Friday 30 November 2007

ޚަބަރު ވަގުތުން

ގާނޫނު އަސާސީ ނިމެމުންދާ ގޮތް
 

Ali Rasheed's Column

A threat to national security? It's your decision

Despite what everyone says to the contrary, Islamic fundamentalism was never an issue worth bandying about until President Gayyoom made it so. And by doing so little does he realize the kind of hornet's nest he has opened up. more

Minivan News
Rf.11.9bn For 2008 Budget
The Maldives' budget for next year is Rf.11.9billion, just a whisker less than the total sum for the 2007 record-breaking budget, which sparked widespread international concern. Finance Minister Gasim Ibrahim told journalists the new budget, presented in parliament yesterday, was "sustainable," even though state expenditure increases, and public sector investment will continue to rely heavily on loans. more

BBC News
Hackers hijack web search results
A huge campaign to poison web searches and trick people into visiting malicious websites has been thwarted. The booby-trapped websites came up in search results for search terms such as "Christmas gifts" and "hospice". Windows users falling for the trick risked having their machine hijacked and personal information plundered. more

ހަވީރު ނިއުސް

މިއަހަރު (2007) ގެ ބަޖެޓުން ހާސިލުވީ ކޮންކަމެއް؟

Thursday 29 November 2007

Editorial

Free and fair elections incompatible with Golhaa

"It's not the people who vote that count. It's the people who count the votes." (Josef Stalin) Elections in the Maldives under Dictator Gayyoom have been a sordid drama of disinformation, intrigue, machination, intimidation, coercion and fraud. Every trick in the cheat sheet was used to guarantee the result, while ensuring that the elections looked superficially free and fair, when in fact they were neither. more

News Review

Minister of Legal Reform is an incompetent clown
During the last 25 days the newly appointed Minister of Information, Arts and Legal Reform has on two separate occasions told reporters that due to close community nature of the islanders, an independent judiciary is not possible in the Maldives. This is the argument the Maldives dictator uses to keep the current incompetent Chief Justice in office. After all any electoral challenge would go to the High Court where as the Dictator's best friend the Chief Justice would ensure that there are no surprises. It is pathetic to see the minister in charge of legal reform advocating such view. more

Ali Rasheed's Column

The Inhuman Rights Commission of the Maldives
Words fail me. If I were ever to have a burst blood vessel it should by all rights have occurred  this day. The 26th day of November would forever be imprinted on my memory for various reasons. Let's see if I am capable of communicating my story with its myriad twists and turns. more
 

Commonwealth News
Commonwealth a great global good, says next Secretary-General
The Commonwealth's Secretary-General designate Kamalesh Sharma said today, 24 November 2007, that the variety of nations which the Commonwealth represents is a "unique force for good." The Commonwealth includes countries at every stage of development and has some of the largest states in the world and some of the smallest, Mr Sharma said. "We are a family of equals, not just a family of nations." more

ނުސިޔާސީ ޑުރާމާ
ރައީސު ކަމުގެ ޝަރުތު މުރާޖާކުރުމުގެ ސަމާހަތު

Wednesday 28 November 2007

BBC South Asia
Deadly bomb attacks in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan troops were deployed at the ministry after the first blast
At least 16 people have been killed in a bomb explosion in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, the military says. At least 37 were also injured in the blast, which hit the city's busy Nugegoda district. The bomb went off outside a clothing shop, after a guard reportedly tried to open a suspicious parcel. more

Press Release

Gayyom's Conspiracy to Kill Freedom of Information Bill
The Maldivian Democratic Party asserts with formidable proof that the failure of the People's Majlis to pass the motion to commit the Maldives Freedom of Information Bill to a standing committee for amendment following closure of debate on the Bill on 14 November 2007 was due to systematic obstructive measures taken by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to obliterate the Bill. more

Minivan News
Nominee for Maldives' First Independent Auditor General Revealed
President Gayoom’s nomination for the country’s first ever independent Auditor General has finally been named, eight months after legislation was passed to wrest the Audit Office from Government control. more

Unicef
Broadband revolutionizes education on remote Maldives atolls
A third grader in the Maldives uses a 'smart board' during a science class at one of the broadband-enabled Teacher’s Resource Centres being launched this month with support from UNICEF. RASHDOO ISLAND, Maldives, 26 November 2007 - In a historical event for the Maldives today, the country is launching 20 broadband-enabled, child-friendly learning centres, which will link 20 of the country's atolls by the end of this year. Supported by UNICEF, the connected Teacher Resource Centres (TRCs) will create a virtual learning environment accessible throughout the Maldives. more


