Maldives Journalist Association condemns attack on journalists

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has condemned the attack on journalists who were at the scene of the disturbance outside the People’s Majlis building on Wednesday.

A press release issued by the Association said that a group of people who had gathered near the Parliament House had “verbally and physically attacked some journalists who went to cover the disturbances that had occurred within the main chamber of the Parliament.”

The press release said that the verbal abuse directed by the group at journalists gave occasion to believe that the group had political affiliations. One of the people who were specifically targeted by the group was the Association’s President Ahmed “Hiriga” Zahir, the press release said, condemning the attack the strongest terms.

“We consider this a systematic attack by people with vested interests to prevent the functioning of a free media in Maldives and call on all relevant authorities to ensure the protection of journalists and guarantee the continued operation of the free media,” the press release said.

The Maldives Journalist Association press release also called on all relevant authorities to work, using all resources and avenues possible, towards “preventing such systematic attacks aimed to prevent a free media that will be necessary for democracy to fully function in Maldives.”

Viral fever spreading swiftly in Olhuvelifushi, Health Centre warns

A particularly potent viral fever is spreading swiftly through the island of Lhaviyani atoll Olhuvelifushi, the Health Centre in the island warned last Thursday.

The Centre said that there were so many patients coming in sick everyday that the Hospital’s ward, which has only three beds, had filled up almost immediately.

They had also had to close down the Island School. The school had been closed down on 1 July, officials from the school said.

The Family Health Supervisor of the Health Centre, Ahmed Hafiz, said that a good percentage of the 600 or so people in the island had contacted the fever. He said that those suffering from the fever suffered very high fevers and complained of severe body and joint aches.

“The number of people who had been diagnosed with the fever is increasingly rapidly these days,” Hafiz said. “Lack of space at the hospital is also a big problem. Some people have brought their portable folding beds from their homes to the hospital to get admitted. Conditions of some patients became so bad that they had to be taken to the Atoll Hospital for treatment.”

Hafiz said that records show that the fever had begun spreading about a month ago and that so far more than 260 people had contacted the fever. He said that people of all ages had contacted the fever.

He further said that they had notified the relevant authorities about the fever and that a medical team consisting of Sri Lankan doctors and pharmacists had been active in the island recently.

Two arrested in Eydhafushi on drug possession charges

The Maldives Police Service arrested two people in Baa atoll Eydhafushi last Tuesday night on drug possession charges.

An official from the Eydhafushi Police Station said last Thursday that one of the two was a resident of the island while the other was from Kendhoo in the same atoll. Police however did not reveal the identities of the two that had been arrested.

Police said that they had found 10 ‘pieces’ (tiny packets) containing narcotic drugs on one of the two men.

“One was arrested near the harbor area of the island,” the official said. “We found 10 ‘pieces’ in his possession during the arrest. The other was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the incident.”

According to reliable sources, the man who was arrested in the harbor area of Eydhafushi was Ihuthishaam Abdul Azeez, 20, of Malas. The other man was a staff at the Sonevafushi Resort named Muhidhdheen Abdul Gafoor, 28, of Gulaabeege / Baa atoll Kendhoo.

Police said that both of them had tested positive for drugs.

Police raid BML, seizes customer information

The Maldives Police Service on Wednesday raided the Bank of Maldives Main Branch building and seized confidential documents about the Bank’s customers.

In a press release, Police said that previous attempts to obtain information from the Bank regarding the investigation which had been launched in response to the Auditor General’s report earlier this year had not been very successful. The press release further said that they had conducted the raid at the Bank to obtain the necessary information under the powers granted to them under Article 8 of the Police Act.

The Police press release further said that they had raided the Bank to find evidence to support their ongoing investigation and that they would take necessary action against anyone who tried to obstruct them from doing their duty in accordance with Article 72 of the Police Act.

Police entered the Bank of Maldives building after the Bank had failed to provide relevant documents despite repeated requests, the press release said. It further said that the excuses that the Bank had given for the failure to handover the requested documents had not been acceptable.

Ahmed Mohamed, a member of BML’s Directors Board, said while speaking to the media at a news conference that the Bank had started collaborating with the Police’s investigation following the Auditor General’s report in February this year.

“We are fully cooperating with them in every possible way,” he said. “Police started interacting with us on this investigation in February or January this year. All their requests were forwarded to us through the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). This is how it’s usually done.”

He further said that they had provided the Police with all the documents they had requested, including information about specific customers that the Police needed and had requested for via a Court order. Ahmed said that there was no way that they could withhold any information from the Police if they had a warrant from the Court.

Van crashes into shop window, damages two motorcycles

A shop window and two motorcycles were damaged when a van crashed into them last Wednesday.

According to Police, no one was injured in the accident which occurred around 4:00pm on Kaasingee Magu. The accident occurred when the van driver was trying to fix a problem with the van’s ignition. The van had somehow started up suddenly and crashed into the shop window and into two motorcycles that were parked in front of the van.

According to reports there was no one inside the vehicle when the accident occurred. The two Indian men who had been trying to fix the ignition problem had been trying to do so from outside the van, while keeping the driver door open.

“They were unable to control the van when it started up by itself suddenly,” the Police said. “They tried to stop it.”

The shop window was totally smashed in the accident but the two motorcycles only sustained minor damage.

Vice President thanks Sri Lankan employees in Maldives for productive contribution to economy

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed thanked all the Sri Lankans employed in the Maldives for their productive contribution to the Maldivian economy.

He gave the thanks while speaking at a special function held by the High Commission of Sri Lanka in the Maldives and Sri Lankan community in the Maldives to salute the heroes of Sri Lankan civil war.

President Mohamed Nasheed and First Lady Madam Laila Ali also participated in this afternoon’s function held at Dharubaaruge.

