President Nasheed proposes nominees for ACC, EC

President Mohamed Nasheed has proposed names for membership of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Elections Commissions.

The names of Muavviz Rasheed and Mohamed Shafeeu were proposed to the People’s Majlis for membership of the Anti-Corruption Commission while the names of Mohamed Ibrahim, Hassan Shah, Hussain Siraj were proposed for membership of the Elections Commissions. President Nasheed made the nominations of the Anti-Corruption Commission after two of his five nominees were rejected by the People’s Majlis during its sixteenth sitting. During the same sitting, the People’s Majlis also approved the names of Ibrahim Waheed and Fuad Thaufeeq proposed by the President to the Elections Commission.

In a letter to the Speaker of the People’s Majlis Abdulla Shahid, the President said that all three nominees had discharged their duties in the transitional Elections Commission impartially and responsibly.

UNISDR Regional Champion pays a courtesy call on President Nasheed

Regional Champion of United National International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and Philippines Senator, Loren Legarda, has paid a courtesy call on President Mohamed Nasheed.

At the meeting held at the President’s Office on Sunday, Senator Legarda said that she considered President Nasheed an icon of democracy. Furthermore, Senator Legarda said she felt she already had an ally in President Nasheed, in the fight against climate change. She hailed the Maldives’ plans to go carbon neutral within the next ten years.

Speaking at the meeting, President Nasheed reiterated his firm belief that climate change is also fundamentally a human rights and a global security issue. He also said that good governance and consolidating democracy should be at the heart of adaptation and mitigation efforts against climate change.

At the meeting, discussions were also held on presenting a unified voice by the small and the most vulnerable states at the Copenhagen Summit. Further, Senator Legarda said UNISDR was prepared to help the Maldives in formulating plans for disaster management and mitigating adaptation. She also said she was ready to assist the Maldives to develop a legislative framework to deal with issues related to climate change.

The main purpose of Senator Legarda’s current visit was to bring to the attention of global media, the effects of natural disasters and climate change on the Maldives.

Man assaulted while reciting Quran in mosque

An elderly man who was reciting the Holy Quran inside the mosque near the Malé Hiyaa apartments was injured last Tuesday night when he was hit in the face by a thrown brick.

Mohamed Ahmed, 70, of Hiyaavahi / Noonu atoll Miladhoo, suffered injuries to his face in the attack, the man’s son, Ahmed Mohamed, said. He further said that his father had no idea who the attackers were. However, his father had been threatened many times by people who believed that he dabbled in black magic while he was in his native island.

Quoting the doctor who had treated his father, Ahmed said that his father had suffered three fractures in his skull near the forehead. He also said that his father had lost two teeth and suffered some injuries to his head. His father had also bled from his nose and mouth after the attack and his eyes were bloodshot, Ahmed said.

Doctors had advised him to take his father abroad for treatment as soon as possible, Ahmed said.

Mohamed Ahmed said that the incident wasn’t very clear in his mind and that other than he couldn’t remember much other than the fact that some people had attacked him while he was in the mosque.

“It’s still very painful,” he said, while admitted at the surgical ward of the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital. “I can’t even stand up because I get light-headed. There’s still blood in my mouth.”

A Police Media Official said that the incident had been reported to the Police on Saturday.

Police arrest suspects in connection to two robberies

The Maldives Police Service on Sunday announced that they had recovered a large number of expensive items that had been stolen during two separate robberies that occurred in Malé during the last two weeks.

Inspector Ahmed Mohamed of the Police’s General Investigations Unit said that they had recovered the two expensive Nikon brand cameras that had been stolen from the Portrait Album Studio located H. Magnolia on 2 June. The two cameras had cost Rf55,000, the Inspector said, adding that they had also arrested two suspects in connection to the crime.

He said that the thieves had gained entry into the studio through an open window and that one of the two was Farish Naseer, 26, of H. Alavaluge, who had been sentenced to six years in jail for drugs possession and dealing. Police did not reveal any information about the person who had been arrested in connection to the crime.

Inspector Ahmed said that they were collaborating with the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation (DPRS) to find out why a person who was supposed to be in jail was freely roaming about in Malé.

Thieves had broken into the office of Shipping Private Limited located at G. Fiyaathoshige last Thursday and stolen a large amount of cash and several electronic equipment including two laptops and some hard discs Inspector Ahmed said.

The Inspector said that they had managed to recover the stolen items around 11 hours after the robbery had occurred. According to Ahmed the robbery was a very ‘daring crime’ committed by young boys. The first three to be arrested in connection to the crime was 18-year-old Ali Zaid Mohamed of M. Arabian, 18-year-old Nihaz Ismail of H. Anasam, and 19-year-old Ibrahim Ziyad of M. Reyalivaage. The fourth boy to be arrested had been picked up Police officers in Villimalé on Saturday. Only one of those arrested had any previous criminal records, Ahmed said.

No power in Kinbindhoo for over a week

It has been over a week since the generators in Thaa atoll Kinbidhoo broke down causing a total power blackout in the island.

The Island Councilor Mohamed Naseem said on Sunday that the four generators in the island had broken down and that they had been living without electricity since the 3rd of the month. He also said that they had not been able to fix the generators still and noted that they had not received much support from the Government.

“The Island Development Committee is also in Malé to discuss the matter,” he said. “We have sent letters to all the relevant Government institutions. Honestly speaking, there is not much that the Island Office can do in a situation like this. We can only make phone calls and the Atoll Councilor has been no help.”

He said that the residents of the island were planning to hire the services of an engineer on their own to see if the broken generators could be fixed. He further said that residents were living in very sad conditions due to the prolonged blackout. Even though the school still remained open, due to the stifling heat the classes had to be conducted in the courtyard, he said.

“It’s very difficult to sleep also,” he said. “And the mosquitoes are a nuisance. Some people have pushed their beds out of the bedrooms and are sleeping in the open air areas of the house.”

The island is home to around 1200 residents and the Health Centre said that they had been forced to throw away some injections due to the blackout.

“We charge our mobile phones at the office near the Dhiraagu antenna,” the Councilor said. “There are rows of mobile phones, sometimes 12 at a time, being charged there at all times. There are around 21 shops in the island and the owners use candle light and other light sources to keep the places open at night.”

The Permanent Secretary of the Housing Ministry Ahmed Saleem said that they were working with the Disaster Management Centre to find a solution to the problem.

“We first checked to see if there was a generator available in a nearby island that could meet the requirement of Kinbindhoo,” Saleem said. “However, the islands were asking for too a high a price for them so the Ministry is facing some difficulties now.”

He however assured that they were closely monitoring the situation and that they were also going through the proposals made by the island to find a solution to the lack of power.