BBC News
India's 'pink' vigilante women
They wear pink saris, the traditional Indian dress for women, go after corrupt officials and boorish men, and brandish sticks and axes when the push comes to shove. The several hundred vigilante women of India's northern Uttar Pradesh state's Banda area proudly call themselves the "gulabi gang" (pink gang) striking fear in the hearts of wrongdoers and earning the grudging respect of officials. more


Spiegel Online
Scientists Mystified by Jellyfish Attacks on Fish Farm
A mass of poisonous jellyfish devastated stocks of organic farmed salmon off the coast of Northern Ireland -- not once, but twice. Is it a sign of global warming, overfishing or just the natural motion of
tides? Marine biologists are struggling to explain a series of bizarre jellyfish attacks which destroyed the entire fish stocks of a salmon farm in Northern Ireland. more

Tuesday 27 November 2007

Minivan News
Inas, Naseer and Sobah Plead Guilty In Male' Terror Trial
Moosa Inas, Ahmed Naseer and Mohamed Sobah today pleaded guilty to involvement in Maldives’ first ever Islamic terror attack in Male’ on 29 September. And Naseer appeared to link himself to a second bomb plot, which police said last week was plotted simultaneously with the first. The three men, charged under section two of Maldives’ Prevention of Terror Act, are the first to stand trial for the Improvised Explosive Device blast which ripped through Sultan Park and injured twelve tourists. more


Minivan News
Sexual Offenders Banished Again
Two men who sexually assaulted a young woman and filmed the attack have been banished for one year and given fifteen lashes. The pair and two accomplices will all serve time in prison for the attack in Baa atoll in 2003, after they received separate jail sentences for videoing their attack. more 

Citywire UK
Green business: Time to save paradise
This week’s dispatch is from the serene tranquillity of the Meemu atoll in the Maldive Islands, where global warming is bound to have a devastating effect if it raises sea levels by more than a metre. The Maldives in the Indian Ocean are part of the Alliance of Small Island States or Aosis which represents the views of 37 Pacific, Caribbean and Indian Ocean islands and helped in the formation of various UN treaties and conventions on climate change, including draft wording for the 1994 Kyoto Protocol. more

BBC Technology
'Super' scanner shows key detail
A new scanner has been unveiled which can produce 3D body images of unprecedented clarity while reducing radiation by some 80%. The new CT machine takes large numbers of X-ray pictures, and combines them using computer technology to produce the final detailed images. It also generates images in a fraction of the time of other scanners: a full body scan takes less than a minute. more

އެޑިޓޯރިއަލް
ބޮޑު މުނާފިގާ، ބޮޑުވަގާ، ދެޅިޔަނުންގެ ސިއްހީ ޚިދުމަތުގެ ސަމާހަތު

Monday 26 November 2007

Editorial
2008 Presidential Election: The 'spoiler effect' could be crucial
An obscure election phenomenon known as the spoiler effect could make or break the winning chances for the main contenders in the 2008 Presidential Election. In a multi-candidate election the spoiler effect favors the candidate who is most different from others. In this election, the unique candidate would obviously be Gayyoom, since he will be the only dictator in the fray. Thus, in order to prevent Gayyoom from taking advantage of the phenomenon and win the election, MDP must develop strategy to minimize the spoiler effect. more

Ali Rasheed's Column

The social norm: sex and drugs

"Don't let him enter there"…"don't let him enter there." The orders were coming through the walkie-talkie in the guard's hands; given the chain of command at the Himmafushi Rehabilitation Centre it was probably Mrs. Razeena Thuthu Didi's orders from the NNCB ( Narcotics Control Board ) being transmitted. I felt so lousy I even wondered if I had a communicable disease. This was around 5 months back when I had stopped over at Himmafushi Island and decided to see what took place inside the high walls of the Rehab centre. The management hit me with a whole cornucopia of red tape in my face. I knew I was licked for the simple reason that the boat I was travelling on was scheduled to leave early the next morning. more

އަތޮޅުތެރެއިން
ނައިފަރު ރައްޔިތުން ބޭނުންވަނީ ފެންޕްލާންޓެއްތަ؟
ނުވަތަ ބަނދަރު މަރާމާތުކުރަންތަ؟