The Vice President said that the people of Sri Lanka and the economy had suffered for long time as a result of the war. Rejoicing the fact the war in Sri Lanka had finally come to an end, he congratulated the President of Sri Lanka Mahida Rajapaksa, the Government of Sri Lanka, the Armed Forces and the people of Sri Lanka.

Dr Waheed also said that the end of the protracted civil war in Sri Lanka had set the stage for peace building and healing the country. He declared his confidence that the Government, civil society and the people of Sri Lanka had embarked on the very difficult journey to achieve permanent peace and development.

At the function President Nasheed presented a token of appreciation to Colonel Ampemohotti, group leader of the Disabled Soldiers Musical Troupe of the Army Force. President Nasheed, First Lady Madam Laila Ali and Vice President Dr Waheed also attended the musical presentation by the Musical Troupe after the function.

Fugitive linked to Jakarta blasts

Indonesian officials say there are “strong indications” a key wanted fugitive was behind Friday’s deadly attacks on two hotels in Jakarta.

Noordin Mohamed Top is wanted for plotting the Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 and other Indonesian attacks.

At least nine people, including two suicide bombers, died in the attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott.

At least half of Friday’s victims are said to be foreigners but have not all been formally identified.

Police in the Indonesian capital are studying DNA and other evidence to try to identify those behind the attacks.

The anti-terror chief, Ansyaad Mbai, has told the BBC he believes there are strong indications that Noordin was the mastermind behind the blasts.

Noordin was said to be a key financier for the Jemaah Islamiah militant group but is now thought to have set up his own splinter group.

Jemaah Islamiah has links to al-Qaeda and has a long track record of bomb attacks in Indonesia including the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed more than 200 people.

Friday’s bombs contained nails, ball bearings and bolts, identical to ones used by Jemaah Islamiah, police said.

Mr Mbai said he believed the aim of the attacks was to embarrass Indonesia’s government at a time when the country was enjoying a greater degree of stability than it had in the past.

The BBC’s Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta says the Indonesian people have been truly shocked by these attacks as they thought they had put events like this behind them.

Investigators on Friday recovered an unexploded bomb and other explosives material from what they said was the “control centre” for the attacks – room 1808 in the Marriott.

The attackers paid to stay at the hotel and smuggled in the explosives before detonating them in two restaurants on Friday.

CCTV footage showed one attacker wearing a cap pulling a bag on wheels into the Marriott restaurant, followed by a flash and smoke.

Security has been tightened across Indonesia in the wake of the attacks, with 500 troops put on standby to support police in the capital.

‘Shoulder to shoulder’

A new Zealander, businessman Tim Mackay, has been confirmed killed.

Indonesian police say Australians Nathan Verity and Garth McEvoy also died.

Their countryman, diplomat Craig Senger, was at the same breakfast meeting and is missing feared dead.

A health ministry report said a Singaporean and an Indonesian were also confirmed dead.

At least 17 foreigners were among the wounded, including eight Americans.

Other foreign nationals wounded included visitors from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea and the UK.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the attacks as “cruel and inhuman”.

US President Barack Obama said: “I strongly condemn the attacks that occurred… in Jakarta and extend my deepest condolences to all of the victims and their loved ones.”

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is due to arrive in Jakarta on Saturday.

He said he wanted to stand “shoulder to shoulder with Indonesia at this terrible time”.

The Manchester United football team had been booked to stay in the Ritz-Carlton next week ahead of a game in Jakarta.

The team has cancelled the Indonesian leg of their tour.

The attacks come just weeks after the peaceful presidential elections.

The country of 240 million people has been praised in recent years for maintaining a pluralist democracy while finding and punishing radical Islamists responsible for the series of bombings more than five years ago.

Clinton seeks goodwill in India

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has begun a five-day visit to India aimed at strengthening political and economic relations.

She is currently in Mumbai, where she attended a private ceremony to honour the victims of last November’s attacks which left more than 170 people dead.

She is staying in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where many of the victims died.

Mrs Clinton is also likely to press for better ties between India and Pakistan when she goes to Delhi on Sunday.

Observers say she will argue that the current US alliance with Pakistan is not at India’s expense.

BBC regional analyst Jill McGivering says that at present, the US focus is on Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the battle against Taliban insurgents in both countries.

But the Obama administration is keen to address concerns in India that Delhi’s interests are being neglected, our correspondent adds.

Drumming up business

BBC state department correspondent Kim Ghattas, who is travelling with Mrs Clinton, says the secretary of state is keen on people-to-people diplomacy and usually holds town hall events and meetings with civil society leaders on foreign visits.

Before the official part of the visit in Delhi on Monday, she will take time in Mumbai, the commercial capital, to meet business leaders and visit a women’s NGO that helps to provide poor women with employment.

In the afternoon she will spend an hour at a school talking to volunteers at the Teach India programme, promoting education for the poor.

As her first engagement, she attended a morning ceremony to mark the Mumbai attacks, held in private and without press coverage.

It was held in the Taj Palace hotel where she was staying.

The attacks, in November last year, have become a major source of tension between India and Pakistan.

India wants Pakistan to punish those responsible and take tough action against militant groups.

The US has been working to bring the sides back into dialogue.

If tensions along Pakistan’s border with India were reduced, the Pakistani military would be able to focus more fully on the north-west and dealing with its own insurgency there.

Pakistan is now promising to address the concerns about militants, but many in India are sceptical.

Our correspondent also says the visit is also partly about business.

The agreement which ended a three-decade ban on the sale of civilian nuclear technology to India was a centrepiece of the last Bush administration.

Now India is expected to name two sites where US companies can build nuclear power plants. It is business worth billions of dollars.