman as saying that “Thomson can confirm that five customers reported illness while staying at the Hudhuranfushi Island Resort, Maldives, in March, 2008. We are currently in talks with the no win, no fee law firm that is representing these customers.

“Hudhuranfushi Island Resort continues to be extremely popular with our customers, and we are confident that guests due to travel to the resort in the future will experience the high levels of quality and standards they expect from a Thomson property,” said the spokeswoman, according to Liverpool Daily Post.

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GMR’s airport segment grows with Male’ Airport acquisition

The airport segment of Indian infrastructure giant GMR has grown become a significant contributor to the company’s revenue, reports financial news website India Infoline, with both the Delhi and Hyderabad airports witnessing stable growth in passenger and cargo volumes.

The company’s airport segment accounts for 40 percent of the firm’s total revenue. With the Male’ airport operations already profitable and with high passenger revenue of $US50 per passenger (compared with US$12 and US$17 per passenger at Delhi and Hyderabad airports), the existing revenue is expected to account for a third of the company’s airport operations.

Male’ International Airport generated US$135 million in revenue last year, Infoline reported, with an operating profit of US$30 million. Being an exotic tourist destination, “air traffic in Male is expected to be steady”, the site added.

GMR has taken debt of US$358 million to complete US$511 million deal to construct a new terminal, and will charge an extra US$25 per passenger, the site reported.

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