Sunday 25 November 2007

Breaking News
Maldives Dictator to appoint Qasim and Ilyas as Vice Presidents
Male' - 13:15 - A reliable source within the regime informed DO that the Maldives Dictator is consolidating his power base by appointing two Vice Presidents. Pending approval from his close advisors, incumbent Finance Minister Qasim Ibrahim and Health Minister Ilyas Ibrahim are to be appointed Vice Presidents, as early as this week, the source said. A cabinet reshuffle will follow, including the possible appointment of Dictator's brother Yameen to the post of Finance Minister, it is revealed. Commenting on the matter, MDP leadership dismissed the issue saying "it's wishful-thinking".

BBC News
Australia sweeps Rudd into power
Australia's opposition Labor Party under Kevin Rudd has won a sweeping general election victory, removing PM John Howard after an 11-year term.
Mr Rudd said Australia had "looked to the future" and that he would be "a prime minister for all Australians". Correspondents says key changes will be the start of a troop pullout from Iraq and the signing of the Kyoto protocol on climate change. more

Special Review
Fathin Hameed's Finger - A Message For All Islands

The dictator's niece might have just been having a bad day when she made an impromptu obscene gesture at a press photographer outside the parliament in Malè this month. Granted, her transgression was mild compared with the abuse of the press in Maldives by its other leaders including Gayyoom and his security service officers, but her raised finger typifies the attitude of the dictator's members and other supporters towards the whole process of reform. more

News Review

"All Presidential Candidates for 2008 should have previous Presidential Experience" - the Dictator's next amendment

The Maldivian Dictator is frantically trying to ensure that Dr. Hassan Saeed's Presidential bid is over before it could begin. The Minister for Information, Arts and Legal Reform Mohamed Nasheed proposed an amendment that would prevent anyone with a foreign spouse from running for President. Similarly, just in case Dr.Saeed decides to divorce his wife, the dictator had a second amendment put forward that bars anyone who is below the age of forty from running for office. This effectively excludes Dr.Hassan Saeed, who is thirty-seven. more

New Maldives Movement

".. a desperate attempt to cling on to power by fair or foul means," - Dr. Shaheed, Former Foreign Minister

New Maldives Movement outraged over Dictator's attempts to bar them from elections in violation of  international human rights obligations

Male', 24 November 2008: The newly launched New Maldives Movement has today expressed outrage over attempts by President Gayoom and his party, the DRP, to bar their presidential candidate, Dr. Hassan Saeed from standing against President Gayoom in the country's first ever multiparty elections due next year. Speaking to reporters in Male', Dr. Saeed described the attempt to disqualify him by raising the age bar to 40 years and by the requirement to be married to a Maldivian, as shameless and disgraceful. He further added that the criteria, designed specifically to disqualify Dr. Saeed, who is 37 years old and has a Malaysian wife, are in violation of Articles 2 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which the Maldives ratified last year. more

Minivan News
DRP Move To Bar Hassan Saeed's Presidential Bid
President Gayoom has been accused of conspiring to prevent Dr Hassan Saeed from standing against him in next year’s presidential election. Gayoom’s ruling Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party want the constitution to bar Maldivians with foreign spouses from running for President. Hassan Saeed's wife is Malaysian. The DRP says the amendment is designed to prevent a president with a Jewish or Christian wife in the 100% Muslim country. But the New Maldives group has hit out at what they say is Gayoom's "shameless and disgraceful" attempt to exclude a rival. more
 

Saturday 24 November 2007

MDP Press

DRP pushes back Constitutional amendment deadline
MPs in President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP) are setting back the deadline of 30 November, (set by the members themselves for finalizing amendments to the Constitution), to mid December. Speaking to a journalist in Male' recently, DRP Vice President and Speaker of the Peoples Special Majlis (Constitutional Assembly) Mr. Gasim Ibrahim said that his best estimate for concluding amendments to the Constitution was the 15th of December 2007. more


MDP Press

Government pumps up Budget for 2008 despite current 9% rate of inflation
Despite threats to long-term economic stability made apparent by the comparatively massive budget passed for 2007, and the current 9% rate of inflation, the government plans to submit another pumped up Budget for the year 2008 which is expected to be proposed for debate in the Peoples Majlis (parliament) during the last week of December 2007. more


 

