Cartunes’ bonded-warehouse in Thilafushi burns down

The bonded-warehouse in Thilafushi owned by Cartunes burned down on Friday morning, destroying 36 vehicles that were inside.

Ibrahim Sujau, an official from Cartunes, said that that the fire had caused a loss of more than Rf17 million. The fire destroyed the warehouse, built on a 10,000sqft area in Thilafushi, and includes a showroom, workshop and staff quarters.

Sujau said that he had heard about the fire on Friday morning around 7:10am, when someone from the warehouse had called him up and told him. He further said that 28 cars and 8 motorcycles inside the warehouse were completely destroyed in the accident. In addition, there were a large amount of spare parts inside the warehouse which were also damaged beyond use, he said. The workshop that was destroyed by the fire was a new addition to the warehouse to be used for paint work and hadn’t been put into use yet, Sujau said.

A Police Media Official said that they had received the report about the fire at the Cartunes’ bonded-warehouse around 7:15am on Friday and that the fire was brought under control by 8:30am.

A team from the Police’s Serious and Organized Crimes Unit is investigating the scene of the fire to find the cause. The Police Media Official said that that evidence seemed to indicate that the fire had originated on the eastern side of the warehouse.

President congratulates Indian Congress Party President, Indian Prime Minister

President Mohamed Nasheed has sent messages of congratulations to the President of Indian Congress Party Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh following the victory of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in the general election of India.

In his message to Sonia Gandhi, the President said that her party’s success was no small measure to the remarkable efforts of Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi. He also said that this victory shows the confidence and trust that the Indian people have in her leadership as the President of the Congress Party as well as in the stewardship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In the message to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, President Nasheed said that this victory was a vindication of the successful performance of his government during the past five years and was testament to the trust and confidence that the Indian people had in his leadership. The President also said that he was confident that India would be able to attain even higher levels of prosperity and development in the coming years. The President expressed his confidence that the close relations that exist between the Maldives and India would further flourish in the years ahead.

Fishing vessel in Gulhee lagoon severely damaged in fire

A fishing vessel in Kaafu atoll Gulhee lagoon was severely damaged in a fire.

Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Afzal of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said that the when the fishing vessel “Tharaqqee”, owned by Ali Adam of Municipality Khaassa Dhaftharu, caught on fire there were two expatriates and one Maldivian onboard. However, no one was injured in the incident, he said.

According to an eyewitness at the Gulhee Boatyard, really heavy smoke could be seen coming out from the boat’s engine room area before it burst into flame. He further said that the iceboxes, cabin and other areas of the vessel had been severely damaged in the fire. A loud noise was heard before the fire, he said.

Police and the MNDF said that that the engine and everything on the fishing vessel had been damaged in the fire. A Police Media Official said that the fire had been caused due to a problem with the engine, but did not go into details.

Swine Flu confirmed in India

The Indian Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed that a passenger who had arrived in Hyderabad from New York, America, has tested positive for the Swine Flu virus, Influenza A H1N1.

The Health Ministry said that the infected man had arrived in India on Wednesday and that he was now under quarantine at the airport, but did not reveal the nationality of the infected man. The Ministry further said that although the man had tested positive for the virus he did not show any of the dangerous symptoms associated with the disease or even a fever.

Indian officials said that the other passengers onboard the flight with the infected man had now been quarantined inside their houses.

According to the latest statistics revealed by the World Health Organization, there are 7520 confirmed cases of Swine Flu in 34 countries.

Elections Commission: Illegal activities were evident during Thimarafushi ballot counting

Voting at the ballot box in Thaa atoll Thimarafushi during the parliamentary elections held on 9 May didn’t go as it was intended and several illegal activities were also carried out rather obviously during the procedure, the Elections Commission has said.

In an interview with the media on Friday night, Elections Commissions member Mohamed Mahir said that the report submitted by the official overseeing the voting process at the No. 1 ballot box in Thimarafushi indicated that 115 ballot papers had gone missing and that such an incident would compromise the validity of the vote.

“The way I see it, even if it was empty ballot papers or marked ballot papers, the fact that they had gone missing is cause for concern,” Mahir said. “The ballot would be valid if the marked papers and counterfoil added up. If some of the ballot papers were counted, some had gone missing, and others papers weren’t counted then this raises questions about the validity of the ballot.”

He said that while reviewing the video footage of the scene when the ballot box from Thimarafushi had been emptied onto the table for counting, they had seen a large number of people gather around the table, in direct violation of procedure, and some had even taken some of the ballot papers.