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uDnwgunol eguDnwk ,csevulcBwa wmwh !ObiawLog
?wtInwd cSwaiDwa ejcaWr cnegevuDob

Friday 23 November 2007

Travel Blog Cosmedia
Shocking deception by Maldives resort website
As someone who is currently in the process of looking for a resort in the Maldives to go holiday at next year, I was eager to hear a friend of a friend's recent trip to the islands, hoping that it would be equally as awesome as my Mauritius trip in August. They had booked 2 weeks at Herathera Island Resort, a new hotel that was advertised to officially open on 01 November, and were to be one of the resort's first guests. more 

BBC News
Pakistan barred from Commonwealth Pakistan has been suspended from the Commonwealth because of its imposition of emergency rule, the organisation has announced after a meeting in Uganda. Secretary General Don McKinnon said Pakistan was being suspended "pending restoration of democracy and the rule of law". more

New Maldives Movement

New Maldives Movement questions why President Gayyoom is not attending CHOGM and calls on him to ratify new constitution before the end of the year
On the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kampala, Uganda Dr Hassan Saeed, leader of the New Maldives Movement and Presidential candidate, has publicly questioned President Gayoom's absence and called on him to ensure that a new constitution is in place by the end of the year. The constitution, vital to the proposed 'roadmap' for democratic reform agreed by President Gayoom in March 2006, has been continually delayed and the Maldivian government have just publicly admitted that it will miss its next agreed deadline of 30 November 2007. more

MDP Press
MDP seeks wider support for Transitional Arrangements for implementing the new Constitution
The Maldivian Democratic Party is working to attain wider support for the Party’s proposed Transitional Arrangements for implementing the new Constitution. The Maldivian Democratic Party has been stating that it was in the national interest and the interest of the Party to complete the new Constitution at the earliest and to hold free and fair elections under the new Constitution. more


MDP Press
Non-Muslims to be denied Maldivian citizenship under new Constitution

Non Muslims are to be denied Maldivian citizenship in the new Constitution, after 78 members of the Peoples Special Majlis (Constitutional Assembly) voted on 19 November 2007 in favor to approve an amendment that requires all Maldivian citizens to be Muslims. more 

Relief Web
WHO country cooperation strategy 2007–2011 - Republic of Maldives
The formulation of WHO Country Cooperation Strategies (CCS) started in 1999 using the approach of learning by doing. The strategies were later refined and published in two reports on improving WHO's work at country level presented to the WHO Executive Board (EB) in January 2000 (2) and 2003(3). more 

Thursday 22 November 2007

Reuters
Maldives hunts bomb in suspected militant plot
MALDIVES, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Maldives police are searching for a bomb they believe was part of a plot by Islamic militants to attack the country's tourist industry, officials said on Wednesday. The bomb was meant to detonate the same time as a device that exploded on Sept 29 in the capital Male, wounding 12 tourists. It is Indian Ocean island chain's first recorded attack by Islamic militants. more

Outlook India
The Jihad in Paradise
Sometimes Maldives government used novel means to punish Pakistan-trained Islamists --some famously had their beards shaved off with chilli sauce --but for the most part, it chose accommodation. Now it appears to be cracking down. Is it too late? more

The Hindu
Infant used to bomb Benazir's rally in Karachi?
Islamabad (PTI): An infant may have been used to carry out the October 18 bombing on former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto's procession in Karachi which left nearly 140 people dead. The infant was strapped with bombs and a bomber repeatedly tried to get close to Bhutto's armoured truck and hand over the child to her or any other Pakistan People's Party leader, the 'News' reported on Tuesday quoting sources in the PPP. more

Portofolio.com
Why He Went Nuclear
Before he was the infamous father of the "Islamic bomb," A.Q. Khan was just another midlevel scientist working at a research job in Amsterdam. Here, the story of how he betrayed his employer and set out to create a worldwide bazaar in lethal weapons. more

ނަސީރު ކޮލަމް
ގައުމު ސަލާމަތްކޮށް ވެރިކަން ބަދަލުކުރުމަށް އޮތް މަގުތަކާއި ހުރަސްތައް (ދެވަނަ ޗާޕު) - 'އޮތޯރިޓޭރިއަން ޑިމޮކްރަސީ' ގެ ނަމޫނާއަކީ އުފެއްދޭނެ އެއްޗެއް ނޫން

Wednesday 21 November 2007

Local News

Editor of Manas Magazine summoned to court

Male' - The Editor of Manas Magazine, Abdul Hameed, has been summoned to appear in court today charged with disobedience of order. Hameed is currently in charge of Adduvas Magazine and the trial is believed to be politically motivated. Hameed has been arrested and harassed by the police on previous occasion after publishing articles critical of the Maldives Dictator and his government. "I don't know what the case is. I just got the chit and it says for disobeying order. I believe it maybe in relation to an article I wrote in Manas or Adduvas," said Hameed. Similar cases are pending for other writers and reformists, which strategically gets pulled out of the shelves when it suits the regime. Minivan News and DO columnist Ali Rasheed was sentenced earlier for life in absentia whilst he was living in Male' on a trumped up drugs charge. And, Minivan Daily writer Fahala Saeed has been serving a life sentence since 2006 also for alleged drug dealing offences.

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

Judgment day for Musharraf: Commonwealth leaders meet to discuss suspension

Last week, following the illegal imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan, the Commonwealth told General Musharraf that unless he restored Pakistan's Constitution, allowed the return of judicial independence, relaxed oppressive media policies and hung up his army uniform, Pakistan would face suspension from the Commonwealth on the 22nd of November, the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala. more

BBC News
Top Khmer Rouge leader charged
The Khmer Rouge's former head of state, Khieu Samphan, has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity at a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia. The 76-year-old was earlier arrested at a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, and taken to face the panel of judges. He is the fifth person to be targeted by the court, set up to bring surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge to justice. more

SAARG Paper
Al Qaeda in Maldives - International Terrorism Monitor
The "Threats Watch", a well-known US group, which, inter alia, closely monitors the various Internet sites known to be or suspected to be associated with Al Qaeda and disseminates its observations, has carried an alert titled " Ansar Al Mujahideen Targets the Maldives". more

ޚަބަރު މުރާޖައާ
އެންދެރިމާ ބޮޑުވަގު އިލްޔާހަކަށް ހެލްތު މިނިސްޓްރީއެއް ނުހިންގޭ

އަތޮޅު ރިޕޯޓް
ހެލްތު މިނިސްޓަރުގެ ސަމާލުކަމަށް: ގއ. އަތޮޅުގެ ސިއްހީ ހާލަތު ގޯހުން ގޯހަށް، އަތޮޅު ހޮސްޕިޓަލުގެ ހިންގުން ހަރުދަނާ ކުރަންޖެހިފައި

ރައްޔިތުންގެ ސިޓީ
ބ. ދުނިކޮޅު އަޅުގަނޑުގެ އަތުން ވަކިކުރުމާގުޅިގެން އަޅުގަނޑަށް ލިބެންޖެހޭ ޢަދުލުވެރި ބަދަލު ލިބިދިނުން

އަދުގެ  ޚަބަރު
 ވައިކަރަދޫ ދޯންޏެއް ތިލަފުށި ކާރިޔަށް އަޑިޔަށް ގޮއްސި- ފުން ކުރުމަށް އެހީތެރިކަން ބޭނުންވޭ

އެމްޑީޕީގެ ޤައުމީ މަޖިލިހުގެ 46 ވަނަ ބައްދަލުވުން
މިރޭ، 21 ނޮވެމްބަރ 2007 ވާ ބުދަދުވަހުގެރޭގަޑު 8.30 ން 11.00 އަށް ދަރުބާރުގޭ 3 ނަމްބަރު ކޮޓަރީގައި ބާއްވާގޮތަށް ހަމަޖެހިއްޖެއެވެ.          މިބައްދަލުވުމުގެ އެޖެންޑާގައި ހިމެނޭ މައިގަޑު އައިޓަމަކީ މިހާރު އަމަލުކުރަމުންދާ ޤާނޫނުއަސާސީއިން، އަލަށް އެކުލަވާލެވޭ ޤާނޫނުއަސާސީއަށް ވާސިލްވުމަށްޓަކާ އެމްޑީޕީން ހުށަހަޅާފައިވާ ބަދަލުގެ ހަމަތަކާ އުސޫލުތަކަކީ، ރައީސް މައުމޫނާއި ދިވެހިސަރުކާރު ބަލައިގަންނަ ހަމަތަކަކާއި އުސޫލްތަކެއްކަމަށް ބާރުއެޅުމަށް ޕާޓީން އަމަލުކުރާނެގޮތްތަކަކާމެދު މަޝްވަރާކުރުމެވެ.

Tuesday 20 November 2007

Local News

Maldives Dictator too scared to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting

Male' - Reliable sources in the government have confirmed that the Maldives Dictator will not be attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting due to be held in Kampala, Uganda from 23-25 November. According to the sources, Golhaabo made the decision because he has been put under a lot of pressure from the Commonwealth since his meeting with Commonwealth Secretary General Don MacKinnon during his last visit to UK. "The Dictator has not implemented any of the pledges he made, therefore he is scared to face the Commonwealth leaders," a former Maldivian diplomat told Dhivehi Observer. He also confirmed that the 'Demented One' will be put under more close scrutiny and pressure by Commonwealth and European Union in the coming months. There are also reports of a fresh EU resolution on the Maldives. The Dictator is apparently distancing himself from the international community.

News Review

Human Rights Commissioner of the Maldives has a fake PhD from Mannin University

This is an article from Straits Times Singapore, discussing the controversy over the PhD of Ren Ci chief, who apparently got his PhD from Mannin University in Ireland, which doesn't exist, or at least is not recognised by the Irish authorities. The report also states that two other people are found on the web who claim to have graduated from Mannin University. "One is the head of a group promoting human rights in the Maldives", referring to Nanreethi Saleem, President of the Maldives Human Rights Commission. Wonder how many other fake PhD holder's are there in the Maldives!!! more

Reuters News
Video raises fears of al Qaeda expansion to Maldives
MALE (Reuters) - A propaganda video shot inside a radical Maldives mosque and posted on the Internet has raised fears that al Qaeda is gaining a foothold in the Indian Ocean tourist paradise. The video was recorded at the Dhar-al-Khuir mosque on the remote Himandhoo island in the hours before it was raided on October 6 as part of an investigation into a September bomb blast in the capital Male. more

Threatswatch.org
Ansar Al Mujahideen Targets the Maldives
A previously unknown group called "the Media Section of Ansar Al Mujahideen" posted a teaser video today on a well-known Internet forum associated with al-Qaeda that promotes an upcoming full-feature package called "Your Brothers in Maldives are Calling You!" more

Ali Rasheed's Column

Adios Amigo

I know not what the morrow will bring nor do I know what surprises fate holds in store for me. Yet I feel its time to say sayonara for in all likelihood I will end up in jail - at least for a while. For those of you who have been following my story let me bring you up to date. You may recall that I have been making a nuisance of myself at the Police Headquarters almost on a daily basis. I have been requesting for that one document that by all rights ought to have been given into my hands upon my arrest on June 5, 2007. The document that advised me of the reason for my arrest. more

Monday 19 November 2007

News Review

The dictator rejects an interim government

It is of little surprise that the Dictator has rejected an interim government under any circumstances. However, to claim that interim governments are only in countries "where all the institutions for running the state have failed, or when the country has collapsed into political chaos", displays both ignorance and arrogance from the Atolls Minister Thasmeen Ali. Interim governments are pertinent in various circumstances; most certainly in the case of transition from an authoritarian rule to a democracy, interim governments are extremely valid. more

News Review

Golhaabo's 'Haazaa' economy backfires
Maldives Dictator Gayyoom's promise to increase government employee salaries –a rather transparent election sop –has backfired badly on him. As predicted, the announcement has driven consumer prices through the ceiling, making an already difficult life impossible for ordinary Maldivians. They are not amused. The price of a staple item such as a loaf of bread has increased from 11 rufiyaa to 15. Taxi drivers have announced a fare hike from 15 to 20 rufiyaa, while landlords are contemplating an increase in rents, which is expected to be in the range of 20 to 30%. The high shop rents, when they come, will be most certainly passed on to the consumer, thereby worsening the situation. more

Minivan News
Majlis Walk Out As President's Appointees Reject Impeachment Clause
Special Majlis ended in chaos last night as opposition members walked out calling for President Gayoom's resignation, after his appointees torpedoed clauses giving parliament oversight of the executive. The President's twenty-nine unelected members voted uniformly to reject clauses on impeaching the president, parliamentary summons for ministers, and "supervision of the exercise of executive authority." more

The Hindu
Foreign fund flows drive Islamist surge
MALE (THE MALDIVES): Funds from Islamist organisations based in Pakistan and the United Kingdom, helped finance the September 29 terror bombing in Male, police sources say . Some $1,000 in cash was recovered from Sultan Park-accused Moosa Inas, but police say thousands more would have been needed to pay for the terror cell’s frequent international movements, proseletysation activism, and recruitment operations. Investigators are, in particular, seeking to identify a United Kingdom national of south Asian origin who identified himself to members of the Sultan Park terror cell as 'Abu Issa.' Believed to be of south Asian descent, 'Abu Issa' is thought to have arrived in the Maldives soon after the 2005 tsunami, armed with several thousand dollars in cash for victims then sheltered in the premises of a factory in Gan. more

The Hindu
Social dislocation feeds Maldives Islamism
MALE (THE MADLIVES): Three years ago, Ali Rameez abandoned his place under the spotlights, and chose a new life guided by the light of Islam. In a public demonstration of his new convictions, the Maldives' top rock star had thousands of hit compact discs thrown into the sea off Male, and invited his fans to follow the teachings of the islands' best-known neoconservative Islamic theologian, Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed. more

ގާސިމް އަބޫބަކުރު

7 އަހަރާ 6 މަސްދުވަސް ފަހުން، މއ. ވަވަތި އާދަމް ޒާހިރު ދޭން އޮތް 4 މަހާ 24 ދުވަހުގެ މުސާރައާއި 24 ދުވަހުގެ ކޮއްތު ފައިސާއާއެކު 17،600 ރުފިޔާ ފަހަތުން ދުވެ ހަވާލުކޮށްފި

Sunday 18 November 2007

Editorial

Get rid of the Dictator to improve your living conditions

In 1996, Maldives Dictator Gayyoom fired the county's senior most public health expert for daring to say that there was a housing problem in the capital Male'. This was the extent to which Gayyoom (AKA Golhaaboa) was prepared to go to keep critical social issues swept under the carpet. But he was only fooling himself. The shortage of housing was too acute to be hidden even then. It is worse now, after 10 more years of neglect. more

Minivan News
Interim Government Should Exclude Gayoom: MDP
President Gayoom should stand down from office immediately after a new constitution has been agreed to allow an interim administration to hold free elections, the MDP has said. The main opposition party has unveiled its proposals for a transitional government, which would see presidential and parliamentary elections held within a year of amending the constitution. more

ABC News
Saudi court orders lashes, prison for rape victim
A Saudi court has increased the sentence given to a gang rape victim to 200 lashes of the whip and six months in prison and ordered disciplinary action against her lawyer for talking to the media, the lawyer said. more

ހުސެން އަބޫ
ގޮޅާ ސަރުކާރަކީ ފަސްމާމުލު ފަސްވަގުންގެ
ސަރުކާރެއް

Saturday 17 November 2007

Minivan News
President's Niece Gives Photographer The Finger
President Gayoom’s niece showed photographers the finger this afternoon as she left the Majlis building. Fathin Hameed, one of Gayoom's personal appointees to the Special Majlis, exited the building at 12.30pm with several other MPs from Gayoom’s ruling Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party. As usual several photographers and journalists were camped outside the Majlis building, waiting for MPs. The photographer who was the target of Fathin's gesture said she turned away from the main entrance to leave by a side exit. When she saw a photographer at the side exit, she returned to the main courtyard, and mouthed something to him before raising her middle finger. more

The Hindu
Maldives battles Islamist offensive
MALE: Across the road from the Zikura Masjid, loud Hindi film music blasts out of a store selling high-end audio equipment. No one seems to object: in the Maldives, the sacred and the profane have learned to coexist. Just around the corner, though, stand the Zeenia Manzil apartments. Inside a makeshift, one-room mosque in the building, police investigators say, a group of local residents linked to the ultra-right Jamaat Ahl-e-Hadis sect planned the September 29 Sultan Park bombing – the first major Islamist terror strike in the Maldives. more

American Red Cross
In the Maldives, the Birth of a Movement
With training from the American Red Cross, volunteers in the Maldives have learned to organize responses to local disasters rather than wait for outside assistance. more

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

Using terrorism to justify dictatorship: Musharraf’s illegitimate emergency

General Musharraf has ended constitutional rule and suspended democracy in Pakistan, claiming that it is the only way to respond to the ascendency of extremists and terrorists. However, his crackdown on the cornerstones of democratic society – the judiciary, the media, political opposition and public participation – has only served to undermine the fight against terrorism by removing precisely those institutions that support security and stability. more

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